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Recipe

Beer colour (EBC and SRM, Morey formula)

Golden, amber or black: predict the colour before you brew. Enter your malts and the volume, and the tool gives the colour in EBC and SRM.

Malts in the recipe *

Result

Fill in the values and run the calculation, or try the example.

This is the calculation Krausi uses. Create an account to save it in a recipe or a brew.

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Why predict the colour of your beer?

Colour is the first thing we judge in a glass, and a strong marker of every style: a pils is straw, an amber ale is coppery, a stout is black.

It is also the only parameter you can no longer correct after the mash. You can dilute a beer that is too strong or extend a boil, but you cannot lighten a wort. A few dozen grams of roasted malt are enough to tip a blonde towards amber: better to know beforehand.

How is the colour calculated?

The tool uses the Morey formula. It adds up the colour brought by each malt, relative to the volume, then corrects for the fact that colour does not add up linearly:

°L  = (EBC / 1.97 + 0.76) / 1.3546
MCU = sum (weight in pounds × °L) / volume in gallons
SRM = 1.4922 × MCU^0.6859
EBC = 1.97 × SRM

Weights and volume are entered in kilos and litres: the conversion is done for you. The colour of each malt is printed on its bag or on the maltster's data sheet.

Colour scale, from 2 to 80 EBC

2
4
6
8
12
16
20
26
33
40
50
60
80

Worked example

Values entered

  • Malts in the recipe:
    • weight in kg 4, malt colour in ebc 3.5
    • weight in kg 0.5, malt colour in ebc 15
    • weight in kg 0.2, malt colour in ebc 50
  • Beer volume in litres: 20

Result from the tool

Colour in SRM
5.11
Colour in EBC
10.08
Malt Colour Units
6.03

What the tool does not do

  • The Morey formula levels off above 50 SRM (about 100 EBC): very black beers are poorly told apart.
  • A long boil and a high pH darken the beer: the actual result is often a little darker.
  • Perceived colour also depends on the glass and on clarity.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between EBC and SRM?

They are two scales for the same measurement: EBC is the European scale, SRM the American one. EBC = 1.97 × SRM: a beer at 10 EBC is about 5 SRM.

How many EBC for an amber beer?

Roughly between 20 and 35 EBC. Below 12 EBC the beer is pale, between 12 and 20 it is golden to light amber, above 60 it is brown to black.

And with the assistant?

Ask Krausi the same question in plain language: he picks this tool, does the calculation and files the result in your project.

If I add 200 g of Carared to my 20 L blonde, does it turn amber?

With 4 kg of Pilsner, 500 g of Munich and 200 g of Carared, the colour moves to 10 EBC: your beer stays golden. For a true amber you would need a darker crystal malt: tell me which one you have and I'll redo the calculation.

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