ezBrewingWater-RO©

 ** Version 2 Now Available **

ezBrewingWater-RO© is a water chemistry calculator created specifically for homebrewers who want to use the best water possible when brewing their beer. When starting out with an RO water source there is no need to interpret water reports or having to guess at water variances associated with seasonal change. Building a brewing water profile, using reverse osmosis or distilled water, is easy to do because salts and other impurities have been stripped away. When starting out with pure brewing water you replace only the salts needed to match the style of beer that you are brewing. Then adjust the pH of your brewing water to optimize enzyme efficiency in the mash. ezBrewingWater-RO© makes even the most complicated brewing water profiles easy to do. With a little practice you will be designing your very own brewing water profiles and actually enjoying the process.  

ezBrewingWater-RO© - The easy way to perfect brewing water!

RO and distilled water have extremely low alkalinity and they are devoid of salts and minerals. They both make the ideal water source to use when creating brewing water profiles that are perfect for any style of beer. ezBrewingWater-RO© makes it easy to choose just the right amount of salts and minerals needed to season brewing water to suite your taste. Adjusting the pH of your brewing water so that the mash stays within an optimal pH range, based on the type of grains used in a recipe, has never been easier to do. ezBrewingWater-RO© is the easy way to perfect brewing water!

Download ezBrewingWater-RO© Version Two 

*Download* ezBrewingWater-RO© For MS Excel!

*Download* ezBrewingWater-RO© For LibreOffice!

Homebrewers already know that water is the single largest ingredient used in the beer that they brew. Many have heard it said, or possibly read somewhere that "If your water tastes good, you can brew good beer with it" and yes, of course, that makes perfect sense. But what exactly is in water that makes it 'taste good' and what enables it to make 'good beer'? After all, the water piped into your home today looks and tastes just fine. It contains no sediment, it is sparkling clear in a glass and it tastes good; even if it were to have a slight chlorine aroma. Water like this should be perfect for brewing a 'good beer' right? The simple answer is no, at least not by today's homebrewing standards.

Getting Started:

Enter The Volume Of Water To Be Treated

ezBrewingWater-RO© was created to be used with reverse osmosis, commonly known as RO water, or distilled water. Both types of purified water, RO, and Distilled have been stripped clean of any salts, minerals and other impurities that the source water contained. The water produced by either process has extremely low alkalinity, is devoid of salts or minerals and makes the perfect base water to use when creating any brewing water profile. RO and distilled water are both inexpensive to use and are readily available to buy in many local stores.

Enter The Grains Used In Your Recipe

The flavor and alkalinity of RO water can be restored by replacing measured amounts of salt and mineral content that were stripped away during filtration. Adding measured amounts of gypsum, calcium chloride, Epsom salt and Baking Soda to RO water also adjusts the sulfate to chloride ratio of your brewing water; making it more suitable for any style of beer. The pH level of your mash water can be raised by adding Baking Soda or it can be lowered by adding Lactic Acid, or the mash itself can be lowered by the addition of acidulated malt directly in the mash.

The type of grains used in a recipe determines the acidity of the mash, darker more acidic grains will lower mash pH much more than lighter grains such as 6-Row and wheat. To achieve the best enzyme activity and conversion of starch to sugar the recommended mash pH range is between 5.3 and 5.5 at 77F. Wort produced using a water profile that keeps the mash pH within this range, or 5.1 to 5.3 at mash temperatures, also helps to enhance the performance of yeast during fermentation while discouraging the growth of bacteria. 

Enter The Amount Of Salt, Mineral And Acid To Match Your Beer Style

Homebrewing combines the art of recipe creation with the science of brewing, including the science of water chemistry. Throughout recorded history, the most famous styles of beer originated in unique geological locations. Two prominent styles that come to mind are Kölsch from Cologne, Germany and Dry Irish Stout from Dublin, Ireland. The soft waters of the Cologne Basin give Kölschbier its authentic soft mouth feel while the hard, alkaline waters of Dublin, Ireland accentuate the dry creamy mouthfeel of Stout.

Review The Calculated Water Alkalinity And Mash pH Values

Eliminating chlorine is a very important first step when preparing your brewing water. Chlorine in brewing water is notorious for causing off flavors in beer but fortunately, it is easily removed by slowly running the water through an activated carbon block filter. Chloramines in brewing water will also cause off flavors in the beer and they can be removed through activated carbon block filtering too. The ability to remove chlorine and chloramines are governed by the amount of activated carbon that the water flows through and by the length of contact time the water has with the activated carbon.  

Now that all traces of chlorine or chloramines have been removed the brewing water is perfect for brewing a 'good beer' right? Yes it is, but unfortunately, it is not good enough to brew a great beer. Great beers are brewed using water that has the just the right levels of salts, minerals, alkalinity, pH and a few other important properties. The improvements needed to turn good brewing water into great brewing water requires the use of some very powerful chemistry formulas. A water chemistry calculator like ezBrewingWater-RO© lets you focus on creating the perfect water profile for your next beer without having to worry about the complex chemistry that is involved.


Acknowledgements:

If it were not for the pioneering spirit of visionaries such as John Palmer, Colin Kominski, Kai Troester, AJ Delange and Martin Brungard, brewing water calculators like ezBrewingWater-RO© would not be available to the homebrewing community today. Their tireless dedication and commitment, to applying the laws of science and water chemistry to homebrewing, has given rise to the immense popularity and the superior quality of homebrewed beer.      

ezBIAB Calculator©

Brew In A Bag Brewing   The first time I brewed using my brew in a bag system I wondered how much grain and brewing water would fit inside my kettle without causing it to overflow? Then I wondered how much wort would be left in the kettle after removing the grain bag? Before switching from a traditional three tier system to BIAB these calculations had never been too much of a problem. Having a separate hot liquor tank, mash tun and brew kettle made calculating mash thickness and preboil volumes pretty straightforward.

Soon after I decided to sit down and write a BIAB calculator of my own for a number of reasons. I saw it as a great way to become more familiar with the variables associated with BIAB brewing. I also needed a way to reliably calculate BIAB volumes and gallons, based on the pounds of grain used in my recipes, all at the same time. The very first brewday after using ezBIAB Calculator© I was able to hit all of my BIAB volumes right on target. After calculating how many pounds of grain the recipe would use to reach the gravity I had in mind ezBIAB Calculator© had crunched the numbers for my Hiphopapocalypse IPA® recipe perfectly. 

ezBIAB Calculator©
With BIAB brewing all of the water and grain used in the mash goes into the kettle at the same time. During the mash grain is put inside a fine mesh bag so that sugars can be extracted into the wort without any of the grain getting into the kettle. At the end of the mash the grain and bag are then removed and the wort remaining in the kettle is brought to a boil. The trick in all of this is in not causing the kettle to overflow with too much mash volume during the mash while being able to hit your preboil wort volume after the grain has been removed.

Getting the mash volume to fit inside the kettle without it overflowing and hitting your preboil volume at the same time is like trying to juggle while riding on a see saw. You have to balance the amount of grain and water used in the mash, the mash thickness, the amount of water the grain will absorb and the size of the kettle being used. You also have to make allowances for the wort absorbed by hops, wort left behind in the kettle as cold break and the evaporation of water from the wort during the boil. Those calculations along with wort loss to lines, chillers and tubing are critical in determining your preboil wort volume.  

"In a perfect world the brewer's kettle is always large enough to hold all of the water and grain needed for any recipe. Then after the grain has been removed the wort in the kettle is always perfectly equal to the recipe's pre-boil volume. And at the end of the boil there's always enough cooled wort to fill the fermentor right up to the line. Of course once the fermentation has completed there is enough tasty beer to be packaged into kegs, bottles or cans."

In reality in order to reach your pre-boil volume some make up water has to be added to the kettle once the grain bag has been removed. This happens when the kettle is undersized and unable to hold all of the water and grain required for the mash and boil at the same time. Or if a brewer decides to leave room in the kettle and then reach their pre-boil volume by rinsing the grain with additional hot water. Sparging the grain is useful when brewing high gravity beers requiring a larger percentage of grain. It also results in a thicker mash because there is a lower percentage of water in the kettle during the mash.

Calculating Fermentor Volumes

If the goal is to package 5.00 gallons of beer the fermentor will need to be filled with 5.25 gallons of wort, in order to make up for 0.25 gallons of fermentation trub loss. Fermentor trub loss is made up of yeast, proteins and hop debris that eventually settle out into a compact layer at the bottom of the fermentor. It's the kind of stuff you don't want ending up in your finished beer. The amount of fermentor trub loss will vary with the strain and amount of yeast pitched and the percentage of trub initially transferred to the fermentor from the kettle.

Calculating Kettle Volumes

Kettle trub is made up of break material and proteins formed during the boil that under most conditions will remain in the kettle and not be transferred to the fermentor. In order to have 5.25 gallons of wort to fill the fermentor at the end of the boil the post boil wort volume has to be calculated accurately. If the kettle boils off 1.25 gallons of wort per hour, during a one hour boil, and the kettle trub loss is 0.75 gallons then 2.00 gallons of wort is the total kettle loss. NOTE: Hops will also absorb a small amount of wort during the boil depending on the weight of hops added to the kettle.

By adding the 2.00 gallons of kettle wort loss to the 5.25 gallons of wort needed to go into the fermentor we come up with a pre-boil volume of 7.25 gallons. We prove that by subtracting from the 7.25 gallons of wort pre-boil volume 0.75 gallon for kettle trub loss and 1.25 gallons for boil loss leaving 5.25 gallons of wort left for transferring into the fermentor. After fermentation 0.25 gallon of trub will remain in the fermentor leaving 5.00 gallons of clean beer just waiting to be packaged.

Calculating Mash Volumes

To end up with 7.25 gallons of post boil wort in the kettle, after the grain bag has been removed, several other variables also need to be factored in. With BIAB brewing the entire grain bill is mixed together with brewing water inside the same kettle that will also be used as a mash tun. The ratio of brewing water to grain is used to determine the thickness of the mash which is then used to determine the amount of room the mash will take up in the kettle. Its the sum of the mash volume added to the preboil wort volume that determines what size kettle will be needed to keep the wort from overflowing. When using a kettle that's been right sized for the volume and gravity of the beer your brewing the mash will be thinner than that used in a three tier system.

Figuring out the best kettle size for brewing gravity of beer you brew the most often is very important when brewing BIAB. I always recommend using the largest sized kettle that's practical for your your budget and brewing needs. Getting the wort pre-boil volume correct on brewday is a major milestone in the BIAB brewing process. Using a smaller kettle means you'll be sparging the grain in order to make up for the loss in preboil volume. It also means that your mash will be thicker and depending on how much thicker it will produce a less fermentable mash than a thinner mash would. As you progress in your BIAB brewing you may also want to factor in things like wort loss due to shrinkage as the wort cools down in the kettle or losses in hoses and chillers.  

ezBIAB Calculator©

ezRecipe Design is the easy way to awesome beer!

A Little Mashing Theory Goes A Long Way

As a self proclaimed single infusion mash fly sparger brewing on a traditional three tier brewing system, my goal was to always get my mash thickness as close to 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain. Mash thickness plays a key role in the brewing process when it comes to getting consistent results in your finished beer. With BIAB brewing all of the water volume is mixed with the grain and added to the kettle for mashing at the same time. This creates a much thinner mash than the 1:25 quarts of water per pound of grain used in a traditional mash.

BIAB Conversion And Efficiency

The mash thickness associated with BIAB brewing is much thinner than that used in a three tier system. Due to the higher ratio of water to grain the concentration of converted sugars will be lower, which in turn produces a more fermentable wort. The same higher ratio of water to grain lowers the concentration of enzymes in the wort slowing the breakdown of proteins.

Extended mash times help compensate for the slower conversion rate of a thinner mash and using a mash efficiency of 70% is a good starting point. As with any new brewing system a couple of brewdays are required in order to get your process and efficiencies dialed in more accurately.


Traditional Conversion And Efficiency

The thicker 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain mash thickness, used in traditional brewing, produces a wort that has a higher concentration of enzymes. The higher concentration of enzymes breakdown proteins more efficiently converting starch into sugars faster. Since the ratio of water to grain is lower the concentration of converted sugars will be higher producing a less fermentable wort and a maltier sweeter beer.


Maximum Kettle Volume: The maximum amount of grain and water that the kettle can safely hold before a spill over is likely to occur. Sometimes referred to as the actual working volume of the kettle. Depending on the size of the kettle this can be many gallons less than the kettle's actual gallon rating. In the example below the 62 quart kettle used in my BIAB RIMS setup has a lip located one inch down from the top of the kettle. The top of the grain basket rests on that lip to keep the basket from touching the heating element located at the bottom of the kettle.

A 15.5 Gallon Kettle Safely Holds Just 13 Gallons

In addition to that there is also a spray nozzle mounted in the kettle lid that sprays temperature controlled wort evenly over the grain bed. Keeping a two inch distance between the tip of the nozzle and the top of the wort  maximizes the spray coverage over the largest area of the grain bed. When setting up my ezBIAB calculations I enter 13 gallons for the maximum kettle volume instead of the 15.5 gallon kettle size.


Packaged Beer Volume: This is the total volume of beer that you planned to package into cans, bottles or kegs. When your beer comes out of the fermentor for packaging a layer of yeast, or fermentation trub, will be left behind in the fermentor.

Plan Ahead And Have Enough Fermented Beer To Package

If a fermentor was initially filled with 5 gallons of beer at the end of fermentation a little bit of beer may be lost during fermentation through the airlock or blow off tube too. To allow for beer lost during fermentation, and ensure you end up with enough beer to fulfill you packaging needs, enter the volume of beer expected to be lost during fermentation.


Kettle Trub Loss: This value has more importance for brewers who believe that only wort should ever go into their fermentors. If that is the case then a certain amount of wort and kettle trub will always be left behind in the kettle after filling the fermentor. In my kettle that can amount to as much as three quarts for some recipes that include plenty of hop additions.

Kettle Trub Loss Will Vary With Kettle Size And Brewing Process

For some brewers transferring the kettle trub along with the wort into the fermentor isn't a big deal. I can't imagine kettle trub being magically transformed into drinkable beer during fermentation, and that's where fermentor trub loss will come into play. If you plan to add all of the kettle trub into your fermentor then enter zero as the kettle trub loss, but be sure to include that amount and more in your fermentor trub loss calculation.

If you choose to keep the kettle trub out of your fermentor then add that amount of wort lost to your kettle trub loss calculation. Eliminating kettle trub from going into your fermentor will then allow you to enter a smaller amount of trub loss in the fermentor trub loss calculation. As an example the post boil volume will need to be larger to compensate for the wort and trub left behind in the kettle.


Weight of Grains: This is the total amount grain used in the recipe, here you simply enter the weight of the grains in pounds. The grain weight is used in calculations that determine the grist to water ratio when they are mixed together in the mash tun, also referred to as the thickness of the mash, or the mash thickness. When grain is mixed with water a percentage of that water will be absorbed by the grain, the amount of water absorbed by the grain is referred to as grain absorption.

Weight Of Grains Used In A Recipe

An acceptable method of calculating the percentage of recipe water lost to grain absorption can be expressed simply as the weight of grain times 0.125 equals water lost in gallons. There are some variables outside of this formula that can change the actual amount of water loss although not by much. Squeezing the grains, and the method of squeezing the grains, will extract more wort from the grain and lower the amount of water needed to compensate for the amount of water absorbed by the grain.


Weight of Hops: The total weight of hops used in the recipe, here you simply enter the weight of the hops in ounces. The hop weight, is used in calculations that estimate the amount of water needed, to compensate for wort that will be absorbed by the hops as they sit in the kettle. There are other variables that affect the amount of water lost to hop absorption too. The amount of hops used in the recipe and the type of hops whether flower, whole leaf or pellet will all influence the actual amount of extra water that will be needed.

Weight Of Hops Used In A Recipe

An acceptable method of calculating the percentage of recipe water lost to hop absorption can be expressed simply as the weight of hops times .0.0365 equals water lost in gallons. Here again variables in how the brewer chooses to remove the hops from their wort will affect the amount of water absorption. If hops are added directly to the kettle they eventually end up settling on the bottom of the kettle as trub. If hops are bagged before they're added to the kettle some brewers may opt to squeeze the hops and collect the extra wort in the kettle.


Fermentor Trub Loss: At the end of a successful fermentation yeast cells having run out of maltose to eat, eventually fall out of suspension and settle on the bottom of the fermentation vessel. This layer of debris is referred to as fermentor trub and its made up mostly of heavy fats, proteins and inactive yeast.

Trub Loss Produced During Fermentation

As an example, on bottling day you have 0.5 gallon of trub at the bottom of your fermentor and you want to package 5 gallons of beer. Enter 0.5 as the fermentor trub loss, to compensate for the 0.5 gallon of volume the trub will take up. You would then need to transfer 5.5 gallons of wort from the kettle to the fermentor to have enough fermented beer needed to package 5 gallons.


Length Of Boil: This is the length of time the wort will be boiled, here you simply enter the length of the wort boil in minutes. The length of the wort boil will vary between recipes, as a way to adjust bittering, or the isomerization of alpha acids of hop additions. The boil also creates the maillard reaction in the wort that darkens and adds flavors of toast and caramel that couldn't be added in any other way. Brewers may also vary the intensity of the boil, how vigorous the boil is, by controlling the amount of heat applied to the kettle.

The boil also halts enzyme activity in the wort to prevent any further conversion of dextrin into fermentable sugars. The heat and turbulence of the boil sanitizes the wort and promotes the formation of hot break which is made up of proteins and tannins, the foam and brown scum that collects on top of the wort. Many brewers add a fining agent to the boiling wort to help the break material coagulate and fall to the bottom of the kettle, or use whirl pooling as a way to clear their wort of  break material.

Evaporation Rate Of Wort During The Boil Depends On Several Things

Boil Off Rate: This is the volume of the wort that will be lost to evaporation as the wort is boiled. Simply enter the estimated amount of wort boiled off in gallons per hour. The wort volume in the kettle will be reduced at a rate depending on the shape and size of the kettle, the length of the boil and how vigorous the boil is. Referred to as the boil off rate this value may take you a few batches, in order to get the closest average boil off rate for your brewing system.

November 2014 qBrew Update - Classic Homebrewer's Recipe Calculator

The qBrew application was originally written by David Johnson and was last updated on May 25th, 2008. The qBrew application is also available as an open source download from his original qBrew Site in case anyone is interested in expanding on the calculator's original functionality. Although the original .qbrewdata ingredient database file is installed with the application it only contains ingredients that were available to home brewers in 2008, since then many new ingredients have been made available including hop varieties, yeast types and fermentables.

qBrew Classic Homebrewer's Recipe Calculator

You can increase the usefulness of qBrew by clicking on the link below to get my November 2014 updated ingredient database for Windows, Linux and MAC right now. This updated ingredient database contains several brewing calculations, lots of new ingredients, hop varieties and yeast strains all combined in an easy to install database download. The classic qBrew application has been around for six years, has a very large user base and is accurate, reliable and easy to learn. Get started using the most up to date qBrew ingredient database with 10 favorite recipes today by clicking the link below. 


The Screwy Brewer: qBrew - Homebrewer's Recipe Calculator

Bottle Priming Calculator

[Originally posted on August 2010] After searching around the Internet I was able to locate a few formulas for calculating the amounts of priming sugar needed to produce the right amount of carbonation for every beer style. The calculator is located on the Brewing Tools and Formulas page of the Screwy Brewer website. 

 Bottle Priming Calculator

 It's completely free and available for all to use and enjoy and also has a beer style carbonation guide to help you get started.

 Beer Carbonation Guide By Style

How To Use It.

 Fermenting beer produces Co2 bubbles during the fermentation process and the Co2 inside those bubbles is then absorbed into the surrounding beer as the bubbles rise to the top of the fermenter. This absorbed Co2 is known as residual Co2 or the amount of Co2 already present in the fermenting beer. The temperature of the fermenting beer determines how much Co2 can be absorbed into the beer as colder beer can absorb more Co2 than warmer beer.

I enter in the temperature of the beer itself at the time of bottling, regardless of what temperature the beer was fermented at or will be carbonated at. I do this intuitively by taking a few things into consideration one that up until bottling, the beer in the fermenter is not under pressure and is able to vent any excess Co2 into the atmosphere as the temperature goes up and that colder beer can absorb more Co2 than warmer beer.

Once the beer is bottled and tightly capped the Co2 inside the bottle at colder temperatures gets absorbed into the beer since colder beer is capable of holding more Co2. At warmer temperatures the Co2 escapes the beer and goes into the headspace inside the bottle, the area between the surface of the beer and the bottle top, as warmer beer holds less Co2 than colder beer.


I've been using the calculator this way for months now and it has given me what I consider to be the correct amounts of carbonation for all my recipes, from pale ale and stouts to wheat beers and lagers.

Example 1 (Ales):

This is an example for priming an Ale that was fermented at a constant 65F temperature until the fermentation was completed. The fermenter was then moved to a warmer 70F location for bottling the beer into 1 liter plastic PET bottles. The beer temperature rose during this time to 70F so we acknowledge that the warmer beer now contains slightly less Co2 than it did when it was at 65F.

1 liter of 70F beer at bottling contains .83 volumes of residual Co2 right out of the fermenter. If your target volume is 2.5 Co2 volumes you'll need to add 1.53 teaspoons of cane sugar to hit 2.5 Co2 volumes after the bottle has been capped and carbonation has completed.

Example 2 (Lagers):

This is an example for priming a Lager that was fermented at a constant 54F temperature until the primary fermentation was completed. The beer was then racked to a secondary fermenter and moved to a colder 34F location for lagering before bottling the beer into 1 liter plastic PET bottles. The beer temperature at bottling rose to 40F so we acknowledge that the warmer beer now contains slightly less Co2 than it did when it was at 34F.

1 liter of 40F beer at bottling contains 1.46 volumes of residual Co2 right out of the fermenter. If your target volume is 2.5 Co2 volumes you'll only need to add .955 teaspoons of cane sugar to hit 2.5 Co2 volumes after the bottle has been capped and carbonation has completed.

Serving Temperature:

In the previous example we calculated the amount of priming sugar to add to an Ale based on the difference between the residual Co2 volumes it contained at 70F and a target of 2.5 Co2 volumes. We let the bottles carbonate at 70F for a few weeks until the plastic bottles are really firm when squeezed. Now the bottles can go into the fridge to chill them down to a 40F serving temperature. When the bottle cap is removed we can hear the familiar sound of the initial rush of Co2 leaving the bottle and as the beer warms even more Co2 will escape the beer.

Screwy Brewer

qBrew - Homebrewers Recipe Calculator

 qBrew is the beer recipe calculator of choice for homebrewers looking for a free software program that's intuitive and easy to use. qBrew comes installed with it's own beer style, grain and ingredients database and is ready to use right away with minimal setup. qBrew will automatically calculate the gravity, color and bitterness of your recipe as you add in grains, extracts, adjuncts and hops, it works for both ales and lagers as well.

 ** Special considerations: The qBrew application was written by David Johnson, last updated May 25th, 2008 and was originally available as an open source download from his now defunct qBrew Site at www.usermode.org/code.html. While the original .qbrewdata database file did not contain ingredients for Mr. Beer products users of qBrew have added them and other hop varieties, yeast types and fermentables.

 Many brewers, myself included, have devoted their time to researching and adding updates to the original qBrew database so that we can share it with other brewers. Thank you to the countless other brewers out there who have shared their understanding of the inner workings of the qBrew formulas and how they are used to calculate your recipe's characteristics.

 qBrew lets you to override any of the numbers associated with a given recipe ingredient, in case your current supplier has a different alpha acid percentage for the hops your using or for differences in grain or brewing efficiency. The default recipe numbers are loaded into qBrew from the database and can be changed in your recipe to match your actual numbers without changing the database default numbers.

 The upper section of qBrew is where you enter the recipe title and brewer name and select the style of your recipe. The characteristics of the style are then displayed showing the minimum and maximum numbers for the Original gravity, Bitterness and Color. As you enter your ingredients into the lower section of qBrew the characteristics of your recipe are calculated and displayed in bold letting you know how the ingredients can influence your expected results.

qBrew's Grain/Extract/Adjunct Entry Screen

Download the qBrew recipe calculator program installation

      Click here to download qBrew 4.1 for Windows

      Click here to download qBrew 4.1 for Mac OSX


Download the latest qBrew database (Includes Mr. Beer/Coopers and BrewDemon refills)

Updated on September 4, 2025   ** Includes 10 Favorite Recipes Inside**

 The November 2014 qBrew database has been greatly expanded to include new beer styles, an expanded selection of yeast strains and a more detailed reference of grains, including malt flavor characteristics to help you craft your next recipes. Keep your qBrew recipe calculations, ingredient lists and much more up to date with this easy to install database update.

** Includes the new BrewMax (LME/DME) SoftPacks and Deluxe Refills like Classic American Light Deluxe, Porter Deluxe and many many more existing new recipes!

** Includes the new BrewDemon Basic, Plus and Signature HME refills like
American Prophecy Ale, Hellfire Deep Red Ale and Shedu Oatmeal Stout!

 ** For the new Mr. Beer/Coopers extracts enter them as 1.87 pounds for Grains and 1.00 ounce at five minutes for Hops, see sample recipe included in this update

Ingredient Database Installation For Windows 10 or 11 Users:


      Click here to download Screwy's latest qBrew database (.qbrewdata) 

Ingredient Database Installation For Windows 10 or 11 Users:

Locate the .qbrewdata file in the C:\Program Files\qBrew\ folder and rename it to .qbrewdata-orig.  Unzip the .qbrewdata file from the screwy-qbrewdata.zip file you downloaded and copy it to the  C:\Program Files\qBrew\ folder, qBrew will load this latest database file when it runs.

If qBrew was installed to another folder location Like D:\qBrew\ then rename the .qbrewdata file to .qbrewdata-orig.  Unzip the .qbrewdata file from the screwy-qbrewdata.zip file you downloaded and copy it to the  D:\qBrew\ folder and qBrew will load this latest database file when it runs.

Ingredient Database Installation For MAC Users:

      Click here to download Screwy's latest qBrew database (qbrewdata-MAC) 

 Extract the compressed qbrewdata.MAC file from the screwy-qbrewdata-MAC.zip file you downloaded and rename it to qbrewdata (remove the .MAC extension).

 Open a new Finder window, go to your Applications folder and Ctrl+click the qBrew application. Select 'Show Package Contents' then navigate to Contents->Resources and rename the qbrewdata file in this folder to qbrewdata.orig.

From the original Finder window, drag the new qbrewdata file into the Resources folder in the new window. Restart and qBrew will load this latest database file when it runs.

You can also copy and paste the file into the new directory using Command-C and Command-V respectively instead of having to jump between windows.

 
Setup qBrew Defaults:
  Run qBrew and select Configure from the Options menu then the Recipe tab.

Select Pellet for Hop type and enter 2.13 gallons for the Mr. Beer keg size

  Verify that the default settings are setup on the Calculations tab. 

.75 Mash Efficiency Default Calculations Setting

Example Mr. Beer based recipe:

Mr. Beer Extracts Weigh 1.21 Pounds

 Grains: Enter fermentable grains, extracts, sugars and fruit.

 For creating recipes you first enter a new line on the grains tab by right clicking in the lower section and selecting 'Add Ingredient'. Left click on the default grain inserted into the lower grid and select the type of extract you are using in your recipe. You then enter the weight of the extract by left clicking in the 'Weight' column and adjusting the default value to match your recipe, for instance Muntons extract cans weigh 3.3 pounds while Mr. Beer extract cans weigh 1.21 pounds. Both unhopped malt extracts (UME) and hopped malt extracts (HME) are available for entry on the grains tab.

For Hopped Malt Extracts (HME) Use A 5 Minute Boil Time

Hops: Enter the variety of hop, weight, alpha acid, boil time and type.

  Insert a new line and change the default hop variety to add to your recipe by selecting it from the drop down list and adjusting the weight, alpha acid, boil time and type to match your recipe. The hops tab saves your hop variety and their current percentage of alpha acids as well as the boil times used for this recipe. Screwy's .qbrewdata database file contains the full list of Mr. Beer HME values.

Example: If you were going to add more bitterness to this extract recipe you might add a new line for 1/2 ounce of Cascade hops boiled for 30 minutes. For flavor add another new line for 1/4 ounce of Cascade hops boiled for 12 minutes and a new line for 1/4 ounce of Cascade hops boiled for 5 minutes for aroma.

Special Note When Entering Hop Additions: If you want to add up all the IBUs for your hop additions enter all your hops before adding in your grains. As you add in your grain additions qBrew's built in formula will begin subtracting the malt's sweetness from the hop's bitterness in order to indicate the balance of the recipe. The formula qBrew uses to calculate this balance is the same one used by my Bitterness Balance Calculator to display the recipe's overall balance between hopped bitterness and malt sweetness in a hopped beer style.

The formula takes into consideration the beer's original gravity, actual attenuation and bittering level but does not take into account phenol, ester or other complexities. The beer drinker should use the desired IBUs as a reference point and decide for themselves what they consider to be balanced.

Select The Type Of Yeast And Quantity

Miscellaneous: Enter the type of yeast used for fermentation

  Insert a new line and change the default yeast value to add to your recipe by selecting it from the drop down list and adjusting the weight if necessary.

Enter Recipe And Batch Notes For Future Reference

Notes: Type in any recipe and batch related notes for the recipe, this will come in handy in the future when you try to reproduce the great beer you just drank. All brewers should take notes and keep records of the beer recipes they brew, including the brewing process that was used. If you're like me you will want to tune and tweak your favorite recipes and brewing processes trying to improve on them each time you brew.

Calculated Characteristics For Your Recipe

Characteristics: We setup qBrew to use a realistic mash efficiency of .75 as this is an  acceptable average efficiency for most home brewers. Any differences in the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV) calculations performed by qBrew and those stated by any extract supplier are related to differences in efficiencies used when determining the extract's rated ABV.

  Good brewers rely on consistency when calculating their recipes and during their brewing process. qBrew lets you to create recipes based on beer's key ingredients and then calculates the expected characteristics of the beer using formulas widely accepted by homebrewers. As you brew your recipes some fermentable volumes or boil times may need to be tweaked as needed to match your brewing process.


Hop Calculation Tip: When entering all your hop additions on the 'Hops' tab before entering any ingredients on the 'Grains' tab qBrew will calculate the IBU for those hops. Record this number in the 'Notes' tab for later reference as this number will change when ingredients are entered in the 'Grains' tab.

Hops, Grains And Water

Click for more...Hops In Your Beer

Screwy's Bitterness Balance Calculator

 The BJCP Style Guidelines state the desired number of International Bittering Units (IBU) that are needed to obtain a balance between hopped bitterness and malt sweetness in a hopped beer style. Beers that don't taste sweet or bitter are considered to be balanced, although individual beer drinkers may perceive this differently.

 The formula takes into consideration the beer's original gravity, actual attenuation and bittering level but does not take into account phenol, ester or other complexities. The beer drinker should use the desired IBUs as a reference point and decide for themselves what they consider to be balanced.

 Screwy's Bitterness Balance Calculator

 Click here to access Screwy's Bitterness Calculator 

  On the BJCP balance scale a traditional Bock style beer is considered to be sweet as opposed to a Stout style beer which is considered to be bitter. The addition of bittering hops are used to bring a sweeter malty beer back in balance while the addition of fermentable sugars such as malts are used to bring a bitter beer back into balance.

Screwy Brewings

 We've updated our page header to include images from some of our favorite posts and added a new pitching rate calculator to our powerful brewer's tool 'Screwy Calc'. 

New Screwy Brewer Header Design

 Now it's easier than ever to calculate exactly how much yeast will be needed when pitching your recipes.  Based on formulas published by award winning brewer and home brewing author Jamil Zainasheff, Screwy Calc automatically determines the amount of yeast needed to ferment both ales and lagers.

New Pitching Rate Calculator

IBU Bitterness Calculator

 IBU stands for International Bitterness Unit where one IBU equals one milligram of isomerized alpha acid in one liter of finished beer. The higher the IBU number, the more bitterness in a given style of beer. Keep in mind however that this can be slightly deceiving because a malty beer rated at 50 IBU's will taste less bitter than a 'balanced' beer rated at 50 IBU's. 

 A beer with a heavy malt character like Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout, will balance out the bitterness so it will seem less bitter than a more balanced beer like Classic American Blonde Ale,even though they both have about the same bitterness levels.

  Another factor to be considered is that recipes resulting in a higher OG or Original Gravity will require a higher IBU measurement to maintain 'balance', not too sweet and not too bitter.

  Hops play 3 important roles in the making of your beer. They are used for adding 'aroma', 'flavor' and 'bitterness'  to your beer recipes depending on when and for how long they are added during the boil. A good rule of thumb can be summed up as 'the more hops that go in early in the boil, the more bitter your beer will be. The more hops that go in towards the end of the boil the hoppier your beer will seem in aroma and flavor though not necessarily in bitterness'

Aroma: For peak aroma add your hops to the boiling water no more than 7 minutes prior to  turning off the heat source. 

Flavor: For peak flavor add your hops to the boiling water no more than 20 minutes prior to turning off the heat source.

Bitterness: For peak bitterness add your hops to the boiling water no more than 60 minutes prior to turning off the heat source

 Mr. Beer Hopped Malt Extracts (HME) contain hop additions that can be calculated to determine their IBU number, using a boil time of 5 minutes, an original gravity of 1.036 per can. Each of the 16 different HMEs have their own alpha acid percentages which are used to determine each extract's bitterness values.

The IBU Bitterness Calculator can be accessed by Clicking Here.

 Once you have entered the information for your Mr. Beer extracts using the guide above, you can continue adding hop additions to the be calculated.

Example: Amarillo Hops have an alpha acid of 8.6% and are used primarily for aroma and/or flavoring. To add some Amarillo for flavoring input 8.6 alpha acid, 1.0 ounce and 18 minutes boil time to the second row of the calculator. Click calculate to process the total IBU number of the combined Amarillo hops and the HME hops.

Screwy Calc - Alcohol, Calories and Carbs

Screwy Calc is a free version of my beer calculator use it to calculate the original/final degrees Plato, apparent/real attenuation, percent of alcohol weight/volume, calories/carbs per volume and much more.

Enter the original/final gravity and temperature and click Calculate.

Screwy Calc