🎨 Beer Color Calculator (SRM & EBC)
Add your malts and batch volume to estimate the beer's colour in SRM and EBC, with a visual swatch.
Colour (SRM)
13.9
EBC
27.5
Beer colour uses the Morey equation: first the malt colour units MCU = Σ(malt °Lovibond × lb) ÷ volume in gallons, then SRM = 1.4922 × MCU^0.6859. EBC is the European scale (SRM × 1.97). The swatch is an approximation, actual colour also depends on boil, pH and oxidation. Add a row per malt in your grain bill. 🔒 In your browser.
How the beer color calculator (srm & ebc) works
Beer colour is estimated from the malts and how concentrated they are in the batch. For each grain you find its malt colour units, MCU = malt colour in °Lovibond × weight in pounds ÷ volume in gallons, and add them up. The total goes through the Morey equation, SRM = 1.4922 × MCU^0.6859, which flattens out at dark colours the way real beer does. EBC, the European scale, is simply SRM × 1.97. Add a row for each malt in your recipe.
This is an estimate: actual colour also shifts with boil length and intensity (Maillard browning), mash pH, water chemistry and oxidation, so the finished beer can differ from the number. The swatch is a visual approximation of the SRM value, not a precise colour match. Use °Lovibond (°L) for malt colour. It's close to SRM for the malts themselves.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate beer colour (SRM)?
Add each malt's colour units, MCU = °Lovibond × pounds ÷ gallons, then apply the Morey equation: SRM = 1.4922 × MCU^0.6859. For a 5-gallon batch with 9 lb of 10°L malt (MCU 18), that's about 10.6 SRM, a gold colour.
What is the difference between SRM and EBC?
They're two scales for the same thing, beer colour. SRM is used in the US, EBC in Europe, and they convert with EBC = SRM × 1.97. A pale lager is around 3-4 SRM; a stout is 40+.
What is the Morey equation?
A widely-used formula relating malt colour units to perceived beer colour: SRM = 1.4922 × MCU^0.6859. The exponent under 1 reflects that adding dark malt has diminishing returns on colour once beer is already dark, matching how real beer looks.
Why is my actual beer darker than the estimate?
Colour also comes from the boil (longer/harder boils darken wort through Maillard reactions), mash pH, water chemistry and oxidation over time. The grain-bill estimate is a good baseline, but expect the finished beer to run a little darker.
What is °Lovibond?
The traditional scale for the colour of a malt (or beer), close to SRM in value for the malts themselves. Malt suppliers list each grain's °L; enter those figures here. It's effectively interchangeable with SRM for individual malts in this calculation.