Beer Colour Calculator (SRM/EBC)

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Common Grain Lovibond Values

Here are the typical colour ratings for popular brewing grains. Use these when adding grains above:

SRM Colour Guide

• 1–4 SRM — Pale straw to gold. Pilsners, light lagers, witbiers.
• 5–8 SRM — Gold to amber. Pale ales, blondes, Kölsch.
• 9–14 SRM — Amber to copper. Bitters, amber ales, Märzens.
• 15–20 SRM — Deep copper to brown. Brown ales, bock, mild.
• 21–30 SRM — Brown to dark brown. Porters, dark milds, dunkel.
• 30+ SRM — Very dark to black. Stouts, schwarzbier, imperial stouts.

SRM vs EBC

SRM (Standard Reference Method) is used in the US and Canada. EBC (European Brewery Convention) is used in the UK and Europe. The conversion is simple: EBC = SRM × 1.97. Most UK homebrew shops list grain colour in EBC, while American recipes use Lovibond (which is roughly equal to SRM for our purposes).