Calculate your all-grain brewing mash efficiency by comparing your actual pre-boil gravity against the theoretical maximum extraction from your grain bill.

How It Works

Mash efficiency measures how much of the available sugar in your grains was actually extracted into the wort during mashing. It is the single most important number for hitting your target gravity.

The calculation:

Actual gravity points = (pre-boil SG − 1) × 1000 × pre-boil volume (gallons)
Maximum gravity points = grain weight (lbs) × PPG potential
Efficiency = (actual / maximum) × 100%

PPG (Points Per Pound Per Gallon) is the theoretical maximum extract for a grain. Most base malts are 36–38 PPG. Specialty malts vary (crystal ~34, roasted ~25).

Efficiency scale:

>80%: Excellent — typical of BIAB or very well-tuned systems
70–80%: Good — standard for most 3-vessel all-grain setups
60–70%: Average — common for beginners or no-sparge methods
<60%: Low — check crush quality, mash temperature, and sparge technique

Mash Efficiency Calculator

Results

How It Works