Grain bill by efficiency
Grain bill for OG 1.080 at 80% efficiency
To hit 1.080 in 5 gallons at 80% efficiency, you need about 13.51 lb of base malt at 37 points per pound per gallon.
Efficiency is the whole story here: the same target needs materially more grain at 65% than at 80%, which is why copying someone else's recipe without knowing your own efficiency misses the gravity.
5 gallons to 1.080, by efficiency
| Efficiency | Base malt needed | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 60% | 18.02 lb | Standard |
| 65% | 16.63 lb | Standard |
| 70% | 15.44 lb | Standard |
| 72% | 15.02 lb | Convention |
| 75% | 14.41 lb | Standard |
| 80% | 13.51 lb | Standard |
| 85% | 12.72 lb | Standard |
Rows marked Standard come from a published equation, constant or manufacturer specification. Rows marked Convention are widely repeated brewing practice with no governing document behind them. The difference matters, so this site labels it rather than blurring the two together.
Mills and measuring gear
Prices are those returned when this page was last built and change often.
Brewland 2 Roller Grain Mill with Hopper
Adjustable two roller malt mill, which lets you crush your own grain and control efficiency directly.
Ferroday 2 Roller Stainless Grain Mill
Two roller stainless malt mill at entry pricing.
Brewland Grain Mill Pro (3 roller, 13 lb hopper)
Three roller mill on a steel base with a thirteen pound hopper, for brewers milling large grain bills.
VEVOR Manual Grain Mill
Adjustable manual barley crusher for homebrew malt.
Brewer's Elite Hydrometer and Test Jar
Triple scale hydrometer with a plastic test jar. Stable gravity on this instrument is the only real proof fermentation has finished.
SOLIGT Triple Scale Hydrometer with Glass Test Jar
Hydrometer reading ABV, Brix and specific gravity, supplied with a glass jar.
Fermtech Glass Triple Scale Hydrometer Kit
Triple scale glass hydrometer for beer, wine, mead and cider.
Digital Pocket Scale 200 g x 0.01 g
Hundredth of a gram resolution, which is the precision hop additions and water salts actually need.
BOMATA 1 kg x 0.01 g Digital Scale
Wider range 0.01 g scale, which covers both salt additions and whole hop packets.
Bonvoisin Digital Lab Scale 600 g x 0.01 g
Laboratory balance with a draft shield style body, for brewers building water profiles by the tenth of a gram.
Related on BrewGearCalc
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- Best grain mills
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- Grain bill for OG 1.080 at 65% efficiency
- Grain bill for OG 1.050 at 72% efficiency
- Grain bill for OG 1.070 at 65% efficiency
Frequently asked questions
- How much grain for 1.080 in 5 gallons?
- At 80% efficiency, about 13.51 pounds of base malt. The arithmetic is standard: gravity points times volume, divided by the malt's potential yield and your efficiency. The malt potential of 37 points per pound per gallon is a typical published figure for pale base malt.
- What efficiency should I assume before I know mine?
- Somewhere around 72 to 75% is the usual starting assumption, and it is a convention rather than a specification. Use it for one batch, measure what you actually got, then use your own number. Efficiency depends on your crush, your mash and your sparge, so nobody else's figure predicts yours.
- Why did I miss my gravity even with the right grain bill?
- The most common cause is crush. Grain that passes through the mill too whole never fully converts, and efficiency drops. After that come mash temperature, sparge technique and simply measuring volume inaccurately. Recalculate from your actual measured gravity and volume rather than adjusting the recipe blind.
Researched from published brewing formulas, manufacturer specifications and verified owner reviews. This is general guidance, not professional advice.