Calculator
SRM ↔ EBC converter
What is this beer colour in the other scale?
SRM and EBC are two scales for the same measurement, both derived from how much light a sample of beer absorbs. SRM is used in America, EBC in Europe, and style guidelines quote whichever their author grew up with, so converting is a routine chore rather than an interesting one.
The relationship is a simple linear one, which is unusual among brewing conversions. What is worth knowing is that both scales measure absorption rather than appearance: they say nothing about clarity or about the difference between a hazy and a bright beer of identical colour, and above about 30 SRM everything reads as black to the eye regardless of the number.
Result
- SRM ↔ EBC converter39 EBC
deep copper — 20 SRM, 39 EBC. The swatch approximates how a beer of that colour transmits light at drinking depth.
Working
EBC = SRM × 1.97
| Step | Expression | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion | 20 × 1.97 | 39.4 EBC |
What it means
The two scales describe the same measurement. EBC values are roughly twice the SRM figure, which is the quickest way to sanity-check a conversion.
Worked example
The example above starts from these values. It is rendered on the server, so the formula, assumptions and limitations are all present whether or not you change anything.
- Result39 EBC
deep copper — 20 SRM, 39 EBC. The swatch approximates how a beer of that colour transmits light at drinking depth.
Inputs
| Colour | 20 SRM |
|---|
How it is calculated
EBC = SRM × 1.97
What each term means
| SRM | Standard Reference Method, used in the United States |
|---|---|
| EBC | European Brewery Convention scale |
| 1.97 | Conversion factor arising from the differing path length and multiplier in the two definitions |
Step by step
| Step | Expression | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion | 20 × 1.97 | 39.4 EBC |
What this assumes
- Both scales measure absorbance at 430 nm, which is what makes the relation linear.
Where it stops being reliable
- Some sources round the factor to 2.0 as a mental shortcut, which introduces about 1.5% error.
- Both scales measure light absorbance and correlate only loosely with perceived colour, particularly at the dark end where almost everything reads as black.
What the number means
The two scales describe the same measurement. EBC values are roughly twice the SRM figure, which is the quickest way to sanity-check a conversion.
Definition. The figure is fixed by a published definition rather than measured, so the calculation is arithmetic applied to a stated convention.
Sources: ASBC Methods of Analysis; Analytica-EBC.