Strike Water Temperature Calculator
Pour your strike water in too hot and you tannin-strip the mash; too cold and your beer finishes thin. Tell us your grain bill, water volume and temperatures, and we'll give you the strike water temperature to hit your target mash — using the standard infusion energy balance. Free, no sign-up.
Your strike water temperature
Strike water questions, answered
Why is the strike water hotter than my mash target?
Room-temperature grain is cold relative to the water, so the moment you mix them the grain pulls heat out and the temperature drops to settle somewhere between the two. The strike water has to start hotter than your target so that, once the cold grain has absorbed its share of the heat, the whole mash lands on the temperature you want.
What formula does this use?
The standard infusion energy balance: strike temperature = target + (0.41 × grain kg ÷ water L) × (target − grain temperature). The 0.41 is the specific heat of crushed grain relative to water — grain takes roughly 0.4 times as much heat per kilo as the same mass of water. It assumes a preheated or well-insulated tun; a cold metal tun will also steal heat (see below).
My mash always comes in low — what am I missing?
Almost always a cold mash tun. A room-temperature metal or thick plastic tun absorbs heat the formula doesn't account for, pulling you a degree or two under. Preheat the tun with a litre of hot water (then tip it out) before you mash in, or aim 1–2°C higher than the calculator and stir to check before adjusting with a splash of boiling or cold water.
Does the water-to-grain ratio matter?
Yes — a thinner mash (more water per kilo of grain) holds temperature more steadily and needs a smaller hot-side margin, while a thick mash swings more. This calculator already accounts for your exact ratio because it uses your real grain weight and water volume, so just enter what you actually plan to use.