Brewhouses
Details on configuring and managing brewhouse equipment in Brewgenix.
Brewhouses are the core equipment profiles in Brewgenix. Each brewhouse stores all the physical and process parameters of your brew system - volumes, efficiencies, water calculations, and loss values - so that every recipe scaled to that system produces accurate predictions for pre-boil gravity, hop utilisation, water volumes, and final yield.
Quick Start
- Navigate to Settings → Brewhouses in your brewery account.
- Click + Add System to open the create form.
- Fill in at minimum the Name and Batch Size, then set your Brewhouse Efficiency.
- Expand additional sections to configure losses, water ratios, and advanced parameters.
- Click Save - the brewhouse is now available for use in recipes.
Managing Brewhouses
The brewhouses list supports:
- Search - filter by name in real time using the search input.
- Filter by manufacturer - narrow the list to equipment from a specific brand.
- Detail view - click any brewhouse to open a side panel showing all specifications, efficiency metrics, loss summaries, and system origin information.
- Edit - update any field from the detail view.
- Delete - remove a brewhouse you no longer use (recipes that referenced it will retain their snapshot values).
Global vs. Custom Systems
- Global systems are pre-configured equipment profiles maintained in the Brewgenix library. You can copy a global system into your brewery as a starting point, then customise it.
- Custom systems are created directly in your brewery account and are only visible to members of that account.
Field Reference
Basic Information
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | Identifier for the system shown throughout the UI and in recipes. |
| Manufacturer | No | Brand or maker of the equipment. Used for filtering. |
| Description | No | Free-text notes about the system. |
| Boil Time (min) | No | Default boil duration in minutes. Used in volume calculations. |
Volumes
Controls how batch size is defined and how boil volumes are calculated.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Batch Size (L) | Target volume. Meaning depends on Batch Volume Target below. |
| Batch Volume Target | Fermenter (default) - batch size is the post-boil volume into the fermenter. Pre-Boil - batch size is the hot volume in the kettle before the boil. |
| Post-Boil Kettle Volume (L) | Auto-calculated when Calculate Boil Volume is enabled. Shows the estimated hot volume needed at flame-out. |
| Bottling Volume (L) | Auto-calculated. Estimated packaged volume after fermenter losses. |
| Calculate Boil Volume | Checkbox. When enabled, post-boil and pre-boil volumes are derived automatically from batch size, boil-off rate, and losses rather than entered manually. |
| Boil-Off Rate (L/hr) | Volume evaporated per hour during the boil. |
| Trub/Chiller Loss (L) | Volume left behind in the kettle as trub and dead space after chilling. |
| Fermenter Loss (L) | Volume lost during transfers out of the fermenter (yeast cake, dry hops, etc.). |
| Cooling Shrinkage / Boil Expansion (%) | Percentage volume change between hot wort and room-temperature wort (typically 4%). |
Efficiency
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Brewhouse Efficiency (%) | Overall grain-to-fermenter efficiency, accounting for all soluble extract that makes it into the fermentation vessel. |
| Mash Efficiency (%) | Efficiency of converting grain starches to fermentable sugars during the mash. |
| Auto-Calculate Mash Efficiency | When checked, mash efficiency is derived from brewhouse efficiency and trub/chiller loss rather than entered independently. Uncheck to enter mash efficiency directly and derive brewhouse efficiency from it instead. |
Typical values - Home brew systems commonly achieve 65–75% brewhouse efficiency. Mash efficiency is usually a few percent higher than brewhouse efficiency once trub losses are accounted for.
Advanced
Controls hop utilisation and whirlpool/hopstand behaviour.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Hop Utilisation Multiplier | A scaling factor (0.5–2.0) applied to all IBU calculations. Use values below 1.0 for systems that tend to under-utilise hops and above 1.0 for aggressive systems. Default is 1.0. |
| Aroma Hop Utilisation (%) | The percentage of bittering potential extracted from aroma/dry hops added at flameout or during whirlpool. |
| Calculate Aroma Hop Utilisation | When enabled, aroma hop utilisation is calculated automatically. |
| Hopstand Temperature (°C) | Temperature at which hopstand additions are assumed to be added. Affects IBU contribution of whirlpool hops (60–100 °C). |
| Whirlpool / No-Chill Time (min) | Duration of the whirlpool or no-chill period. Used when calculating hop utilisation for late additions. |
Altitude / Boil Temperature
These settings let Brewgenix adjust calculations for breweries located at altitude, where water boils below 100 °C.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Altitude Adjustment | Enable to enter your altitude and have boil temperature calculated automatically. |
| Altitude (m) | Your brewery's elevation above sea level (up to 5000 m). Visible only when altitude adjustment is enabled. |
| Boil Temperature (°C) | Actual boiling point used for mash and strike calculations (90–105 °C). |
| Cooling Shrinkage / Boil Expansion (%) | Also appears in the Volumes section. Percentage of volume difference between hot and cold wort. |
Mash/Sparge Water
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Grain Absorption Rate (L/kg) | How much water each kilogram of grain retains after lautering. Typical range is 0.5–1.2 L/kg for most systems. |
| Water/Grain Ratio (L/kg) | Ratio of mash water to grain bill. Affects mash thickness and enzyme activity. Common range is 2.5–3.5 L/kg. |
| Mash/Sparge Water Calculation Method | How water volumes are distributed. Options: Full Volume (no-sparge single infusion), Fly Sparge (continuous sparge), Batch Sparge (one or more sparge additions). |
Mash Volume Limits
Sets the usable capacity of your mash tun to flag when a recipe exceeds your equipment.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Mash Volume Min (L) | Minimum practical mash volume. |
| Mash Volume Max (L) | Maximum mash tun capacity. Recipes that exceed this will trigger a warning. |
| Include Grain Volume in Mash Limits | When enabled, the physical volume displaced by grain is added to the mash water volume when checking against min/max limits. |
Sparge Water Limits
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Sparge Water Min (L) | Minimum sparge water volume. |
| Sparge Water Max (L) | Maximum sparge water volume your system can deliver. |
| Overflow Target | When calculated sparge water exceeds limits, the overflow is redirected to either Mash or Sparge. |
HLT Water Limit
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| HLT Water Min (L) | Minimum water volume the Hot Liquor Tun must hold to cover heating elements and ensure safe operation. |
Strike Water Temperature
When enabled, Brewgenix calculates the required strike water temperature so the mash reaches the target temperature immediately on doughing in.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Calculate Strike Water Temperature | Enable to activate automatic strike temperature calculation. |
| Mash Tun Heat Capacity (J/°C) | Thermal mass of your mash tun vessel. Higher values mean more heat is required to warm the tun itself. Typically 0–10 000 J/°C for small systems. |
| Room Temperature (°C) | Ambient temperature of your mash tun before mashing. Used when the tun is not pre-heated. |
Sparge Temperature
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Sparge Temperature (°C) | Target temperature of sparge water. Typically 75–78 °C to achieve mash-out and maximise lautering efficiency. |
How Brewhouses Affect Recipes
When you assign a brewhouse to a recipe, Brewgenix uses its parameters to:
- Calculate pre-boil volume from the target batch size, boil-off rate, and losses.
- Scale grain bills to hit target gravities at the specified brewhouse efficiency.
- Calculate IBUs using the hop utilisation multiplier, aroma utilisation, hopstand temperature, and whirlpool time.
- Predict water volumes for mash and sparge based on grain absorption rate, water/grain ratio, and the selected calculation method.
- Flag equipment limits when mash volume or sparge water volumes exceed your tun capacities.
- Calculate strike water temperature when that option is enabled.
Changing a brewhouse's settings after recipes have been saved does not retroactively modify those recipes - each recipe stores a snapshot of the brewhouse parameters at the time it was last saved.
Tips & Best Practices
- Start with brewhouse efficiency around 70% if you are unsure - you can refine it after a few brews once you have accurate measurements.
- Measure actual boil-off rate on your system rather than guessing. Evaporation rates vary significantly between kettles, burner types, and weather.
- Use Auto-Calculate Mash Efficiency unless you have independent measurements from a refractometer taken directly from the lauter tun run-off.
- Set mash volume limits accurately so Brewgenix can warn you before you attempt a grain bill that won't physically fit in your tun.
- If you brew at altitude (above ~500 m), enable altitude adjustment for more accurate mash and strike temperature recommendations.