Recipes

The Recipes area is where you design and refine your beer. It has two parts: the recipes list at /recipes, where you browse, search, and start recipes, and the recipe editor, a single-screen workshop of cards (fermentables, hops, yeast, mash, water, and more) that recompute your numbers as you type.

ReferenceRecipe editor · 12 sections·Updated Jun 2026

New to homebre.ws? Walk through Building your first recipe first. This page is the reference for what every control does.

Browsing recipes

The /recipes list page gives you an overview of all your recipes and quick access to start new ones.

Hero stat strip. At the top of the list, three tiles show aggregate numbers for your collection: Recipes (total count plus how many are drafts), Total brews (combined brew count across all recipes), and Last brewed (the most recently brewed recipe and its relative date).

Style filter. Below the stat strip, a row of chips lets you filter by beer style. Each chip shows the style name and the number of recipes in that style. Click a chip to narrow the list; click again or Clear to remove the filter.

Toolbar controls.

Search: type to filter by recipe name, style name, or style code.
Table / Cards toggle: switch between a sortable table view and a grid of recipe cards.
Import: upload one or more BeerXML (.xml) or BeerSmith (.bsmx) files to import recipes from other tools.
New recipe: create a blank recipe and open it in the editor.

Table columns. In table view, every column is sortable: Recipe (name), Versions (version count and active version label), OG, ABV, IBU, SRM, and Last brewed. Click a column header to sort; click again to reverse direction. Recipes that have never been brewed show Draft in the Last brewed column.

How to find a recipe

1Type in Search to filter by name or style.
2Use the style chips to narrow to a single style.
3Click any row to open the recipe editor.

The recipe editor

The recipe editor is a single-screen workshop that recalculates your stats as you edit any card.

Header controls.

Recipe name: editable inline; placeholder is Untitled recipe.
Style: a chip below the name; click to open the style picker and assign a BJCP or custom style.
Brewer: an inline text field next to the style chip; defaults to your profile name if left blank.
Autosave indicator: shows the current save state: Saving, Saved (with time elapsed), Unsaved changes, or Save failed (tap to retry). The editor saves automatically on every change; you do not need a save button.
Version dropdown: switch between saved versions of the recipe, create a new version, or lock a version. Version history and recipe compare are a separate topic and not covered in depth here.
ExportComing soon: not yet available.
Scale recipeComing soon: not yet available.
Brew: starts a new brew session from this recipe.

How to open a recipe

1Click any row in the recipes list.
2Changes save automatically.

Setup

The Setup card holds the batch-level parameters every other number is calculated against.

Field	What it does
Brew type	`All Grain`, `Extract`, or `Partial Mash`. Determines whether the mash step applies to your recipe.
Equipment	Pick an equipment profile (managed on the Equipment profiles page). It supplies volumes and losses used in the calculations.
Batch size	The volume of finished beer you intend to package. Stored in liters and shown in your preferred unit.
Boil time	Kettle boil length in `min`. Affects hop utilization and therefore IBU.
Efficiency	How much of the grain's potential sugar reaches the kettle, as a `%`. 75% is a typical all-grain default.

Effect on your recipe

Batch size and efficiency set the target gravity for a given grain bill. Raise efficiency or shrink the batch and your OG climbs.

How to set up a batch

1Pick a Brew type.
2Choose your Equipment profile.
3Set Batch size, Boil time, and Efficiency. The stats strip updates as you go.

Fermentables

The Fermentables card is where you build the grain bill that determines gravity and color.

Table columns. Each addition shows Weight, Ingredient (the fermentable name and supplier), and % Grist (the ingredient’s share of the total grain weight). All three columns are sortable.

Per-addition fields.

Weight: accepts smart mixed-unit entry such as 5 lb 4 oz or 2.5 kg; stored in grams internally.
Ingredient: the fermentable name, drawn from the master ingredient list (managed on the Fermentables page in the app). Each row also shows the color in °L.
Use: where in the process the fermentable is added: Mash, Steep, Boil, or Late addition.

The footer shows the total grain weight and confirms that % Grist always sums to 100%.

Effect on your recipe

The grain bill drives OG (via yield % and efficiency) and color (SRM) (via the Morey formula). Heavier, darker malts raise both OG and SRM.

How to add a fermentable

1Click Add fermentable.
2Select an ingredient from the picker or type a custom name.
3Set the weight and choose a use.
4Repeat for each grain or adjunct.

Hops

The Hops card records every hop addition and calculates bitterness.

Table columns. Each addition shows Weight, Hop and Use, and IBU contribution. All columns are sortable.

Per-addition fields.

Weight: stored in grams; displayed in your preferred hop weight unit (g by default).
Hop: the hop variety, drawn from the master ingredient list. The row also shows origin, form, and alpha acid %.
Use: when the hop is added: First wort, Mash, Boil, Whirlpool, or Dry hop.
Time: duration for the addition; units auto-switch to minutes (min), hours (h), or days (d) depending on use.
Whirlpool temp: appears only for Whirlpool additions; the temperature at which the addition is made, shown in your preferred temperature unit.
Alpha acid: stored per addition and used in the IBU calculation.

The footer shows the total hop weight and total IBU.

Effect on your recipe

Boil and whirlpool additions drive IBU. Dry hop additions contribute aroma but no calculated bitterness. See How IBU is calculated for the formula.

How to add a hop addition

1Click Add hop.
2Select a variety from the picker.
3Choose a Use and enter a Time and weight.
4The IBU column updates immediately.

Yeasts

The Yeasts card records the strains used and their effect on attenuation.

Table columns. Each entry shows Qty (amount and unit) and Strain (name and type). Both columns are sortable.

Per-addition fields.

Qty: a numeric amount with a unit selector: pkt, vial, g, or mL.
Strain: the yeast name, drawn from the master ingredient list. The row also shows yeast type, flocculation, and the recommended fermentation temperature range.
Use: fermentation stage: Primary, Secondary, or Bottle.
Attenuation: the strain's expected attenuation %, shown in the metadata line. This value drives the FG and ABV calculations.

Effect on your recipe

The strain's attenuation determines predicted FG and therefore ABV. Higher attenuation produces a drier, stronger beer.

How to add a yeast

1Click Add yeast.
2Select a strain from the picker.
3Set the quantity and unit, and choose a use stage.

Miscellaneous

The Miscellaneous card covers everything that isn’t grain, hops, or yeast: finings, water agents, spices, sugars, and other additions.

Table columns. Each entry shows Amount (with unit), Item (name), and When (time in min). All columns are sortable.

Per-addition fields.

Amount: a numeric value with a unit selector: g, kg, oz, lb, tsp, tbsp, ml, l, pkg, tablet, or item.
Item: the ingredient name, drawn from the master ingredient list.
Use: where the addition goes: Mash, Sparge, Boil, Whirlpool, Primary, Secondary, Bottling, or Kegging.
When: an optional time in min indicating when during the stage the addition is made.

Effect on your recipe

Miscellaneous additions do not feed into gravity or IBU calculations but are included in brew session instructions.

How to add a misc item

1Click Add misc.
2Select an item from the picker or enter a custom name.
3Set the amount and unit, choose a Use, and optionally enter a time.

Mash

The Mash card holds the mash profile and step-by-step temperature schedule for your brew.

Profile picker. The Profile row lets you load a saved mash profile from the Mash profiles page. Loading a profile copies it as a per-recipe snapshot. The recipe owns its own copy from that point on. The trigger label shows the profile name. If you edit any step after loading, the label adds (edited) to indicate the snapshot has diverged from the source. If the source profile was deleted, the last-known profile name is shown. A recipe with no source profile shows Custom.

Steps editor. Below the profile row, each mash step has four columns: Type (the step method), Step (a name you can edit), Temp (target temperature in your preferred unit; stored as °C), and Time (step duration in min). Additional optional fields per step include ramp time, infusion volume, and infusion temperature. Click Add step to append a new step at the default values (temperature type, 67 °C, 60 min).

Effect on your recipe

Mash temperature shapes fermentability: a lower saccharification temperature produces more fermentable wort and a lower FG; a higher temperature produces a fuller body. Recipes keep their own snapshot of the mash schedule, so editing it after loading a profile does not change the source. See Why recipes own snapshots.

How to apply a mash profile

1Click the Profile trigger and choose a profile from the picker.
2Review the steps and adjust any temperature or time as needed for this batch.

Fermentation

The Fermentation card holds the fermentation profile and temperature stages for conditioning your beer.

Profile picker. The Profile row works the same way as in Mash: load a saved profile from the Fermentation profiles page, and the recipe stores a snapshot. The label shows the source profile name (or (edited) if the snapshot has diverged, or Custom if no profile was ever loaded).

Steps editor. Each fermentation step has four columns: Step (a name you can edit), Temp (target temperature; stored as °C), Ramp (ramp duration in days before the target temperature is reached), and Days (how long to hold the step temperature). Click Add step to append a new step at the default values (Primary, 19 °C, 14 days).

Effect on your recipe

Fermentation temperature affects yeast character and attenuation. Like the mash, the recipe holds its own snapshot, so changes here are isolated to this recipe. See Why recipes own snapshots.

How to apply a fermentation profile

1Click the Profile trigger and choose a profile.
2Adjust individual steps for this batch if needed.

Water

The Water card is the most complex card in the editor. It covers source and target water profiles, ion tracking, salt additions, sulfite dosing, and mash pH adjustment.

Profile pickers.

Source profile: your tap or starting water. Pick from profiles managed on the Water profiles page; the six ion values populate from the profile.
Target profile: the water chemistry you want to hit (e.g. a classic brewing city profile). Used as the reference for the Match Target Profile solver.

Ion balance. A table shows the six water ions for the source, target, and calculated After (result after salt additions):

Ion	Symbol
Calcium	Ca²⁺
Magnesium	Mg²⁺
Sodium	Na⁺
Sulfate	SO₄²⁻
Chloride	Cl⁻
Bicarbonate	HCO₃⁻

All values are in ppm. The After column marks each ion with a checkmark when it falls within tolerance of the target, or shows the delta otherwise. The SO₄:Cl ratio is displayed alongside the ion table as a flavor indicator.

Salt additions. A table lists seven salts (Gypsum, Calcium Chloride, Epsom Salt, Magnesium Chloride, Canning Salt, Baking Soda, Chalk) split across Mash, Sparge (or Boil when Add sparge salts to boil is on), and a Total column. Enter a total and the app splits it proportionally by mash and sparge volumes.

Sulfite (SMB). Sodium Metabisulfite (Na₂S₂O₅) is listed below the salts. Toggle Auto on to have the app solve the maximum SMB dose that keeps the resulting sodium and sulfate ions within target limits. Turn Auto off to enter a manual ppm dose.

Add sparge salts to boil. A toggle that redirects sparge salt additions to the boil kettle instead. When on, the sparge column in the salt table relabels to Boil.

pH adjustment. Set a Target mash pH (pH) and choose an acid type, Lactic Acid or Phosphoric Acid, with its concentration (%). The app calculates the required acid dose in ml. If the mash pH is below target, the app instead calculates a Pickling Lime dose in g to raise it. Predicted pH uses the Brew n’ Water model; target range is 5.2 to 5.5.

Match Target Profile. Clicking this button runs the salt solver: it calculates the mash and sparge additions needed to move the source water as close as possible to the target profile and writes them into the salt table. The button is active only when source and target profiles are both selected and mash volume is known.

Effect on your recipe

Salt additions shift the resulting ion profile toward the target and move the SO₄:Cl balance. Water profiles are managed on the Water profiles page; the recipe stores its ion values directly, not a profile reference.

How to match a target water profile

1Select a Source profile and a Target profile.
2Click Match Target Profile.
3Review the calculated salt additions and adjust any value manually if needed.
4Set a Target mash pH and acid type to get an acid or lime dose.

Notes

The Notes card holds free-text notes for the recipe.

Brewing notes is a single text area (placeholder: Add any brewing notes, tips, or instructions). There is no character limit or formatting requirement. Use it for process reminders, ingredient notes, batch observations, or any other text you want saved with the recipe. The field is saved automatically along with the rest of the recipe.

How to add notes

1Click into the Brewing notes area and type.
2Changes save automatically.

Stats

The Stats strip is always visible at the top of the recipe editor and updates live as you change any card.

Stat	What it shows
OG	Original gravity: the wort's sugar density before fermentation, calculated from the grain bill, efficiency, and batch size.
FG	Final gravity: predicted post-fermentation density, derived from OG and the yeast's attenuation `%`.
ABV	Alcohol by volume in `%`, derived from OG and FG.
IBU	International Bitterness Units: total bitterness from boil, whirlpool, and first-wort additions. See How IBU is calculated.
SRM	Beer color on the Standard Reference Method scale, with a plain-language label: Very pale (< 4), Pale (< 10), Amber (< 17), Brown (< 30), Dark (≥ 30).
BU:GU	Bitterness-to-gravity balance ratio. Labels: Very malty, Malty, Balanced, Hoppy, Very hoppy.
kCal / 12oz	Estimated calories per 12 oz serving, derived from ABV and residual extract.

Each stat also shows a style delta when a style is set, for example whether ABV, IBU, or SRM is in range, over, or under the style guidelines.

Effect on your recipe

The shared stats engine (calculateRecipeStats()) recalculates every value in real time. You never need to refresh manually: editing any card (grain bill, hops, yeast, setup) updates the strip immediately.

See also: How IBU is calculated.