Brix Converter

Brix, specific gravity, and Plato all measure sugar content in liquids.

Brix (degrees Brix):

• Percentage of sugar by weight in a solution.
• Measured with a refractometer.
• 1 Brix = 1 gram of sugar per 100 grams of solution.

Specific Gravity (SG):

• Density of the liquid compared to water (water = 1.000).
• Measured with a hydrometer.

Plato (degrees Plato):

• Similar to Brix but used primarily in brewing.
• Nearly identical to Brix for most practical purposes.

Approximate conversions:

• SG = 1 + (Brix / (258.6 - 0.8839 x Brix))
• Brix = 258.6 - (258.6 x 1 / SG) (simplified)
• Plato is approximately equal to Brix for values under 40.

Common values:

• Fresh grape juice: 22-26 Brix (SG 1.092-1.110)
• Beer wort: 10-20 Plato (SG 1.040-1.083)
• Orange juice: 11-14 Brix
• Maple syrup: 66-68 Brix

Brix and specific gravity are usually read with different tools, and they don’t always agree. A refractometer bends light through a single drop and is great for a quick field reading on grapes, while a hydrometer floats in a larger sample and measures density. Both are calibrated for sugar in water, so once fermentation starts and alcohol enters the picture the readings drift, because alcohol is lighter than water. That’s why a hydrometer in finished wine can read below zero Brix even though some sugar remains.

The potential-alcohol shortcut (Brix times about 0.55) is genuinely just a rule of thumb. Yeast strain, temperature, and how completely the sugar ferments all move the real number, so treat it as a target, not a promise. One thing worth doing: check the temperature. Most refractometers are calibrated at 20°C (68°F), and a warm sample straight off the vine can read a point or two high, enough to fool you into picking grapes before they are truly ripe.