# 🍺 Top-down Brew: Increasing original gravity with malt extract

Purpose: This calculator is for increasing the gravity of your wort by adding malt extract.

Volume (gallons or liters)
Measured Specific Gravity
Target Specific Gravity
US units (gallons) Metric units (liters)

Results: *** Waiting for results ***

## Discussion

Sometimes all-grain beers wind up an original gravity that is lower than expected. This can be fixed by raising the gravity with malt extract. This adjustment can fine-tune an all-grain original gravity (Pierce, 2007).

This calculator determines the amount of malt extract or corn sugar needed to reach a target original gravity. The lacking gravity points are determined, multiplied for each gallon, and the needed extract weight is determined. The specific gravity values used for liquid malt extract, dried malt extract, and corn sugar (dextrose) are 1.035, 1.044, and 1.037 (from Szamatulski and Szamatulski, 2001, Appendix F).

## References

Pierce, B. (2007). Extract for all-grainers. BYO Magazine

Szamatulski, T., and Szamatulski, M. (2001). Beer Captured: Homebrew Recipes for 150 World Class Beers, Maltose Press, Trumbull, Connecticut.