What is the difference between Balling and Plato?

Balling is the original 19th-century sugar scale; Plato is a later, slightly refined recalculation of the same idea. In the brewing range they differ by only a few hundredths of a degree, so for recipe work they are effectively identical.

Why would I still see the Balling scale?

Older Central European brewing texts, some Czech and German references, and certain commercial brewing tables quote degrees Balling. Converting your specific gravity to Balling lets you follow those recipes directly.

How do you convert specific gravity to Balling?

This tool uses a cubic polynomial fit of the form Balling = -616.868 + 1111.14 x SG - 630.272 x SG^2 + 135.997 x SG^3, the same proven curve used for Plato, since the two scales coincide to within brewing tolerance.

What gravity is 12 degrees Balling?

About 1.048 specific gravity. As a quick rule each degree Balling is roughly 4 gravity points, so 12 Balling is near 1.048 and a strong 18 Balling beer is near 1.074.

Is degrees Balling the same as percent sugar by weight?

Effectively yes. One degree Balling represents approximately one gram of sugar per 100 grams of solution, so 12 Balling wort is roughly 12 percent dissolved sugar by mass before fermentation.

Gravity to Degrees Balling Converter

The Balling scale is the original measure of dissolved sugar in brewing, still seen in older European recipe books and some commercial references. This tool converts a specific gravity reading into degrees Balling and shows the closely related Plato value for comparison.

How it works

Degrees Balling expresses the percentage of dissolved sugar by mass. Specific gravity measures the same thing as a density ratio. Because Balling and the later Plato scale coincide to within a few hundredths of a degree across the brewing range, the tool converts using the well-established cubic polynomial:

Balling = -616.868 + 1111.14 x SG - 630.272 x SG^2 + 135.997 x SG^3

This is the same curve used for Plato, which is why the tool reports both values side by side — for any practical brewing purpose they match.

Worked example

For a specific gravity of 1.048:

1111.14 x 1.048 = 1164.48
-630.272 x 1.048^2 = -692.18
135.997 x 1.048^3 = 156.58
Add the constant -616.868: about 12.0 °Balling.

So 1.048 corresponds to roughly 12 °Balling, a standard-strength wort.

Tips and notes

Enter the full specific gravity form (1.052), not the shorthand 52, so the polynomial receives the correct magnitude.
A handy field rule is that each degree Balling is about four gravity points, useful for a quick sanity check before you trust the precise figure.
For the rare case where you genuinely need to distinguish Balling from Plato, the difference is far smaller than typical hydrometer reading error. Every calculation runs locally in your browser.