🔥 Strike Water Temperature Calculator

Enter your water-to-grain ratio, grain temperature, and target mash temperature to calculate the strike water temperature needed.

Water-to-Grain Ratio (qt/lb)

Grain Temperature (°F)

Target Mash Temperature (°F)

Palmer's strike temperature formula

Dry grain is colder than the water and steals heat as it wets out, so the strike water has to start above the mash temperature you want. The page uses the standard equation, with every temperature in °F and the ratio R in quarts per pound:

T_strike = (0.2 / R) × (T_target - T_grain) + T_target

At the defaults — 1.25 qt/lb, grain at 60 °F, target 152 °F — that is (0.2 / 1.25) × 92 + 152 = 14.7 + 152 = 166.7 °F. The 0.2 is grain's heat capacity against water's, already scaled for these units, which is why a thicker mash needs a bigger overshoot: at 1.0 qt/lb the same mash wants 170.4 °F.

What the numbers do

Ratio	Target 148 °F	Target 152 °F	Target 156 °F
1.00 qt/lb	165.6	170.4	175.2
1.25 qt/lb	162.1	166.7	171.4
1.50 qt/lb	159.7	164.3	168.8
2.00 qt/lb	156.8	161.2	165.6

All rows assume 60 °F grain. Warmer grain needs less overshoot, but not much: milling in a 70 °F kitchen instead of a 60 °F garage drops the strike figure only 1.6 °F. Mash target drives body — 148 °F for a dry, highly fermentable beer, 152 for balance, 156 for a fuller one. The boxes accept 0.5-3 qt/lb and 90-180 °F.

The formula assumes the tun itself absorbs nothing. A cold cooler or steel pot can take 2-5 °F out of the mash, so preheat it with hot water, dump that, then strike — or add a few degrees and correct by stirring.

Frequently asked questions

What strike temperature do I need for a 152 °F mash?

166.7 °F at 1.25 qt/lb with room-temperature grain. Stir for a full minute after doughing in, then read the mash — the first reading off an unstirred mash is usually the water, not the grain bed.

My mash landed three degrees low. What went wrong?

Almost always the tun. Cold equipment, a slow dough-in, or grain stored outside in winter all pull heat that the equation does not model. Fix it with a small boiling-water addition rather than direct heat, which scorches.

Does a thinner mash change the strike temperature?

Yes, downward. More water means more thermal mass to hold heat, so at 2 qt/lb you strike at 161.2 °F for the same 152 °F mash instead of 166.7.