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Cider ABV calculator

Estimate a cider's potential alcohol from its juice specific gravity, using the Prickly Cider factor — an estimate, not an official measurement.

The Cider ABV Calculator estimates a cider's potential alcohol — the ABV it would reach if it ferments to dryness — from the specific gravity of the juice you start with.

It's an estimate, using a cidermaking rule of thumb with no government formula behind it, and never valid for a tax or label filing. On the hub it sits in the Estimates (non-regulatory) section, and the calculator opens with a Non-regulatory estimate badge and a highlighted note.

It's free, needs no account, and computes in your browser.

Open the calculator

  • On the public site: in the top navigation choose Tools, then — in the Estimates (non-regulatory) section — on the Cider ABV card choose Open calculator.
  • Inside the app: in the navigation choose Tools, then on the Cider ABV card choose Open calculator.

Estimate the potential alcohol

  1. In Juice specific gravity, enter your starting (original) gravity reading. Most apple juice sits around 1.045–1.060.
  2. From Reading unit, choose Specific gravity (the default) or °Brix. A small hint under the field shows the reading converted to the other unit. A specific gravity must be between 0.98 and 1.2; a Brix reading between 0 and 40.
  3. Potential alcohol, shown as a percentage of ABV, appears as soon as the reading is valid. A note names the cider factor of 128 (Prickly Cider, after Jolicoeur) used for the estimate, and mentions that the more common beer factor of 131.2 reads slightly high for cider.

If the specific gravity is at or below 1.000, there's no fermentable sugar to work with, so the calculator asks you to check your reading (juice gravity should be above 1.000) rather than showing a result.

Worked example

A juice with a starting specific gravity of 1.050:

  1. Juice specific gravity: 1.050
  2. Reading unit: Specific gravity

The calculator shows Potential alcohol 6.4% ABV.

When to reach for it

Reach for the Cider ABV Calculator when you're pressing or buying juice and want to know roughly how strong the finished cider could be. It assumes the cider ferments all the way to dry, so a cider left with residual sweetness will finish lower. The number that governs any filing comes from a real measurement, not this estimate — a note on the calculator says so, and the page-bottom disclaimer confirms it's a reference tool, never a system of record for a filing.