Home Brewing, Microbreweries and Craft Breweries continue to rise in popularity in the U.S. Craft Breweries represent about 13 percent of beer production, and Kombucha Brewing is growing at more than 30 percent per year. Digital Scales and Balances are essential brewing equipment because accuracy is so important to successful production. Measuring mass is more precise than measuring volume. And it is easier - just add ingredients until you reach the desired weight.

But what scales and balances should I add to my inventory of Brewing Supplies?


A small compact precision balance is useful for weighing grains, hops, spices and yeast. As the formula is tweaked it is important to know exact quantities of ingredients. After the right taste is found, scales can help achieve consistency in future batches. Precise measurement of yeast is essential to recreating the taste. Weighing the water content in a keg is essential to monitoring carbonation. Washdown scales are best for wet, messy ingredients because they hold up against dirt, leaks and spills and are easiest to clean up. Legal for Trade scales are necessary when weighing out batches for sale. the CPWPlus6 or CPWPlus13 from Adam Equipment are platform scales that are durable, portable and easy to use for weighing hops and grains and portioning recipes. The 11.8 x 11.8 inch stainless steel platform is easy to clean and large enough to hold a 5 gallon bucket.

You can see the CPWPlus HERE

The WBW Series, also from Adam Equipment, and the AGS Series from Intelligent Weighing Technology are easy to clean washdown as well as NTEP Legal for Trade. You can find them below:

The WBW Washdown Scales can be viewed HERE

See the AGS NTEP Washdown Precision Balance HERE

Larger platform or bench scales are needed for weighing large bags of grains, measuring carbonation and alcohol content in kegs or large batches when filling bottles and cans. The CPW Plus comes in larger sizes of 19.7 x 19.7 and 35.4 x 23.6 inches. Another ideal choice for wet and messy situations with lots of spills is the VPS-K Series from Intelligent Weighing Technologies described at the link below:

See the VPS-K HERE

This scale is rated IP 67 water resistant protection and will withstand harsh industrial conditions. This model includes sealed electronics for even better water and dust resistance. It has a low profile and is portable, making it easy to load and unload large barrels and kegs or buckets during production. The TitanH Series from Intelligent Weighing (shown at the link below) also has a Hermetically Sealed Load cell Protection, sealed electronics and IP 67 rating so it can be washed down for easy clean-up, making it ideal for food processing in harsh environments. And it is NTEP Approved Legal for Trade!

See the TitanH NTEP Industrial Bench Scale HERE

Moisture Balances play an important role in brewing to check the moisture content and quality of bulk grains, hops, malt and barley. They can be used to prevent fungal contamination after brewing and during storage. Summit Measurement offers a variety of Moisture Analyzers which can all be found at the link below:

To find Moisture Balances from Summit Measurement CLICK HERE

Finally a brewery might need a platform or floor scale to weigh large batches or kegs, for mass production and bottling and for shipping and receiving. Summit Measurement offers a variety of floor scales which you can see below:

See our full selection of Floor Scales HERE

In summary, several different scales are essential equipment for craft breweries. Small precision scales to weigh ingredients. A larger platform or bench scale with counting, checkweighing, percent, tare and washdown features. A moisture balance for quality check. And a large floor scale for weighing kegs, filling bottles and cans or shipping and receiving. Don't hesitate to contact Summit Measurement if we can answer any questions to help you find the best option for your Brewery.