color units EBC

Color Units Ebc (European Brewery Convention) refer to the color of a beer
measured in a technical manner. Prior to the development of the EBC
method, beer color was estimated qualitatively (and perhaps somewhat
subjectively) by comparing colored glass plate references, rendered in a scale
known as degrees Lovibond, to samples of beer. The sample beer was then
designated as a certain color in Lovibond units. See lovibond. The EBC
method is quantitative and involves measuring the beer sample color in a
cuvette that is placed in a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 430 nm. This
particular wavelength was selected so that the final measured color was in
agreement with Lovibond references. The actual formula for measuring color
is:

EBC=25×D×A430

where D = dilution factor of the sample and A430 = the light absorbance at
430 nanometers in a 1-cm cuvette.

The EBC color system is used primarily in Europe, whereas North and South
America use the Standard Reference Method (SRM) to measure beer
color. See standard reference method (srm). The two systems are closely
related and can be converted in the following equations:

SRM=EBC×0.508

EBC=SRM×1.97

Additionally, both systems require that the beer sample be free of turbidity for
an accurate color determination. The sample must be filtered if the turbidity is
measured at greater than 1 EBC turbidity unit.
A typical American mass-market lager measures between 4 and 8 EBC units,
whereas a dark stout may measure 100 EBC units or above.

Fig. 1: EBC and SRM colour chart