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Brewgravity imports BeerXML (.xml) and BeerJSON (.json) — between them, essentially every homebrewing app can hand you a file Brewgravity will read.

Go to Import

The import page lives at /import in the app, or press ⌘K and type “import”.

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How to import

1

Export from your current app

Choose BeerXML if you are offered a choice — it is the format with the widest support. See Brewer’s Friend or other tools for the exact menu path.
2

Unzip, if you got a zip

Bulk exports usually arrive as a .zip archive. Brewgravity reads .xml and .json files, not archives, so unzip it first and keep the loose files.
3

Drop the files on the import page

Drag them onto the drop zone or use the file picker. Select as many as you like — a whole folder of recipes imports in one go.
4

Check the numbers

Brewgravity lists every recipe it imported. Open a few and confirm the stats look right — see what to check below.

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What comes across

  • Recipe name, style, type (all grain / extract / partial mash)
  • Batch size, boil time, efficiency
  • Fermentables with weight, colour, and yield
  • Hops with weight, alpha acid, time, and use
  • Yeast with type, form, and attenuation
  • Other ingredients with type, use, amount, and time
  • Mash steps with temperature and duration
  • Recipe notes
  • Brew history and fermentation logs. BeerXML has no standard way to carry them, so past batches do not come across. Recipes do.
  • Water profiles and equipment profiles. Set these per recipe in Brewgravity.
  • Photos, tasting notes, and app-specific extras. Anything outside the BeerXML spec is dropped by definition.
A single BeerXML file can hold many recipes, and Brewgravity imports all of them. This is why “export all my recipes” from another app often produces one large file rather than fifty small ones — either works.

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What to check afterwards

Import is faithful to the file. The file is not always faithful to your brewhouse, so three fields are worth a look on anything you plan to brew:
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most common culprit
Frequently exported as the original author’s number, or as a default. If imported recipes read consistently high or low on OG, this is why.
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Exports vary on whether this means pre-boil, post-boil, or into-fermenter volume. Brewgravity treats it as the volume in the fermenter.
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Carried across from the file, which reflects the crop the author had. Your packet is a different crop with a different number, and IBU follows the number.

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Importing everything at once

There is no limit on how many files you select. Brewgravity processes them one at a time and reports every recipe name it created, so a bulk migration is a single drag-and-drop rather than an evening. If you would rather script it — a few hundred recipes, or an ongoing sync — the API creates recipes and ingredients directly.

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Trouble?

See Import troubleshooting.