Quick answer: To make potions in Minecraft, craft a brewing stand, fuel it with blaze powder, fill glass bottles with water, add Nether Wart to make an Awkward Potion, then add a single effect ingredient (like sugar or a ghast tear) to create the finished potion.
Brewing is one of the most powerful systems in Minecraft. A few well-chosen potions make you faster, stronger, fireproof, or able to breathe underwater. This guide walks through every step, lists the exact recipes, and explains how to upgrade potions with modifiers. For a fast lookup while you play, keep our free Minecraft Brewing Chart open in another tab.
Materials You Need
- Brewing stand — crafted from 1 blaze rod + 3 cobblestone (blackstone also works).
- Blaze powder — the fuel. Crafted from blaze rods (1 rod makes 2 powder); one powder fuels 20 brews.
- Glass bottles — crafted from 3 glass, then filled at a water source or cauldron to make Water Bottles.
- Nether Wart — turns a Water Bottle into an Awkward Potion, the base for almost every effect.
- An effect ingredient — sugar, rabbit’s foot, glistering melon slice, spider eye, blaze powder, golden carrot, ghast tear, pufferfish, magma cream, phantom membrane, or turtle shell.
- Optional modifiers — redstone dust, glowstone dust, gunpowder, dragon’s breath, and fermented spider eye.
How to Make Potions in Minecraft: Full Brewing Guide
- Craft the brewing stand. Open a crafting table and place a blaze rod in the center square of the middle row, then fill the entire bottom row with 3 cobblestone. This produces the brewing stand.
- Fuel it. Place the stand and open it. Put blaze powder into the fuel slot on the lower left. Each powder covers 20 brewing operations.
- Make Water Bottles. Craft glass bottles from 3 glass (place them in a V shape across the crafting grid), then right-click a water source or cauldron to fill them. Set up to three Water Bottles into the three bottle slots at the bottom of the stand.
- Brew an Awkward Potion. Add Nether Wart to the ingredient slot on top. The single ingredient applies to all bottles at once. Wait 20 seconds (one brew cycle) for the Awkward Potion — the base for nearly every effect potion.
- Add your effect ingredient. Drop one effect item into the top slot. For example, Sugar makes Potion of Swiftness, a Ghast Tear makes Regeneration, and Magma Cream makes Fire Resistance. After 20 seconds the finished potion appears in the bottles.
- Modify (optional). Add Redstone Dust for longer duration, Glowstone Dust for a stronger level II effect, Gunpowder to make a throwable splash potion, or Fermented Spider Eye to corrupt it into its opposite. Each modifier is another 20-second brew.
Core effect recipes (Awkward Potion + one ingredient)
- Swiftness (Speed) — Sugar. Base 3:00; +redstone 8:00; +glowstone Speed II at 1:30.
- Leaping (Jump Boost) — Rabbit’s Foot. Base 3:00; +redstone 8:00; +glowstone II 1:30.
- Healing (Instant Health) — Glistering Melon Slice. Instant; +glowstone Instant Health II. Cannot be extended.
- Poison — Spider Eye. Base 0:45; +redstone 1:30; +glowstone Poison II 0:21.
- Strength — Blaze Powder. Base 3:00; +redstone 8:00; +glowstone II 1:30.
- Night Vision — Golden Carrot. Base 3:00; +redstone 8:00. Not enhanceable.
- Regeneration — Ghast Tear. Base 0:45; +redstone 1:30; +glowstone II 0:22.
- Water Breathing — Pufferfish. Base 3:00; +redstone 8:00.
- Fire Resistance — Magma Cream. Base 3:00; +redstone 8:00.
- Slow Falling — Phantom Membrane. Base 1:30; +redstone 4:00.
- Turtle Master — Turtle Shell. Slowness IV + Resistance III for 0:20; +redstone 0:40; +glowstone Slowness VI + Resistance IV.
Corrupted potions (add Fermented Spider Eye)
Fermented Spider Eye (crafted from 1 spider eye + 1 sugar + 1 brown mushroom) inverts a potion into its negative counterpart:
- Weakness — the only potion you can brew directly from a Water Bottle (no Nether Wart). Base 1:30; +redstone 4:00.
- Slowness — Swiftness or Leaping + Fermented Spider Eye. Base 1:30; +redstone 4:00; +glowstone Slowness IV 0:20.
- Harming (Instant Damage) — Healing or Poison + Fermented Spider Eye. 6 hearts; +glowstone Instant Damage II deals 12 hearts.
- Invisibility — Night Vision + Fermented Spider Eye. Base 3:00; +redstone 8:00.
Uses / Tips
- Redstone and glowstone are mutually exclusive. You cannot use both on the same potion, and neither can be added to an already-modified potion — so decide between longer or stronger.
- Brew three at a time. The top ingredient affects all three bottle slots, so always fill every slot to save resources.
- Make splash and lingering potions. Add Gunpowder to any potion for a throwable splash version. Add Dragon’s Breath (collected from the ender dragon’s breath attack with a glass bottle) to a splash potion for a lingering cloud that lasts a quarter of the drinkable duration — and enables tipped arrows.
- Weakness is a tool, not just a debuff. A splash Potion of Weakness plus a golden apple cures zombie villagers.
- Stock up before big trips. Fire Resistance for the Nether, Water Breathing and Night Vision for ocean monuments, and Regeneration for boss fights. Pair potions with gear from our guides on Netherite armor, shields, and the mace.
- Boost your loadout further with the right enchantments, and set up an XP farm to afford them.
Brewing shines on multiplayer worlds where a whole team can gear up before raids. If you want a lag-free, always-online world to test recipes with friends, spin up affordable Minecraft server hosting and start brewing together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the base potion for almost everything?
The Awkward Potion. You make it by adding Nether Wart to a Water Bottle. It has no effect on its own but is required before adding a main effect ingredient. The one exception is Potion of Weakness, which can be brewed straight from a Water Bottle with a Fermented Spider Eye.
How long does brewing take?
Each brewing operation takes 20 seconds (400 game ticks) to finish, whether you are brewing one bottle or all three at once.
What is the difference between redstone and glowstone?
Redstone Dust extends a potion’s duration (for example, Speed from 3:00 to 8:00). Glowstone Dust raises the potion’s tier to level II for a stronger effect but usually shortens the duration. They cannot be combined on the same potion.
How do I make a throwable (splash) potion?
Add Gunpowder to any finished potion to turn it into a Splash Potion you can throw to affect players and mobs in an area. Add Dragon’s Breath to a splash potion to make a Lingering Potion that leaves an effect cloud on the ground.
Do I need blaze powder just to run the stand?
Yes. Blaze powder is the fuel and must sit in the lower-left fuel slot before any brewing starts. One powder covers 20 brews. Note that blaze powder is also an ingredient for the Potion of Strength, so keep plenty on hand.
Durations listed are Java Edition values; a few potions differ slightly in Bedrock Edition. For a printable at-a-glance reference, bookmark our Minecraft Brewing Chart and explore more crafting guides like beacons, fireworks, and Nether portals.
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