Beer Bottling Calculator
Plan your bottling day: work out bottle counts, priming sugar, and safe carbonation levels for any batch size.
Beer Bottling Planner
Batch details
Use the highest temp reached after fermentation for best accuracy.
Typical range: 2.2–2.6 vol for American ales.
Bottle sizes
Customize up to 3 bottle sizes. The calculator will fill them in order.
Max bottles available
Max bottles available
Max bottles available
Results
Priming sugar needed
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–
Residual CO₂ at temp
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Already dissolved from fermentation.
Estimated final CO₂
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| Bottle type | Size | Filled bottles | Volume used |
|---|---|---|---|
| No calculation yet. | |||
Leftover volume: –
Tip: Leave about 2–3 cm (¾–1") of headspace in each bottle.
How this beer bottling calculator works
This tool combines a priming sugar calculator with a bottle planner. It uses standard homebrewing formulas to estimate:
- How much priming sugar you need for your target carbonation level
- How many bottles of each size you can fill from your batch
- How much CO₂ is already dissolved in the beer at bottling temperature
- Whether your chosen carbonation level is within a typical safe range
1. Residual CO₂ from fermentation
Cold beer holds more dissolved CO₂ than warm beer. Before adding priming sugar, the calculator estimates the residual CO₂ based on the highest temperature the beer reached after fermentation.
Residual CO₂ (volumes)
We use a standard empirical fit used by many homebrewers (approximation of CO₂ solubility):
For temperature in °F: $$ V_\text{residual} \approx 3.0378 - 0.050062 \, T + 0.00026555 \, T^2 $$
Where \(T\) is the beer temperature in °F. The calculator converts °C to °F internally when needed.
2. Priming sugar needed
The amount of sugar depends on how much additional CO₂ you want to create:
Priming sugar formula
$$ \Delta V = V_\text{target} - V_\text{residual} $$ $$ m_\text{sugar} = k \cdot \Delta V \cdot V_\text{beer} $$
- \( \Delta V \) = additional CO₂ volumes needed
- \( V_\text{beer} \) = beer volume in liters
- \( k \) = sugar constant (g per liter per volume of CO₂)
Typical constants used:
- Table sugar (sucrose):
k ≈ 4.0 g/L/vol - Corn sugar (dextrose):
k ≈ 4.1 g/L/vol -
DME (light):
k ≈ 6.5 g/L/vol(less fermentable)
The calculator clamps negative values (if your target CO₂ is lower than residual) to zero, since you can’t “un-carbonate” with priming sugar.
3. Bottle counts and leftover volume
Bottle sizes are converted to liters, then the calculator fills bottles in order:
- Use as many of bottle type 1 as possible (up to your available count)
- Then fill bottle type 2, then type 3
- Any remaining beer is reported as leftover volume
This helps you decide whether you need more bottles or if you can swap some smaller bottles for larger ones to reduce leftovers.
Recommended carbonation levels by style
Different beer styles are traditionally served at different carbonation levels. Here are common ranges (volumes of CO₂):
| Style | Examples | Typical range (vol CO₂) |
|---|---|---|
| British ales | Bitter, mild, ESB | 1.5 – 1.9 |
| American ales | Pale ale, IPA, amber | 2.2 – 2.6 |
| Lagers | Pilsner, helles, märzen | 2.4 – 2.8 |
| Wheat beers | Hefeweizen, witbier | 2.8 – 4.0 |
| Belgian strong ales | Tripel, saison | 2.5 – 3.5 |
| Stouts & porters | Dry stout, robust porter | 1.7 – 2.3 |
Practical tips for bottling day
- Sanitation is everything: sanitize bottles, caps, siphon, bottling wand, and anything that touches the beer.
- Use a bottling bucket: dissolve priming sugar in boiled, cooled water and gently stir into a bottling bucket before racking the beer.
- Avoid splashing: oxygen at bottling can cause stale, cardboard flavors. Keep hoses submerged and flows gentle.
- Leave headspace: about 2–3 cm (¾–1") from the top of the bottle is ideal.
- Store warm to carbonate: 18–24 °C (65–75 °F) for 1–3 weeks, then chill and enjoy.
FAQ
How accurate is this beer bottling calculator?
The calculator uses the same underlying formulas as many trusted homebrewing resources. Real-world results can vary slightly with yeast strain, beer composition, and temperature accuracy, so treat the numbers as a well-informed estimate rather than lab-grade measurements.
Can I use honey, maple syrup, or other sugars?
This tool is calibrated for table sugar, corn sugar, and DME. Other sugars have different densities and fermentabilities. If you use them, look up their typical gravity contribution and adjust the sugar weight manually, or convert them to an equivalent amount of table sugar.
Is there a risk of bottle bombs?
Over-carbonation can cause bottles to gush or, in extreme cases, explode. To reduce risk:
- Make sure fermentation is truly finished (stable gravity readings)
- Stay within typical carbonation ranges for your style
- Use bottles rated for beer, not thin glass
The calculator flags very high target CO₂ levels so you can double-check your inputs.
Should I adjust for beer losses (trub, hops, etc.)?
Yes. Enter the actual volume you expect to bottle, not the original batch size in the fermenter. If you brewed 20 L but expect to bottle only 18.5 L after losses, use 18.5 L in the calculator.