Priming Sugar Calculator
Work out how much priming sugar your homebrew batch needs to reach your target carbonation level, based on batch size, sugar type, and fermentation temperature.
How priming sugar carbonation works
When homebrew beer is bottled with a small measured amount of extra fermentable sugar, the remaining yeast consumes it and produces carbon dioxide, which has nowhere to escape and instead dissolves into the beer, creating natural carbonation.
How much sugar to add depends on three things: how much CO2 is already dissolved in the beer from fermentation (which depends on the warmest temperature the beer reached), how much total carbonation you want (measured in “volumes of CO2”), and which sugar you’re using, since sugars differ in how much fermentable material they contain per gram. This calculator uses the standard residual-CO2-by-temperature formula and the widely used corn-sugar priming equation from homebrewing references, then adjusts for your chosen sugar using standard conversion factors (dry malt extract requires more by weight since it’s only partly fermentable sugar; table sugar requires slightly less than corn sugar).
- Typical carbonation targets: 2.2-2.5 volumes for most ales, 2.5-2.8 for wheat beers, lower (1.5-2.0) for British cask ales.
- Always dissolve priming sugar in a small amount of boiled water before mixing into the batch, and measure carefully — over-priming can cause bottles to overcarbonate or, rarely, break.
Provided for general homebrewing and educational reference; always follow safe bottling practices.