Priming sugar calculator

The Priming Sugar Calculator tells you how much priming sugar to add at bottling to bottle-condition your beer to a target carbonation. It accounts for the CO₂ already dissolved in the beer at its current temperature — warmer beer holds less, so it needs more sugar — so the figure isn't just a flat dose.

It's a homebrewing reference estimate, not an official measurement, and never valid for a tax or label filing. On the hub it sits in the Estimates (non-regulatory) section, and the calculator opens with a Non-regulatory estimate badge and a highlighted note.

It's free, needs no account, and computes in your browser.

Open the calculator

• On the public site: in the top navigation choose Tools, then — in the Estimates (non-regulatory) section — on the Priming Sugar card choose Open calculator.
• Inside the app: in the navigation choose Tools, then on the Priming Sugar card choose Open calculator.

Find the priming sugar

1. Under Priming sugar, choose the sugar you'll prime with: Table sugar (sucrose) (the default), Corn sugar (dextrose), or Dried malt extract (DME).
2. In Batch volume, enter the volume you're bottling, and from Unit choose it (Milliliters (mL), Liters (L), U.S. gallons, Wine gallons, Barrels (31 U.S. gal), or Fluid ounces). The default follows your workspace's volume unit.
3. In Batch temperature, enter the temperature, and set Temperature unit to °F or °C. The unit starts on your workspace's measurement system (°C on a metric workspace, °F otherwise). This sets the residual CO₂ already in the beer. (The correctable range is 32–90 °F, or 0–32 °C.)
4. In Target CO₂ (volumes), enter the carbonation you're aiming for, in volumes of CO₂ (a number from 0 to 6). Most beers land around 1.5–4.5 volumes; enter something well outside that and the calculator flags it as a sanity check without blocking you.
5. Priming sugar to add, in grams and labelled with the sugar you chose, appears once all three inputs are valid. Below it, the calculator shows the residual CO₂ at this temperature in volumes.

If your target is at or below the CO₂ already in the beer, the calculator tells you no priming sugar is needed — the beer is already carbonated to (or above) your target — rather than showing a negative dose.

Worked example

Bottling 19 L of beer sitting at 68 °F, targeting 2.5 volumes of CO₂ with table sugar:

1. Priming sugar: Table sugar (sucrose)
2. Batch volume: 19, Unit: Liters (L)
3. Batch temperature: 68, Temperature unit: °F
4. Target CO₂ (volumes): 2.5

The calculator shows Priming sugar to add (Table sugar (sucrose)) 119.2 g, and notes the residual CO₂ at 68 °F is about 0.86 volumes.

When to reach for it

Reach for the Priming Sugar Calculator when you're bottling and want to bottle-condition to a known carbonation level rather than guessing. It's a reference estimate built on the standard priming convention — a note at the bottom of the calculator says so, and the page-bottom disclaimer confirms it's a reference tool, never a system of record for a filing.