Priming Sugar Per Bottle Calculator
Priming sugar per individual bottle - your batch dose split by bottle size, plus the carbonation-drop equivalent.
Safety: over-priming is the one way a brewing calculator can hurt you - too much sugar makes bottles burst. Standard bottles are rated to roughly 4 volumes of CO₂; stay below that, weigh (don't scoop) your sugar, and be sure fermentation is fully finished before bottling.
How it works
We compute the priming sugar for the whole batch exactly as the batch priming calculator does - subtracting the residual CO₂ already dissolved in the beer at its temperature - then divide that total by how many bottles of your chosen size the batch fills. The carbonation-drop figure converts your per-bottle sugar into Coopers-style drops (about 3.6 g each) for brewers who dose by drop rather than by scale.
bottles = batch litres × 1000 / bottle mL
per bottle (g) = total priming sugar / bottles
drops ≈ per-bottle sugar / 3.6 g
Carbonation drops are a fixed dose - they don't adjust for temperature or your target level, so the drop count is a convenience approximation. For repeatable results, weigh the per-bottle sugar. Bulk priming the whole batch is more even than dosing bottles individually.
Sources: priming and residual-CO₂ formulas per Brewer's Friend; carbonation-drop dose per Coopers (1 drop per 375 mL bottle, ≈ 3.6 g each).
Frequently asked questions
- How much priming sugar goes in each bottle?
- There is no single fixed amount - it depends on your batch volume, the beer temperature, your target carbonation and the bottle size. This tool works out the whole-batch dose, then divides it by how many bottles of your chosen size the batch fills, so each bottle gets the right share.
- Can I use carbonation drops instead of weighing sugar?
- Yes - carbonation drops are a fixed-dose convenience. This calculator shows the drop equivalent of your per-bottle sugar (about 3.6 g per Coopers-style drop). Drops do not adjust for temperature or target level, so treat the drop count as an approximation and weigh sugar when you want precision.
- Is per-bottle priming as accurate as batch priming?
- Batch priming (mixing sugar into the whole batch before bottling) is more even because every bottle gets identical beer. Per-bottle dosing is handy when you cannot bulk prime, but small weighing errors matter more in a single bottle - so weigh carefully and stay below ~4 volumes in standard glass.