Resource

Carbonation Priming Chart

The amount of carbonation in bottle-conditioned homebrew is dependent on two things — the residual level of carbon dioxide after fermentation and the amount of carbonation obtained from the priming sugar.

To get the level of carbonation you desire in your homebrew, choose a level of carbonation (from Section A) and subtract the amount of residual carbonation in your beer after fermentation (from Section B). This is the amount of carbonation you need to add via priming sugar. The amount of carbonation produced by three different priming agents (anhydrous glucose, glucose monohydrate and sucrose) in 5 gallons (19 L) of beer is given in Section C.

For example, let’s say you fermented an American pale ale at 68 °F (20 °C) and plan to carbonate it with corn sugar (glucose monohydrate). From Section A below, you decide that you want your carbonation level to be 2.4 volumes of CO2. From Section B, you see that you should have 0.85 volumes of CO2 in your beer after fermentation at 68 °F (20 °C). Subtracting 0.85 from 2.4 gives you 1.55 volumes of CO2, the amount of carbonation required from the priming sugar. From Section C, you see that adding 4.5 oz. (128 g) yields 1.53 volumes of CO2, which is pretty close.

Section D is for those that keg their beer and looking to force carbonate instead of bottle-condition.

Section A: Levels of Carbonation in Various Beer Styles

StyleVolume of CO2
American ales2.2–3.0
British ales1.5–2.2
German weizens2.8–5.1
Belgian ales2.0–4.5
European lagers2.4–2.6
American lagers2.5–2.8

Section B: Residual Carbonation Left Over After Fermentation

Temperature (°F/°C)Volumes CO2
47 °F (8.33 °C)1.21
50 °F (10.0 °C)1.15
53 °F (11.7 °C)1.09
56 °F (13.3 °C)1.04
59 °F (15.0 °C)0.988
62 °F (16.7 °C)0.940
65 °F (18.3 °C)0.894
68 °F (20.0 °C)0.850
71 °F (21.7 °C)0.807
74 °F (23.3 °C)0.767
77 °F (25.0 °C)0.728
80 °F (26.7 °C)0.691
83 °F (28.3 °C)0.655

Section C Carbonation Levels Added to 5 gallons (19 L) of Beer by Priming Sugar

C1.) Priming with anhydrous glucose (anhydrous dextrose)

Glucose (oz.)Glucose (g)Volumes CO2/19 L
1.028.30.37
1.542.50.56
2.056.70.75
2.570.90.93
3.085.01.12
3.599.21.31
4.01131.49
4.51281.68
5.01421.87
5.51562.05
6.01702.24
6.51842.43
7.01982.61
7.52132.80
8.02272.99
8.52413.17
9.02553.36

C2.) Priming with glucose monohydrate (dextrose monohydrate)

Glucose.H20 (oz.)Glucose.H2O (g)Volumes CO2/19 L
1.028.30.34
1.542.50.51
2.056.70.68
2.570.90.85
3.085.01.02
3.599.21.19
4.01131.36
4.51281.53
5.01421.70
5.51561.87
6.01702.04
6.51842.21
7.01982.37
7.52132.54
8.02272.71
8.52412.88
9.02553.05

C3.) Priming with sucrose

Sucrose (oz.)Sucrose (g)Volumes CO2/19 L
1.028.30.39
1.542.50.59
2.056.70.79
2.570.90.98
3.085.01.18
3.599.21.37
4.01131.57
4.51281.77
5.01421.96
5.51562.16
6.01702.36
6.51842.55
7.01982.75
7.52132.95
8.02273.14
8.52413.34
9.02553.54

Section D Force Carbing