Bottling Calculator - work out how many bottles you need given wort size

Bottling Volume Calculator

Avoid the panic of running out of glass! 

Calculate exactly how many bottles you need to wash and sanitize based on your actual volume in the bottling bucket. 

Simply enter your post-fermentation volume and select your preferred bottle size below. 

The tool will instantly provide your required bottle count and case equivalents, ensuring a smooth packaging day.

Volume to Bottle (in Bucket)

Total liquid volume sitting in your bottling bucket.

Select Bottle Format

Bottling Day Requirements

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Bottles Needed

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Cases Approx

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Total Fluid Vol

Brewer's Safety Margin: Always sanitize 2 to 4 extra bottles just in case of spills or overflow.

Mastering the Bottling Line

Bottling day is the final mile of the marathon. 

You have spent weeks monitoring fermentation, controlling temperatures, and waiting for the yeast to finish their work. 

The last thing you want is to scramble for glassware with wet hands, or worse, sanitize fifty bottles when you only needed forty.

Pro Tip: Do not rely on the markings on the side of your fermenter. They are notoriously inaccurate. For precision, measure the actual volume inside your bottling bucket (after transfer) to get the true "Volume to Bottle" number.

The Preparation Checklist

An organized brewer is a relaxed brewer. Before you even touch the auto-siphon, run through this list to ensure your packaging session goes smoothly.

• Count Your Caps: It sounds obvious, but ensure you have enough unused caps. Never try to reuse a bent cap.
• Sanitize the Extras: As calculated above, always prepare a few more bottles than the math dictates. Spills happen, and sometimes the siphon flows a little faster than you expect.
• Check for "Beer Stone": Hold your bottles up to the light. If you see a faint gray haze inside, that is calcium oxalate (beer stone). It can harbor bacteria. Scrub it out or recycle that bottle.

Choosing the Right Glassware

While the standard 12 oz longneck is the industry workhorse, mixing up your bottle sizes can be a strategic move for your homebrew cellar.

• The Standard (12 oz / 355 ml): Ideal for IPAs, Pale Ales, and beers you want to consume in a single sitting.
• The Bomber (22 oz / 650 ml): Perfect for gifting or for sharing. You cap fewer bottles, making the process faster, but you must drink the whole thing once opened.
• The Belgian (750 ml): Excellent for high-gravity styles like Saisons or Tripels that you plan to age. Thick glass handles pressure well.

Oxygen: The Silent Enemy

The single biggest flaw in homemade beer is oxidation, which creates a wet cardboard flavor. Bottling is the moment of highest risk. To mitigate this:

• Use a Bottling Wand: Never pour beer into a bottle directly from a spigot or jug. Use a spring-loaded bottling wand that fills from the bottom up. This prevents splashing and creates a protective blanket of foam.
• The "Headspace" Geometry: When you remove the bottling wand, it naturally leaves about an inch of empty space at the neck. This is not wasted space; it is vital for carbonation pressure. However, leaving too much headspace traps excessive oxygen. Trust the wand's displacement to set the perfect level.

The "Twist-Off" Trap

It is tempting to reuse commercial beer bottles, but you must avoid "twist-off" bottles at all costs. The glass threads on the neck are not designed to hold the crimped seal of a hand capper. They often chip, break, or fail to seal entirely, leaving you with flat, infected, or dangerous beer.

Use the calculator above to plan your session, clean your glass, and package your beer with the confidence of a Master Brewer.