Ginger bug
About 60 mL per litre. Use twice that in a cool kitchen.
Fermented Sodas · Calculator
Sodas Ginger Bug Calculator
Sugar, ginger bug and water for any batch of ginger beer, lemonade or juice soda, and how long the bottles need in your kitchen.
Live calculator · updates as you type
Your soda
What are you making?Like a craft ginger beer: sweet, but not sugary.
How much ginger bug?1/4 cup per quart (about 60 mL per litre). Right for a lively bug in a normal kitchen.
How warm is your kitchen?20–24°C / 68–75°F
Your batch
Sugar 140g · 0.70 cups
Ginger bug liquid 125mL · 0.53 cups
Water1.81 L · 7.7 cups
Fresh ginger, grated80 g · 2.8 oz
Lemon juice60 mL · 0.25 cups
Room-temperature window2–3 days
Then Check pressure once a day; refrigerate once fizzy
What to do next
Make this soda in 4 steps
Every amount below is for your 2 litres batch.
Free printable
Keep this batch on one page
A batch card made from your numbers, to save as a PDF or receive by email:
- Your amounts in big type
- These steps with tick-boxes
- Bottling and chilling dates
- A fizz log for each day
Starting a ginger bug, day by day
| When | Add | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 2 tbsp grated ginger, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 cups (480 mL) water | Stir and cover with a cloth |
| Days 2–5 | 1 tbsp grated ginger and 1 tbsp sugar each day | Small bubbles by day 2 or 3 |
| Ready | Usually day 3–7 | Fizzes when stirred, smells yeasty |
| Keeping it | Fridge; feed 1 tbsp of each once a week | Feed and warm it a day before use |
Fizz without guesswork
Size any ginger bug soda in seconds
Every ginger bug soda is the same balance of sugar, live starter and time. The calculator sets the amounts; the guide below covers bottling, timing and keeping the pressure safe.
Use these reference values to interpret your results
- ¼ cup per quart
- ⅓ cup per litre
Sugar
For a classic sweetness. The yeast eats some of it to make the fizz.
- 2–3 days
In the bottle
In an average kitchen, then straight into the fridge.
How it adds up
Ginger bug ¼ cup per quart · sugar 50–90 g per litreLess sweet uses 50 g of sugar per litre, classic 70 g and sweet 90 g. Water makes up the rest of the batch after the bug, lemon or juice. Juice sodas are half juice, which already carries sugar, so less is added.
Understand and use your results
Pick the soda and how much you are making, in litres, quarts or gallons. Then choose how sweet you like it, how much ginger bug to use, and how warm your kitchen is.
The calculator gives the sugar, ginger bug, water and flavouring in grams, millilitres and cups, and how long the sealed bottles need before they go in the fridge.
Worked example
2 litres of ginger beer, classic sweetness, standard ginger bug, average kitchen140 g sugar, 125 mL ginger bug, 80 g ginger, 60 mL lemon juiceAbout 1.8 L water; leave the bottles out 2–3 daysMaking a ginger bug soda
Dissolve the sugar in some hot water (for ginger beer, simmer the grated ginger in it for 15 minutes), then top up with cold water and let it cool to room temperature. Stir in the lemon or juice and the strained ginger bug liquid.
Funnel into pressure-rated bottles leaving 3–4 cm of headspace, seal, and leave at room temperature. Top up the ginger bug with fresh water, ginger and sugar so it is ready for the next batch.
Bottle time by temperature
Warmer rooms ferment faster. These are starting points; the bottle tells you when it is ready.
Under 18°C4–7 days. Move somewhere warmer if nothing happens by day 4.
18–21°C3–4 days.
21–24°C2–3 days.
Over 24°C1–2 days. Check twice a day.
Avoiding bottle bombs
Use swing-top bottles made for carbonation or plastic soda bottles, never decorative glass or jars. Fill one plastic bottle as a gauge: when it is rock hard, the batch is carbonated. Refrigerate everything then, and open bottles over a sink, pointed away from you. Sealed bottles left warm for days can build enough pressure to burst.
Troubleshooting
- Flat, sweet, dry or mouldy batches
- Flat: the bug was sluggish or the room was cold. Feed the bug and use it at its most bubbly, and give bottles another day somewhere warm. Too sweet: bottle time was short or the bug was weak. Too dry or boozy: it fermented too long or too warm; chill sooner. Mould on the bug: discard it and start again with organic, unpeeled ginger and a clean jar.
FAQ
Ginger Bug Soda Calculator questions
How much ginger bug do I add to a soda?
A quarter cup per quart (about 60 mL per litre) is the classic amount. Use twice that, half a cup per quart, for a faster and more reliable start in a cool kitchen or with a slow bug.
How much sugar goes into a ginger bug soda?
About 1/4 to 1/2 cup per litre (50–90 g), depending on how sweet you like it. The yeast eats part of the sugar to make the fizz, so the finished soda is less sweet than it tastes at bottling.
How long do I leave ginger bug soda to ferment?
Sealed in bottles at room temperature: roughly 3–4 days at 18–21°C, 2–3 days at 21–24°C, and 1–2 days above 24°C. Check the pressure daily and refrigerate as soon as the bottles are fizzy.
Why is my ginger bug soda flat?
The bug was not active enough, the room was cold, or the bottles do not seal. Use the bug when it fizzes when stirred, feed it the day before, keep the bottles somewhere warm, and use swing-top or plastic soda bottles.
Is ginger bug soda alcoholic?
Slightly. Short ferments that are chilled as soon as they are carbonated are usually well under 1% ABV, but warm, long ferments climb higher. For a deliberately alcoholic version, see alcoholic ginger beer in the brewing guides.
Soda guides and tools
Calculators and guides for your next step.
- Ginger bug starter Calculator · Make and keep the starter this calculator uses.
- Homemade ginger beer Calculator · The classic ginger bug soda, step by step.
- Fermented lemonade Calculator · A bright, fizzy lemonade with ginger bug or whey.
- Kombucha second fermentation calculator Calculator · Priming sugar and timing for bottled kombucha.
