THE TAILORED TAPROOM • DRAFT SYSTEM TOOL

Beer Line Size & Length Calculator

Balance serving pressure against beer-line resistance and vertical lift to reduce fast pours, breakout, and excessive foam. Designed for standard CO₂ draft systems.

1. Enter Your Draft Setup

Use the normal pressure applied to the keg while serving.
Optional. The calculator adds approximately 1 PSI per 2,000 ft of elevation.
Approximate actual tubing distance.
Positive when the faucet is above the keg.

2. Recommended Setup

Enter your setup and select Calculate Beer Line.
Recommended line —
Recommended length —
Serving pressure —
Gravity loss —
Line resistance —

What this means

Long-draw note: This run is beyond a typical direct-draw setup. Line temperature, trunk-line design, glycol cooling, gas blend, fittings, and choker line can become as important as tubing diameter. Use this result as a starting point rather than a final engineered design.

How the Calculator Works

Balance the system

Applied keg pressure should be opposed by tubing resistance and the static pressure created by vertical lift.

Keep serving pressure correct

Do not fix foam by simply lowering CO₂ pressure. Pressure should first match the beer's temperature and carbonation requirement.

Use line size to control flow

Smaller ID tubing creates more resistance per foot. Larger tubing is generally better suited to longer runs.

Reference values: calculator uses commonly published Brewers Association / draft-industry dynamic resistance values: 3/16" vinyl ≈ 3.0 PSI/ft, 1/4" vinyl ≈ 0.85 PSI/ft, 5/16" vinyl ≈ 0.40 PSI/ft, 3/8" vinyl ≈ 0.20 PSI/ft; barrier tubing values are lower. Actual resistance varies by tubing manufacturer, temperature, fittings, and flow rate.

This calculator is intended for practical system planning and troubleshooting. Specialty beers, nitrogen/stout systems, mixed-gas systems, very long draws, and glycol trunk systems should be balanced using the equipment manufacturer's specifications or a qualified draft technician.