Party Drink Calculator

It depends on the vibe. Our calculator uses 0.75 drinks per person per hour for a chill session, 1 drink per hour for a standard party, and 1.5 for a rager — each with a buffer built in. Set your vibe and duration above, and the calculator accounts for your food situation and excludes alcohol-free guests automatically.

For 20 drinkers at a 3-hour party with light snacks, you're looking at around 47 beers — roughly 2 full cases of 24. For a chill gathering the same crowd needs closer to 35. Set your sliders above for your exact setup.

We multiply your drinking guests by a per-hour consumption rate — 0.75× for Chill, 1.0× for Party, 1.5× for Rager — then add a buffer of 10–20% so you don't run dry. Food slows people down: no food runs at full rate, light snacks reduce consumption by 15%, and a full meal by 30%. The total is split by your beer-to-cocktail ratio. Honest arithmetic. Slight Danish bias toward good beer.

Yes — significantly. No food means the full drink rate applies. Light snacks reduce consumption by 15%. A full meal reduces it by 30%. If you're hosting a dinner or barbecue, switch to "Full Meal" and you'll see the numbers drop noticeably. The calculator reflects real-world drinking behaviour so you don't over-order.

A full case is 24 cans or bottles — the standard case size in our webshop. For smaller quantities, the calculator shows six-packs (6 units). The output always rounds to the nearest pack so you can order directly without any mental maths.

Use the "alcohol-free beverages" slider for guests who aren't drinking alcohol — they're calculated separately at 1 drink per hour with a 10% buffer. The "How many guests are drinking?" slider covers alcoholic drinks only. Both groups appear in the crystal ball summary so everyone is accounted for.

Match the beer to the occasion. For a chill gathering, session lagers and pale ales are crowd-pleasers that keep things easy. For a proper party, a mixed selection with IPAs and pale ales covers more tastes. A rager calls for big flavours — DIPAs, imperial stouts, or sours for the adventurous. Browse the party collection above for curated picks.