Chilled Drink Calculator — How Long to Cool a Drink
Forgot to chill your drinks? Enter the current and target temperature, pick your container type and cooling method, and get the exact number of minutes until your drink reaches the perfect serving temperature — plus a live cooling curve.
Container type
Cooling method
°C
°C
°C
2 hr 18 min
- 1
Temperature span ratio
(25 − 4) ÷ (5 − 4) = 21 - 2
Cooling rate constant k
0.022 /minEmpirical constant calibrated to this container type and cooling method. - 3
Cooling time
ln(21) ÷ 0.022 = 138Newton's Law of Cooling rearranged for time: t = ln(ratio) ÷ k.
How does this calculator work?
Using Newton's Law of Cooling — T(t) = T_env + (T_start − T_env) × e^(−k·t) — rearranged for time: t = ln[(T_start − T_env) / (T_target − T_env)] / k. A can chills from 25°C to 5°C in ~45 min (fridge), ~18 min (freezer), or ~12 min (ice bath).
Formula
How this is calculated
Newton's Law of Cooling describes how an object's temperature approaches its surrounding environment exponentially over time: the rate of heat loss is proportional to the temperature difference between the object and its environment. The temperature at time t is T(t) = T_env + (T_start − T_env) × e^(−k·t), where k is the cooling rate constant.
Solving for t gives the time to reach any target temperature: t = ln[(T_start − T_env) / (T_target − T_env)] / k. The rate constant k depends on the container's surface area, mass, and thermal conductivity, plus the cooling medium's convective properties. An ice bath is fastest (good convection from direct liquid contact), a freezer is slower per degree but can reach sub-zero environments, and a fridge is slowest due to still air and a modest temperature differential.
The k values used here are empirical approximations derived from commonly cited measurements for typical beverage containers. Actual cooling times vary with container material, fill level, fridge/freezer load, and whether you rotate or move the item. The cooling curve chart shows temperature versus minutes so you can read off the temperature at any point along the way.
Frequently asked questions
A standard 330 ml can starting at room temperature (25°C) takes roughly 40–50 minutes in a 4°C fridge to reach a typical beer serving temperature of 5°C. In an ice bath it takes only 10–15 minutes, and in a freezer about 15–20 minutes (but beware of freezing — remove after 20 minutes).
Yes — a freezer (−18°C) chills drinks much faster than a fridge because the temperature differential is much larger. A can goes from 25°C to 5°C in roughly 15–20 minutes. Set a timer to avoid freezing carbonated drinks, which can burst.
Lager/pilsner: 4–7°C. Ales and stouts: 8–12°C. Sparkling wine: 6–10°C. White wine: 8–12°C. Red wine: 14–18°C. Soda: 4–6°C. Enter your preferred target in the calculator to get the exact wait time.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Chilled Drink Calculator — How Long to Cool a Drink [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/chilled-drink-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Chilled Drink Calculator — How Long to Cool a Drink." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/chilled-drink-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Chilled Drink Calculator — How Long to Cool a Drink," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/chilled-drink-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_chilled_drink_calculator, title = {Chilled Drink Calculator — How Long to Cool a Drink}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/chilled-drink-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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