My dreams have come true!

bhughes · 11-30-2011, 06:25 PM

I have been a homebrewer for a few years now, and moved to kegging my beers about 2 years ago using corny kegs and a small kegerator made from a chest freezer. My homebrewing has been slack lately with other things going on and knowing that even when I do finally get around to making my brew it will be almost 2 months before I can drink it.

Well, I just recently discovered that Total Wine, the big beer store here in NC, sales 1/6 kegs of craft brews. And, they have my favorite IPA from a local brewery that I've only been able to have when it's on tap at a bar for like $4 a glass. The 1/6 keg of this stuff is only $70 which is at least how much I spend to brew my IPAs at home to have as big a hop flavor as I prefer.

Now, for the same price, I can get a keg of my favorite beer that I've never been able to make as good myself, anytime! AMAZING!

I think the price is so good b/c it's a local brewery. The Total Wine store has the dogfishhead 60 minute IPA in the same size keg for $95. That's $25 more! And the dogfishhead IPA is nothing special to me. This Hoppyum IPA is fantastic compared to that.

I'll still make my own brew next year sometime after my hop harvest comes in. I planted them this year so I didn't have enough to harvest but next year should be good.

**Zamial** · 11-30-2011, 06:31 PM

I am glad you found a good deal on beer you like. I hope your life calms down a bit so you can sneak in a brew day here or there.

cjb · 11-30-2011, 08:40 PM

Not sure about your local laws, but around here my neighborhood breweries will fill corny kegs for about $50. You may be able to get it even cheaper if you supply the keg!

sean6247 · 11-30-2011, 09:05 PM

I live in North CA, I take my cornies to local breweries (mostly Rubicon) all the time and get them filled. The great thing is that they even offer their beers unfiltered if I prefer them that way. It costs about $45, no deposit. I can usually drop them off in the morning and return later that day and pick it up.

**scottland** · 11-30-2011, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhughes

The 1/6 keg of this stuff is only $70 which is at least how much I spend to brew my IPAs at home to have as big a hop flavor as I prefer.

Let me help you save some money. Buy hops in bulk. Buying grain in bulk helps a little. But buy your hops in bulk

Take my Furry Penguin recipe under my name.

$14 in grain if you buy in bulk probably $18 at retail.
$7 in yeast either liquid or 2 packs of dry.
So we're at $21-25. Then I use 17.25oz of hops in a 5gal. batch. At $2-3oz you typically see at the homebrew shop, it's $35+ just in hops. Buy your hops from places like hops direct, farmhouse brewing supply, freshhops.com or anyone else having a big hop sale.

This years crop cost me around 80-90cents per ounce including shipping. So those 17.25oz of hops cost me around $15. So my Double IPA costs me around $36-40, and I couldn't imagine a beer that was much hoppier =)

Buy those hops in bulk!!

**BierMuncher** · 11-30-2011, 09:41 PM

It's the small things that count.

bhughes · 12-01-2011, 01:03 PM

Great ideas guys. There aren't many breweries that close to me here. I only go by the total wine store if we go to the city which is an hour away, but the brewery that the keg comes from is over 3 hours away.

I should have more hops than I know what to do with, for free, at the end of this summer. I've got 2 cascade and 2 centinniel plants that I planted last April. They had some hops on them this year but not enough to worry about harvesting. Also, I'm not an all grain brewer so I can't save by buying grain in bulk.

But there is a restaurant in town here that is also a small brewery. I'll have to check and see if they fill kegs.

**scottland** · 12-01-2011, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhughes

Also, I'm not an all grain brewer so I can't save by buying grain in bulk.

Ah, sorry I assumed. Extract definitely runs up the bill for a recipe over 1.060.