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**petep1980** · 05-03-2010, 03:28 PM

I'm a real estate agent and to do my taxes I needed to do expenses. I downloaded my credit card statement from the previous year to tabulate. Anyways I kept seeing charges to LHBS, Austinhomebrew, Hopsdirect and BMWarehouse and I was curious to see how much I spent on home brewing in 2009.

It was over $2000!!!! Egads. That's like 7% of my take home pay.

This year I'm trying to keep it under $1000.

jacob1484 · 05-03-2010, 03:43 PM

i try not to think about it

**osagedr** · 05-03-2010, 04:14 PM

It's really gross for me in the last year: 20 lb CO2 tank and three corneys with all the associated tubing, disconnects, etc.; dual gauge double regulator from kegconnection.com; digital temp control; 12.5 cf chest freezer for fermentation/ lagering; double cooler AG system from NB; Blichmann 10g kettle and burner; not to mention a couple of oak barrels for aging wine. Oh and the 15 wine kits and 25 batches of beer. Jebus.

Mischief_Brewing · 05-03-2010, 04:50 PM

I dare not type it, my wife might be reading...

And if you count "craft beer research" into that total, I probably spent almost as much on beer as I did my kids...

archiefl98 · 05-03-2010, 06:43 PM

There was another thread similar to this. I think I came up with about $1500 for the past year alone. Some expenses were purchased primarily for beer, but have also been put to other uses, so I guess you could deduct some of that out of there.

chefmike · 05-03-2010, 06:54 PM

But going homebrew and going AG makes it cost less.

really.

This year I am trying to keep it to $200-$300 (that is 4 taps with a pipeline. 10 to 15 gallons a month). Last year was big, as I stepped into bulk buying, and kegging. I want to build an electric fired system in the next few years, with pumps and all, but I am holding off for now.

I think I am going to build a patio and cooking area first, then come back and re work the brew system.

Grinder12000 · 05-03-2010, 07:38 PM

Sadly - my first year of home brewing cost me MORE then all the beer I had consumed in the first 50 years of my life!

BTW - I HATE beer - 49 years of my life was Bud and Miller and I get a gag reflex on macro swill - thus I never drank it. Yuck!

Now - I brew 200 gallons a year LOL

**osagedr** · 05-03-2010, 08:52 PM

Yeah homebrewing to "save money"...not so much. It will take me a lot of batches to recoup my capital costs. But I really don't care...I love to brew.

Same story with wine for me. For what I've spent on equipment and kits I could have had a nice $50 bottle every couple of weeks forever.

**strat_thru_marshall** · 05-03-2010, 08:58 PM

This year was expensive. I went from brewing about four times a year to every weekend. Started all grain, got all the gear for that. Got into kegging, so had to get cornys and all gear, 14 cuft freezer to convert, etc. Also stepped up to bulk grain and hop purchases, built a temperature controlled fermentation chamber... I'd gotta think that the tally is pushing $3k or more. I try to break it down into small chunks so it doesnt sting so much.

I gotta say though...it was reading all the great ideas on this board that got me to build the keezer rig, the fermentation chamber, and to invest in alot of the accessories that I didnt have before! Now I want a Brutus!! Thats on the agenda for NEXT year.

munche · 05-03-2010, 09:04 PM

I just brewed batch #3

A quick run up of my costs:

Kit #1: friend bought it!
Craigslist fridge: $100
Temp Controller: $130
Initial "starter kit" with AIPA, bottles, full boil kettle, wort chiller, yeast starter gear: $380
Upgraded temperature monitoring stuff, 2nd carboy and beer kit #2: $80
2 more batches from AHS to put in the pipeline: $90

So $780! And I haven't gone AG yet! But I'm hoping to get out of that for under $100 building a cooler system. Probably going to buy a $20 foodsaver so I can bulk buy hops, too.

If I do go AG, at least my per-batch cost will be lower!