Cost of Beer Kits vs Buying Bulk

MaxStout said:

And if you go for a run down some road, a bunch of bored teenagers might drive by and shoot you in the back.

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I just heard about that last night. Sad stuff. Yet another reason I don't go outside, or run for that matter. I have found my recliner is really really safe.

RoughandReadyRanch said:

I just heard about that last night. Sad stuff. Yet another reason I don't go outside, or run for that matter. I have found my recliner is really really safe.

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12 oz. curls, FTW! :cross:

Just placed an order with a local place for 50# 2-row, 1lb each (pellets) Cascade, Chinook, Perle, and Warrior...came out to $94. First up will be a Sierra Nevada clone, and since I have to buy yeast for that, it'll come in around $20. After that, I'll wash the yeast and use it to do 2 bigger IPAs, each of those will come in around $20-25. Prices don't include the sanitizer, caps, etc that you'd have to have no matter which method you used to aquire ingredients.

Oh, one caveat about buying in bulk... You brew more, so it might end up costing you more

BinghamtonEd said:

Just placed an order with a local place for 50# 2-row, 1lb each (pellets) Cascade, Chinook, Perle, and Warrior...came out to $94. First up will be a Sierra Nevada clone, and since I have to buy yeast for that, it'll come in around $20. After that, I'll wash the yeast and use it to do 2 bigger IPAs, each of those will come in around $20-25. Prices don't include the sanitizer, caps, etc that you'd have to have no matter which method you used to aquire ingredients.

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Very fair prices IMO for a LHBS...if mine had deals like that I would support them.

FWIW I'm a fan of pitching a fresh slurry rather than yeast washing (fresh being up to a couple weeks stored in the fridge)...there was a thread recently that supported pitching slurry from a previous batch, upside being less chance of infection, downside being carrying over some of the trub / hop debris from the prior batch.

Both work...pitching the slurry just seems easier for me.

wilserbrewer said:

Very fair prices IMO for a LHBS...if mine had deals like that I would support them.

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It's actually a nano, I priced the LHBS on their website and it would've been around $125. I usually only go to the LHBS for specialty grains, as they have a decent selection, and the nano does not. Not only are the nano's prices better, but it's more fun to go there and share a few beers and talk about said beers.

wilserbrewer said:

FWIW I'm a fan of pitching a fresh slurry rather than yeast washing (fresh being up to a couple weeks stored in the fridge)...there was a thread recently that supported pitching slurry from a previous batch, upside being less chance of infection, downside being carrying over some of the trub / hop debris from the prior batch.

Both work...pitching the slurry just seems easier for me.

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Do you just toss in a cup of the slurry, or use MrMalty's calculator? I've lined up my next few batches such that a little trub/hop won't matter. I'm starting with a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone, then using the yeast from that to do a Rye IPA, Chinook IPA, and Cascade/Perle IPA, all using Nottingham. Also have a Cascade Blonde coming up, but that'll get a different yeast.

So my take is this...how much brewing related space do you have altogether and how much of it is climate controlled (just the 60-75F 50-70% humidity type)?

If you have space for 20 gal of fermenters...then you have space for at least two 50-55# sacks of grain. The idea earlier in the thread with buckets under fermenters can be extrapolated to two 20 gal totes stacked with two brew-buckets or carboys on top. Now you have a base and a commonly used specialty malt.

Do you have a freezer...any freezer? If so I will promise that you have space for two pounds of hops broken down into one ounce ziplocks inside a 2-gal ziplock. trust me, no one's freezer is so full it can't take this.

Do you have a refrigerator? Buy half-pint Ball canning jars (Menards, on sale for $6.99/dozen) and start harvesting yeast. These tiny jars stack 4 high without issue so a dozen (3 strains x four jars) take up about the half the space of a 6-pack.

In my former brewing operation before my move, I could do my house Redneck Pale Ale and a Leg-Spreader Blonde (4#'s of honey from 20# bulk at the farmers market) in one day and have 20 gallons of homebrew for about $42.

Extra equipment and storage items = about $150 (mostly the mill and a plywood box on casters for the 4-totes...needed space for the four active fermenters at once so I got 200#'s in grain storage as a bonus). I lived in an 1100 sq ft house with my wife and 240#'s of dogs. The only complaint was the smell of the fermenters when I had all 4 going at once.

BinghamtonEd said:

Do you just toss in a cup of the slurry, or use MrMalty's calculator? I've lined up my next few batches such that a little trub/hop won't matter. I'm starting with a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone, then using the yeast from that to do a Rye IPA, Chinook IPA, and Cascade/Perle IPA, all using Nottingham. Also have a Cascade Blonde coming up, but that'll get a different yeast.

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Well sort of, I consult w mr malty, but not being totally sure of the trub content, or viability if its been in the fridge for a couple weeks, I kinda wing it.

Typically I fill up a 28 - 32 oz jar of slurry for an 8 gallon batch, after the yeast settles, I'm left w about 20 oz of dense slurry and add most of that to a batch...I try not to get to hung up on calculators but just like to get reasonably close.

Or if I'm brewing and kegging same day, I simply use a large soup ladle to scoop slurry from the finished brew to the fresh wort.

I realize it's been a year and a half since I posted this thread, but I have come a long way in my brewing during that time and wanted to post an update. My system has transformed from a turkey fryer with no temp control to a Hybrid 3 tier, natural gas, Rims based system with 25 gallon kettles, a temp controlled standup freezer capable of 25gals at a time, a grain mill etc......

When I posted this thread and received replies saying it was possible to brew 5 gallon batches in the $10-$20 range I was super skeptical. Below are the totals for my most recent 15g batch of a Sierra Nevada clone. This is using 3rd gen harvested yeast and keep in mind, a 5 gallon keg of Sierra Nevada at my local beer shop is $99!

Grains
2 Row 30lb $22.19
Crystal 60 3lb $5.07

Hops
Magnum 1.5oz $1.50
Perle 1.5oz $1.73
Cascade 9oz $13.88

Yeast
US-05 Slurry $0

Total $44.37 15gals
$14.79 5gals

While many of us don't brew just to save money, it is cool when you can brew a good beer on the cheap like that. Five gallons for under $15 is awesome. That's about 30 cents a bottle.

MaxStout said:

While many of us don't brew just to save money, it is cool when you can brew a good beer on the cheap like that. Five gallons for under $15 is awesome. That's about 30 cents a bottle.

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I'm about 15 batches in on my system and although I knew I was saving $'s, had no idea it was so much. And so true, I'm not brewing to save money, just an added bonus!

Even in buying a recipe at a time, a significant amount of money can be saved.

I recently brewed a London Porter clone for my father. I spent about $35 in order to brew a 5gal batch. If you go to the store to buy it around here it will cost you about $50 a case. As long as you don't count your time, money is easy to save.

ZD Clone was $40 with all the Citra to buy @ one shot at the LHBS.

Wasn't a heck of a lot cheaper than the kit, but still saved some money.

Buying hops/grains in bulk would definitely save more... but I have just been buying it a recipe at a time until I get a storage area going.

If I wanted to save money, I'd drink King Cobra 40oz'ers. Lol!

If it weren't for the Brooklyn Brew Shop kit that my wife got me for my birthday last year, I wouldn't be brewing at all - so that has to count for something. Also, by the time I am done working my way though their pre-made, all-grain mixes (which are very good, by the way), I will be able to start playing with actual recipes.

The one fly in the ointment that is my brewing life is that the closest LHBS to me is about 250 miles away, so the pre-packaged mixes - at 15$ per mix - are not necessarily a bad choice for me. When shipping from BBS is 45$ or over, it is free, which is like getting an extra mix for free as well.

k1ngl1ves said:

If I wanted to save money, I'd drink King Cobra 40oz'ers. Lol!

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or Old English 800 maybe Colt 45

nothing like a cold 40 in a brown bag on a hot summer day

You should look into buying 50lb sacks of two row. Then all you need is your hops and specialty grains, if you recycle your yeast that is....

One thing I do is when I pop a new smack pack is I pour a little into a starter, then pitch the rest into whatever beer I'm brewing. Once the starter is done, I switch off my stirplate. When the yeast has settled I decant, swirl, and then pour into test tubes and stick in the ice box. I usually get about 4/10ths of a test tube full of yeast cake. Which is great for making new starters. With 10-12 tubes every time I do this, I save 60-70 dollars and get fresh strains. But obviously you could pour a little off one of those starters as well, and keep it going... But I've always heard sooner or later you'll wear out your yeast.

Also, some specialty grains can be made at home with the oven. I recently made up about 10lbs of crystal 120-140L. A little bit of time in the oven and your good.

But you might check out HighGravity, they have 7.99 flat rate shipping, even on sacks of grain. Worth the purchase.