BobbiLynn

Recipes 

I will try out the recipe....

Varmintman

Recipes 

Just remember to use instant grits and instant rice or do a cereal mash. You can do the cereal mash on the stove but it is a pain in the butt unless you have a ton of rice and grits you can use.

kombat

Recipes 

Um... it's not?

I respectfully suggest that for most of us here, "making better beer" is precisely the point.

A wittier person than I once wrote, "homebrewing to save money on beer is like buying a boat to save money on fish."

Andrikos

Recipes 

I'd say your cheapest (and still flavorful) beer will be a Berliner Weiße.

You only need 1.038 OG (55% 2-row, 40% wheat malt, 5% table sugar - Plus ~1/2 lb uncrushed grain for souring your mash).

Mash (2-row and wheat) at 156F for 60 minutes, let it cool down to ~100F, add the grain (that contains the "beer-spoiling" Lactobacillus bugs) and keep at "Body temperature" for ~2 days. A beer cooler is great for this.
It will stink (keep it in the garage or outside!) but tastes much better than it smells.

Sample the flavor regularly until it will reach the sourness of your choice. After 2 days it will be sour enough. Now it's time for a mini boil (15 mins to kill the Lacto and give a tiny bit of bitterness to the beer). Add the sugar (~8oz for 5 gallon batch) 2/3 Oz 5% AA hops or whatever will give you about 5-6 IBUs of mini-bitterness.

Pitch an S-04 or S-05 or similar yeast at ~70F and ferment as normal light ale.

Can you get cheaper than that? Probably not!

BobbiLynn

Recipes 

Hmm... I bought a boat to save money on fish, better. fresher fish... goes great with a homebrew, fresh fish caught from the boat... better than anything you can go out and buy...

Jayhem

Recipes 

I still don't buy the "Homebrewing doesn't save money" bit.

I've run the math. After 15 batches I had paid for my initial equipment investment. I'm now making good beer that would cost 3-4X more in the store and enjoying the process.

__________________
Next up: Red Zombie IPA
Primary #1 + 2: Centennial Blonde Summer Ale
Bottle Conditioning: Shmuck's Belgian Dubbel, Dry Irish Stout
Drinking: Citra-tennial APA, Honeybee American Wheat Ale

Proboscidea

Recipes 

If you're looking for cheap sugars to ferment, don't forget Skeeter Pee.

Yeah, yeah, some people will tell you it's a nasty wine cooler type beverage. Those people are correct, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. I love the stuff. There's something wrong with me, I know. No matter. Join me on the trashy Skeeter pee train!

People who live in regions where the yards have lemon trees can get the lemon juice for free/barter; or bulk. Table sugar is cheap in bulk. Wine yeast is pretty cheap (Red Star Montrachet $0.75). It might be hard to make 5 gallons for $10, but you're also talking about something that's 8-10% ABV rather than 3-4% ABV. Could be scaled down in volume to get a similar bang for the buck.

__________________
"Honey, if you keep doing that, the fire is going to climb right back up to that can in your hand and explode and give you horrible injuries, and it will just ruin my entire weekend."

Fermenting:
Ginger mead (3gal)
EdWort's Apfelwein (3gal) + EdWort's Apfelwein (1gal) with .5lb Crystal 40, hoping for caramel notes
Skeeter Pee (3gal)

BobbiLynn

Recipes 

I'll join you, just because it sounds like fun, but where are we going? I already make tons of low ABV pruno. Made it myself, I'll drink it!!

Ramitt

Recipes 

Because that 50 dollar beer is significantly diffferent? The $10 beer may well be drinkable, but to my pallatte the $50 is likely to be much better.

Proboscidea

Recipes 

Not Wichita, that's for sure. Less'n you're a hog or cattle. People train runs out of Stubbville!

__________________
"Honey, if you keep doing that, the fire is going to climb right back up to that can in your hand and explode and give you horrible injuries, and it will just ruin my entire weekend."

Fermenting:
Ginger mead (3gal)
EdWort's Apfelwein (3gal) + EdWort's Apfelwein (1gal) with .5lb Crystal 40, hoping for caramel notes
Skeeter Pee (3gal)