Forty Bucks for five gallons of ingredients?

pnj · 03-05-2009, 03:40 PM

I'm not brewing anything special and I realize the cost of everything ('specially hops) has increased over the years but does $40.00 or so sound a bit high?

6 lbs. Pale Malt Syrup
1 lbs Organic Two-Row Pale Malt
1/2 lbs 60L Crystal Grain
1/4 lbs Dextrin Grain
2 oz. Cascade Hops
2 oz. Sterling Hops
Safale Us-05 Dry Yeast

This is from my local shop.

Displaced MassHole · 03-05-2009, 03:43 PM

Just another reason to go all grain and start buying in bulk. You cost per brew will be much cheaper.

nostalgia · 03-05-2009, 03:44 PM

That's about what I pay for recipe kits from Austin Homebrew, which have similar amounts of ingredients, so it sounds good to me.

-Joe

**Revvy** · 03-05-2009, 03:45 PM

Well that's one of the issues with extract, it's more expensive than buying grain...But 40 bucks is about right..

Think about it this way... 5 gallons @ 40 bucks is 2 cases (and possibly) 1 more sixer of beer...

The average price of a sixer of a beer that I like, such as Bell's 2 hearted ale is about 10 bucks/sixer..... some other beers I like can range as high a 17.00/sixer...

So to get 5 gallons worth of Bells two hearted it would be 10.00 x 9 sixers or 90.00.....

So 40.00 bucks is STILL a bargain...

**IrregularPulse** · 03-05-2009, 03:45 PM

Is there a non organic option there for your 2 row? i know on websites it's a bit more expensive than the normal stuff.
Compare their prices to online prices at AHS, Northernbrewer, ect.

FWIW, I just paid 52 for ingredients plus shipping for 5G of an AllGrain Fat Tire clone.
Granted I put the recipe together grain by grain fro yoop's recipe and I will have some of each specialty grain left over because you can only order in 1lb increments.

**JPicasso** · 03-05-2009, 03:49 PM

IF
3 lbs of DME is 11.00
1 oz hops are 2.99
THEN
You're at 22+12= 34 right there.
6 bucks for the grains and other, sounds about right.

you can get your hop bill down to <$2 per oz by ordering by the pound.
Sub in a pound of sugar for a pound of LME can save a bit. (if you have to)
Is this a kit?
Seems like getting your crystal and what-not by the pound would be cheaper. Course then you have to makeup your own recipes to clear out your stock.

Look into "Brew in a bag" for going to All-grain savings.

ArcaneXor · 03-05-2009, 04:17 PM

I also get about $34 plus tax using online prices. Add shipping costs to that, and you're sitting right around 40. I'd go with your local shop in that case.

It's difficult to significantly cut costs as an extract brewer. You can buy hops in bulk (about 4-5 varieties allow you to brew most beer styles out there), you can try partial mashing, or you could buy DME in bulk. Re-using yeast or going with dry whenever that's an option is another good idea.

flyangler18 · 03-05-2009, 04:19 PM

The majority of the cost is wrapped up in the extract. Simply put: the more manufactured an ingredient is, the greater the cost.

Brew-Happy · 03-05-2009, 04:34 PM

What do your hops cost per ounce? If it is close to some online places that accounts for ~$16 of your recipe. If you cut that back it will help or buy from a wholesaler with hop availability getting better.

If you know other brewers in your area you could buy a bulk order of hops and split the cost+shipping.

SumnerH · 03-05-2009, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnj

I'm not brewing anything special and I realize the cost of everything ('specially hops) has increased over the years but does $40.00 or so sound a bit high?

6 lbs. Pale Malt Syrup
1 lbs Organic Two-Row Pale Malt
1/2 lbs 60L Crystal Grain
1/4 lbs Dextrin Grain
2 oz. Cascade Hops
2 oz. Sterling Hops
Safale Us-05 Dry Yeast

This is from my local shop.

1. Buy a 55# bag of pale DME. Split it into 2 5-gallon buckets with tight-fitting lids for long-term storage.
2. Buy hops that you're going to use often in bulk from hopsdirect.com or freshops.com
3. Culture and save any liquid yeasts that you're going to use more than once. This works for dry, too, but doesn't save quite as much money.