Is this really worth it ?

This hobby is great.

The more you drink, the more cost effective it is.

Well it looks like Orfy hit it on the nose. And in your example above don't you think it's a bit conservative? 10 pints a week? And if your significant other likes to drink pints then add that into the picture. Oh, and the wild parties I have at home serving up beer on tap. Unfortunately I can't seem to remember many of them....

Geologist said:

Well it looks like Orfy hit it on the nose. And in your example above don't you think it's a bit conservative? 10 pints a week? And if your significant other likes to drink pints then add that into the picture. Oh, and the wild parties I have at home serving up beer on tap. Unfortunately I can't seem to remember many of them....

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Yep, but I'm looking at the worst case scenario (or is that best case)
At present I'm drinking more like 20 pints a week but that wont last. I refuse to buy larger trousers.
SWMBO loves the wine I make so that adds to the equations.

The amounts I mentioned are actually lower than the amount saved but it was more a illustration than a real case study.

I love good food, good wine and good beer. So, making my own is always rewarding and worth it to me. Yes, sometimes (especially with extract brewing and liquid yeasts), I've spent almost $50 per batch, which is pretty expensive! But, it's also my hobby. I don't build model planes or sew, etc, so this is not just a way to make great beer, it's part of my mental health therapy!

All-grain is generally much cheaper- and all I had to buy was my MLT, since I had everything else. It will only take about 4 batches to pay for the MLT investment. I reuse my yeasts as many times as I can- usually 3 times.

I guess I think of it this way- I can buy Stouffer's frozen lasanga at the store and bake it. It might cost $7. Or I can make the lasanga at home with super good quality ingredients for $20. They both will taste fine. The homemade lasanga will be outstanding, but cost quite a bit more and take up a whole day of my time. Is it worth it? It usually is.

I just got 2 kits from Morebeer ( German Hefeweizen and Irish Red Ale), both with white labs liquid yeast. They shipped everything for free... only cost me $59 for about 4 cases of good beer. Of course thats not including the cost of propane for my burner and water.

orfy said:

This hobby is great.

The more you drink, the more cost effective it is.

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HEY!! Orfy just gave me a new get-rich-quick scheme!

I have almost 2 grand worth of guitars and guitar equpment only to play reaaly ****ty versions of little wing i could have bought the song for a dollar from itunes.

It's all about the enjoyment of brewing your own beer and the best part, drinking it!! I spent more than I expected to start my own home brewery, after I realized the Mr. Beer Kits did not keep up with my needs. The thing is, I enjoy doing it. I have no problem spending $25 or $30 on a kit. Now I even get the White Labs Yeast that runs around $7.00+ per vial. You can go to the store and purchase Miller, Bud or some other "PISS" for $4.99 a six pack for $40.00 per 5 gallons or up to $70.00 for "good” imports. I travel 4 to 5 days a week so that means one brew is ready to drink, one secondary for bottling, another going to the secondary, and another for the primary. What's next?????? If you still want to be cheap you can get a 40oz. of Colt .45 or Old English 800 at the local gas station. (Reminds me of High School)

orfy said:

This hobby is great.

The more you drink, the more cost effective it is.

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Fingers said:

HEY!! Orfy just gave me a new get-rich-quick scheme!

Click to expand...

and

tbulger said:

I have almost 2 grand worth of guitars and guitar equpment only to play reaaly ****ty versions of little wing i could have bought the song for a dollar from itunes.

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Two of the best posts in the entire thread! LOL!!!!!


As for me, I didn't mean to come off as rude with my lasagn comment earlier on. I might've been in a hurry and trying to make my point without an overabundance of words. Or, perhaps, I was just trying to make the point as simply as possible. It was a short statement, but wasn't means to be rude.


Cheers!

If you're into this hobby to save money (or any hobby for that matter) and are concerned about the work involved, well then, sorry but this probably isn't for you. You're not finding it fun. If it isn't fun, why do it??? Personally, I love it!

While I didn't especially get into homebrewing for the cost savings, I must admit that I really do enjoy compiling my equipment "on the cheap". I barter things on craigslist, I build things, I find things at the Boeing Surplus store that were never meant for making beer and it all comes together. In fact just today I traded some computer memory for a chest freezer, temp controller, and a half barrel keg.

it might not be cost effective but you can sure brew to your taste and im sure with all the knowldege out there you can brew to save your self money

:rockin:

I personnally don't think it can ever be justified on a cost basis (rationalized maybe but not justified excluding Orfy of course ). If you factor in your time at even minimum wage. Then if you add equipt. to make things easier on yourself the costs sky rocket and most of this stuff is way over priced. If you enjoy making things yourself there's a good book called "Brew Ware" that can help keep the cost of equipt. down. Most of my equipt. is heirloom quality I'll never recoup the cost but if my son or his son enjoys the hobby the equipt will be around for them. They will be able to brew at a signifigant saving. To me it's all about the taste. I'll buy organic food if it tastes better. That's also one of the reasons I garden.

If you think this thread has nasty comments: Make a negitive post about aluminum brew pots. You'll see the nasties come out of the wood work. Some people will even make disparaging remarks about you personnally. Try not to take things personnal and remember when you are dealing with the public you are bound to get a Jerk or 2. Although I have to admit I didn't see anything here but
then again I don't read everyone's posts anymore either.

Most of the folks here are just trying to help others that are interested in the hobby. have a little fun, maybe learn something or any or all of the above.

I think like any hobby it needs to be a labor of love if not it's just work.

What all these people have said...

Also, if you're unsure what styles you like and might want to brew, I'd recommend doing a good bit of "research" with craft and import beers. Taste really good examples of several styles and see what you like. Then brew those styles.

The cost will come down as you graduate from pre-built kits to compiling your own ingredients and buying some things in bulk.