Recession Brewing

I've been out of work since November, I'm sure some of you are in the same boat. What have you been doing to cut down on brewing cost without seriously compromising the quality of your brew? I've switched to dry yeast and do mostly all grains instead of extracts.

+1 on the dry yeasts, and then I reharvest them when done (pitch to a yeast cake).

I bought four pounds of hops from hopsdirect.com, which brought the per-ounce cost down to the neighborhood of $0.72-1.14, or 1/3 the cost of my LHBS.

A bulk grain buy is coming up next. 50lbs of 2-row will take care of me for base malt for at least six months.

I have gotten into the hobby only fairly recently, which means I've spent quite a bit of cashola on equipment, but I am trying to spend wisely. I watch craigslist like a hawk for stuff. There are some good deals out there!

Make lower gravity beers. It is a small cost savings but it is a little bit every time. Also, wash that yeast. Even if you are using dry, you can still wash it to stretch a penny further.

1.) Went all-grain
2.) Befriended a brewmaster for dirt cheap grain and hops.
3.) Harvest yeast.

I used to brew $50-$70 five gallon partial mash batches. Now I brew $30 ten gallon all grain batches. (Which includes propane.)

I'm in the exact same boat as you. I've been out of work (well, now I'm a "stay-at-home dad"). Going AG definitely helped lower costs since I inherited pretty much all the equipment I needed. I have been reusing all yeasts, either by washing or just jarring up the slurry, which saves ~$7 per batch. My last couple batches cost $25 each, b/c I reused yeast and already had some of the hops I needed on hand. I just went balls out on ingredients for an IIPA though - just had to do it - damn hop addiction!!!

Another thing I did was to put a "beer jar" next to my keezer, so my friends can contribute to ingredients for future batches. I've actually gotten more than expected - 2 buddies put $20 each right away, so that's almost 2 more batches right there. I guess they appreciate not spending $5 a pint at the pub, and my 4 on tap are just as good or better.

While I haven't cut back on spending much (other than buying in bulk), I have recently put out a tip jar during the weekly poker game. Several gallons are consumed in that one night each week. I love to brew, and love to share, but was it becoming quite costly. Now the tips each week cover a 5 gallon batch. Everyone is happy

All grain brewing in bulk.

I just ordered five pounds of hops from hopsdirect at really good prices compared to my LHBS.

A small place by where I live sells 50 lb sacks of 2-row for only $33!

If you're using wet yeast consider using dry yeast for most styles. I pay $6-7 for wet yeast but only $1.75-2 for dry.

For a pale ale with 4oz of cascade, 10 lbs base grains, 1.5 lbs specialty grains, and a packet of yeast: $15.26 or only 39 cents a pint

That doesn't factor in propane,iodophor,CO2 or anything but still an awesome deal considering I used to pay $17 for enough LME to make a beer.

It does take a bit more investment in equipment and planning. You need a grain mill plus all the other all grain equipment. Also need to buy supply of hops and grain.

Another idea to save money is to brew cider. I use cheap cider/juice from the store at $3.48 a gallon and pitch a $1.75 packet of nottingham.

Easy to make and tasty and cheap at only $3.83 a gallon.

I'd love to have a tip jar, but Oregon law precludes it. Fargin' OLCC.

TommyBoy said:

1.) Went all-grain
2.) Befriended a brewmaster for dirt cheap grain and hops.
3.) Harvest yeast.

I used to brew $50-$70 five gallon partial mash batches. Now I brew $30 ten gallon all grain batches. (Which includes propane.)

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Slightly OT: Tommy, are you sourcing grain and hops through Willoughby Brewing Co?

khiddy said:

I'd love to have a tip jar, but Oregon law precludes it. Fargin' OLCC.

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I'm sure there are ways around this. Call it the kids "College fund" or Venture capital or some crap like that. Stupid bureaucrats! Why can't they just leave us alone! It's not like this is a profit venture for you.

I was unemployed for 6 months. I quit brewing and drinking. I called them unneeded expenses, while I had no income.

I only drank when a friend would come over with a 12 of beer.

I harvest and reuse all my expensive liquid yeast strains, as well as recovering yeast from commercial brews. I haven't actually paid for yeast in about 6-8 months. In fact, I was thinking about suggesting some kind of yeast exchange for HBT folks so we could share strains.

I also just ordered a bunch of bulk hops last week, as I noticed that fully half the cost of my last (high gravity) batch was hops. I would bulk order grain as well, but I have absolutely no place to store it.

The tip jar can be called Recipe Formulation Expenses, or Grain Fund. Laws can't tack onto anything where a friend is buying you some groceries. Or bread baking supplies. Think of it like a communal barbeque. They buy ingredients to cook on your barbeque.

Also switching from corn to cane sugar for bottling. My home brew supply charges $ .75 for 5 ounces, that's a savings of $10 on 5 lbs. From what I read, it doesn't make any difference and you actually use less in a 5 gallon batch.

Arkador said:

I was unemployed for 6 months. I quit brewing and drinking. I called them unneeded expenses, while I had no income.

I only drank when a friend would come over with a 12 of beer.

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This is sadly what I think I would do. As much of an obsession as it is, it is a luxury obsession and would be gone come tight times.

Matt Up North said:

The tip jar can be called Recipe Formulation Expenses, or Grain Fund. Laws can't tack onto anything where a friend is buying you some groceries. Or bread baking supplies. Think of it like a communal barbeque. They buy ingredients to cook on your barbeque.

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Yeah just put a jar on the keezer that says "Electricity Fund, There aint no Hamster in there"

I've been bouncing in and out of unemployment since march, and the budget is tight.
On the other hand, I'm a complete friggin ogre if I don't have some beer around.

I can make it cheaper than I can buy it (I refuse to do the 30pack of piss thing)

The SWMBO is ok with me brewing, as long as I can keep it on the cheap.

I've been doing a series of simple pale ales using hops I bought in quantity 6 months ago, using a little dry yeast here and there, recycling all my liquid yeast.

khiddy said:

I'd love to have a tip jar, but Oregon law precludes it. Fargin' OLCC.

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The first question is, "What are you doing letting the revenuers into your house?" Fight the power!

Two suggestions I have are to do full boils if you're doing extract brews (which isn't likely) to lower hop additions by 1/3 or more, and if you're doing AG start doing partigyle brewing--make one big beer from the first runnings, resparge, and make a small beer from the second runnings. If nothing else, you can stock up your fridge with some good session beers.

im planning on growing 3 or 4 types of hops in my yard. and starting a frozen yeast bank.