HOMEBREW COST - The Addiction: My $$$ Per Pint

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Doc Robinson

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2009
Messages
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Location
Bonita Springs
Before October 9th, I wasn't a brewer. On October 9th, I was stumbling on StumbleUpon to kill some time before the weekend. I hit a homebrew site. Since then, I have spent...and spent...and spent.

Hi, my name is Doc, and I'm an addict.

costperpint.jpg
 
That seams reasonable to me. Since you'v gone this far, you may as well keep track over the next 6/12 months and post back with updated numbers. I'd imagine that it will drop drastically, assuming your satisfied with your equipment purchases of course...
 
Nothing like jumping into a hobby headfirst. good for you, though thatt you found a hobby you enjoy. Seems like you should be just about finished with equipment purchases and can work on getting that per pint number down to a respectable number.:mug:
 
I hear you on that. Had I not been out of town for a month, I might be right with you. I got a simple kit from my wife on 9/11 and its been downhill for her ever since. She just happened to pass a local homebrew shop and thought it would be a nice cheap hobby for me.

I am on #6 and have completed many DYI projects (My favorite part of the forum) and the beginnings of brutus type sculpture being fabricated at my dads shop.

I got the dreaded "Infection" all right. But it wasn't in my beer.
 
Silly Doc, you don't count the cost of the equipment in your cost per brew. Only ingredients are counted. I mean, if you think about it, you'd have bought all that other stuff anyway, right?
 
Silly Doc, you don't count the cost of the equipment in your cost per brew. Only ingredients are counted. I mean, if you think about it, you'd have bought all that other stuff anyway, right?

Hey , Fingers has a point. I mean, you don't count your car as an expense, yet you needed it to drive to these places to buy things. You don't count your house, but you need a place to brew. I say forget all the other stuff and only count ingredients(and maybe sanitizer). That should get you down around the $.50 mark.:ban:
 
Silly Doc, you don't count the cost of the equipment in your cost per brew. Only ingredients are counted. I mean, if you think about it, you'd have bought all that other stuff anyway, right?

I agree, run the numbers based on ingredients.

You seem pretty good with number crunching anyways, so why not do the math and plot the graphs on how many batches you'll need to brew before your cost per pint (including equipment) dips below $4, $3, $2, etc.

You'll probably be surprised at how few batches it will take.
 
That seams reasonable to me. Since you'v gone this far, you may as well keep track over the next 6/12 months and post back with updated numbers. I'd imagine that it will drop drastically, assuming your satisfied with your equipment purchases of course...

That's the plan. I'm a CPA and an Attorney. I keep meticulous records. This post will be revived every few months. At this point, I really have everything I need for easy brew days.

Nothing like jumping into a hobby headfirst. good for you, though thatt you found a hobby you enjoy. Seems like you should be just about finished with equipment purchases and can work on getting that per pint number down to a respectable number.:mug:

You know, I have never really had a hobby that I was passionate about. I have gotten into many things, but they were more or less fads. My friends have jabbed me saying, "I notice a trend with you...you get WAY into something and then it kinda fizzles." To this I respond, "you know what will never fizzle...my love of drinking beer." There is nothing cooler than making the beer you love and designing your own setup to do it. This is a hobby that I can do until I need a walker, and hopefully by then, I can hire helpers to move the carboys about.
 
First off, destroy that spreadsheet before it destroys you! Over time the cost will lessen when your only buying ingredients and the occasional new toy. Secondly, what are the bricks for?
 
I can't help but notice that you bought a lot of the same things twice, like a 20 qt pot, then two days later, bought another. Then you bought a fridge off craigslist, then a while later, bought a chest freezer from lowes. The only thing I can say to keep your cost down would be to do an extensive amount of research before purchasing products. Also, I would appear that you got ripped off with the price of your kegging system. I got my fridge and CO2 tank for free of craigslist, and a kegging system with faucets for 160 off kegconnections. Oh well, all I can say is..... Good for you man!!! now make that price per pint go down by brewing more!
 
You seem pretty good with number crunching anyways, so why not do the math and plot the graphs on how many batches you'll need to brew before your cost per pint (including equipment) dips below $4, $3, $2, etc.

Assuming no more equipment purchases and $30 per batch:

20 batches: $4.40 per pint
30 batches: $3.18 per pint
40 batches: $2.58 per pint
50 batches: $2.21 per pint
60 batches: $1.97 per pint
70 batches: $1.79 per pint
80 batches: $1.66 per pint
90 batches: $1.56 per pint

At 300 batches, I will be at $0.99 per pint.
 
I can't help but notice that you bought a lot of the same things twice, like a 20 qt pot, then two days later, bought another. Then you bought a fridge off craigslist, then a while later, bought a chest freezer from lowes. The only thing I can say to keep your cost down would be to do an extensive amount of research before purchasing products. Also, I would appear that you got ripped off with the price of your kegging system. I got my fridge and CO2 tank for free of craigslist, and a kegging system with faucets for 160 off kegconnections. Oh well, all I can say is..... Good for you man!!! now make that price per pint go down by brewing more!

I completely agree. That is why I tell my friends who want to get into brewing to consult me before buying "little" and then realizing you want to be "bigger". There are many things, such as my kettles, that I wish I would have just started big with. As far as the kegging system, those numbers include a ton of corneys. I tend to buy my stuff new (not the corneys) but everything else...It is just the way I operate, but I know if I put in the due diligence, I could find better deals. :mug:
 
So by this time next year you'll be good.

Haha...at 5 per month, it would be about 5 years. I never got into this hobby to save money, and I am positive I'm not done buying equipment...but for the next year or so, I am. I have my first child on the way.
 
Assuming no more equipment purchases and $30 per batch:

20 batches: $4.40 per pint
30 batches: $3.18 per pint
40 batches: $2.58 per pint
50 batches: $2.21 per pint
60 batches: $1.97 per pint
70 batches: $1.79 per pint
80 batches: $1.66 per pint
90 batches: $1.56 per pint

At 300 batches, I will be at $0.99 per pint.

You need to get off this site and brew. If you brewed every week, it'll be almost 6 years before you reach the $0.99/pint level. By then, you'll have built a bigger, more expensive rig, and be that much further behind.


edit: Damn, I'm slow...
 
You need to get off this site and brew. If you brewed every week, it'll be almost 6 years before you reach the $0.99/pint level. By then, you'll have built a bigger, more expensive rig, and be that much further behind.

Clearly, I don't care about the cost. Believe me, if I didn't work 60 hour weeks and 80 hour weeks January through April, I would be brewing donkey kong.
 
maybe he should also take into consideration the increase in "pint drinkage" since homebrewing.

Don't know about OP, but I definitely drink more beer now(but less wine and vodka...)
 
maybe he should also take into consideration the increase in "pint drinkage" since homebrewing.

Don't know about OP, but I definitely drink more beer now(but less wine and vodka...)

I think the increase in flatulence in a cost benefit analysis probably outweighs the pint drinkage component, so I'm going to call that a wash factor.
 
$30 per batch...time to start buying in bulk. Grain costs next to nothing when you buy in bulk and hops are a great buy now too we just picked up 11# at an average of $.068/oz including shipping. My last batch, lil sparky's nut brown cost $18.11 for an 11G batch and $3.50 was for the nottingham yeast.
 
$30 per batch...time to start buying in bulk. Grain costs next to nothing when you buy in bulk and hops are a great buy now too we just picked up 11# at an average of $.068/oz including shipping. My last batch, lil sparky's nut brown cost $18.11 for an 11G batch and $3.50 was for the nottingham yeast.

Yes! Much cheaper than $30 per batch. All you need is a barley crusher. With yeast washing my Alt today was like $11 for 6 gallons. Thats $0.275 a pint and I didn't use bulk hops.

I'm still eyeing a sump pump...and I just bought 2 better bottles, I guess I am still addicted to equipment upgrades.
 
LOL equipment doesn't count, you'd spend 10x that playing golf. I now NEED a conical and a pump O yeah and a fermentation chamber. :)
 
Can't even begin to tally what I have spent. But as far as I am concerned it's money well spent. It's a hobby I love. It's something that gets my creative juices flowing. It just so happens that the end result is something I can drink and share with others.

It's a learning process, with learning comes expansion of the equipment you need. If you look at this hobby as a business you may soon tire of it. If you look at it as the hobby it is, it will be an eternal money drain, but a continued joy. Just my two cents.
 
You'll also need a refractometer, scale, stir plate, etc, etc.

I have a scale.

Can't even begin to tally what I have spent. But as far as I am concerned it's money well spent. It's a hobby I love. It's something that gets my creative juices flowing. It just so happens that the end result is something I can drink and share with others.

It's a learning process, with learning comes expansion of the equipment you need. If you look at this hobby as a business you may soon tire of it. If you look at it as the hobby it is, it will be an eternal money drain, but a continued joy. Just my two cents.

I couldn't agree more. The money...I couldn't care less. Like an incredible meal, it's worth every penny.
 
Alright Doc, I didnt read the whole thread and skimmed the cost list. Are you including cost of ingredients? At the point I'm at I've kept track of everything and could do a similar list, except ingredients, and I'm putting my cost per batch at ~$20/batch as I always swayed towards the cheaper kits and since I've gone AG+10 gallons+bulk buy (and Brewmasters Warehouse) my costs have plummeted.

Now, I'm not doing costs with the efficiency of a CPA, but I'm at about 1495 for equipment costs and 41, 5 gallon batches, NOT including gas/electic/water costs (those are absorbed into household expenses and split :D.) By my math I'm at 1.41/pint, not that I've consumed all the pints, but thats what they cost me, and I have a very large equipment collection to show for all of that (~20 kegs and this https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/craigslist-score-finally-my-turn-132409/)

Actually right now all I could need in the world are more ingredients, brew time, a minifridge from lowes (I sold my third kegerator) and perhaps a propane burner....

Don't listen to the haters saying you shouldnt track your costs! I would say track your costs, but don't let them prevent you from upgrading.... Trust me, when I start buying (building?) conicals those will be considered "brewery research" for the day I may go pro, haha! Switch to buying bulk (big saver) and 10 gallon batches if/when you get recipes you like, and your costs will come down eventually...
 
I'd definitely keep track of the costs. It's definitely satisfying to know that I can make pub-worthy ales at 1/8th the cost of anything I purchase at a pub! And I am working with a really basic, labor-intensive apartment AG setup. Don't count your hours - that's why it's a hobby. But it's definitely worth your time to value your equipment. Hey if I had an extra couple hundred grand I'd try to go pro in a heartbeat, but with the resources I've got, my cheap mash/lauter system will work just fine!
 
Thank god I don't have records for all the stuff I've bought for brewing. I might be a little depressed to find that my cost per pint will never be below $10.
 
Alright Mr. CPA, at what point in time to you stop factoring your capital equipment cost? Legally three 3 years?
I know we all do it but any hobby costs money. If you got into photography would you amortize the cost of every picture taken together with the equipment? NO!
Just the cost of goods and propane is all you need to concern yourself with.

You'll be giddy once you factor that out. If I use tap water and dry yeast my costs are $6.00/5g batch. Do I count the hours and cost to plant, tend and harvest 60 hop plants? Nooooo. And the extra electricity costs to run my keg fridge. Nooooooooo. Don't care. It's fun deductible. Like motorcycles, zero net cost because they're so damn fun! (I knew I could bring this conversation around to motorcycles if I typed long enough):tank:
 
What about the cost of over 800 posts in less than 3 months almost 10 posts a day? Good you are excited! Keep brewing and have fun!
 
I'd definitely keep track of the costs. It's definitely satisfying to know that I can make pub-worthy ales at 1/8th the cost of anything I purchase at a pub! And I am working with a really basic, labor-intensive apartment AG setup. Don't count your hours - that's why it's a hobby. But it's definitely worth your time to value your equipment. Hey if I had an extra couple hundred grand I'd try to go pro in a heartbeat, but with the resources I've got, my cheap mash/lauter system will work just fine!

I'm with ya.

My AG equip. cost under $100, total equipment investments under $250. I'm 20 batches in using a corona mill, buying hops in bulk, and the ocassional bag o grain. My bier comes in at under $1 per pint and I'm brewing big and small biers. Unlike our Bugs Bunny friend ;) the cash does matter to me, God bless you that it doesn't to you. I'm not fixated with costs, as someone else said, if I've got the cash I spend it, if no so! It's a hobby.

What about the cost of over 800 posts in less than 3 months almost 10 posts a day? Good you are excited! Keep brewing and have fun!

I thought the same thing and wondered how long it would take someone to post something about it! That's an amazing post rate... I'm impressed!:ban:

Schlante,
Phillip
 
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