Homebrew and money

When I first posted this thread awhile back I was trying to explain how I would like to save money by homebrewing and not buying more commercial beer. Well I have thought it through and I have figured out that I will not save money by homebrewing. I love beer. All kinds (not BMC). I love homebrew, commercial brew, just good brew. I started homebrewing for the love of it but have realized that im not in this to save money (yes I would like to). I want all these brewing toys, and recipes and this and that have now see that im not going to save money. I do see myself spending less on other things because I want to use my money wisely on brewing

My main point im trying to make here is that I would like to save more money on beer (if I can), brew better beer to drink and have more homebrew around.

Whats your thoughts on this matter...?

- Brian

3 years of brewing and I still hit the bottle shop once or twice a month.

Brewing your own will not save you any money if you are realistic about the process and overhead. Many are not and justify ommitting certain factors to skew the result. Apples to Apples?

I only buy commercial now if there is some style I want to work on, or something super cool that I want to try. 7 taps keeps me pretty satisfied otherwise

EDIT: And as for saving $$$, maybe if I love to be 176 years old I might break even. If I don't, I don't really care. I love brewing and love drinking what I make

It didn't take me long to realize that brewing is break even at best, depending on how many toys you buy.

I still buy commercial from time to time. Typically I'll do so when I have a hankering for an IPA and I don't have any of mine in stock.

Sounds like it's time to get "serious" about making good beer. Read and listen about all the topics you can that could improve your beer.

Buy clone kits or search for clone recipes of some of your favorite beers. Find a recipe that you really enjoy and make a ****-ton of it. For me that's Ed Wort's Robust Porter. I had a case drank before it was done bottle conditioning.

Do some 2.5 gallon batches to try some recipes you're not sure about, that way you don't end up with 2 cases of beer you don't care for.

Just some ideas.

I have found that since I started brewing my own I have bought a greater variety of beers at the store. I have no problem dropping $4 on a bottle of beer now where as in the past it would not even be considered. I buy in order to expand my beer experience and see what styles I like best then try to brew them. I suspect i will take a long time before it's cheaper to brew than buy but it's a lot more interesting to brew than buy a known thing.

I believe it is POSSIBLE to save money homebrewing, but not practical. A basic all-grain set-up for a couple hundred bucks and brewing on a regular basis you could break even within a year (obviously not counting the cost of time...). I have a couple thousand into my set-up (14.5 gallon Blichmann conical, 20 gallon Boilermaker kettle, 15+ glass carboys, etc.) so I my theoretical break even point is at least a decade away, and thats assuming I don't buy anymore toys. I brew at least 10 gallons a week, which means I'm giving plenty of beer to friends and family. It would be much cheaper for me to buy premium beer, but I just love this hobby too much. I wouldn't recommend homebrewing to anybody looking to save money. Thats my two cents.

About the only thing I save money on is Apfelwein. By the time I buy all the materials and pay myself for labor to make and store it-It's cheaper to go to the store.
I tell anyone that asks me about homebrewing, it's not about the cost-it's all about creating something yourself.

I orginally just brewed once in a while cause I thought it was fun and I reallly enjoyed the end product. Now I totally do it to save money. What I would normally spend on a couple six packs can get me enough ingredients to make 5 gallons of some great beer. The only time I spend money on commercial beer is when I want to try something special or to compare it side by side to one of my brews.

craigtube brews to save money.

Although I don't recommend this...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAJKWCdaPq4]YouTube - Home brewing the easy way part 1[/ame]

Since it's a hobby first money isn't an issue.

However, since what I like to drink cost a lot I do manage to save lots of money over purchasing commercial brews.

rh348877 said:

craigtube brews to save money.

Although I don't recommend this...

YouTube - Home brewing the easy way part 1

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Wow, this is beer horror movies. I'm a noob and I ran out of brain cells trying to memorize all the scary things he does.

Check out his "meaning of life series".
http://www.youtube.com/v/waG8_c1DWfc&hl

rh348877 said:

craigtube brews to save money.

Although I don't recommend this...

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Why, does his beer suck or something?

I have 80 bottles of Good beer on hand (45 more coming down the pipeline) For a total cost of $65 for the 80 and $100 for the total of 125 bottles. The only beer cheaper would be a Dirty 30 of Busch Light.

You guys that don't save money are giving too much away and upgrading your toys for the sole purpose of having the best of the best. But that happens in every hobby. How high can you go?? *Pulls out wallet*

Realistically, once I have enough beer on hand to keep my occupied I will easily save money, at the expense of maybe 10 hours of my time a month, if that. And I drink a lot.

RedIrocZ-28 said:

I have 80 bottles of Good beer on hand (45 more coming down the pipeline) For a total cost of $65 for the 80 and $100 for the total of 125 bottles. The only beer cheaper would be a Dirty 30 of Busch Light.

You guys that don't save money are giving too much away and upgrading your toys for the sole purpose of having the best of the best. But that happens in every hobby. How high can you go?? *Pulls out wallet*

Realistically, once I have enough beer on hand to keep my occupied I will easily save money, at the expense of maybe 10 hours of my time a month, if that. And I drink a lot.

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I agree that it should be easily possible to make good beer cheaper than it can be bought. Especially if you're doing all-grain and choosing the right beers. I think it's fair to say, however, that the amount saved for the time put in is likely to be way less than minimum wage. You'd probably be better bagging groceries for 10 hours a month IMO and putting that money towards beer.

I may be being simplistic with my numbers. What I do know is I'm enjoying the hell out of brewing. If I come in anywhere close to break even then it's well worth it.

You know...as much as I love brewing...There's always some new beer I just have to try at the beerstore...

Or sometimes I want a couple beers of a certain style rather that 5 gallons worth....

Or there's always a new beer at the store, I just have to try....

It is not cost effective.... plain and simple. [/rational reasoning]

After you have forgotten about capitol costs (I mean, its already gone so that doesn't count) and you have "finished" your brewery (which will satisfy your urge to upgrade for ~2 weeks), and if you don't count your labor time (because it is so fun!), then you can save money brewing your own beer. In that deluded world (where I too live) then beer is super cheap to brew. Come on, $40 for 5g's of premium beer... that's soooo cheap! I can't afford not to home brew!

In all seriousness, apfelwein is the only product you can make to save money.

Um, I drink my own, not because it is cheap, because, well... $1500 for equipment aint cheap. I have not bought commercial beer in about 3 years, though when my father in law comes over he brings some wares from the liquor barn.

I started homebrewing recently to save just a little bit on beer. It won't be much because I'm a drunkard but just enough. Plus this will be a learning experience for me and it's always helpful to have a new skill.

The way I see it is that this is an important skill to have when there's a zombie apocalypse. When the survivors work out a way to have a colony that's zombie-free, there will be demand for fine beers, and if I can provide them, I'll become immensely wealthy, making money on the whole making my own beer thing.

I also have a recipe arriving today that only costs like $32 for an American Red. I'll report back on the flavor when it's done. And that's PM!

Laurel said:

The way I see it is that this is an important skill to have when there's a zombie apocalypse. When the survivors work out a way to have a colony that's zombie-free, there will be demand for fine beers, and if I can provide them, I'll become immensely wealthy, making money on the whole making my own beer thing.

I also have a recipe arriving today that only costs like $32 for an American Red. I'll report back on the flavor when it's done. And that's PM!

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Laurel, are you reading those Northern Brewer catalogues again??? Zombies?

Laurel said:

The way I see it is that this is an important skill to have when there's a zombie apocalypse. When the survivors work out a way to have a colony that's zombie-free, there will be demand for fine beers, and if I can provide them, I'll become immensely wealthy, making money on the whole making my own beer thing.

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It's sad....I was thinking the same thing when I was tryping my response...

The Pol said:

Laurel, are you reading those Northern Brewer catalogues again??? Zombies?

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I heard that Trappist style beer repels zombies. No zombies at my house yet, it must be true!

Revvy said:

Or there's always a new beer at the store, I just have to try....

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Sounds like every trip to the grocery store for me.

Good news is, now I get out of doing the grocery shopping most of the time.

Well if I brew a batch that gets me 50-55 bottles of home brew that should last me awhile. The batch im about to brew will only cost me 35$ so thats not bad. Any money I can save in these time is great

Once or twice a month, I'll budget some ca$h for the bottle shop and try something fun. Other than that, it is homebrewed.
I am saving money in that I am not buying tons of bombers and sixpacks weekly as I have done in the past. Sales taxes and retail markup really messes with the beer budget.

I can brew quality beers at home and share them with friends. Can't get better than that.

God, I spend so much money on beer. Homebrewing isn't really a money saver. More a fun way to kill time. I am cool with buying 20 dollar bottles on a Friday night to get what I want. I just love having a hobby that is a craft and is creative.

thataintchicken said:

Once or twice a month, I'll budget some ca$h for the bottle shop and try something fun. Other than that, it is homebrewed.
I am saving money in that I am not buying tons of bombers and sixpacks weekly as I have done in the past. Sales taxes and retail markup really messes with the beer budget.

I can brew quality beers at home and share them with friends. Can't get better than that.

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I agree 100%

BrianTheBrewer said:

I agree 100%

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yeppers.
Here's the deal. My dad spent a month in Germany. When he got home he had a box waiting. Inside were 2 bombers of Dunkelweizen, 2 Hefe's and a couple of Kolsch's.

He shared them with friends while viewing his slides show of the trip. They were floored by how good they were - they thought he had brought them back from Germany.

That kind of thing makes the expense and learning curve worth it.

The Pol said:

Laurel, are you reading those Northern Brewer catalogues again??? Zombies?

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heh. Yeah I think she was. Hence the memorable quotes thread post.

I don't understand why people say it's hard to even break even. I'm sure if you put thousands into your set up, then I can see that. However, I have the basic startup kit + MLT + wort chiller. All of total was about $173 (including shipping for 2 of the things). If you go out and buy beer, anything decent is at least $1 per bottle. Now that I harvest yeast, buy hops in lbs, and do AG, my cost per batch is about $20, or 37 cents per bottle, saving me $33 minimum over the cost of buying 53 bottles of beer at the store. Once I start buying grain in bulk, it will even further decrease the cost. Sure, I'll have to buy a barley crusher first, but that will be paid for in a few batches compared to going out and buying beer at the store.

I actually am on the opposite side of the spectrum. I have only been brewing for about 2 weeks, but I didnt get into this hobby to save money. It seems that my friends and I are all married, its getting harder to get together, yadda, yadda, yadda. I started thinking it would be fun to do. I would have something to show for my efforts. Plus its a great time to get some buds together talk about everything/nothing.. Plus we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor.. Is it cost effective? Not for us right now.. Be sure have a helluva time doing it..

Oh, I think everyone here agrees that it is "possible" to break even or save money by brewing your own beer. BUT, in reality, most of us like toys and tweaking and building... so the reality of it is that 90% of us are way in the hole.
It is a hobby, not a way to save money for the vast majority, so $$$ dont matter so much. I will never ever make back all that I have spent!

Well, I don't save money, but I could if I wanted to. Frankly, I don't brew enough. I am all for saving money on equipment, and will likely never spend a dine on anythign that I couldn't make myself.

However, I am not yet to AG, so the kits are a bit more $$, and I still cannot stop buying expensive beer at the store. Not insanely expensive beers, but the more expensive craft brews. There are just too many styles I gotta try!!

However, if there are one or two styles that you really, really like, and you forego trying all the others, and you make them yourself using AG methods, you will surely save money. A reasonable amount of money too.

However, however, good luck just drinking those couple of styles.

Oh, yes, all this assuming you are bottling with free bottles. If you are kegging, then it will take a WHILE to break even. (But it's nice to walk up to your kegerator and pour out a nice glass of IPA, or whatever your heart desires!)

Those people saying they are saving $$$ brewing are not including labor.
Rule #1-Pay yourself first. By the time you add all the time sterilizing,bottling, and brewing, it will always be cheaper to buy store bought beer.

VatorMan said:

Those people saying they are saving $$$ brewing are not including labor.
Rule #1-Pay yourself first. By the time you add all the time sterilizing,bottling, and brewing, it will always be cheaper to buy store bought beer.

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Ah, but if you enjoy it as a hobby, then the cost can be a non-factor. Like how much does fishing cost if you spend 5 hours on the lake? WHO CARES?

Homercidal said:

Ah, but if you enjoy it as a hobby, then the cost can be a non-factor. Like how much does fishing cost if you spend 5 hours on the lake? WHO CARES?

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Agreed, but I think that was the point of the thread. I plan to build a fermentation cabinet for next summer that I probably don't need and will certainly never recoup the costs on. What I like about homebrewing is that even the processes and equipment can be homebrewed.

Homercidal said:

Ah, but if you enjoy it as a hobby, then the cost can be a non-factor. Like how much does fishing cost if you spend 5 hours on the lake? WHO CARES?

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Title of the thread was Homebrew and money. Just fitting my answer based on the question. Sounds like the OP just wants really cheap beer IMHO.

I don't get it. Why would you "pay yourself first"? Do you get paid for watching TV? Do you get paid for golfing? Those are fun things too. You don't get paid for cooking dinner or vacuuming, etc either. Most people can't set their own work hours, so it's not like they would be working 16 hour days if they weren't brewing.

I rarely buy commercial beer, maybe just $10-20 buck a month on it. Most microbrew sixers go for about 10 bucks...yikes! Spending 20-25 bucks to make 2 cases is way cheaper than buying it.