What's your beer "worth"?

Just for fun I applied the model I use for my business to a bottle of my brew...

Cost of ingredients +
Cost of bottles/caps +
5% (EDITED) of the cost of equipment used to make the batch +
My average labor wage over the total time invested +
The cost of gas/mileage if I used the LHBS

Then divide by # of bottles in the yield...

$6.65/bottle for my last IPA.

(Even though every drop is priceless)

Out of curiosity, what were you "paying" yourself...it may not be fair to "pay" yourself for brewing what you make vocationally/professionally...
Also, 10% of the equipment cost? I'd be surprised if any commercial brewer broke even on their equipment after 10 batches!

Overall, though, I'd have to agree that it's hard to put a price on the satisfaction of homebrewing! (Definitely priceless...)

Yeah, I'd use a percentage more indicative of how many batches you want to break even on the equipment. I've sunk several hundred into equipment all together, but that includes kegging supplies, stir-plate, etc. At this point I've brewed probably 200 gallons of beer, though.

Given your formula my last batch, an Oaked Aarogant Bastard clone, cost me roughly $6.25 per pint.

Like was said above though, your equipment depreciation seems really high. I have about $1000 invested in total. I dont see that being payed off over the course of 10 batches. Also, Ive used my professional wage in my calculations but no brewery in the world would pay me that based on my level of expirience.

10% of equipment is steep, I would consider 2-3% a more realistic ballpark but still a hair high.

If you consider home brewing a hobby...you would not include a labor cost! haha.

If homebrewing is a chore to you, you should just buy craft beer from the local brewery, it's cheaper!

For homebrewing to be worth the investment of time you have to enjoy it. People play golf as a hobby...they don't think about the wages they could be making if they were working vocationally with that time, do they? And what do you get at the end of the golf outing to show for it? Maybe a sunburn and a damaged ego.


Personally now that my savings have paid for my equipment my IPA's are only costing me about 60 cents / bottle....oh and I didn't count the fact that because I homebrew I do not pay for cable TV at home because I'd never use it....or how much I'm saving by not driving to the store and paying 4-5X as much per bottle for craft beer.

I use 10% of equipment as that is the industry standard that we use for equipment loss in the pro audio equipment rental business.

You're right though... Pots and buckets last longer than DJ speakers.

That said I can knock a few pennies off.

My time is worth at least $30/hour.

Let's just say I'm not opening a brewery anytime soon.... This was mostly for fun, but wanted to know the "value" of it. It IS a hobby, but it still has a value...

Depreciate on a fixed time scale like a business would.

I'd recommend a 10 year flat-line depreciation, or "useful life", whichever is less.

How many batches will the equipment make in 10 years, or before it is expected to fail?

Its a fun exersice.
In my business, digital print, we do a flat line depreciation over 4 years.
Id say thadius is close at the 10 year mark for brewing equipment.
Given my level of expertise I wouldnt expect a brewery to pay me more than minimum wage.
With these parameters my new cost comes to about $2.50 pint.
A much more managable number for SWMBO to digest.

I'm at just under $4/pint, but that's with cutting my pay a little bit. No way would I pay anyone that much for standing around a fire and drinking beer.

at 5% for equipment costs though, I can then figure after 20 brews, that to be paid off? That's a huge bonus, after this weekends brew, the brewery will be paid for!! Cut that idiots pay who's brewing this stuff up and I can easily get this under $2/pint!

Oh man, I just realized, I forgot to add the price/pint of the beer I drink while brewing, just went back into the red.

At $30 an hour a batch would cost me $180-$240 just in labor! Definitely not worth it. I'm going to the bar from now on.

millsware said:

At $30 an hour a batch would cost me $180-$240 just in labor! Definitely not worth it. I'm going to the bar from now on.

Click to expand...

But the satisfaction of "doing things my way" is worth the price...

Hey... for a 5 gallon batch, $240 is only $5 a bottle... I've paid over $10 for a single bottle of Rochefort 10.

If your beer is good, it's worth it. (at least to me it is...)

Unless you are taking time off work to brew...or brewing during time that would otherwise be spent earning money.....your "labor cost" has zero value!

In reality most of us brew during free time...any home brewer that is taking time off work to brew.....is clearly making a "value" decision based on different criteria than $ cost.

Since the money is already invested in capital and since you aren't selling the beer, there is no way to get a return on the investment. I suppose one way to do that would be to use the price of an equivalent commercial beer that you would have bought as a hypothetical and subtract out raw material costs and energy to make your version (no labor because its a hobby) and use that difference as profit.

I do however think it is funnier to just add up equipment cost, RM, self wage, etc and divide out by batch to get some riddiculously high cost/pint.

$1.30/pint without labor since I brew in my free time. Since most 6packs I buy are in the $10 range I'm saving $0.30ish with each beer I drink and $2.70 per pint over bar prices.

At this rate I could probably quit my job and drink homebrew 24/7 for a profit . . . right?

I'd you include labor cost as an expense then you also should include the cost of the use of your house and whatever entertainment-related fixtures (like a tv or grill) that you might use while consuming your beer. I mean, that's what a real brewpub owner has to supply. Then rebate yourself the retail value of the beer you drink. next thing you know you will have paid off your house in beer. (Ha ha ha)

I've always calculated my per-12oz cost at about $1.25, using 3 year depreciation on my equipment. But I've been brewing for about 3 years now and outside of one 3 gal better bottle with a scratch in it everything will last way longer than that.

I did 10 gallons in 5.5 hours yesterday, so if you assume $30/hr then my per 12oz cost all told would be $3.35. But I'm a stay at home dad, so I don't think that's really my labor cost. Especially since I was brewing instead of doing my taxes.

If you are home brewing to save money, you're deluding yourself. It is about passion, love of doing it yourself, and crafting something. ROI is to buy commercial stuff on sale.

Sween said:

Just for fun I applied the model I use for my business to a bottle of my brew...

Cost of ingredients +
Cost of bottles/caps +
5% (EDITED) of the cost of equipment used to make the batch +
My average labor wage over the total time invested +
The cost of gas/mileage if I used the LHBS

Then divide by # of bottles in the yield...

$6.65/bottle for my last IPA.

(Even though every drop is priceless)

Click to expand...

Never bought a bottle in my life...I recycle.
Don't care what the equipment costs...it's a hobby.
My labor is cheap...free.
I stop by my LHBS on way home from work...$0.

My final cost per pint...IDK...who cares...it's good chit, man.

If you are worried about efficiency of your "investment", you might as well be drinking Boones Farm.

A silly exercise if you ask me. My equipment costs are under $500 with kegging equipment. Average 5 gal batch costs me about $18 - $25 as I buy in bulk. And I go through a tank of propane about every 6 brews.

The costs you guys are coming up with seem pretty outrageous. For starters, you are "paying" yourself more than most professional brewers make.

I don't include labor! This is a hobby! You can actually make the case that your labor rate should be a negative vale since if you weren't brewing you might be doing something else with that leisure time that costs money.

I do depreciate my gear over 30 batches. Figure that is want I can do in a year if I keep up current level of intensity, and I'm sure there is always going to be some new bling I will want to acquire so don't want to be saddled to 10 year depreciation schedule.

I'm about $600 into gear now so that is costing me $20/batch. But I'm on batch 17 on this gar so am going to have it paid off soon. Ingredients running average $25/ batch, so my total cost without labor is less than $1/ bottle. And that's with labor at $0.

But as I said, labor should probably be a negative adjustment...meaning the beer is actually darn near free...

You want a fun one to calculate? Take a look at the cost per bottle of your very first batch way back when or just last week (which ever applies). Ingredients, kettle, bottles, fermenters, thermometers, cleanser/sanitizer, etc. I did the math.... and if it wasn't for the joy of the process and love of the end product it would be tough to justify.

Yah I'm curious how prior poster got to only $500 with kegging equipment. I'm trying to keep track of all the odds and ends but they do add up. Picked up a $3 tool today to measure malt mill gap...last week needed to replace a broken floating thermometer.

As I stated before, I did this just to think of a "theoretical" cost... Not because I think of this as "work" or anything other than a hobby...

If someone asked me "what would your beer cost if I bought it at a store?"... This is what i would tell them....

Of course my calculation methods are rudimentary... Lets not take this so seriously.

Cyclman said:

If you are home brewing to save money, you're deluding yourself. It is about passion, love of doing it yourself, and crafting something. ROI is to buy commercial stuff on sale.

Click to expand...

As I said, I don't homebrew because it saves me money, I started because the cost of beer I was buying made me think, "Dang, if I'm paying this much, I might was well start brewing it myself.

There is no doubt it's going to take a lot of beer to officially recoup my costs for equipment, that might not ever happen. But, I tend to brew more session beers and straight up cost of ingredients now is around $20 for me, plus or minus a few bucks here and there. When a keg of Miller Lite now runs $98, I'm able to brew a lot tastier, more enjoyable beer than that for almost $30 cheaper than buying that 15 gallons in a keg from a commercial brewery.

Granted, that doesn't include the $1000 startup investment, the propane refills, tap water bill, gas to and from the LHBS and additional equipment I keep buying to replace old equipment or just get something new. There is something to be said for it being economical, compared to buying $9 six packs a couple of times a week.

Am I saving money, probably not, but I'm surely not blowing my life savings making beer either. First and foremost I think the key is to look at it as a hobby. I've built train sets before, my second love is still 1/32 slot cars. The ROI for those things is only fun and you have to ask yourself, "What is the enjoyment of this worth?" Making beer is enough of an enjoyment for me, that I never have really sat down and run the numbers, because it doesn't really matter, I'd rather make beer than buy it, that's why I do it.

I do know though, roughly what it costs me to make 15 gallons and what it costs me to buy 15.5 gallons and when you add the tax the state gets off of each ounce of beer I buy, it's definitely worth it to continue to enjoy this hobby. Hell, I think for the tax alone on one keg here now, I can at least buy the grain for a nice session Pale Ale.

Sween said:

As I stated before, I did this just to think of a "theoretical" cost... Not because I think of this as "work" or anything other than a hobby...

If someone asked me "what would your beer cost if I bought it at a store?"... This is what i would tell them....

Of course my calculation methods are rudimentary... Lets not take this so seriously.

Click to expand...

I thought it was a neat idea and fun.
Surprised to see some people be so critical of what seemed to be just a fun "fluff" thread.

Sorry if I overreacted. Love the topic! I work in marketing so my answer re what I'd price my beer at would be based on competitive field not my cost. My cost would determine if my business was viable...

So who is my competition?

BMC - not competition

Big craft - Bought a 12 pack of SN Ruthless Rye this week. Pretty comparable to my house ales. With tax and deposit was $1.58/bottle. But fringe benefit is I need a few more bottles.

Neighborhood micro - $15/ half gallon. About $3/bottle. Great beer. Source of knowledge and inspiration for my own recipes. I'm not there yet quality wise on every batch, but getting close, achievable target, getting into kegging would help.

Small run craft - $8 - $20+ for a bomber, sometimes champagne bottle. Like homebrew, these are of variable quality. But at the high end of the range they are producing something that for now appears to be out of reach. Ask me again in a couple years....


So I'd price my house beer at $1.50 and my bigger beers, when successful, at $3/bottle.

Again this is for fun. Not trying to troll OP or anyone else on the thread.

the_trout said:

I thought it was a neat idea and fun.
Surprised to see some people be so critical of what seemed to be just a fun "fluff" thread.

Click to expand...

Don't take it so hard. I thought it was pretty neat, without this, I never would have really put any numbers to what I do. The arguments are just part of the internet today. Heck, my running joke whenever I hear anyone say, "The internet is a great tool to get information." I always say, "No, an encyclopedia is a great tool to get information, the internet is a great place to get a million different opinions on that once piece of information."

My time is easily worth 257 dollars an hour.


No more no less.

I make expensive beer.

I try to keep my costs under a, "Buck A Bomber."

I don't brew to save money. I'd hate to add up TOTAL cost per pint to date - even though I've brewed lots of beer for lots of years. Compared to some I spend very little on equipment - compared to some I spend a lot...

That said.... "What's my beer worth?"

Slightly more than my liver.

"What's my beer worth?

Slightly more than my liver"

That has to be the best quote I've heard aeons here in a while!

Lets see I have an average of $18 each for my corny kegs, I can sell them for $35, It cost me $80 for my keggles, I can sell them for $150. I'm retired so my time is free. I pay $37 for ingredients to brew 10 gallons. With the new math it looks like beer pays me $1.00 a bottle to drink.

My beer is time invested.
Time is money.
Money is power.
Power is a drug.
Drugs are bad.
Everything bad is good for you.

Speaking in transitive platitudes:
My beer is good for you.

I used to go through a 1/2 barrel of $120 beer every 3 weeks. Now I can brew that same 15.5 gallons for ~$35 (including water but not propane). My current investment is ~$1200 and I keg. I started with the $99 brewers best kit and was hooked then looked at how much I could save with just a minimal investment (this all happened within 3 months). Even with ordering cleaning/sanitizing supplies I still will theoretically have my equipment paid in the first year. (that's what I am telling myself anyway)

I have two different ways to look at the value of my beer...or brewing habit:

First: the reality of how much total money I spend on drinking. Before brewing I typically spent about $40 per week between beer & wine for home, and drinks when I was out. Now, my friends usually come to my house...the beer, wine & booze they bring has filled my cabinet. (because we drink my homebrew) I now brew about once per week @ $20 be batch...much more alcohol in the house, $20 less spent per week

Second: One of my favorite beer drinking conversations when sampling a new beer is comparing it to favorite commercial beers....not for taste....but price. "I like this more than XXX which cost $ per bottle" A few people can quickly find a "value" for the beer. Honestly, this is most fun for beers that are not perfect...amazing how often the beer we view as failures are still better than some commercial craft brews.