Cheapest to-style beer I could brew

Before anyone starts hating, today I wanted to see what was the least expensive full batch of brew I could make that was to BJCP style. So, not just cheap - but good beer. What's the point of saving a couple of pennies if you can't drink it and enjoy it.

A couple of points up front; I do BIAB in my apartment on a hotplate (I don't have a kitchen. See this thread on my process; https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/1st-biab-if-i-can-you-can-309912/ ) so a full batch for me is 4.5G or 36 pints. All costs are what I paid to my door; taxes, shipping and everything else included. I bought grain in a group buy and online, hops online and yeast from ebay (I know some of you don't like the Muntons, but it was the least expensive for this experiment). Lastly, cheap means how much per pint. So with that understood, off we go.

I decided to brew a simple Blonde Ale. I worked out the recipe on Brewer's Friend to make sure it was to BJCP style for a Blonde Ale. The recipe and process was:

BIAB Blonde Ale
Brewed 23 Jun 12 : Bottled??
7lb American Pale; 4oz Carapils; 2oz C-60
Ground fine and mashed @152 for 60min in 10qts water (preboil = 2.75G @ 1072 for 75% efficiency)
Boiled 45 min; .5oz Nugget @45; .5oz Cascade @15
Cooled wort, strained into fermenter and topped to 4.5G; Pitched Muntons yeast @ 60F
OG = 1.045 IBU = 27
Anticipated Values; FG = 1.010? ABV = 4.3?%

Cost break down:
7lb American Pale Malt @ .77 per lb = $5.39
4oz Carapils @ .12 per oz($1.89 per lb) = .48
2oz C-60 @ .05 per oz(.77 per lb) = .10
.5oz Nugget Hops @.66 per oz = .33
.5oz Cascade Hops @.66 per oz = .33
Munton and Fison Yeast @.79 = .79
Total cost $7.42

So, 36 pints for $7.42 or >.21 a pint.

Gotta love this hobby!

Cheers all!

How about the cost of your bottles, cleaning supplies used,sanitation, electricity, water etc.? Not trying to be a pain, but to truly know the cost per pint, you would need to include your overhead. Regardless, that is amazingly inexpensive per pint!
Cheers, brewing brother!

Nobodies hating... That's a totally legitimate question. I think a Mild would be hard to beat with its low alcohol and hops, and rich malty flavor.

jmprdood said:

Before anyone starts hating, today I wanted to see what was the least expensive full batch of brew I could make that was to BJCP style. So, not just cheap - but good beer. What's the point of saving a couple of pennies if you can't drink it and enjoy it.

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First off, and not "hating", there are many, many, many great beers that are not to any BJCP styles. Stone Arrogant Bastard for example, is quite popular and doesn't fit a style other than 23. Any and all Black IPAs (or whatever you want to call them) are out of BJCP style, regardless of how great they are, since there isn't a BJCP style as of yet to cover it, again other than 23.

Back to your question, though. You could brew 6 gallons of a good Berliner Weisse for about $5, depending on where you get your grain and how adventurous you are. Since I buy my grain and hops in bulk the prices may be cheaper than what you will find at your LHBS. Nevertheless, here's the break down:

4# Pilsner malt - $2.68
3.5# white wheat malt - $1.86
20g Hersbrucker (4%AA) - ~$0.63
~.5# 2-row (for sour worting) - $0.26

Total cost: $5.43

After souring for 1-2 days at ~100-110F, then boiling for 15 minutes, I covered the BK with cheesecloth and left outside overnight. The wort was then inoculated with wild (and free) yeast. Rack to a carboy in the morning and spontaneously ferment your Berliner Weisse!

Since this recipe was for 6 gallons, your 4.5g could be even cheaper. Good luck!

PS. Most low SG beers will be cheap. Try a Mild, Ordinary Bitter, or 60 Schilling.

barrooze said:

First off, and not "hating", there are many, many, many great beers that are not to any BJCP styles. Stone Arrogant Bastard for example, is quite popular and doesn't fit a style other than 23. Any and all Black IPAs (or whatever you want to call them) are out of BJCP style, regardless of how great they are, since there isn't a BJCP style as of yet to cover it, again other than 23.

Back to your question, though. You could brew 6 gallons of a good Berliner Weisse for about $5, depending on where you get your grain and how adventurous you are. Since I buy my grain and hops in bulk the prices may be cheaper than what you will find at your LHBS. Nevertheless, here's the break down:

4# Pilsner malt - $2.68
3.5# white wheat malt - $1.86
20g Hersbrucker (4%AA) - ~$0.63
~.5# 2-row (for sour worting) - $0.26

Total cost: $5.43

After souring for 1-2 days at ~100-110F, then boiling for 15 minutes, I covered the BK with cheesecloth and left outside overnight. The wort was then inoculated with wild (and free) yeast. Rack to a carboy in the morning and spontaneously ferment your Berliner Weisse!

Since this recipe was for 6 gallons, your 4.5g could be even cheaper. Good luck!

PS. Most low SG beers will be cheap. Try a Mild, Ordinary Bitter, or 60 Schilling.

Click to expand...

How did you culture your wild yeast?

Legit questions about energy, water and what not - but all that is included in my rent so I pay it if I brew or not. My fermenter was >$10 and I've used it 20 times. Expendables would add a fraction of a cent per pint as well, bottles and that would do the same.

So with all the variables I only worried about ingredient costs - if most of the guys out there figured in the costs of their brewstands, keezers, kegs, man-caves etc etc....it would be mind boggling what they spend on a pint.

I was just after this point in time for a batch.
Cheers!

I'd say the wild yeast thing is a stretch for most...I wanted results that can be consistently duplicated.

I would have to say nice job jmprdood! Will share your post with a buddy that sold all of his gear because he moved into a condo in Miami...you will certainly inspire him to kick himself!
Cheers no haters.

jmprdood said:

I'd say the wild yeast thing is a stretch for most...I wanted results that can be consistently duplicated.

Click to expand...

From a purely capital view it is cheap, but a Berliner takes many months to be ready to drink.. I don't think that's what was in mind.

joety said:

How did you culture your wild yeast?

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After boiling and cooling, I leave my wort in the BK, cover the open top with cheesecloth (others use paint strainer bags), and leave outside overnight. Saccharomyces like tree bark, so if you have a tree you could put it under, that may give you interesting results. I put mine under my rose bushes. Sure, YMMV, but it's still fun and cheap!

bottlebomber said:

From a purely capital view it is cheap, but a Berliner takes many months to be ready to drink.. I don't think that's what was in mind.

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It takes months to be ready, only if you add the Lacto AFTER boiling (or non-boil...). If you sour-mash or sour wort, you're ready in a week or two. Mine were great done this way.

Cheapest to style would be a berliner weisse, ~3%. Sour mash, so no yeast needed. Very little gas needed due to short boil)

Here's a 8 gallon batch bill:

6# Wheat
6# Pilnser Malt
1 oz. Hallertauer

[edit: woops, looks like I'm a little late to the party]

Not a big fan of sour beers myself - and not a fan of waiting months - weeks is enough for an impatient guy like me. But very interesting.

jmprdood said:

Not a big fan of sour beers myself - and not a fan of waiting months - weeks is enough for an impatient guy like me. But very interesting.

Click to expand...

You can always go with one of the three I listed earlier: Mild, Ordinary Bitter, or 60 schilling. Really, any beer with an OG in the 30s is going to be pretty cheap to brew.

Interesting that you did this.....I tried this as well. I tried to brew just a standard pale ale with pilsner malt, a little crystal, maybe some amber....don't really remember. But the notion was to get it as cheap as possible. The beer would have been good had it not been mashed at too low a temp, combined with over-carbonating it. it was fizzy, alcoholic water.

c'est la vie.

cheapest i've brewed is a scottish 60/-

My first Bitter brewed to both try out the style and to propagate some yeast was incredibly cheap to brew. I'm hoping it turns into an awesome summer beer style that I can quickly brew no sparge, and do for fairly cheap.

Make a SMaSH beer? Use 1 malt and 1 hops, 1 yeast. Then maybe for the next 2 batches wash the yeast or pitch onto yeast cake from previous brew. That'd be quite cheap and good (have a Maris otter / cascade beer in secondary that tastes great).