Cheapest all-grain homebrew recipes

Now hold on! I know these type of threads tend to become anti-cheap beer flame wars and "Why even home brew if you want cheap beer" kind of retorts, so I want to head this off here and now.

I'm a college kid. A poor college kid. In a recession.

I do homebrew, and I've done some twenty all-grain batches with my roomie by now. We've brewed some great clones, and we've brewed some mediocre clones. We've also brewed infected messes. Sunday through thursday, I want one or two darn good beers, and we go all out in making them nice beers.

Friday and Saturday night? I like to start off with good beer, but a few beers into a night, I feel like I'm doing a disservice to my better beers. They should be savoured and enjoyed, not pseudo binge-drunk in a hot, cramped apartment. This is why I want a cheap homebrew. For those late weekend nights where the quality of the beer is lost on me. Something that's better that coors(I know, setting the bar high) or bud or pabst but still as cheap or cheaper if possible.

So I turn to you, for ideas for cheap, mass-produced "party beer." If it helps I can bulk buy sterling, cascade, an willamette for 1.25$/ounce and marris otter for 1.05$/pound and american 2-row for 1$/pound. What would you suggest? I personally like big, heavy, high alcohol beers myself, but anything from 4-5% coors-style beers to cheap-but-drinkable 7-9% or more beers are all welcome.

The best recipe gets the coveted title of "Umass Recession Beer"

6 gal Batch:

8# 2-row
2# Vienna home-made with 2-row ala http://oz.craftbrewer.org/Library/Methods/Sanders/roasting.shtml
.75# Carapils
.75 oz Cascade 60 min
.5 oz Cascade 15
.5 oz Cascade 5
Nottingham yeast.

Simple and cheap. I Mash at about 150. My BMC friends love it. Comes in at about 4.5% ABV, but you can up the grains/hops if you want it higher.

PBR CLONE
Brew Type: All Grain Date: 2/9/2008
Style: American Light/Standard/Premium Lager Brewer: Who Knows
Batch Size: 5.50 gal Assistant Brewer:
Boil Volume: 7.00 gal Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 % Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal)
Actual Efficiency: 16.71 %
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
10.00 lb Barley, Raw (2.0 SRM) Grain 86.96 %
1.00 lb Rice, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 8.70 %
0.50 lb Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4.35 %
0.25 oz Cascade [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 5.2 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [6.00 %] (35 min) Hops 4.3 IBU
0.25 oz Mt. Hood [4.50 %] (25 min) Hops 2.7 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [6.00 %] (15 min) Hops 10.3 IBU
1 Pkgs American Lager (Wyeast Labs #2035) Yeast-Lager

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 3.59 gal of water at 161.4 F 150.0 F 75 min


Mash Notes
Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar Carbonation Volumes: 2.4 (2.5-2.7 vols)
Estimated Priming Weight: 3.9 oz Temperature at Bottling: 55.0 F
Primer Used: - Age for: 8.0 Weeks
Storage Temperature: 35.0 F

Being another college student I think simplicity is the way to go here. I would just do a SMASH. Bulk buy hops from hopsdirect, or somewhere else online, and they're dirty cheap. Then bulk buy a sack or two of two-row. Make a corona type mill for 30 bucks, and you're all set.

8# two row + however much hops you feel like = cheap, easy, good beer...

EDIT: If you would like an actual recipe, try

10# two row
1 oz Cascade at 90 ~21 IBUs
1 oz Cascade at 20 ~12 IBUs
1 oz Cascade at 5 ~4 IBUs
1 oz Cascade dry hop

And thats it, a good American Pale Ale. Use some cheap dry yeast, and it'll be ready to drink within a month!

I plug my Kentucky Common again. Everyone loves it. I'm also a poor college student, which is another reason I brew this all the time. I still think it is the best bang for your buck recipe. It uses a 24hr mash so you should get really good efficiency. Between me and another guy, we've had 92-98% multiple times. Another guy on here got 85%. On a 6.75lb grain bill I got a 5.2% abv beer.

If you're interested, I would start with this recipe to see what kind of efficiency you get. If you get 90+, you may want to try the 1908 recipe below if you want a cheaper and lower abv (around 5%) beer. The 1908 is a little lighter in flavor and body, but they are both still awesome session beers. People are always wanting me to brew these. You can use dry yeast on the first recipe if you want. I'm kegging a batch with dry yeast today.

Recipe: O’Daniel’s Kentucky Common
Style: Specialty Beer
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
————————–
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.41 gal
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 15.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 25.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 90.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
————
Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.00 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 70.59 %
2.00 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 23.53 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 2.94 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 2.94 %
1.00 oz Cluster [7.00 %] (60 min) Hops 25.0 IBU
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: My Mash
Total Grain Weight: 8.50 lb
—————————-
My Mash
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Step Add 12.75 qt of water at 163.3 F 150.0 F

Notes:
——
Mash for 24 hours to sour. Nothing else is added. Leave the top on the mash tun the whole time. If when you open it and it smells funky and the top looks a little funky, just scrape it off and continue to sparge. It will be fine.

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Recipe: O’Daniel’s Kentucky Common 1908
Brewer: O’Daniel
Style: Specialty Beer
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
————————–
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.41 gal
Estimated OG: 1.045 SG
Estimated Color: 9.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 26.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 95.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
————
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 74.02 %
1.50 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 22.21 %
2.00 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt – 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 1.92 %
2.00 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 1.85 %
1.00 oz Cluster [7.00 %] (60 min) Hops 26.7 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: My Mash
Total Grain Weight: 6.76 lb
—————————-
My Mash
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Step Add 10.13 qt of water at 165.6 F 152.0 F

Notes:
——
Mash for 24 hours.

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like others have said, i would just keep it simple.

10pounds marris otter, a pound of sugar if wanted, 1oz cascade at 60mins, Notty dry yeast
maybe .5pound of crystal 60 or carapils if wanted

Mountainbeers said:

PBR CLONE

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2 quick questions for Mountainbeers:

1. Where'd this recipe come from (I'm in the market for a good PBR clone), have you brewed it? Is it pretty close?
2. I read a recipe for PBR that used grits instead of rice or corn, thoughts?

Sorry about the hijack. PM would be fine.

Go with this man: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f68/o-flannagain-standard-41072/

Right now I'm drinking a batch of Orfy's Mild-Mannered Ale, which is cheap but has a great flavor.

I used 6.0 lbs Marris Otter, 1.5 lbs crystal 60L and 5 ounces of chocolate malt, mash at 158F for 60 minutes, 1 oz. Fuggles @ 45 and another ounce at 15. Total cost under $25.

Mountainbeers said:

PBR CLONE
Brew Type: All Grain Date: 2/9/2008
Style: American Light/Standard/Premium Lager Brewer: Who Knows
Batch Size: 5.50 gal Assistant Brewer:
Boil Volume: 7.00 gal Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 % Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal)
Actual Efficiency: 16.71 %
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
10.00 lb Barley, Raw (2.0 SRM) Grain 86.96 %
1.00 lb Rice, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 8.70 %
0.50 lb Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4.35 %
0.25 oz Cascade [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 5.2 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [6.00 %] (35 min) Hops 4.3 IBU
0.25 oz Mt. Hood [4.50 %] (25 min) Hops 2.7 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [6.00 %] (15 min) Hops 10.3 IBU
1 Pkgs American Lager (Wyeast Labs #2035) Yeast-Lager

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 3.59 gal of water at 161.4 F 150.0 F 75 min


Mash Notes
Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar Carbonation Volumes: 2.4 (2.5-2.7 vols)
Estimated Priming Weight: 3.9 oz Temperature at Bottling: 55.0 F
Primer Used: - Age for: 8.0 Weeks
Storage Temperature: 35.0 F

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Holy Christ on a creek! PBR!!!!! Whoa. I'm so there. NOT.

I think you've received excellent advice thus far. I'd add to the chorus saying brew simple. Anything with 6-8# base malt, .5# various Caramel malts, & vary it up with .5# Victory or Chocolate or Aromatic for variety. 1 oz. early, 1 oz. late, use dry yeast, repitch onto the yeast cakes... voila, cheap & good. I'll add don't be afraid to add 5-10% table sugar. You could even get good flavor varieties by cooking it down with a cup of water and caramelize it. Just keep ferm temps low and it'll be fine.

Schlante,
Phillip

I got a pretty darn tasty bitter recipe I just brewed that will become a house regular for me.

7.0 lbs UK Pale Malt (3L)
0.5 lbs Crystal 40L
0.5 lbs Biscuit
0.5 lbs Flaked Barley
0.25 lbs Special B
1 oz EKG (4.5% AA) (FWH)
1 oz EKG (4.5% AA) (30min)
1 pkg of S-04 English Ale yeast

Mash at 152F and then ferment 3 weeks in primary. Prime with 1/2 cup of corn sugar.

Cost:
8.75 lbs of grain at $2/lb = $17.50
2 oz of EKG hops at $2.5/oz = $5.00
S-04 Yeast = $4.00

Total cost: $26.50 + tax

This beer is both cheap and really tasty.

[EDIT]: Obviously, the prices I list here are what I pay for my ingredients. You seem to be able to obtain the stuff significantly cheaper than I can. So you'd end up with a recipe that costs even less than what I just calculated.

DavidSteel said:

Go with this man: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f68/o-flannagain-standard-41072/

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I second this!!! You get your grain a good bit cheaper than I do. I brewed this recently and total cost for the batch was $20.07 and with reusing a yeast cake of Edinburgh yeast it finished beautifully. For Oatmeal Stout, I've subbed oatmeal for the flaked barley.

I'm not organized enough to wash my yeast, but liquid yeast can add something significant if you are using a really simple grain bill especially. I buy a vial of white labs yeast and plan out my brews to reuse it 5 times. I split my yeast cake and do back to back brews so I could really reuse it a couple more generations without ever having to wash the yeast. Plus it's kind of fun experimenting with using yeast on unexpected recipes.

UmassSteve said:

What would you suggest? I personally like big, heavy, high alcohol beers myself, but anything from 4-5% coors-style beers to cheap-but-drinkable 7-9% or more beers are all welcome.

The best recipe gets the coveted title of "Umass Recession Beer"

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I've seen it advertised in your thread before but my suggestion is to go with using some POS (Plain Old Sugar) to boost the alcohol. It works for Belgians is all I'm sayin'. Also, if you've got access to a kitchen, you can make your own Crystal Malts and save a few bucks there, as well. But, assuming you don't have kitchen access (be it time, location, or desire), here's a relatively cheap 5 gallon batch:

Really, Really Pale Ale
4lb 12oz Pale Ale Malt
4lb 12oz Pilsner Malt
2lb Sugar
.50oz Sterling @ 60 min
.75oz Cascade @ 30 min
.75oz Cascade @ 5 min
(~25 IBU or so, so it isn't a hop bomb, increase to up to 30 to 40 IBU for a Pale Ale type hoppiness...)

Mash at 147 for a pretty dry-ish beer, 150 for a tad more body, and 153 for a little more body. It isn't "heavy" but more folks will tend to enjoy it in my experience...

Boil for 90 mins.

Should have an SG of somewhere near 1.065 to 1.075 depending on your efficiency (70-80%)... Probably around 7+% ABV.

You can make a simple caramel with your sugar and add some flavor / color, as well. There's a good read on the forum telling how to get different shades / flavors from different times and temps. It's a good way to give a little extra something to a very simple beer. Monks have been doing it forever!

Pitch your yeast based on you and your friends drinking habits... You can culture a Duvel yeast or maybe even a Trappist yeast like Chimay (and save a few more bucks) and have a semi-respectable Belgian Golden Ale; pitch some US-05 and have a (REALLY) Pale Ale if you've hopped it a little higher; or go with a US-04 or US-33 for a little more body and maybe some character then call it a Pale Bitter... And, if you've got the capability, you can go with a Saflager and lager it. The recipe lends itself to any yeast, really. Simple yet effective.

The bill should be under $20 ($11 for grain, $1 for sugar, $4 for hops, $0 - $4 for yeast using either cultured or dry yeast).

Good luck in your quest!

You could go with a wheat beer too. Always cheap but very flavorful.

5 lb. 2-row malt
5 lb. Wheat malt
Rice Hulls

.33 oz Magnum Hops @ 60 min.

WLP Hefe IV yeast

Mash at 150 for 1 hour, Boil, pitch, ferment, bottle, drink in 2 weeks for freshest flavor!

I've got my house Cream Ale, which is CHEAP! and I make for summer time for all my pacifico and corona friends to drink, they usually can't tell the difference anyhow, I even skunk a few of the bottles now and then on purpose.

6# US 2-row
2.5# Flaked Corn*
4oz Crystal 10L

.75oz Williamette@60mins
.25oz Williamette@30mins
(any other cheap hop you've got will do too)

Fermented@60F with US-05 or Notty (whichever is cheaper) for one month, then moved to secondary to clear, pitch gelatin 2 days before moving to bottles/kegs. Clears up like a charm.

*I actually use corn meal, 1:1 replacement, you just have to boil the corn meal in water for a bit to gelatinize the starches, works great.

very popular with the BMC crowd, but tastes way better than Corona or Pacifico, IMHO.


Edit: I see we're doing prices here, so I'll submit mine, prices are based on what I get my stuff from, which is the grocery store and LHBS

6# 2-row = $6
2.5# corn = $1 (I get it in bulk bags, and I always have some around the house, so I'm rounding up to a dollar)
1oz hops = $1 (I got these Willamettes at hopsdirect for $7 a pound, so once again, I'm rounding up)
yeast = $2 (I wash yeast, so it really wouldn't cost me this much, but that's about what my LHBS has notty/us-05 for)

So total comes out to $10 for a 5 gallon batch give or take, not bad.

Also, BierMuncher's Cream of Three Crops cream ale. Crisp, tasty, and under $20.

teach said:

Also, BierMuncher's Cream of Three Crops cream ale. Crisp, tasty, and under $20.

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Not a bad choice!

The beauty of the recipe is that it can be modified really easily... The only problem is that instant rice tends to cost more than malt. But if you pre-cook regular white rice, you can make it a lot cheaper. Also, using more rice than the recipe calls for helps your bottom line BUT you decrease your flavor and may be better off just using POS (Plain Old Sugar).

That said, I've made the recipe using a little less rice and a little more malt and it came out great! I think I used some low AA hops and a noble finishing hop, if that helps...

I'm gonna second (or third, or whatever) the Cream Ale or CAP angle. Either all 2-row and some Willamette or a combo of 2-row and boiled cornmeal "mush" and Willamette; Freezeblade's recipe looks really tasty. See the Schmipielsetc. in my recipe dropdown for a lagered version of a similar beer.

If boiling the cornmeal before adding to the main mash is an unnecessary complication, but mash 2-row at ~150 for an hour before following Freezeblade's hopping schedule. You'll end up with a beer that a sober beer geek like me would enjoy while you're deep in your cups, not feeling guilty because you're not pounding your IIPA. Win-win.

Bob

UmassSteve said:

Now hold on! I know these type of threads tend to become anti-cheap beer flame wars and "Why even home brew if you want cheap beer" kind of retorts, so I want to head this off here and now.

I'm a college kid. A poor college kid. In a recession.

I do homebrew, and I've done some twenty all-grain batches with my roomie by now. We've brewed some great clones, and we've brewed some mediocre clones. We've also brewed infected messes. Sunday through thursday, I want one or two darn good beers, and we go all out in making them nice beers.

Friday and Saturday night? I like to start off with good beer, but a few beers into a night, I feel like I'm doing a disservice to my better beers. They should be savoured and enjoyed, not pseudo binge-drunk in a hot, cramped apartment. This is why I want a cheap homebrew. For those late weekend nights where the quality of the beer is lost on me. Something that's better that coors(I know, setting the bar high) or bud or pabst but still as cheap or cheaper if possible.

So I turn to you, for ideas for cheap, mass-produced "party beer." If it helps I can bulk buy sterling, cascade, an willamette for 1.25$/ounce and marris otter for 1.05$/pound and american 2-row for 1$/pound. What would you suggest? I personally like big, heavy, high alcohol beers myself, but anything from 4-5% coors-style beers to cheap-but-drinkable 7-9% or more beers are all welcome.

The best recipe gets the coveted title of "Umass Recession Beer"

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UmassSteve,

I am not AG, but there are other ways of lowering your brewing cost. Where are you getting your grain? There is a local brewpub that sells it's grain at a much lower cost than any other outlet. Also, visit your local brewpub on days they are cleaning out their fermenters. There have been posts on here about local breweries giving away they yeast-trub to people with mason jars in hand. Just follow the yeast washing sticky here: Linkie to make your own yeast bank.

Low-cost grain + free quality yeast = inexpensive brewing.

Roasting your own grain will add variety.

Theres really not any such thing as a cheap recipe. There are cheap ingredients. If you buy in Bulk, everything is cheap.

Certain recipes are expensive (like big RISs, and IIPAs, etc).

Synovia said:

Theres really not any such thing as a cheap recipe. There are cheap ingredients. If you buy in Bulk, everything is cheap.

Certain recipes are expensive (like big RISs, and IIPAs, etc).

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I beg to differ....

My recipe comes to $6 for 6 gals grocery store,,,,, and I love it,,, might be causing it turns out 9.5% and It tasted GOOD

Synovia said:

Theres really not any such thing as a cheap recipe. There are cheap ingredients. If you buy in Bulk, everything is cheap.

Certain recipes are expensive (like big RISs, and IIPAs, etc).

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Because certain recipes are relatively expensive to make does not mean that all recipes are expensive.

Bulk grains, bulk hops, and free or recycle yeast means you are reducing your cost.

He could buy bulk Keystone Light really cheap, but he is asking for quality low budget beer recipes. Examples being Milds, Cream Ales, and Session beers. All can be made with low ABV and IBU's. Meaning low budget.

Low budget whooo hooo

Brew on!

Stagnasty said:

My recipe comes to $6 for 6 gals grocery store,,,,, and I love it,,, might be causing it turns out 9.5% and It tasted GOOD

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Um, what? You have a recipe for a good-tasting, 9.5% abv beer that only runs $6 for six gallons? And you haven't shared it in this thread?

Are you trying to torture us?

BierMunchers Centennial blonde recipe is pretty cheap and easy to make. I've made it a number of times..

teach said:

Um, what? You have a recipe for a good-tasting, 9.5% abv beer that only runs $6 for six gallons? And you haven't shared it in this thread?

Are you trying to torture us?

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Lol, according to his profile, its:
1/2 bottle of Grandma's Molasses, 10 table sugar, 1 pack Flieshmans rapid rise yeast

I loled, looks like he is making kilju with molasses

DavidSteel said:

looks like he is making kilju with molasses

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Gross. Although I guess it's best not to throw stones; it is homebrewing, after all.

ODaniel said:

I plug my Kentucky Common again. Everyone loves it. I'm also a poor college student, which is another reason I brew this all the time. I still think it is the best bang for your buck recipe. It uses a 24hr mash so you should get really good efficiency. Between me and another guy, we've had 92-98% multiple times. Another guy on here got 85%. On a 6.75lb grain bill I got a 5.2% abv beer.

If you're interested, I would start with this recipe to see what kind of efficiency you get. If you get 90+, you may want to try the 1908 recipe below if you want a cheaper and lower abv (around 5%) beer. The 1908 is a little lighter in flavor and body, but they are both still awesome session beers. People are always wanting me to brew these. You can use dry yeast on the first recipe if you want. I'm kegging a batch with dry yeast today.

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so does this come out sour or anything like that?

in the owrds of joe pecci:

"maybe it's just me, i'm a little bit phuckked up..."

A cheap recipe Im making soon is simply:

Nottingham dry ale yeast
10# canadian 2-row
3 oz Hallertau

pretty simple and crazy cheap little SMaSH, and will make a nice simple beer.

If you find yourself in the mood to get smashed on the cheap...you can't beat Edwort's Apfelwein.

all those recipes seem to be well received and reletively cheap. low abv, except for the "sugar added" recipes, light to med hops, and dry yeast (or quality "used yeast"). but, its STILL a recession/depression (maybe your in grad school by now...) and i just HAVE to add that nobody has yet hit the nail on the head, for me anyways at least.

im thinking in order to get an inexpensive beer your going to have to use low price ingredients. the largest cost of all the above recipes is the grain bill. a dollar+ a pound for malt?? you've got to be kidding. i could work the next six months malting the stuff (by hand) and retire for life. you can get quality malting grade barley for approx ten cents/lb. farm gate. and 20-50 % less than that if you contract with the grower like the brewing companies do. i purchased 640 lbs last year from idaho for 63.50. it takes less than a week to produce a quality pale malt with a bucket, tarp, and a rake. lets see how much this recipe costs...

10 lbs HOMEMADE pale malt - $1.20
1/2 lbs caramel/dark HOMEBAKED malt - $0.06
sugar??? what the hell why should sugar cost less than BARLEY
1 preserved yeast cake $0.01
"wild" hops - start from seed in your backyard -free

this could produce 6-7 cases of 4.5% beer (just water it down a bit during bottling) -

or better double the recipe and make a 5gal bottle of 11% abv freeze/distilled ice beer. nothing like that sick tasting commercial high gravity beer. this is just your batch x 2 distilled to 11% for storage (warm even) life.

in the case of 4.5% beer assuming good efficiency thats like ..uh..

LESS THAN 1 CENT per BEER.