Cost vs. Labor - Before I do anything!

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StarCityBrewMaster

StarCityBrewMaster

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I'm trying to search the forum but can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

I would like to brew my own beer, personally I favor something like a Newcastle nut brown ale.

I am curious what it would cost for me to do a typical brew like this and how much beer it would produce. I can buy a 12 pack at a local grocery store for $15-$16. If the cost difference isn't much to brew my own I'm not sure I have the time nor the funds to get started right now. If the cost difference is substantial then I am highly interested in home brewing!

Thanks for any info!
 
It is more labor intensive than you might think. Think of it as 'extreme cooking'. You may well save money in the long run. Be patient and check things like Craig's list and the local scrap yard for stuff if you have too. Join a local club in your area if you can find one and ease into it.
 
well...your equipment isnt cheap...but the ingredients to make the beer will make it seem cheaper to brew your own....Its a hobby and a never ending "quest" for lack of better words to improve the Beer that YOU made and can take ownership of.
In the end, once you have the equipment to brew how you see fit it will become very much cost effective to brew your own, but maybe not at first...I had to aproach it as a hobby rather than means to save a buck.
jump in with both feet!!!
 
Up front you'll save nothing. And every time you think you're turning the page on that, you'll go further down the rabbit hole and need more equipment. I was given a bunch from my brother and I've still found myself spending money on more stuff every time I visit the LHBS. Eventually, sure. But the reason I got into it was the fun. I don't think of it as labour.
 
Edcculus said:
Homebrewing is in no way shape or form a way to save money on beer.
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You actually can save money brewing your own beer, but you have to go all grain and be resourceful finding your equipment. Realistically, most people end up spending A LOT more money on brew gear, kegs, keggerators, trinkets, toys... etc.

If you are looking for a cheap way to drink beer, stick with BMC cans. If you want to brew a superior product for yourself, then consider homebrew.
 
Don't let any of this be discouraging though. Its a great hobby. As any hobbyist will tell you, its not a way to save versus buying commercial product. Brewing, wine making, mead, and even hobbies like painting, pottery, cars, cheese, cooking, shooting etc.

You can eventually save money, by buying malt and hops in bulk, harvesting/washing yeast and other money saving things. Of course you will need a malt mill, a way to vacuum store hops, storage space and all the other all grain equipment...
 
That's absolutely not true. You can save quite a bit of money by making your own beer. As long as you have some discipline and realize you don't need a $1400 conical, a $5500 brew sculpture, a slight remodel to your home to fit your walk-in fermenting chamber, a brewhouse...

You can get just about everything you'll ever "need," from a basic kit for $100 or so. From there it's just the cost of ingredients.

...and a bigger brew kettle, and a second primary, ooh what's a mash tun for, botting would be easier if I could just put it all into 1 5 gallon bottle, MoreBeer is having a sale on x I should spend at least 60 bucks to save on shipping...
 
Well I just want to brew beer that I like. I figure all the store bought stuff I drink as a little something I like. Now if I can find a nice combo of those features and get it down a routine process I'll be in my own heaven on earth............
 
With respect to the prior poster, I absolutely think homebrew IS a way to save money on beer. I consider the equipment a cost of the hobby - a sunk cost to use an accounting term. I consider the actual raw ingredients the cost of the brew. A "typical" batch for me (if there is such a thing) runs about $35 for 6 gallons (922 oz) which yields more or less 70 standard bottles. That comes to $0.50 per bottle or $3.00 a six pack. I don't know about your local beer/wine shop, but I can't buy a sixer of Bud Light for that.

With that in mind, it really is a way to save money if you brew often. If you only plan on doing it once or twice, the $100 investment on basic equipment is not worth it. But if you want to make it a habit (as most of us have decided), it does pan out.

My only concern is that you mention time. There is no way around that. It takes a lot of time. And one often overlooked obsticle is space. Forget the space it takes to ferment, do you have the space to store 50, 75, or 100 bottles at a time? If not, this may not be the right time.

Just my two cents.
 
Edcculus said:
Don't let any of this be discouraging though. Its a great hobby. As any hobbyist will tell you, its not a way to save versus buying commercial product. Brewing, wine making, mead, and even hobbies like painting, pottery, cars, cheese, cooking, shooting etc.
Click to expand...

I agree it is a hobby and by no means a way to save $$....but thats because we are always improving our equipment/toys and never satisfied. I, like most of the people here have a passion for brewing and will spend much more $ then I will ever save in the quest for the perfect beer. I also can't explain the feeling of drinking a delicious homebrew and being able to "tweek" the recipe to make it that much closer to perfect.

That being said if you are a person who loves good beer...beer with flavor...(i.e. not miller lite). A simple set-up and bulk ingredients can save money. Contrary to some, extract brewing can make a damn good beer. But the truth of it is, once you dip your feet in the water...that simple set-up will likely be "tweeked" :)
 
I had always heard you had to start somewhere and somewhere for me is the absolute bottom as I know nothing about it nor do I know anyone who does it so I appreciate all the insight.

I was planning on starting a while back and then got hitched, bought a house, started a new career and lost my drive to brew beer.

I certainly have the time but was hoping that I could brew beer I love while saving money over store prices which it seems I will be able to do.

How do bottles need to be stored? If it's in a refrigerator I may be in trouble, if it's in a dark place at room temperature I will have no problem working something out.

Thanks
 
Bottles should be stored at room temp until it's time to drink em. Then stick em in the fridge at least overnight.
 
I started a few months back and seriously enjoy it. Between the keg equipment and the keezer I doubt I've saved money, but it's pretty sweet to come home to multiple brews on tap that you brewed yourself.
 
You could buy a Newcastle Clone extract kit for about $42 shipped from one of the online brew supply places. This is a 5 gallon kit so it makes about 50 12oz beers. That's about $5.04 per six pack. This of course would not include your equipment. You would recoup your equipment investment over time but who stops buying equipment after the initial brew kit is paid for? Not me.
 
cimirie said:
With respect to the prior poster, I absolutely think homebrew IS a way to save money on beer. I consider the equipment a cost of the hobby - a sunk cost to use an accounting term. I consider the actual raw ingredients the cost of the brew. A "typical" batch for me (if there is such a thing) runs about $35 for 6 gallons (922 oz) which yields more or less 70 standard bottles. That comes to $0.50 per bottle or $3.00 a six pack. I don't know about your local beer/wine shop, but I can't buy a sixer of Bud Light for that.

With that in mind, it really is a way to save money if you brew often. If you only plan on doing it once or twice, the $100 investment on basic equipment is not worth it. But if you want to make it a habit (as most of us have decided), it does pan out.

My only concern is that you mention time. There is no way around that. It takes a lot of time. And one often overlooked obsticle is space. Forget the space it takes to ferment, do you have the space to store 50, 75, or 100 bottles at a time? If not, this may not be the right time.

Just my two cents.
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Umm, you can't view a future cost as a sunk cost since it is, you know, not sunk by definition.

I've never met someone who made beer so cheap they wouldn't have been better off using the time to flip burgers and buy beer with the second paycheck. Plus think of all the ass you'll get working at Burger King.

If you can't get a job at BK, you have bigger problems than beer.

So, no, if you consider the labor required home brewing is not cost effective. It is a hobby and like all hobbies it is funner the more money you waste.
 
Others may have better methods, but storing your bottles in a dark place at room temp works just fine for me. Picture a beer/wine store. They have almost all of their product out on shelves at room temp.

Technically, for best results, aging the bottles at cellar temps is the best way to go. But assuming your room temp isn't in the 80s, I see no reason that should get in your way.
 
remilard said:
So, no, if you consider the labor required home brewing is not cost effective. It is a hobby and like all hobbies it is funner the more money you waste.
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Brewing really isn't "labor" though :rockin:

But I agree with what you said :tank:
 
As we've now moved into strictly academic territory, the labor cost argument is rather interesting. I think most of us would agree that if you had to give up time that would otherwise be spent on gaining income, the labor cost comes into play.

If you assume, however, that person A has x amount of free time to spend strictly on a hobby, you can't dollarize it. I think the majority of us would otherwise be watching football, or playing guitar, riding horses, or playing video games... i.e. things that would also not make any money. The labor cost, therefore, probably doesn't come into play for somebody who's thinking about a dollars and cents approach to brewing.

Interesting food for thought.
 
Most of us here probably had different reasons for being attracted to homebrewing, however all (maybe nearly all) would likely agree that they did not get into home brewing to save money on beer. That's all I've got to add to this lively discussion.

Oh, and this was hilarious....

remilard said:
I've never met someone who made beer so cheap they wouldn't have been better off using the time to flip burgers and buy beer with the second paycheck. Plus think of all the ass you'll get working at Burger King.
Click to expand...
 
DavidSteel said:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/really-easy-75557/
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hahaha that's the video that got me turned on to homebrewing! so it's not all bad. After watching that video, I found HBT. Now I cringe a little at pre-hopped LME and yeast packets stuck in a can lid, but with apfelwein, graff, and an AHS pale ale bottled, and an AHS IPA in primary... I do feel a bit of gratitude towards this Craig fellow.

At least in my case, there's savings per batch if I count only ingredients cost, but amortizing the equipment it's gonna be a few years before the breakeven point.

It's more making stuff I can't buy in stores (like the apfelwein), and cracking the first bottle of something I never imagined I could make myself - and having it actually taste damn good - that's the fun part for me.

Not to mention all the knowledge of the subject and appreciation of the product gained once I started actually learning how it's made.
 
mordantly said:
another plus:

consuming homebrew typically requires less ingestion for the same (mild) inebriation. so you don't have to "drink 6 beers, piss 9 beers," it's "drink 3 pints, don't have to piss."
Click to expand...


Yet another example of something this board has brought to my attention that I never would have thought of on my own!!! LOL.


I love your quote in your sig, BTW.
 
This must be a world record. It's rare that Bobby_M or myself wasn't the first to point out the labor cost when people "save" money brewing.
 
apologeticus said:
you'll probably start drinking more and gain weight once you start homebrewing. take that into account.
Click to expand...

i'll be damned, stouts and high body beers just won't fill my tire up! :(


for a real-life example of cost: i am prepared to make a 5gal clone of fat tire, all grain. and the total materials bill is $16 or ~$.32/12oz pour. not too shabby! it will take some time to mash, but not terribly labor-intensive.
 
Homebrewing doesn't save you guys any money?

I thought everyone here was routinely buying cases of Chimay! :D
 
Even if you eventually save money, that is not what it is about. Home brewing is a disease. When you have it you will know. It is a life long hobby. A way of life.
 
A buddy of mine just spent 2000$ on a record player the other day....To me, my 150$ micro brewery (using buckets to make beer!) seems like a cheap and satisfying hobby. You're making your own beer, how cool is that!
 
CDbrews said:
To get things back on topic- yes this seems like a good deal
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Good deal, but I would skip the bottles. Midwest has some other great deals. I bought my first kit from them. They charge you normal shipping costs based on weight and those bottles are going to bump your shipping costs way up. Just go to a local liquor store or supermarket and buy four 12-packs. Or, you can ask your friends or a local bar or even visit a recycling dumpster is you are not grossed out by that.

P.S. Yeah... you're never going to save money homebrewing. You will continue to buy new equipment.
 

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