Is this really worth it ?

I made my first batch of an India Pale Ale. Just got finished bottling. I`ve got 28.00 + $9.00 shipping for the beer kit and a hell of alot of work for 2 cases of beer. Is this really worth all of the trouble. Theirs got to be a better way in saving costs. Also I need to make more than 5 gals at a time. So what are you folks doing to cut cost on ingredients and making a larger batch so it`s all worth the effort.

Burch

Give All Grain a try. The results in the beer alone are worth it. Buy grain in bulk and bring the price down. I have my Haus Ale down to $7.95 for 5 gallons and it's an excellent beer. AG takes more time and a bit more equipment, but the results are well worth it IMHO.

A fair amount of people that brew all-grain brew 10 gallon batches, twice the beer in the same amount of work. Although you'll need to consider how you'll move 10 gallon volumes of very hot liquor.

You have to enjoy the process because if the economics alone are what is driving you to want to brew your own, you will soon figure out that if it is not fun, then your time investment plus your money investment doesn't work compared to what you would spend in both just buying beer.

The other thing is, I don't try to make anything if I can't make it better (in my own humble opinion) than what I can buy. For example, I tried making a hefeweisen and decided that mine was nowhere near the quality of Paulaner's, so I just don't make hefes any more. But making a pale ale that is at least as good or (generally) better than a commercial product is not at all difficult.

So if you don't enjoy the process and the beers you make are not as good as what you can buy, then this might not be the best way to spend your time.

I spend about $30 - $40 at my LHBS per batch (back to economics). Compared with the cost of a top quality micro, this is not at all a bad deal.

Homebrewing doesn't make sense from an economic stand point, if you compare it to BMC and per pound of alcohol. One has to drink huge amounts of ale, even comparing homebrew to microbrews, before you hit break-even.

I brew because I enjoy brewing and I make ales that are not available locally or have been tuned to my personal tastes, not to save money.

I do brew to save money!We're doing 6gal batches AG for 15$.And that's counting shipping all my ingredients to Alaska.Heck yea,it's worth it.A quarter a beer for the good stuff!
Cheers

I agree. It costs me around $20 for a 5 gal AG batch. I also make around 4 gal of small beer from the leftover sparge water in the mash tun. I can make a better beer than I can buy locally, and it suits my specific taste. The biggest part is that I enjoy brewing. It's my hobby. Luckily, it is complementary to my other hobby, drinking.
AG is the way to go.

Maybe I can buy two cases of Natty Light for less money, but I can make two cases of way better beer for a few dollars more. Yeah, there's some time invested, but I love brewing--if I wanted to get a load on for cheap, I'd go buy some Popov or whatever. Homebrewing is an economical way to get great beer for not a lot of money, but it's not about money, it's about beer and having a good time.

Here in Canada any booze is absolutely taxed to death. Our cheapest discount beer goes for about $1.25 a can. Of course if you buy them 24 at a time they knock a quarter off the total price. My SWMBO bought me a 40 ounce bottle of Jack Daniel's for V-day. It was a buck an ounce....

I pay AU$17.50 for a six pack (345ml) of good beer (Malt Shovel Brewery)
I can make two cartons with DME and hops for around $30. It would cost me about $120 to buy that in the shop. 1/4 of the price :rockin:

Plus I like brewing which helps. Starting to come to terms with not liking to bottle but I am slowly obtaining the gear (SHMBO will never notice?)

Well, I could buy two cases of PBR or Ranier for $25, or for the same price I could make two cases of homebrew with twice the ABV that actually taste good, and have fun while doing it...

I'd call homebrewing sound economics.

Fizzics is right to mention the yeast....

I would suggest finding your local homebrew store, I don't know where in Fl you are, but there has to be something close. Go there (and save money on shipping), and don't just buy a kit. There are plenty of great recepies floating around, or better yet feel free to just make one up... Re-using yeast is one good way to cut costs (I do enjoy the liquid yeasts, especially Wyeast, but they are like six bucks for one pack). It's really easy, and you can get three, maybe even four batches from each pack by re-using yeast. Just by doing that, you've saved $15

I personally don't do AG yet, though I really want to - it's the cost of the grain mill, MLT, and bigger kettle that have me hesitating :-(

But keep in mind that as you do things to economize (in cost terms) you generally increase your time investment. As I said above, you have to enjoy the "doing." If you don't, then the economics alone, considering the value of your time, just won't work.

To me the point of brewing my own beer is drinking good beer.

If I wanted to drink cheap beer, I'd buy a case of Keystone from 7-11.

2 cases of Keystone (576 oz of urine flavored liquid): ~$20

or

2 cases of homebrew: $25


Brew the homebrew, drink it, collect your urine, and you get the equivalent of the 2 cases of Keystone to boot!


(Just don't eat any asparagus.)

For me it was a matter getting tired of drinking commercial lager, by and large virtually the only thing available in beer on the shelves here in Japan. Also, I got kinda spoiled on microbrews in Oregon before moving here. A 16 Oz can of premium all malt lager runs $2.50 or more per can, or $5-7 in a bar. A 12 Oz can/bottle of microbrew runs $5-7 in the bottle shop and $10 in a bar. Do the math on those numbers. Homebrewing isn't as cheap as in US or Canada, but it's a lot cheaper per beer and tastes better than some of the microbrews. It used to cost me about $40-50 to brew a 5 gallon batch from a kit and some grains. Now I brew AG and recycle my yeasts so it costs only $20 for 5 gallons. Thats 40 tall cans of yummy beer for only 50 cents per beer. Even the cheapest beer in Japan sells for $1.25 for a tall can. But the cost benefit is not the reason for brewing, just a fringe benefit. I like winning competitions, serving my beer on tap at parties, and always having at least 2 or 3 styles of beer on hand to drink. And sure, my first batch was carbonated pond water which I poured down the drain, and another batch got infected and thrown out as well, and an accident in the kitchen that ruined my wort and flooded the kitchen. All learning experiences and part of the fun of learning to brew. It's a hobby that my wife likes too!

Maybe i`ll try all grain. Since i`ve only done one batch can I get an all grain kit and make a 5gal. batch to start. Are the all grain kits ( if they make `em ) any cheaper ?

Hey guys... I my girlfriend was wondering if it's really worth it to make lasagna from scratch. She says she can just buy it in the frozen foods section of the grocery store and it saves a lot of time and effort and is actually even cheaper once you factor in all the ingredients you have to buy individually.

For me, brewing is a hobby. I am not greatly concerned about the money I save brewing my own beer. Neither hubby nor I are big beer drinkers, so we have no problem spending $8-10 for a 6-pack of brew.

My latest brew (an all-extract hefe that was bottled yesterday) cost about $35 in ingredients, and is running me about $4.50 a 6-pack. For my money, I'm getting a quality beer at about 1/2 of what I'd spend at the liquor store. Plus, I know exactly what is in my brew, not to mention the pride of having created it myself :rockin:

My wife tried lasagna from scratch: Two cups semolina, two whole eggs, about two tbl. spoons water (to adjust stiffness) and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Knead for ten mins.
Roll out with rolling pin or bottle and make the recipe with a little more liquid, add the raw pasta in layers, etc. Turns out really good!

Nope, it's not worth it. That's why none of us do it.
Move along nothing to see.
Walk away.

To get the cost down buying bulk is the way to go. That and all grain is a lot cheaper than buying extract.
Now, to make it easy and fun takes having the right equipt.
And, yes, do brew ten gallon batches.
Living in Key West means that I have to buy my water @ .09 cents per 12oz bottle finished cost and my last shipping bill was 23.50 for about 57#shipped -not too bad.
My average is about 46 cents per bottle versus $3.50 and the expected one dollar tip if I go out to a bar. Or $9.50 per six pack at the store
Been brewing for over 15 yrs and still look forward to the weekends, when I brew. It was just recently that I feel I have bought all that I need, 'cept maybe a larger tun with a ss false bottom and a spigot.

I think like everyone has said. This is a hobby. I know that i enjoy brewing and love to brew. Its relaxing. I find that buy good beer is expensive.

When u guys mentioned making pasta from scratch. I do enjoy making everyting from scratch. Its a much better.

I dont think that any of us are realy consered on the economics of brewing are beer. I know that i'm goign to start doing all grain brews in a month or so and will start buying grains/hops in bulk to cut down on price.

My beer costs me around one tenth the price of good quality commercials.

I brew for mainly economic reasons. Closey followed by the other reasons mentioned.

Whelk said:

Maybe I can buy two cases of Natty Light for less money, but I can make two cases of way better beer for a few dollars more. Yeah, there's some time invested, but I love brewing--if I wanted to get a load on for cheap, I'd go buy some Popov or whatever. Homebrewing is an economical way to get great beer for not a lot of money, but it's not about money, it's about beer and having a good time.

Click to expand...

Very well said.

O.K. I didn`t mean to ruffle a bunch of feathers. I was just making a statement.
I might have paid for a little more than I`d hoped but got a wealth of info from my post. I`ve decided to do some more research on all grain brewing and buying my supplies in bulk. My homebrew guy in my area is accually a wine making store and he helped me out with getting this started. He has an American Pale Ale kit in stock and I might as well buy it and use it for my next batch. I`ve only done one batch and still need some experence before going on any further. So with that said i`m sorry if anyone got offended. Seems that some of the folks here have a nasty personallity and most of the replies we`re very helpful and I thank those folks. The IPA is bottled and ageing. I left out a good sample and liked it but it has a bitter taste, that i`ll work on next time. I`m thinking it`s the hops that came in my kit.

Burch :rockin:

If it is a cost effective thing at the base of this hobby I am way off base. It will take me a couple hundred years to get to a dollars ahead point. I would be depressed but I am not in this game to save money. I just spent $83 for a 240V 50A GFCI for crying out loud! I love this hobby.

Fingers said:

Here in Canada any booze is absolutely taxed to death. Our cheapest discount beer goes for about $1.25 a can. Of course if you buy them 24 at a time they knock a quarter off the total price. My SWMBO bought me a 40 ounce bottle of Jack Daniel's for V-day. It was a buck an ounce....

Click to expand...

Yeah this is true and that discount beer is really really horrible.
Homebrewing is fun makes a good hobby and from my stand point its MUCH cheaper then the liquor store.

Don't sweat it Burch. There are just a lot of passionate beer geeks here. It sounds like you are well on your way to becoming one yourself. Brew because you love beer. If the cost come out cheaper then great, if not you still had fun handcrafting something tasty.

burch said:

O.K. I didn`t mean to ruffle a bunch of feathers. I was just making a statement.
I might have paid for a little more than I`d hoped but got a wealth of info from my post. I`ve decided to do some more research on all grain brewing and buying my supplies in bulk. My homebrew guy in my area is accually a wine making store and he helped me out with getting this started. He has an American Pale Ale kit in stock and I might as well buy it and use it for my next batch. I`ve only done one batch and still need some experence before going on any further. So with that said i`m sorry if anyone got offended. Seems that some of the folks here have a nasty personallity and most of the replies we`re very helpful and I thank those folks. The IPA is bottled and ageing. I left out a good sample and liked it but it has a bitter taste, that i`ll work on next time. I`m thinking it`s the hops that came in my kit.

Burch :rockin:

Click to expand...

I'm not sure where you're picking up that some folks here have nasty personalities - lots of us just brew for reasons other than pure economics, and shared that. I don't think anyone was disrespectful of you.

In any case, you can make an AG batch for less than $20, although you'll have to make a bit of a capital investment to get all the gear you need. You'll need to fashion a mash tun (usually out of a cooler), you'll need some way of boiling six or seven gallons of wort (turkey fryer or other propane bruner works best), you need to be able to chill the wort quickly (immersion chiller is common). Lots of this you can make youself, but you still need to buy copper for the chiller, you may need to buy a cooler, etc. Figure on probably a couple hundred bucks, maybe a little less, maybe a lot less depending on what you already own, to go the AG route, but then you can brew a lot cheaper.

More important, IMHO, is you get a lot more control over the beer, so you can make something really good AND something that's not too expensive.

burch said:

I`ve only done one batch and still need some experence before going on any further. So with that said i`m sorry if anyone got offended. Seems that some of the folks here have a nasty personallity and most of the replies we`re very helpful and I thank those folks.

Click to expand...

I didnt see any nasty posts in this thread maybe i need glasses.

Lord Sterrock Hammerson 8 said:

I didnt see any nasty posts in this thread maybe i need glasses.

Click to expand...

Maybe he was reading some of the other threads recently...

I by no means meant any disrespect about your concerns over cost. I know that was a consideration when I started. But things have gotten a little out of hand over the years and I just tell myself price doesn't matter to keep me from having a complete melt-down. I used to buy bulk DME to same cash. I still buy grain in as large a quantity as I can get. No use wasting money.

I hope I didn't sound pissy or anything, I didn't mean to--I just really love brewing and I'm a total pusher. I will freely admit that as the only homebrewer I know personally (well, one of three, neither of whom told me they brewed), I've pressured at least three people into homebrewing. I just want everyone else to have as much fun with this as I do, and damn the expense!*


*As long as my girlfriend approves, of course--I'm crazy, but not THAT crazy.

the_bird said:

Maybe he was reading some of the other threads recently...

Click to expand...

What threads could you be talking about bird?

you can't buy my beer anywhere. some people hunt, some people fish, others do other things. i make beer.

I ordered a Yeauling ( I think I spelled that right ) draft a dinner and was in love with the taste. So I decided to try a six pack of two different types of the Yeauling. Man did it suck, both beers from the bottle was horrible. In fact I gave the rest away. I`m going to find out what that draft was and try to find a reciept that`s close. I also like Michelob Lager. Does anyone know what would be close to that. I realize brewing lagers will also be down the road but i`d like to know anyway for future reference.

Thanks again,
Burch

Try a Belgian wit, especially if you like more refreshing "lawnmower" beers. But a good English brown ale is great to start with--tastes great, and hides a world of errors.

Am I the only one that can say I'm in front on the $$$ score.
if I drink 10 pints a week in the pub at £20 a week for 1 year thats
£1040 for 520 pints
My brew kit probably cost me well under £400 inc keg kit and a pint costs around 20p So 520 x £0.20 = £104.
= a saving of well over £500 in the first year.

Okay I still drink the odd pint in a pub and bottled commercial but you get the point..

I think the reason for this I use the KISS method and like to source cheap items or build them myself.

I did notice that all-grain can be cheaper than extract but after you figure in the initial investment it seems you would have to brew quite a few batches to come out ahead unless you are buying in bulk.
I also noticed that most of the cost of an extract recipe is the extract and you can save alot of money by buying that in bulk. I usually see 33# of malt extract for $55US vs. 3.3# cans for $11-$12. This works out to about half the cost. The "down" side is you need to use it up in < 6months before it starts going stale.
Even buying the kits at $25-$35 for 50 bottles is alot less expensive than buy craft brews. Ofcourse I will probably be giving alot of my brews away so I won't really be saving anything.
As was mentioned by most with nearly any hobby it has to be something you enjoy or the economics won't add up.
I am already enjoying this hobby and my first brew hasn't carbonated yet.

Craig
Primary - clean
Secondary - Irish stout
Bottles - Irish red
Up Next - Oatmeal stout