enohcs
Well-Known Member
So tonight I couldn't sleep because I was trying to determine just how economical homebrewing really is. I'm not good at doing math in my head so I came to my computer (after checking on my primary...wo hooo...fermentation is flying after about 6 hours), opened up excel and punched in a few numbers.
Pardon the general assumptions
Assume you only buy 12oz bottles from the liquor store, at a price of $1.00/bottle.
There are 128 fluid ounces in a gallon, thus 640 in 5 gallons, thus 5 gallons yields ~53 12oz bottles, thus the cost of 53 12oz bottles of beer from the liquor store is $53.
Assume the average cost of ingredients for a 5 gallon batch of homebrew is $25.
Your savings per 5gal batch: $28!!!! Meaning you only pay $0.48/12oz bottle of homebrew.
NOW
My all grain setup cost me ~$600.
($600 setup)/($28 savings per 5gal batch) = ~21.5 5gal batches.
Meaning I have to brew 107.5 gallons of beer in order to break even.
Not bad...I could clear that in a year.
However, one could say that the time of a person who makes $50K/year is worth ~$25/hour...once we figure this into the equation all economy goes right out the window.
In conclusion...It's a good thing we do this for fun
Pardon the general assumptions
Assume you only buy 12oz bottles from the liquor store, at a price of $1.00/bottle.
There are 128 fluid ounces in a gallon, thus 640 in 5 gallons, thus 5 gallons yields ~53 12oz bottles, thus the cost of 53 12oz bottles of beer from the liquor store is $53.
Assume the average cost of ingredients for a 5 gallon batch of homebrew is $25.
Your savings per 5gal batch: $28!!!! Meaning you only pay $0.48/12oz bottle of homebrew.
NOW
My all grain setup cost me ~$600.
($600 setup)/($28 savings per 5gal batch) = ~21.5 5gal batches.
Meaning I have to brew 107.5 gallons of beer in order to break even.
Not bad...I could clear that in a year.
However, one could say that the time of a person who makes $50K/year is worth ~$25/hour...once we figure this into the equation all economy goes right out the window.
In conclusion...It's a good thing we do this for fun