Home Brewing = Saving Money?

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Initially I went into it thinking about saving money, but I don't feel that way anymore. I brew beer because I enjoy my creations. Plus, it's a nice bonus when your friends keep coming back for more.
 
It's all a matter of how you look at it. I used to drink SN on a regular basis and the cheapest I can buy that around here is $14 per 12 pack on sale at the grocery store. I can brew a 5 gal batch for that same price (or a little less) and that includes every little consumable that I use from ingredients, sanitizer, even the electricity I use to run my keggerator and hops freezer. Of course I stretch out my yeast considerably, buy grain in bulk and grow my own hops. Even with my batch costs so low though, it will take about 7-8 years to reach the break even point on my equipment vs buying busch from the store. And I put my rig together ridiculously cheap. If I compare that with drinking 2-3 SNPA's per day, I will break even on my equipment in 3-4 years. So for me, I believe it will save me money in the long run and I enjoy the hobby. Win Win. I agree with the above though, most homebrewers probably won't end up saving any money unless they make it a goal to do so.
 
One quick question...let's not think about BMC or even SN or New Belgium beers. What about sours, wilds and fruit beers?

Let's say you were able to do a great sour beer...barrel age a 1,2 and 3 year beer and bottle those 50 gallons and you'd have a load of bottles of a gueuze clone.

A) what are equipment costs?
B) Time costs?
C) those compared to buying $15-$20 bottles from Belgium in a box + shipping?

If you're doing any BA beers, I would assume home brewing is more affordable if you do it error free which is probably impossible on your first few tries. I'm a few years from anything like that but just curious. Sours can get expensive.

-----

Price of a Blushing Monk clone home brew?
 
I have a very limited budget and therefore have very basic and cheap equipment. I still make very good beer and am saving money based on the quantity I consume even over the PBR I used to drink before I got a taste for craft beer. If I had the budget to get the kegging equipment and 3 tier stand I want, I would no longer be saving money. Either way, I would find a way to spend money and time on a hobby, this one just rewards me with sweet sweet beer!!
 
the market around here prices craft brew at $9 for a sixer. that's $54 for two cases. most of my partial mash brews are $30-$35, so that is a significant savings.
 
I view it the same way that i do my motorcycle. If you're going to save money you have to commit. The once a month ride down to the local tavern for hot taco Tuesday just wont cut it. I do it for the love of riding, and i commute everyday year round so in the end i save money. The love of riding comes first.

Brewing beer is the same. I do it for the love of a good beer. Maybe eventually i will save some money. :mug:
 
I just finished purchasing $300 in lab equipment for yeast slants (so I can save $6 on yeast)! Its like how my wife saves money by buying all those shoes because they were on "sale".
 
david00001 said:
I just finished purchasing $300 in lab equipment for yeast slants (so I can save $6 on yeast)! Its like how my wife saves money by buying all those shoes because they were on "sale".
Click to expand...

Now it's a sunk cost and no longer relevant to decision making :) On the margin, you're saving money.
 
progmac said:
the market around here prices craft brew at $9 for a sixer. that's $54 for two cases. most of my partial mash brews are $30-$35, so that is a significant savings.
Click to expand...

Actually, 2 cases at $9/sixer is $72, not $54.

And, are you including all of your costs for your partial mash brews, or just the ingredients?
 
I keep track of every dollar I spend whether it's ingredients, equipment, or other random stuff. The last 2 years I have averaged about $0.99/bottle. That's including BWs, RIS, tripels, etc. So I think I do save money doing it.

And it's super f'ing cool to brew your own beer
 
I just found an interesting blog about this subject yesterday on one of my LHBSs website.

http://blog.bullcityhomebrew.com/?p=324

Now obviously most of us do this for the joy of it, but it's nice to have some data to give SWMBO when the complaining about cost starts. Of course if you start really going to town on equipment, home bar, conicals, anything Blichman, you might have to go pro to recoup that initial investment. Not that that's a bad thing either.
 
coypoo said:
I keep track of every dollar I spend whether it's ingredients, equipment, or other random stuff. The last 2 years I have averaged about $0.99/bottle. That's including BWs, RIS, tripels, etc. So I think I do save money doing it.
Click to expand...

But what about quantity?

$0.99 avg cost of homebrew x # of bottles brewed = Total Spend
$1.50 avg cost commercial x # of bottles consumed had you not started brewing = Total Spend

Therefore, if your consumption increased by more than 50%, you're not saving money. And that's assuming you've not purchased any commercial beer.

Not trying to be a jerk about it, just showing that if you truly want to compare marginal costs, you also have to include change in consumption.
 
any Canadian will tell you its saves them money.. But in Merica you guys get such cheap booze already its more of a hobby thing.. i didn't get into to save money, but i do save money.
now i have an extra all-fridge, 8 carboys, 8 buckets, 3 kegs, perlick stainless steel faucet, 5 gal mash tun, 32 litre brew pot, and all bottling/capping/corking equip i need and i'm still saving money.. basically i can get me,friends, and family drunk and still have money for my other hobbies.
I just got my friend into brewing, hes paid off his initial investment of about 100$ including the extract he used on his first batch..
 
Any beer over 4,7% ABV is so effing expensive in Norway, it's hard not to save money in the long run.. We're talking 8-10 dollars for a bottle of Brooklyn Lager (5,2%?).. Even a Sam Adams Boston Lager (4,7%) is 6 dollars here. The way I see it, I'm making an investment when I'm buying kettles, fermentation buckets, spending hours reading online, etc. :)
 
TyTanium said:
But what about quantity?

$0.99 avg cost of homebrew x # of bottles brewed = Total Spend
$1.50 avg cost commercial x # of bottles consumed had you not started brewing = Total Spend

Therefore, if your consumption increased by more than 50%, you're not saving money. And that's assuming you've not purchased any commercial beer.

Not trying to be a jerk about it, just showing that if you truly want to compare marginal costs, you also have to include change in consumption.
Click to expand...

You also have to consider your opportunity cost. If you are brewing strictly for cost savings then you could also do something else to earn money and buy the beer. So how many hours have you spent brewing times the hourly rate you could get working overtime or doing a second job. OR you could take the money spent total and divide by the number of hours spent to see how much you are basically earning per hour. My guess is it would be around 3rd world wages.

Anything you do to lower the cost is going to add to the amount of time you have to account for. Allgrain = more time, yeast washing and propagating = more time, grown hops = more time.

So brewing strictly for cost savings is not worth it. It is a side benefit at best. You have to enjoy it on some level.
 
In general you won't save money even ignoring the value of your time. If you calculate in the value of your time then HBing is much more expensive than buying beer. It is true that as you get into AG brewing in the long run you can make pretty cheap beer, but most spend so much on equipment and ingredients up to that point that it will take a mighty long time for most HB'ers to break even. And most don't even factor in the cost of energy and water costs which when factored in skews the equation even more in favor of buying beer being cheaper.
 
sweetcell said:
another complication in the economic calculation, at least for me, is that since i've started brewing i am drinking more beer. i am also happier :D



you're doing it wrong.
Click to expand...

Married for 11 years. Married a drunk college girl I met while doing it "right".

;-)

PS, I'm about to turn 40, so I'm old enough to be honest. Even back then, when my game was in it's prime, I didn't have enough charisma to get a gaggle of drunk girls over to my place at the end of the night. If I got one, and had to go to her place I was thanking my lucky stars.
 
"In general you won't save money even ignoring the value of your time"

i know right, my Battlefield rank has gone down considerably!!!!
haha i joke i joke.. kinda
 
I think its a lot cheaper.

Cheapest decent beer I can figure up...

55# 2 row $50 @ LHBS

1lb Cascade -$14 @ LHBS

US-05 $2.50 @ LHBS


Split across 4 batches and harvest the yeast from the first batch

13.75 lbs of 2 Row and 4 oz of cascade per batch.

53 12oz servings in 5 gallons x 4 = 212 12 oz servings

That is the equivalent of a ~$2 six pack (~$.03 per FL oz rounded up) and if you make light beers its $1-1.50.

Of course no one but me wants to drink all Briess 2 row beers but buying specialty in bulk you are still saving a ****load of money.
 
TalkingGoats said:
I think its a lot cheaper.

Cheapest decent beer I can figure up...

55# 2 row $50 @ LHBS

1lb Cascade -$14 @ LHBS

US-05 $2.50 @ LHBS


Split across 4 batches and harvest the yeast from the first batch

13.75 lbs of 2 Row and 4 oz of cascade per batch.

53 12oz servings in 5 gallons x 4 = 212 12 oz servings

That is the equivalent of a ~$2 six pack (~$.03 per FL oz rounded up) and if you make light beers its $1-1.50.

Of course no one but me wants to drink all Briess 2 row beers but buying specialty in bulk you are still saving a ****load of money.
Click to expand...

+ propane
+ water
+ grain mill
+ yeast harvesting equipment
+ bulk hop/grain storage equipment
+ time

etc. etc. etc.

;)
 
TyTanium said:
But what about quantity?

$0.99 avg cost of homebrew x # of bottles brewed = Total Spend
$1.50 avg cost commercial x # of bottles consumed had you not started brewing = Total Spend

Therefore, if your consumption increased by more than 50%, you're not saving money. And that's assuming you've not purchased any commercial beer.

Not trying to be a jerk about it, just showing that if you truly want to compare marginal costs, you also have to include change in consumption.
Click to expand...

2010: 859 bottles, $0.90/bottle
2010: 837 bottles, $0.97/bottle

I think I've been to the liquor store twice in the last 18 months to buy beer. I drink 1-2/night on the weeknights, which may be a bit more than before. But I feel for whatever reason I dont drink as much on the weekends. Instead of a 6-pack on Saturday, its more like 3


Edit: Also this opportunity cost stuff is silly to talk about. Of course it would be more expensive to brew if you could have spent 4.5 hours on Saturday hustling for money or doing whatev you people do. But what about golf? That crap's an expensive 5 hour day with the cost of clubs/ball/cart fees/greens fee/etc. You dont take anything away after a round like you would have if you made a batch of beer. Because this is a hobby (and not a business) the opportunity cost and cost of time is a moot point to me so I'm only going to compare the cost of making beer to the cost of buying the same type of beer from the store.

#EndRant
 
Generally, you'll never save money with hobbies. Riding motorcycles is almost always more expensive than driving a reasonable car, once you consider all the factors. Reloading ammo sounds cheap, but then you start buying a ton of equipment and all of the sudden you have 25 different calibers. Fishing and hunting also get pricey quickly.

It is possible to save money while engaging in these activities, its just not likely...and one must then aim really keep costs to a minimum.

A hobby should be just that, something you enjoy doing in your spare time.

That said, since my brew kit was a gift (not from SWMBO), I figure I save about $.25-50 per bottle. Until I decide to upgrade something!!! ;)
 
As long as the SWMBO believes it is cheaper, then I am good. Just have to make sure to not leave these threads open on the computer when I leave.
 
I brew on the stove in a ghetto fashion.

Equipment

7 gallon turkey fryer (Previously used to fry turkey)
Richard Petty cooler mash tun (Free)
Scrap metal grain mill .... 25 minutes to crush 12lbs of grain FTL but free
2 6.5 gal fermentation buckets $40
2 Cornies ($5 and $20)
Keg plumbing and C02 tank $100
Auto siphon $20
Water is from SWMBO folks well




I am not saying that it has to be cheap, but I am saying where there is a will there is a way.


I do have plans in the near future to upgrade everything and switch to gas so I can brew outside. In the long run though it still pays for itself as a hobby.

I eventually want a 3 tier system that can easily do 15 gallon batches, after that I won't be able to argue cost savings lol
 
Pints are $4 at my local pub. (For good craft beer on tap)
When I brew I get 40 pints per 5 gallons of beer.
40 pints @ $4 = $160

Averge cost of ingredients = $40 per 5 gallons. Makes $1 dollar pints. Savings of $120 per 5 gallons of good quality craft beer.
I have $1000 of equipment invested. $1000/$120 =8.33 Five gallon batches. Burdens of water and propane, not included.
ROI= 8.33 batches. 2 batches per month, 4.17 month return.
 
Greenbasterd said:
any Canadian will tell you its saves them money.. But in Merica you guys get such cheap booze already its more of a hobby thing..
Click to expand...
Fear not. Sooner or later the US government will bring the taxes on things we love (like beer) to Canadian levels to help fund their overzealous spending. We are well on our way to European fuel prices in the name of "clean energy research" :mug:


As for this debate on homebrewing saving you money.

If you break even you are still saving money! How many other hobbies can you break even on? Golf? Boating? Fishing? No. Women? I think not.
 
ryno84 said:
As long as the SWMBO believes it is cheaper, then I am good. Just have to make sure to not leave these threads open on the computer when I leave.
Click to expand...

What's that old saying? When I die I hope she doesn't sell this stuff for what I told her I paid for it...

:D
 
What other hobbies produce a product that you would normally buy? I'm gradually shifting a big chunk of my craft beer money to brewing.

I just totaled all my expenses as I am just a n00b and there is no way I'm going to let my SWMBO see the spreadsheet... yikes I'll need to get about 23 batches under my belt to get to $1.41 a bottle. I'm only brewing 2.5 gallons at a time.

I just had to have that mini fridge and temp controller.:drunk:
 
If you're factoring in your time, then it's not a hobby anymore. It's a vocation. Do you factor in the time you're sitting on the lake waiting for the fish to bite?

Keep the discussion to "hobby" and keep the labor out, or move the discussion to "vocation" and factor in the labor. simple as that.


All my expenses? way more than I would ever have suspected, but compared to that bass boat, trailer, poles, bait, reels, and big hoss truck to pull it - still cheaper than fishing.... :D
 
OP,

After you have;

- grown the barley
- malted grain
- grown the hop
- built the solara water heater
- built the reverse osmotic filtration system
- built the mill


Umm, yeah, you'd save tons of money after that. And can still use the simple starter kit brewing system. :D
 
I save tons of money, and I love that aspect of this hobby. Unfortunately, buying in bulk will no longer be an option or me soon because of space, so my costs will go up, but I'll still be saving money.
 
I started as a way to save money and make better beer than what I was drinking (Milwaukee's Beast Light). Granted, I loved good beer but wife wasn't going to let me spend $8/6-pack every few nights.

I became engrossed with the equipment and the DIY aspect of the hobby and pretty soon it became something I enjoyed spending my time doing, much like golf, fishing, movies, etc. But in the end I had fun AND created something that I would have bought anyways.

So imagine if you went to the liquor store and not only purchased beer but got free movie tickets too. Now you got beer and fun for the cost of beer.

So maybe the way to look at this is to compare a hobby that takes up the same amount of time as a batch of homebrewing does. Say, golf. 18 holes played at a wicked pace could be done in about the same time. What do you spend on the greens fees and cart and equipment costs?

If you golf less and brew more, I suppose you're spending money on a hobby, sure, and enjoying the same amount of time as you did when golfing...but you also get beer out of the deal.

I too have spent easily several hundred dollars and I'm only doing 5-gallon all-grain batches, have 3 cornies, picnic taps, no fancy kegerator, plastic ale pails for fermenters, no ferm chamber, etc. I spent money on kettles, FV's, heating elements/wiring, immersion chiller, thermometers, sanitizers/cleaners, ball valves/bulkheads, etc.

I went the cheap and DIY route on all of it, too. My 8g. kettles are aluminum and cost me $27 each plus shipping. My cooler I already had, bulkheads I did myself, hose-braid was DIY, chiller too, got kegs for average price of $40 shipped each, and a $40 CL fridge from the 70's. I think I've put about $500 into equipment.

I just did a bulk grain buy and I can say that will help tremendously. 50lbs. for $32 as opposed to $1.50/lb. from the LHBS (or $60/50lb. bag) is a huge savings. I also got a pound of hops for about $10 as opposed to $2/oz from LHBS ($22 savings). If you can get in on a bulk buy, harvest your yeast, and DIY as much as possible I think you can have fun building a brewery, making beer, and probably spending comparable amount on the product as you were before.

My last grain bill cost me about $7. Hops cost me about $1.50 and if you factor in the yeast had been split into 9 batches from one vial, that was just over $1. Probably $10 in consumables for over two cases of beer. Now i've made 13 batches or so...so my equipment cost is $38.50 per batch. Total for 2 cases of beer around $50. Eight 6-packs at $8 is $64. I'm still saving money.
 
Airborneguy said:
I save tons of money, and I love that aspect of this hobby. Unfortunately, buying in bulk will no longer be an option or me soon because of space, so my costs will go up, but I'll still be saving money.
Click to expand...

If you have room for even 50lbs. of 2-row (and everyone has room for hops) you're helping tremendously. The grain bag takes up about as much room as a laundry basket. Surely there's a closet somewhere...
 

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