Well, I kind of think its both my process and a recommended belief. 1) For certain I have not let some of my batches age long enough, either in the secondary or in the bottle. 2) The yeast descriptions from Ken Schramm's book describes it in this manner and from pure mental pursuasion, when a person believes that something is going to be a certain way, they may be more inclined to think they're tasting/seeing/smelling something when it may not be there. I can't recall the term. I'm sure that once I get much more experience and do a few batches where I do the exact same steps at the same time and do yeast comparisions then I'll have a better way to judge. I would like to try the D-47 over the 71B based on his recomendations, but i'm sure that there are many who have threads and information about yeast comparisons which we can really expand on.
The main point was that at least for me, the lavin yeast are pretty cheap on a per packet basis compared to many beer yeasts.
So, on a single batch basis.
Honey lets say a generic light @ 3.99 per pound for lets go with 12 pounds. About $48
The carboy, lets say glass. about $27.99 But this will be a long term cost.
The nutrients and energizer. Lets go pricy at $3 per (ranges from 1.30 for a small 2oz to 2.75 for a 8oz) and you won't be using a whole lot so maybe a medium term cost.
The yeast. Lets go with two packets of any of the lalvin yeasts: .89x2=1.80 (The liquid yeast and wyeast activator packs are about 7).
Long(ish) term costs $34 (so spread that out over the year(s))
honey&yeast being the immediate drink cost, 50 for a 5 gallon batch.
about 84 total, where most of the cost will wind up being the honey. I guestimated my prices using northernbrewer and didn't include bottles, caps or corks, racking canes etc which we assume you have. Yeah, I'm sure there's still going to be some variancy due to price differences, tax, shipping etc.