The cost of homebrew

[BrewMehr]

Ok, I've been at this hobby for about 6 months now. I dove right in spending more than planned and learning a ton. I built a 10 gallon system, a fermentation chamber that can hold 6 5-gallon carboys, a 4 corny keezer, and a hop garden. I also bought 7 corny kegs, 7 fermenters, a stir plate, flasks, etc. By my estimation, I have nearly 3k into brewing so far including ingredients for 50 gallons of great beer I've brewed.

That 50 gallons equals about 533 12-oz beers. $3,000 divided by 533 beers equals about $5.63 per beer. I've been out to dinner with my bride countless times and paid more than that per beer.

Without the equipment costs, I'm currently brewing for around $0.50 per beer. Just a couple weeks ago I paid $25 for a 750ml of Surly Eight. And I can easily pay $4 per beer at the liquor store and $6+ per beer when going out.

Is homebrewing expensive? To me it's cheap entrainment with the added bonus of great beer to drink as the fruits of my labor. I expect my equipment costs to be significantly less next year and every year in the future. But my enjoyment of the process should remain the same or even grow as I gain more knowledge and control over the process.

When I was 16 years old (22 years ago) I paid $1,200 for a brand new mig welder. It was a lot of money for me at the time. I still use that welder today and it still looks brand new. For $54 per year I've been able to weld whenever I wanted. Hopefully 22 years from now I'll be saying the same thing about my brewery investment. I.e. "For $x per day I've been able to brew whenever I wanted."

 

[ChelisHubby]

I find the brewery investment will give me something to do with my time and I have plenty of stepsons and grandsons to give the extra beer to later so maybe they will come see my old butt later after I retire. In the meantime it is as expensive as I wish to make it, and you can make pretty fair beer fairly cheap.

 

[MindenMan]

I believe the old saying goes, "It is cheaper to make beer than to buy it." If you amortize the cost of your equipment over 30 years or so, divided by the average number of beers you brew every year, as well as the cost for ingredients, yup, home brew is cheap. Except, how many of us buy one set of equipment to brew with in a lifetime? Okay, maybe some do, but I don't believe that is the norm when it comes to us home brewers.
I probably have less than $200 in total invested in equipment right now, so over the course of the last three years I actually have saved some money brewing my own beer. Once I figure out what equipment I need to simplify and shorten my brew day, I will probably spend some more money on equipment. I am fairly good at DIY so I will try to build it before I buy it.

 

[Gameface]

I just keep buying new equipment and find more and more expensive ways to brew.

30 years from now I don't want to know that I spent over 100k on my brewing hobby and trying to think of what that comes out to per beer. Either I spent several dollars a beer or I drank way too much beer or both.

 

[Quaffman]

I usually buy used equipment pretty cheap. When I'm done with it, I'll sell it for a profit and use that money to buy better equipment.

 

[petey_c]

"...30 years from now I don't want to know that I spent over 100k on my brewing hobby and trying to think of what that comes out to per beer. Either I spent several dollars a beer or I drank way too much beer or both."
This made me pause and think about in the years that I've been drinking beer, how much I've actually spent on it. You know, hanging out at the bars/pubs, brews for home, parties, etc.. I'm sure it's gotta be a sizeable sum. In a way I guess I don't really wanna know. I could be a bazillionaire now!
I never say I brew to save money (home brewing is more expensive than buying beer), plus when you tell people that, they think you have a drinking problem, not a "brewing problem".

 

[Bellybuster]

How do I delete an entire thread from the Internet???
My Gawd, if after I die my wife sells my gear for what I told her I paid for it......someone' getting the deal of a lifetime.
If a hobby beer isn't more expensive than a crappy store bought, you ain't havin enough fun with the hobby.
Kidding of course.........maybe

 

[Bosh]

It`s not that hard to bring equipment costs down, plenty of people do it for a year or two then quit so there`s plenry of equipment floating around.

For me the only equipment I`ve bought specifically for brewing is fermenters, bags, and a hydrometer. Not much money there. And now that I`m doing AG and buying high AA hops in bulk from the states instead of paying almost five bucks an oune in country my costs to brew stuff has gone way down.

Easiest way to save money is to live in a country where good beer costs a fortune. Easy to save money when good craft beer STARTS at $5 per 1/3 liter bottle.

 

[stem42]

Norway here (alcohol is extremely expensive)... apart for the fun and pride of brewing myself I will end up saving serious money by brewing my own beer.

Of course, I'm a beginner and I haven't had a chance to take off with expensive equipment yet, let's see.

 

[madscientist451]

Spending money on hobbies reminds me of spending money on my divorce: Lawyers, Child Support, grief and worry, but the reward of not having to put up with her sh*t anymore=Priceless!
Cheers!

 

[bobeer]

Zymurgy just had a page about this in the new volume. Basically the guy broke it down to if you do all grain and brew 12 times a year (I think it was) and you brew 5 gallon batches, and bottle, you spend about 80 something cents per 12oz's. If you keg then it's just about $1 per 12 oz.

If I can figure out my login issue for the AHA I can quote the article.

 

[mattonearth]

We've kept a spreadsheet of all expenses (minus gas, water, and electricity) and beer made for the past year (since we started). We purchase kits and have just started to keg within the past month. Our total price per bottle is $1.29, and will have made 13 kits (nearly all extract) for a total of 650 bottles (or bottle equivalents).

 

[rupert130]

I know I'm saving, especially when comparing homebrew clones to commercial examples. Homebrew Avery Maharaja Clone = $1.75/22oz ; real Avery Maharaja = $12/22oz at the bottle shop or suprisingly $4/22oz at Costco. That is paying full retail price for all those hops. I buy most hops in bulk and average price with shipping is about $0.65/oz.

 

[Homercidal]

Come on, Happy, let's keep it toned down a bit. Nothing wrong with a lighthearted discussion of the various costs related to homebrewing and the various philosophies associated therewith.

Personally, I do feel I save money by homebrewing, even though I know that my costs for upgrading and playing with equipment makes that a false assumption. I tend to disregard it since it IS a hobby and I'd be spending that money on something else for sure anyway.

So I just track the ingredient costs. I can usually brew beer for about 1/3 the price of the average craft beer.

 

[MattyIce]

I look at it like I do reloading ammo. I don't end up spending less money, I can simply drink/shoot more for the same money.

 

[Brew_G]

Come on, Happy, let's keep it toned down a bit. Nothing wrong with a lighthearted discussion of the various costs related to homebrewing and the various philosophies associated therewith.

Personally, I do feel I save money by homebrewing, even though I know that my costs for upgrading and playing with equipment makes that a false assumption. I tend to disregard it since it IS a hobby and I'd be spending that money on something else for sure anyway.

So I just track the ingredient costs. I can usually brew beer for about 1/3 the price of the average craft beer.

I've only been brewing since last October, so I'm new to the game, but I view it similarly. I have done an analysis of costs of equipment if I were to amortize them over the course of so many years, but since I BIAB, bottle, and don't have any extra refrigeration units for brewing/beer purposes I'm not terribly deep into it in terms of costs.

I'm good at keeping my wallet fairly tight, but I'm sure I'll upgrade some things here and there, and if I start producing some really good beers on a regular basis I may very well get into kegging. That said, as with any hobby, there are overhead costs that you just have to accept, so you buy what you "need" and get to brewing!

 

[MindenMan]

I realize I might be using the simpleton math formula here, but I reuse my yeast for many batches saves $8.00, AG instead of extract saves another $8.00 per batch that I would have spent when I first started brewing. My last trip to my LHBS was $22.00 for a 5 gallon batch of Irish Red. Per bottle the Irish Red cost cost me 0.46, or $2.75 a six pack. Last time I checked Smithwicks was $8.00 a six pack at TJ's. Twenty-two dollars versus $64.00 plus tax, that is the other reason why I home brew.

 

[TheHappyHopper]

Come on, Happy, let's keep it toned down a bit. Nothing wrong with a lighthearted discussion of the various costs related to homebrewing and the various philosophies associated therewith.

My fault if my comment came across the wrong way (wasn't supposed to sound as cynical and sarcastic as it probably sounded) - my point was just that this debate is brought up often and the general consensus is that everyone falls into one side or the other, and they both think the other side is doing it wrong (which is kind of amusing because we are all just trying to enjoy the same great hobby)

But back on topic - I'm probably more on the losing money side of the argument - The beers I like sell for 2-3x what I can make them for, but then I do end up drinking more than I would have if I wasn't brewing. Not to mention I give a lot away to friends and family and at festivals...I've got 10 gallons of beer ready to pour at a festival this weekend that I certainly wouldn't be doing if I weren't brewing my own.

 

[DangerZone]

This is almost always the first question I get asked when I say I homebrew (how much does it cost?). That question is sooo difficult to answer. Because the truth is it can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. I don't have any clue what my per beer cost is right now, but I'm sure i'll work those figures some day since I do keep a spreadsheet of what I've spent.

If only I had been homebrewing back in the late 2000's when I lived in Boston I may not have spent so much money on $8 beers at Fenway.

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Agreed, it depends on what you are brewing. If all you do is make clones of Heady Topper or Dogfish 120min then you probably aren't making out as far as money goes. I have dropped $100 on a Barleywine recipe (making an extra parti-gyle batch from the same grains helped make that hurt less).

On the flip side, I can make 5 gallons of a pretty fantastic SMaSH for $24, which is cheaper than BMC around me.

 

[Gameface]

Homebrewing is just getting way too expensive.

I've decided to buy a bass boat and become a serious tournament fisherman, instead.

or

I'll try to become a pro golfer.

or

I'll custom build my own hot rods.

or

I'll buy a camper and a toy hauler and take up hunting.

Yeah, homebrewing is super expensive.

 

[Arttu]

A friend from work found me spending 300 euros on a keg setup ridiculous. The next day he spent the same amount on new XX1 carbon fibre cranks for his 5k mountain bike, just to lose 3oz of weight (truth be told, he found that ridiculous as well, haha).

 

[Bosh]

Also IPAs aren`t NECESSARILY all that expensive with a lot of ultra high AA hop varieties being pretty cheap these days. Doesn`t take THAT much summit or CTZ or bravo or what have you tp male an IPA.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

$3k? Man that sounds like pennies. I wish I was in your shoes.

 

[chisena]

I’m a tinkerer. I love planning, procuring, building, and tweaking brewing systems. Whenever I “complete” something, I brew on it a dozen times and then start thinking about how to do it differently; admittedly, not always better. Nevertheless, I enjoy that aspect just as much as drinking the beer.

 

[MindenMan]

Arttu, if your work colleague were a road bike rider I could understand, but a mountain bike rider is just wasting his money. j/k. I used to be an avid road bike rider, but I have never been thin enough to worry about 100 grams of weight loss or gain. I too will brew some recipes a few times and then try to improve them in one way or another over time, and my "house" beers are the ones that I don't mess with the recipes anymore. Okay, well if I do only slightly.

 

[Calder]

I want to provide the other side to "It's a hobby, cost doesn't count" logic.

I have been brewing on and off for 35 years, and one of the challenges of this hobby to me is to make beer cheaper than you can buy it. That is where this hobby started, and how I continue to brew.

Any new investment has to buy it's way in to my brewing.

As I said I have brewed on and off. Since starting again 6 yearsvago I have kept meticulus records of cost. Average beer is 1.060 OG. Average cost per beer including equipment is 50 cents. Average cost per beer (today) for ingredients is 30 cents.

I still use 35 year old fermenters, but I think that is the only original hardware that would not be in my costs.

I brew mostly AG, with some extract. And I make excellent beer; will stand up to most commercials.

 

[Brewenstein]

I want to provide the other side to "It's a hobby, cost doesn't count" logic.

I have been brewing on and off for 35 years, and one of the challenges of this hobby to me is to make beer cheaper than you can buy it. That is where this hobby started, and how I continue to brew.

Any new investment has to buy it's way in to my brewing.

As I said I have brewed on and off. Since starting again 6 yearsvago I have kept meticulus records of cost. Average beer is 1.060 OG. Average cost per beer including equipment is 50 cents. Average cost per beer (today) for ingredients is 30 cents.

I still use 35 year old fermenters, but I think that is the only original hardware that would not be in my costs.

I brew mostly AG, with some extract. And I make excellent beer; will stand up to most commercials.

Not exactly the same for me, but close. I began brewing because the beer I liked was getting expensive ($9 - $11 per sixer). Most of my purchases are made with money that I receive for birthdays and Christmas. This includes equipment and grain/yeast/hops. Not everything, but most things. This is how I keep the hobby affordable. Very little comes out of the budget, and whenever I open / pour a homebrew, it's like "Happy Birthday / Merry Christmas" to me!

 

[kh54s10]

I can now brew a beer for less than $2 a bottle equipment costs included. That said, I drink a LOT more beer now than I ever bought before getting into the hobby. The cost to my liver has yet to be determined........

 

[Arttu]

Arttu, if your work colleague were a road bike rider I could understand, but a mountain bike rider is just wasting his money. j/k. I used to be an avid road bike rider, but I have never been thin enough to worry about 100 grams of weight loss or gain.

I work in a high end bike shop and we get to buy parts at cost, so silly decisions like this are often too easy to make.

As for the cost of homebrew, I'm probably around $1k into it, but if I wasn't spending my money on this hobby, I'd find something else to pour it into.