Whats cheaper?

[Bob]

Pivzavod & Ballistic,

Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr Ballistic, but don't servers and barmen in UK actually make a decent wage? I seem to remember that for some reason. Over here in the Colonies, bartenders and servers would starve to death if they relied solely on what their employers paid them. Tips are the only way to make money if you're in food-service in the US.

As an interesting aside, the term was a verb as early as the 16th century, and literally meant "to give". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, tip is derived from the English thieves' (which may be taken to mean "gambler") slang word tip, meaning "to pass from one to another" (cf. "to give unexpectedly").

Ain't history fun?

Bob

 

[springer]

It may be cheaper to brew good beer than to buy it but the equipment is never a break even deal. I started with a 6.5 pail for a primary and a 6 gallon carboy and a IM chiller ,brewed in aluminum turkey fryer pot. Made some great beer with it

fast forward 1 year

1-SS 7.5 gallon Conical, 3- Better bottles,3- glass carboys , 2-keggles, 1-32 quart SS brew pot. 2-10 gallon HD coolers , 15 -corny's, 2-20lbs and 1- 5lbs co2 tanks 2- sets of primary gauges and 2- secondary manifold with 6 low pressure gauges. 1- lagerater ,1- keggerater and 2 -small fementation frige's , 1- carny stand a brix meter and 3 large rubbermade containers with various brewing equipment. And I will most likely buy more...

Takes a lot of HB to make the expense up. But what the hell I drink all I make so who the hell cars.Its not about the money it the love and relaxation when brewing. Great stress reliever too brewing and drinking the finished product.And SWMBO knows where I am for the most part now instead of out riding all weekend.

 

[Ballistic]

Pivzavod & Ballistic,

Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr Ballistic, but don't servers and barmen in UK actually make a decent wage?
Bob

They do make minimum wage which is probably lower than you think by U.S. standards. (but yes it is expected by the customer that a bar man makes sufficient from wages alone without tips) I am no economist and I fear we will go off topic with this, but I think you'll find the basic cost of living here is much closer to minimum wage in a full time job... which is a long winded way of saying there is less disposable income for ordinary working folk in unskilled or semi skilled jobs.

So... yes they make a living from their wages alone... but the money is not all that great. And the tax on our beer is so large that I imagine many people "think" it will save them a lot of money when they get into it, even if it does turn out to be the interesting hobby that keeps them going.

 

[Mirilis]

Brewing really is about how much you want to spend. There are plenty of guys who get in really cheap (IE aluminum turkey frier and a few buckets). Then there are guys who take it to the next level, or like to experiment with different gadgets. Brewing is really only as expensive as your SWMBO will let you invest.