Cost cutting

What are some ways for the all-grain brewer to cut his costs on each batch? Right now I get everything from the LHBS. Sometimes I use dry yeast instead of activated, but what are some other ideas that actually save money?

 

Buy ingredients in bulk, recycle yeast

 

Buy Natural Ice when it's on sale at the Citgo! I got a 24 pack for $5.99 last summer when I Camping in upstate NY. I didn't sh!t right for a week! LOL!:cross:

 

Bulk base grains, larger amounts for specialties. Online Hop orders by the lb. Group buys.

 

+1 on the larger quantity buys-
also look on the classified's here for hops where folks have bought too much
-harvesting yeast -- saves money and now my beer is better since I always make a starter with the recycled yeast.

 

Get your buddies interested in brewing beer, go to their house and drink theirs.



Seriously though, this hobby can cost some serious cash depending on how you go about it.

Bulk buys, only use liquid yeast when absolutely required and harvest yeast from previous batches for reuse.

Oh and do not make any insane IPA's, hops get expensive quick!

 

I saved enough buying my 2 row in sacks that I was able to make another 5 gallon batch for free (basically). For me, the big savings are washing my yeast. My LHBS charges $6.25 for most liquid yeasts and $3 for most dry. From 1 batch I've already brewed 4 batches using washed yeast. Thats $25 saved there and enough to pay for 1 batch.

 

Unless you are willing to spring for a grain mill, reusing yeast is your best option. Buying a mill makes sense if you brew 20-30 times a year.

 

Buying grain in bulk via group grain buys quickly lets you recover the cost of a grain mill. When you can get a sack of grain for under $30 (to your home) that grain mill is suddenly rather inexpensive.

Making yeast starters so that you only need one vial/packet of liquid yeast also helps. 100-300g of DME is a lot cheaper than getting another vial/package of liquid yeast. Especially when you could need 2-3 packages of yeast for a batch otherwise.

Look into washing yeast and storing it for use later. Also look into freezing yeast for use later. I have a dozen vials of a yeast strain I simply can't buy right now (Wyeast 1882-PC). I'm also thinking about getting another packet, or two, of the next strain I'll use, make a starter for one to use in a batch, and then another starter with the other to freeze. That way, I don't need to worry about washing the yeast to use later.

Also, buy your hops in bulk, when on sale. Or at least get them in bulk (a pound at a time). You can save a good amount there too. Just keep them in the freezer so that they last.

 

grow your own(hops that is).

 

If you have the room, patience, and such to do so... From what I've read, you need more than a few bines in order to get even a pound of dried hops at the end of a season. Besides, I can buy EKG either whole or in pellet form, with the AA% for pretty cheap. I cannot grow EKG where I live. Planting the rhizome anywhere else means you're NOT getting EKG... Just like growing the same rhizome in different parts of the US will give you something different (even if slightly).

 

I hear you, just some insurance in case of another hop shortage.

 

Got a freezer stuffed with hops... When Hops Direct had they're BOGO deal, I took advantage of it. I'm also about to take inventory for EKG. If needed, I'll order another pound, or two (or more) to ensure I'm good for several months. Basically, when I'm down to my last pound, I order more. :rockin: Especially since I can use that up in two, or three, batches when hop bursting... :rockin:

 

I tried growing the hops, but we live in OK, and after 2 years, they only got to 18 inches high with no flowers. :-(

 

There's threads on hop growing. You should be able to get them to grown up to several feet and provide cones (don't think they flower at all)...

I've thought about growing hops before, but without my own house, and knowing that I won't really get the same as I buy, I'd decided to not do it. Plus the amount of care and feeding you need to give them (when they need it) probably wouldn't work well for me.

 

IMO, your best bets for reducing costs are to buy hops in bulk and try to do all-grain or PM with as little extract as you can get away with.

In contrast to the voices above, based on my experience, yeast rinsing/reusing is not a huge place for savings unless you're only using expensive liquid yeasts. The cost of DME adds up fairly quickly, so propagating a batch worth will cost nearly as much as a packet of dry yeast. The problem is that it adds a non-trivial risk of infection. That said, I do it occasionally myself, simply because it's fun to keep yeast in the fridge as pets.

For the hops, the trick you need to figure out ahead how much you will use before they go bad. If you have a vacuum sealer and a deep freeze, this will be a long time. If not, it'll be a few months. If you buy bulk hops and toss half of 'em because they went stale, you're not actually saving.

As others have said, with a mill and proper storage facilities, you can save a lot on the malts by buying in bulk. But it does involve a pretty substantial outlay, so you have to figure out how long it's going to take you to recoup your investment. If you brew every couple weeks, then it could be worth it. If it's every couple months, you risk your grains going stale, and you have the same problem as with the hops.

 

I typically make starters with 100-250g of DME (3.5-8.8 ounces). With a fresh pack (yes, I use liquid, at ~$7 a packet) it's normally about 200g (a 2L starter). With older packs I often step the starter at least twice, in the .5-2.5L range. Buying 3# bags of DME keeps that cost down. So, I'm normally using <1# of DME total for the starter steps, to get the same amount of yeast that would be from 2-5 packages. I'm spending less than the cost of the second package of yeast this way.

IF you have the fridge space to wash yeast, you can do it and save significantly. Just make sure it's a strain you'll use often enough to make the work worth it. It's not a lot of work, after the initial collection and separation. With washing, you can take that single $7-8 pack of yeast (if you're paying more than $8 for a packet/vial of liquid yeast at a LHBS, you're getting graped) and get several/many batches from it. Easily turning the yeast cost to less than $1 per batch.

 

If I am planning to brew again within 2-3 weeks, I'll draw one quart of wort out of my boil kettle (before adding hops), cool it down and put it in a large sanitized mason jar for use with my next starter. - since I am all grain, I just plan my batch for the additional loss of one quart.

 

Keep your equipment simple. To make a great 5 gallon batch of beer you don't need a pH meter, refractometer, DO meter, Blichmann engineering, fermentation chamber, mash circulation pump, O2 tank, etc.
Reuse yeast, and skip the starter, just pitch the appropriate amount of saved slurry.

 

For most, this applies... I like my refractometers far more than the hydrometer (especially with how they tend to roll/break when you're not looking ). I want a DO meter so that I can KNOW how much O2 I'm infusing the wort with, but that can wait. A BK is good, sight glass/tube is nice but I agree it's not needed (damned nice though). You can also use aluminum pots as the base for your kettle, to save $$. Just be sure to condition it first (there's a couple of threads and a sticky thread about it).

IMO, yeast starters are too important (if you use liquid yeast) to just skip. Especially if you're using older yeast or have a higher OG batch. With a stirplate they're beyond easy to make and finish fast enough. Without access to a lab, starters make more sense for the majority.

 

Yeah, for liquid yeast it can make sense. For dry, at $3-$4 a packet, it's on par with a pound of DME, so there's less incentive.

Since I don't have a local brew shop, washing has an additional benefit of not requiring shipping liquid yeasts... that's why I've been washing my WLP833 for the last few batches.

I think the fairest thing to say is that the optimal cost-cutting measures depend a lot on what, how, and how much you're brewing. The lowest cost really depends on the constraints those factors put on you.