All time cheapest ingredients

[Jaybird]

Step1 get a brew buddy and split EVERYTHING 50/50
step 2 learn to brew all grain( if you dont already)
step 3 find a brewery close, share your home brew with him and ask to buy grain and yeast from him in bulk, at there cost or just above.
step 4 learn to keep and reuse your yeast.
I hope your a DIY guy you can save some coin that way.
Cheers
JJ
PS or just make CIDER (Apple juice and yeast) if you just want to get tosted.

 

[sirsloop]

Cider is actually quite a bit more expensive than cheap brew, unless you can get a DAMN good deal like $2 a gallon or something. At that price you might as well stock up on like 50 gallons of it and start making tons of batches. You can start off with one batch using 1 yeast packet, and use that yeast to fire up more batches.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

First let me say congratulations, and my condolences.

You do seem to have a good grip on your reality, so I would say depending on where you live growing your own hops is a great idea, using dry yeas and washing it to make multiple great beers is a good start.

Next, I agree that attempting to grow, malt and kiln your own grains is not worth it. Check out your local micro-brew beer master, or anyone who can buy in bulk, local clubs, brewing buddies, etc.

I salute your vow of poverty until your rich, or at least until your kids are.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

PS or just make CIDER (Apple juice and yeast) if you just want to get tosted.

2 gal apple juice, 8 lbs of sugar = "vodka light".
But sugar is not that cheap any more.

 

[jatlrdierk]

Hey guys. I'm sorry I took offense to the ribbing. There are certainly more helpful people than snobs on here. I sounded a bit misleading at the beginning with what I was asking for. There is a ton of good advice on here! Thanks!

 

[tagz]

If you're new to brewing and don't have equipment yet, the cost to get going on all grain is going to be considerable. What kind of set up do you have now?

 

[jatlrdierk]

If you're new to brewing and don't have equipment yet, the cost to get going on all grain is going to be considerable. What kind of set up do you have now?

So far, I have a turkey fryer, keggle, cooler with slotted cpvc drain system, spatula, sparge arm, wort chiller, carboy, gravity meter, bucket, upright freezer, temperature controller, cornelious keg, CO2, pint glass, and pork chops. I just went all grain, and the cost to get there from extract was ~$16 (cpvc pipe for the cooler). I think I'm good to go for now. Is there any other essential items I should have?

 

[carnevoodoo]

Hey guys. I'm sorry I took offense to the ribbing. There are certainly more helpful people than snobs on here. I sounded a bit misleading at the beginning with what I was asking for. There is a ton of good advice on here! Thanks!

I think that a lot of people make mistakes on internet forums by making statements that are so polar in nature. You opened yourself up to the attack with your comment. The best thing to do is just realize that this is just the internet, and no matter what anyone says, it shouldn't be taken too seriously. That said, there's a ton of good advice out there and I am sure it'll all help.

Oh, and I am a total EAC. I don't drink to get drunk and I have no problem spending 20 dollars on a good 750ml bottle of beer. I just enjoy the craft of making beer as well.

 

[Brew-boy]

Dude if money is that tight drink Keystone. Brew beer because you want to make QUALITY brew not rock gut.

 

[Chriso]

I agree with the other posts thus far that indicate malting your own grain isn't the way to go, if you're in it for cost savings. Roasting your own specialty grains, and buying your base 2-row grain in 55# bulk sacks are indeed the way to save money. If you keep your batches to around 1.045 starting gravity, you can probably get almost 7 batches of beer per 55# bag.

The link someone else provided for Yeast Washing is an excellent resource - why pay $8 for a single batch of beer's yeast when, for minimal effort, you can get 4, 12, or even more batches from that same yeast? Do it with dry yeast, and your savings go UP UP UP!

It sounds like you've already got the know-how and the equipment. Until you get hop vines established, find "good deals" on high-AA hops when you possibly can. Buy bulk grain, wash your yeast, and get them vines a'growin as soon as your area's weather permits you too. If you need pellet hops to get you through the winter, until next year's rhizomes come out for delivery, check Hops Direct, they have full pounds of certain varieties - one of them is Challenger which makes for an excellent English Ordinary Bitter, another very cheap beer to brew. For example:

7 lbs base grain (assuming bought in bulk, we'll call it $1/lb. Your cost may vary, after all the cheapest price I have here in Nebr. is $64/bag from my LHBS. Any online HBS is $65 or up, once shipping is factored in.) = $7
1 lb home-toasted base grain for flavor = $1 plus time in the oven
1 oz Challenger at 60 minutes for bittering = $2.25 assuming bulk from Hops Direct, factoring in negligible shipping cost
1 packet dry Safale S-04 = $.50 (assuming that you harvest the yeast when done, and use it 3 more times. $2 packet / 4 uses = $.50 per use)
Total 5 gallon cost = $10.75, and it's a nice sessionable 4.25% or so ABV so that you can drink just one for enjoyment, OR drink 12 for the authentic "Session" experience!

 

[Sea]

I am confused.

Go to Youtube and search for Hiphpapotomus, it's another song by Brett and Jermaine in your avatar.

 

[Sea]

So far, I have a turkey fryer, keggle, cooler with slotted cpvc drain system, spatula, sparge arm, carboy, gravity meter, bucket, upright freezer, temperature controller, cornelious keg, CO2, pint glass, and pork chops. I just went all grain, and the cost to get there from extract was ~$16 (cpvc pipe for the cooler). I think I'm good to go for now. Is there any other essential items I should have?

Yes, you will need a wort chiller to cool your wort as fast as possible after the boil.

 

[Kevin Dean]

Firstly, I drink for the alcohol. I love beer. I love pairing a great beer with a great dish of food, or getting just the right beer to refresh me after lugging the groceries up two flights of stairs.

But the benefit is the buzz. I sometimes drink to get smashed too.

I appreciate a great drunk and I appreciate a great beer. I don't think there's shame in getting drunk, and while I don't mean to call doubt on to anyone here, I think more people drink for a buzz than readily admit on these forums and there's NOTHING wrong with it. Homebrewing and drinking harms nobody, and helps build community, so it's all good.

As a brewer, I've wondered how to cut costs here and there. In addition, one of the challenges I put myself against is making the best beer I can for the least amount of money. To me, doing that is NO different than attempting to make a dead-on clone of your favorite commercial ale or lager, it requires understanding of the brew process, your equipment and your ingredients and a brewer can feel damn proud of a success in that arena.

For a really simple and cheap drunk, check out apfelwein. It's high ABV and pretty cheap. If you're looking to stay with beer, I've done that math and found that bulk grain buys are about as close to "cheap" as one can get unless you happened to have married the heiress to a maltster fortune. The "buying from a local brewery" might count here too, since they're getting volume discount for sure.

Check Craigslist for equipment before hitting your LHBS.

And finally, don't ever forget that brewing is supposed to be a hobby, not a means to an end. You really can purchase crappy beer cheaper than brewing your own (merely on the volume purchase benefits) so never forget that brewing is supposed to be the fun part of the process.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Putting cost aside with kids on the way. Time will be a bigger factor. I too have a pregnant wife. It can be a struggle to find AG brew time.

If I were you and dollars are a potential issue. You might agree to a monthly brewing budget. Take your cash each month, save it and spend it when you have brewing time.

I think this is a good way to avoid arguments when cash can be tight.

I may try budgeting my time too since my wife and I seem to have occasional arguments about my time spent brewing. I don't want to give up the hobby just to raise kids.

With the wife being pregnant I'm trying diplomatic tactics to keep the piece now and when I have a baby to chase after.

- Hey you fathers out there.... Did your wife's have unexplained fits of rage during the pregnancy? Mine has misplaced things like sunglasses and almost had a mental meltdown.

 

[Couevas]

Go to Youtube and search for Hiphpapotomus, it's another song by Brett and Jermaine in your avatar.

Apparently I missed that episode...and I watched it religiously (when my wife wasn't around--she hates it).

 

[dp69_2001]

Well... The time I spend all-grain brewing is almost like spending time with my boy. He's two, and he is so damn interested in everything I do he stays right on my heels. Which isn't necessarily good with all of the hot things I'm running around with. But, he just manages to stay out of the way. I love to keep myself busy. So if I wasn't home brewing, I'd be out golfing, or working. So really a brew day is an afternoon spent at home. Much of the brewing process consists of waiting, when I'm not running around sanitizing things crazy like. I'm playing with my son while waiting for the water to boil, or the enzymes to convert the starch to usable sugar, or the wort chiller to do it's job. As far as the budget. I place brewing right after rent, utilities, food, and diapers. That keeps us pretty happy.

P.S. She had some small outbursts. But, she's mostly a very mellow person. Most of the time she just whines alot.

 

[Chriso]

(when my wife wasn't around--she hates it).

Yours too?!?!?
(And shame on you for missing that episode, it's easily my favorite rap! )
------
SWMBO is full of rage... no kid, just angry a lot...

 

[Warrior]

So, like, did you all only smoke pot in college because you liked the smell?

I didn't mean we want to get wasted off of our beer every night. You're missing the point. We want to brew cheaply. We don't care if it's the best tasting beer in the world. We just want some Standard that costs less to make than to buy. I was hoping to find some practical brewers on here who maybe have found ways to get cheap ingredients and can save some money. I didn't realize homebrewing is such a snobby hobby.

Most of us homebrewers do like to save a buck. I really enjoy the variety of tatse from making many different kinds of brew. I buy grain in bulk by the pallet and split it with other brewers. Read the thread on here about washing yeast to save on the yeast costs and still match the beer to your favorite style. Trying buying hops in bulk with the new harvest coming up in aug and sept. If you have the room, plant your own rhizomes next spring and grow your own. I have not planted any hops yet because I just got back into brewing after 8 years. When I brewed back then hops were dirt cheap!

 

[Saccharomyces]

+1 for hitting up the local brewpub. If you volunteer to help clean tanks etc. you will get a source for cheap grain, hops and free yeast slurry when they transfer.

- Eric

 

[jatlrdierk]

Yes, you will need a wort chiller to cool your wort as fast as possible after the boil.

Oh yeah, I forgot to put that on there. I made one of those a while back to use with my garden hose. I'll edit my post.

And my wife has been on my case about brewing and drinking quite a bit lately. She doesn't seem to understand the difference between having a beer or 6 versus getting plowed and puking. That's also the reason I want to brew so cheaply...I can't put beer ahead of my mortgage and baby food.

 

[Gedvondur]

So, like, did you all only smoke pot in college because you liked the smell?

I didn't mean we want to get wasted off of our beer every night. You're missing the point. We want to brew cheaply. We don't care if it's the best tasting beer in the world. We just want some Standard that costs less to make than to buy. I was hoping to find some practical brewers on here who maybe have found ways to get cheap ingredients and can save some money. I didn't realize homebrewing is such a snobby hobby.

Can't save money making your own beer. Go buy cheap beer on sale. You simply cannot achieve the economy of scale that BMC can.


Gedvondur

 

[HenryHill]

My wife is pregnant with our first and money is going to be tight for the rest of my life. A friend of mine has been in the same situation for 8 years. We are looking for the cheapest method for brewing beer. This includes buying our own barley/corn/rice/wheat/sugar source. We are not extemely concerned with taste, we just want to make beer cheap. Don't bash us for acting like teenagers, we all drink beer for the same reason.

For instance, we are considering finding a farmer, buying a bucket of wheat or corn, malting it, going the full 9. What is a good method for germination? We are considering growing our own hops...what is a good universal variety?

I have got all the equipment for making all grain and can do a lager if possible, so I think I'm set up. Any suggestions?

What a nice, straightforward question about how to do things in the most simple and inexpensive way.

If you can care enough to do things as frugal as you can, you will certainly put that determination into making a beer you can be proud of, when it fits your lifestyle.

Firstly, I drink for the alcohol. I love beer. I love pairing a great beer with a great dish of food, or getting just the right beer to refresh me after lugging the groceries up two flights of stairs.

But the benefit is the buzz. I sometimes drink to get smashed too.

I appreciate a great drunk and I appreciate a great beer. I don't think there's shame in getting drunk, and while I don't mean to call doubt on to anyone here, I think more people drink for a buzz than readily admit on these forums and there's NOTHING wrong with it. Homebrewing and drinking harms nobody, and helps build community, so it's all good.

As a brewer, I've wondered how to cut costs here and there. In addition, one of the challenges I put myself against is making the best beer I can for the least amount of money. To me, doing that is NO different than attempting to make a dead-on clone of your favorite commercial ale or lager, it requires understanding of the brew process, your equipment and your ingredients and a brewer can feel damn proud of a success in that arena.

For a really simple and cheap drunk, check out apfelwein. It's high ABV and pretty cheap. If you're looking to stay with beer, I've done that math and found that bulk grain buys are about as close to "cheap" as one can get unless you happened to have married the heiress to a maltster fortune. The "buying from a local brewery" might count here too, since they're getting volume discount for sure.

Check Craigslist for equipment before hitting your LHBS.

And finally, don't ever forget that brewing is supposed to be a hobby, not a means to an end. You really can purchase crappy beer cheaper than brewing your own (merely on the volume purchase benefits) so never forget that brewing is supposed to be the fun part of the process.

And the cut-through-the-BS of a down-to-earth member. I love it when I see recognition of a sincere question, even when it falls outside the lives of the common HBT wallet-on-sleeve gloaters and the AC's.

I raise a glass, Kevin Dean.

 

[Bopper]

If you want to make something cheaply, make a grape juice wine and keep pitching the yeast cake.

 

[Chriso]

...You really can purchase crappy beer cheaper than brewing your own (merely on the volume purchase benefits) so never forget that brewing is supposed to be the fun part of the process.

+1 to this. If you need proof, find a local liquor store, make friends with the owner, and then ask him about buying a half-pallet of something cheap that you like to drink. For me, it was Miller High Life.

If I wanted to pony the cash to buy a 4-5 month supply at once, I could've paid about 70% of normal retail cost, and gotten my per-beer cost down to about $0.35-0.40/can. Normally $0.50 when it's on sale. Just by buying in quantity. Especially once you factor in time, It's not a question of which is the cheapest.

That said, I am all for trying to make your brewing process as cheap and efficient as possible! I'm a fan of this idea, I'm not knocking it! I'm just being realistic about which is truly, truly cheaper. I, too, am trying to stretch my buck wherever I can - bulk hops, hop-thrifty recipes, bulk grain, washing yeast.... about the only thing I haven't gotten to yet is growing my own hops. (I'm not doing it 'cuz of a baby, tho, just 'cuz of my frikking gas tank. ) But it will always be the *hobby* that keeps me going.

 

[CBBaron]

As you have found out many of us do not drink to get drunk. I drink beer because I enjoy the flavors. 1 or 2 beers does give a nice feeling but after that I'm really wishing the alcohol did not have its affect. If I could make a great IPA or Stout with no alcohol I would.

As for brewing on the cheap, if you really don't care about flavor use lots of white sugar and use the cheap dry yeasts. White sugar in bulk is usually the cheapest form of sugar easily available. And sugar makes alcohol.

However you can brew good beer for not much more by buying malted barley in bulk and growing your own hops. I would get several different varieties of hops And buy a couple bags of 2-row and a bag of crystal malt. With that you could make a variety of pale ales and amber lagers.

Craig

 

[b767fo]

By the time you factor in your time it becomes obvious you will not be able to undercut BMC on the cost/bottle. However if you enjoy well crafted beer you can make beer as good or better than any micro you've ever had for much less than you can get it at the market. Brewing is a craft. It requires dedication, time and energy. The brewers here do much more than brew and get wasted; they study and research methods and ingredients, they collaborate and share knowledge with anyone showing interest in what they do, and they strive to continually hone their skill and improve the beer. Is this elitist? I don't know; is it elitist for a guitar player who has studied jazz/fusion rifs and styles and practiced endless hours to perfect his own style, to be a bit condescending to a head banger who just wants to learn a few chords to make noise in his parents garage?

 

[Taper123]

... and I thought a good quility partial mash kit from the local store for 22~25 bucks was a good deal. WOrks out to be around the same or slightly cheaper than the cheap 30 packs... but they taste so much better.

(or at least I hope so)
Have my first batch bottled and tried one after a week... needs to sit longer. So I filled up the fermenting buckets again... this time with a Ordinary bitter and Weisbier.

I'm on a low budget myself, but figure transferring my beer funds into brewing something that Really Tastes good is worth giving up a few cheap beers. Lol... and it makes for great hurricane supplies.

 

[Donasay]

Well I do 10 gallon batches and I can bang out 10 gallons of pretty decent all grain beer for about $30, but this doesn't mean I am skimping on the beer. I can actually make a good lager that is very similar to BMC, the lager style saves you a lot of money, you can mash things like rice, which boosts alcohol content and doesn't cost much. You can also re-pitch on top of your current lager yeast which will give you a nice strong start to the lagering process. Additionally to be in style you don't need to add many hops, so you save about $4 an oz right there.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

Seems to me *if* you already have the equipment, beer is pretty cheap to make:

1. Don't grow/malt your own grain, you can buy it cheap as many others here have said. At $1.50/lb. for a 10lb. grain bill for a 5 gallon batch, that works out to just over $0.31 a beer, or $3.75 for a 12-pack.
EDIT: Someone just quoted a deal of $7.99 for a 10 pound bag of Marris Otter 2-row...that's less than $1.00/lb.!!!

2. Grow your own hops! Again, rhizomes can be found cheap...and locals might even give you some cuttings for free. Grow as many as you have room for then dry and freeze them for use in the colder months. This would save you $4-10 per batch.

3. Get a packet of Nottingham dry yeast and make several starters with DME in some sanitized bottles. Nottingham yeast is $1.29 at my LHBS, and if you're careful you could make several starters, then store in the fridge for up to 12 months. This saves $5-7 per batch compared to Wyeast/White Labs liquid yeast.

4. For sanitizer, use bleach but just rinse well...a gallon of bleach will last a LONG time.

5. Use tap water instead of bottled water


At the end of all this, you'll still have some damn fine beer...for the price of grains!

 

[snazzy]

Go for nuggets. High alpha and very disease resistant.

Out of all of my varieties nuggets took off the best.

Good luck with your money savings, but what you might find out that you'll have alot of fun and learn alot of new things and save NO money! Sorry just my opinion.