Are You Saving Money?

[McGarnigle]

I'm imagining some corporate accountants are reading this thread for ideas on how to cook their books.

 

[coypoo]

Last year (and from now on) I made a spread sheet for all the brews I did. Cost of ingredients, volume, etc. There is another column for the other stuff: caps, priming sugar, equipment that I boutght, etc.

Total cost/bottle after adding everything up: $1.21 (up from 0.9 if just ingredient cost)

Not bad as that is $7.26/6 pack. Most 6'ers are at least $8 and now that I am buying in bulk I am saving a lot more in ingredients and I have only made $12 worth of equipment buys this year.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I too have a spread sheet that tracks more or less every penny I spend on a batch of beer that I brew. I even went as far as to estimate utility usage for the NG that I burn, the water used, the electricity that is used to run my kegerator and the extra freezer where I store my home grown hops. I even added just a little extra to help account for anything that I might be forgetting. Equipment costs aside, I am brewing my beer for about $12.00 a case. That's pretty darn cheap. Of course I buy all my grain for the year in bulk when its on sale and I grow all my own hops. Plus, I'm brewing big batches now, a full BBL. I got tired of wasting time brewing batch after batch of 5 gal runs. I love to brew....but man.....I can't spend my whole life in the basement. The big brews shave off cost as well.......my efficiency is a lot higher now and I save money on sanitizer and crap like that you have to make up every time you brew. Another big cost savings......I farm yeast now and freeze it. I pick a few yeast strains that I want to brew with for the year (buy one smack pack each) and I grow up as much of it as I know I will likely need (plus a little extra for spare) and then split up the yeast into small portions and freeze it. When I want to brew I just pull out what yeast I want....bring it up with a starter and bam. I make one batch with it and I'm done with it. The frozen yeast is so cheap and easy I don't even bother with fermentor harvesting or yeast washing. When I finally run out of freezer yeast (which should coincide with my grain depletion) I make my yearly run to HBS and drop around $500 on everything I need to brew with for the year.

If you buy kits, or small quants of grain/extract, pitch a smack pack every time, brew 5 gal batches and have to rely on store bought hops......I agree that homebrewing is not much of a cost savings. But, if you're a serious homebrewer, you can and will find ways to bring your costs down to a very managable level.

 

[Rev2010]

Calculating shipping and supplies to make a batch it costs me just less than half of what I spend to buy the commercial equivalent on average.


Rev.

 

[B0rnFrustr8ed]

My starter brewing kit cost about $120. Depending on the style, it costs $40-$55 for me to produce 2 cases after everything (ingredients, bottle caps, water, gas, cleaner, etc). That's roughly $1 per beer before you factor in the initial cost of equipment.

The full algorithm would be:

costPerBeer = (startupCost + maintenanceCosts + (averageCostPerBatch * numberOfBatches)) / (averageBottlesPerBatch * numberOf Batches)

I can run to any store around here and get a 12-pack of delicious Great Lakes beer for $18, which is $1.50 per beer. If I use that as the basis for comparison, anything more than 5 batches on my current and I'm coming out ahead.

 

[McGarnigle]

I applaud BornFrustrated for recognizing that start up/equipment/fixed costs must count but can be spread across all batches.

But can you buy Great Lakes by the case? That knocks down its per bottle cost a little (although not to $1 a bottle).

 

[Rev2010]

Even just doing one extract batch order I save. Even more so if I order for two batches. Here's a quick example and this is with pricing from NorthernBrewer (definitely not the lowest priced online vendor so these numbers can be reduced) and factors in their $7.99 shipping. I've also divided up the cost correctly as I get 38 500ml bottles with each of my 5 gallon batches.

I buy cases of Franziskaner in 500ml bottles. They come 20 per case. I have them delivered to my house. The total price comes out to $42 then I tip the guy $3. So total is $45:

Franziskaner = 2.25 per bottle
Ordering for only one batch of my main hefeweizen recipe = $1.17 per bottle
Ordering for two batches of my main hefeweizen recipe = 0.92 cents per bottle

That's a pretty noticeable savings. And there's also the option of course to buy extract in 50-55lb bulk bags which also cuts the price of the extract used in half.

Obviously a lot depends on location. I live in New Jersey and work in Manhattan and prices are high. Even still... I think $2.25 for a Franziskaner is a good price. But with the average 12oz import beer costing no less than $1.50 I do save even if I order only once batch's supplies at a time.


Rev.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I'd say I'm saving money versus buying at the store or bar. I've cut waaaaay back on my bar tabs and I only buy a six pack of something if it's something new or if I'm going to someone else's house for dinner or something. Sometimes I'll take a growler of my homebrew but then I let everyone else have it so I fall back on the six pack I brought.

Bottom line: I'm making batches of beer for anywhere from 3-10 bucks per gallon. That's way cheap. Even the expensive extract kits are a good deal. I did an Orval clone and now I'm working on a Rochefort 6. The Orval kit was $53 including bottled water and per 12oz bottle in the store it's about $6. So buying 5 gallons of that in bottles at the store would be $323 roughly. For the Rochefort 6 clone it's going to be about $52 and at $5.29 per 11oz bottle that would be ~$306 in the store.

 

[johnnyspade]

For the Rochefort 6 clone it's going to be about $52 and at $5.29 per 11oz bottle that would be ~$306 in the store.

Are you working off a recipe here you wouldn't mind sharing? I love that beer.

 

[lou2row]

I had about $330 wrapped up in obtaining 4 bottles of Dark Lord. If I make a 5 gallon batch of beer, my savings would be about $2,850.00



My wife didn't buy that logic either.

 

[Acoma]

I'm sure not. I just started this year and so far had to buy all the equipment, cleaner, sanitizer, storage box, beer to drink and use bottles, more beer to drink and "research", kits, equipment to build bottle tree, more kits, and more beer. But so far its been a lot of fun and worth every penny. Hopefully I will see a return one day if not its still a fun hobby.

 

[mtbiker278]

I don't think any of the hobbies I've had have ever saved me money. However they've all been fun and interesting and that's the important part.

 

[LakewoodBrew]

Well, unless you have some careful cost accounting, or had a clearly managed "beer budget" before and after, it's basically impossible to say you're 'saving' money. But I can say I have a lot more beer flowing through my garage now and I don't think I'm spending more money. Plus, I never had anything "on-tap" before Homebrewing.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Are you working off a recipe here you wouldn't mind sharing? I love that beer.

It's an extract kit from the wine and hop shop here in Madison, not specifically a Rochefort clone but I changed up the yeast and I might tweak it a bit between now and when I brew it. If it turns out halfway close to the 6 then I'll post it, right now it's still kind of up in the air.

 

[IanC]

I prefer abstract imprressionist brewing myself.

2nd best quote in this thread

 

[IanC]

Well, unless you have some careful cost accounting, or had a clearly managed "beer budget" before and after, it's basically impossible to say you're 'saving' money. But I can say I have a lot more beer flowing through my garage now and I don't think I'm spending more money. Plus, I never had anything "on-tap" before Homebrewing.

In my case I know beyond a doubt that I'm saving money. For my very first batch my entire kit plus brewing supplies cost $120.00 and produced 66 beers. 5 cases of equivilant beer in my neck of the woods runs about $125.00plus tax. So even with buying odd bits of hardware, travel costs and such I'm still coming out ahead. Plus I'm having fun so that's gotta be worth something too

 

[LakewoodBrew]

2nd best quote in this thread

Now I'm curious - what came in #1?

 

[coryforsenate]

I save a LOT of money by virtue that I usually drink more expensive beers. My beers aren't always very cheap, but I'd say the cheapest 5 gallons I've ever made wound up being just under a dollar a bottle.

 

[LakewoodBrew]

In my case I know beyond a doubt that I'm saving money. For my very first batch my entire kit plus brewing supplies cost $120.00 and produced 66 beers. 5 cases of equivilant beer in my neck of the woods runs about $125.00plus tax. So even with buying odd bits of hardware, travel costs and such I'm still coming out ahead. Plus I'm having fun so that's gotta be worth something too

Fair enough, but for me I doubt I spend less money on beer today than I did 2 years ago, I just drink a lot more and give a lot more beer to friends.

 

[Manoau2002]

Living in Canada as well it is way cheaper to make your own. I recently bought a 12 pack of ricards dark and it cost me over 24 dollars. (and its not that great) The cheapest beers I can buy are about 19 dollars for a 12 pack of cans. (really low grade) I bought a 4 pack of guinness cans about a month ago (That costs 17 dollars) Also the selection for microbreweries is very small and very expensive.(Sam adams boston lager costs 14.20 for a six pack) The homebrew ale I bottled today cost me about 33 cents a bottle.

 

[LakewoodBrew]

I'll rephrase my original statement: it's no doubt that home brewed beer is less expensive on a per unit basis - I've done detailed economic analysis on brewing based on batch sizes and production rates.
My proposal was that in agregate the amount of money I spend on beer is not less - I just go through a lot more beer these days. There was a time where 5 gallons of beer in bottled case form could last many, many months. Now 5 gallons can go in a couple weeks (or even a single day sometimes) depending on who happens to be in the neighborhood.

 

[IanC]

Now I'm curious - what came in #1?

Number 1 was:

"My friends are the ones saving money. The other day a buddy came by to borrow my trailer and I gave him four 22oz beers. He borrows my trailer and I give him beer? How screwed up is that?"

But I got a good laugh from yours as well

 

[thethirsty1]

Yes Im saving money and I dont worry about the time involved its fun and I get to drink beer while making beer its a escape for me and as far as equipment cost you can spend as much or as little as you have/or want its kinda fun to see how much you can either save or repurpose with a little thought and creativity

 

[IanC]

Living in Canada as well it is way cheaper to make your own. I recently bought a 12 pack of ricards dark and it cost me over 24 dollars. (and its not that great) The cheapest beers I can buy are about 19 dollars for a 12 pack of cans. (really low grade) I bought a 4 pack of guinness cans about a month ago (That costs 17 dollars) Also the selection for microbreweries is very small and very expensive.(Sam adams boston lager costs 14.20 for a six pack) The homebrew ale I bottled today cost me about 33 cents a bottle.

Yup, being a Canadian is a good arguement for trying your hand at home brewing. I'm wondering what the worst place is to live when it comes to high prices for buying beer offf of the shelf. I get the impression that Australia and New Zealand also have very high prices - I wonder where in the world is most expensive for buying a standard case of your typical beer?

 

[IanC]

I'll rephrase my original statement: it's no doubt that home brewed beer is less expensive on a per unit basis - I've done detailed economic analysis on brewing based on batch sizes and production rates.
My proposal was that in agregate the amount of money I spend on beer is not less - I just go through a lot more beer these days. There was a time where 5 gallons of beer in bottled case form could last many, many months. Now 5 gallons can go in a couple weeks (or even a single day sometimes) depending on who happens to be in the neighborhood.

Very true. More beer somehow has a way of getting consumed at a faster rate. Strange how that seems to happen...

 

[LakewoodBrew]

Number 1 was:

"My friends are the ones saving money. The other day a buddy came by to borrow my trailer and I gave him four 22oz beers. He borrows my trailer and I give him beer? How screwed up is that?"

But I got a good laugh from yours as well

+1 Funny and so true - where else can my friends go to pull draught beer, eat some food and watch a ball game - all without dropping a freakin nickle.

I'm putting a donation box on my kegerator.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I'm putting a donation box on my kegerator.

You guys make an excellent point....the more you brew the more gets drank. Especially by friends and family. But, I drink 2-3 a day on average myself....and about 4 years from now my system will pay itself in cost savings vs buying cheap chitty beer for me. And you know, what's the difference between hookin up a brotha with some homebrew vs keepin some cheaper commercial in the fridge? Or pickin up a 12 pack on the way to your buddy's house to watch the game? Granted though, friends seem to overly take advantage when it's on tap. I'll have to side with LakewoodBrew.

 

[bschoenb]

If we don't count all the cool stuff I buy to brew the beer... Then YES! I

 

[B0rnFrustr8ed]

I applaud BornFrustrated for recognizing that start up/equipment/fixed costs must count but can be spread across all batches.

But can you buy Great Lakes by the case? That knocks down its per bottle cost a little (although not to $1 a bottle).

I don't know of any places that sell GL by the case, but maybe Costco or Sam's Club. When it's on sale, you can sometimes find a 12 for $15.99 or, rarely, $14.99. But who waits around for a sale to buy beer?

I just went on a beer vacation, visiting 10 breweries/brewpubs in Ohio and Michigan. Enjoyed a lot of beer and pub food, and grabbed a bunch for home as well. One thing is for sure, craft beer isn't cheap.

 

[jvcjbl]

No, I brew more and drink a lot more. HAHAHA