Buying Beer As A Homebrewer

[1bottlerocket]

The entry-level threshold to the market for selling your beer is much lower in Europe. We pour at about four festivals a year and that keeps us afloat. I think beer and wine are cheaper in Europe because of it. It affords us the opportunities to purchase beers so that we can see what others are up to. We also do trades with other local brewers and we take turns hosting brew days in order to help each other out. The information that I get from here is amazing and it is nice to share that with our small brew club.

 

[lightningbug]

I've noticed on several threads people mentioning buying beer. This surprised me because one huge reason I got back into homebrewing was so that I would not ever have to buy beer again. Since I can make it cheaper and at least as good (and many times better) as store bought, I see no need to purchase beer. In fact, when people bring me 6 packs of this or that, I find myself annoyed that I have to drink a few inferior beers because it is against the law to throw drinkable beer away (as we all know).

I buy beer for a couple reasons. First, it lets me experience new styles that I haven’t had before, or just let me see exactly how a style is supposed to taste/smell. Second it lets me buy beer for people who only drink beer I hate… like my wife who loves pasty stouts and gimmicky adjunct beers, or for times when my dad visits (who only likes american light lagers). I’m not wasting fermenter time on a bud light clone or an XX-Sweet Gooey Toffee Pie Porter

 

[bobtheUKbrewer2]

Here in the UK most beers served in pubs, and sold in supermarkets, are average at best. A lot of my beer is average but it is 1 / 18 th of the pub price, so the money I save I spend on known (to me) bottles of superb beer - Dark Star is my favourite.....

 

[lightningbug]

Here in the UK most beers served in pubs, and sold in supermarkets, are average at best. A lot of my beer is average but it is 1 / 18 th of the pub price, so the money I save I spend on known (to me) bottles of superb beer - Dark Star is my favourite.....

1/18th the price??? That’s some crazy efficiency or ridiculous bar prices. At most bars where I am beers cost $6-7 per pint. The very cheapest, happy-hour type places may have local stuff for $5. I cant really get much lower than a $0.90-$1 per pint on 5 gal batches of homebrew. It’s obviously much cheaper and even stomping the “new prices” of commercial microbrews at $12/4-pack… but it’s nowhere near 1/18th.

 

[Joggin]

Was hoping Stoudts still kept the restaurant and brewed their beer for it. But looks like they sold and IronSpire Complex owns it now?
Anyone try it?

 

[Broothru]

Sorry to hear about Stoudt's, used to hit their brewfest every fall for quite some time. Yes, Oxford is a bit South, but not out of my range.
Grew up in West Chester, and will be in New Holland for at least one night, so the spot in Lititz is a real possibility.
I knew Victory has expanded, and I doubt that they are in the space I knew. The Troegenator is a favorite of mine that I will pick up 2-3 times a year out here (not the fan of the Mad Elf that I used to be).

But this is why I still buy commercial beer as a homebrewer: to see what is out there, meet others with a similar interest in good beer, and of course, support those that have taken the risk that I can't dream of risking. My home brew is fine, but absolutely nothing wrong with go to the store for a six pack or growler.

Agree about Mad Elf. Never warmed up to it. Troeg's to me is a lot like Sam Adam's used to be. I either don't like one of their 'different' beers or I REALLY like them a lot. The "core" beers are all very good. They don't stay in any particular lane, which is good, but when they stray too far out of MY wheelhouse they can leave me behind. Fortunately the don't mess with my favs.

 

[Broothru]

Agree about Mad Elf. Never warmed up to it. Troeg's to me is a lot like Sam Adam's used to be. I either don't like one of their 'different' beers or I REALLY like them a lot. The "core" beers are all very good. They don't stay in any particular lane, which is good, but when they stray too far out of MY wheelhouse they can leave me behind. Fortunately they don't mess with my favs.

***DOUBLE POST.. PLS DELETE***

 

[T Murph]

LMAO I do love the comical entertainment this forum provides. I am happy that some homebrewers are making such outstandinng beers that none of the commercial breweries can compete. From my experience judging competitions there have been very few in the 30 plus years that I felt were worthy of producing on the commercial level. I personally have won awards for beers that I have brewed and even have a couple being mass produced by larger craft breweries. That said, I continue to visit as many brew pubs and craft breweries as possible and I still keep a stock of commercial beers on hand because I like them. I like my creations and I enjoy good offerings of other homebrewers. But as long as I keep finding craft breweries that are new to me, I will continue to sample their brews. As far as cost of homebrew vs commercial beers, according to my wife, she estimates a pint of my beer cost about 10 times that of the most expensive store bought beer when you factor in the cost of equipment, gadgets and ingredients. That's OK I enjoy my brewery, that's why I do it. And I like beer.

 

[WesBrew]

I don't buy a lot, but...
When i want more variety on hand. When i don't want 5 gallons of a style. When i want a beer and don't feel like brewing it. When there is company and i don't want them draining my kegs.

 

[Mr. Vern]

I still buy a fair amount of beer, and last Friday at the bar I finally had a moment where my homebrew was superior to the stout they were serving. Of course it was a Chocolate Milk Stout with plenty to hide behind. I am closing out my 3rd year of brewing

Like most of you I am my worst critic, but this one made me smile! My brewing motivation-meter gained a little that day

Research, comparisons, community fun and support, Tuesdays... there are plenty of reasons to buy beer

 

[Plastic Brewkettle]

I am happy that some homebrewers are making such outstandinng beers that none of the commercial breweries can compete.

I'm afraid you forgot the words, "think they" right there in between "homebrewers" and "are". Let people have their delusions, please.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I'll buy "special bottles" to add to "my collection", from time to time.
although, I haven't seen anything in a while that I thought was worthy of buying, but I do now live in the middle of nowhere and it is a good drive to get to any store that has "the good stuff". The last time I was in a store that I thought should have some good beers, I was like WTF, is this all you have, I'm outa here.

 

[bwible]

Was hoping Stoudts still kept the restaurant and brewed their beer for it. But looks like they sold and IronSpire Complex owns it now?
Anyone try it?

I went by there must have been 6 months ago and even the IronSpire complex was closed. From what I could tell the property was up for rent again and not being used.

Ed and Carol Stoudt had a big auction where they auctioned off much of the stuff that used to be in there. I didn’t hear anything about the Duesenberg they used to have in the lobby.

Their press release said they sold the building and property only and held onto their name and all their recipes and intellectual property in the event they decided to open up again I guess. I know they are both retirement age. And I’m sure covid didn’t make things better.

 

[YeastFeast]

I buy most of the beer I drink. Just a guess but maybe 95% is purchased. I brew 4-5 times a year 4-5 gallons at a time.

 

[bracconiere]

I buy most of the beer I drink. Just a guess but maybe 95% is purchased. I brew 4-5 times a year 4-5 gallons at a time.

as long as it's enough to make you comfortable in your skin....

 

[friarsmith]

I brew beers that typically are good for 2-3 months or more in a spunded keg (because I dont kill kegs like I used to), taste good in any season and with a variety of foods.

…and buy the occasional pint or sixer of something I “don’t 5 gallon like” but get a hankering for. Like a nice bracingly bitter West Coast IPA, hefe or gose.

it’s beer. Do what makes you happy

 

[duncan_disorderly]

I buy very little beer to drink at home but I drink out socially in a pub maybe once a week and being in England this enables me to drink cask beers. I am not the type to set up a cask system at home. And good cask beer is really worth paying for.

The cost of commercial bottles and cans tends to shock me a bit now and I consider how much beer I could brew for the price of a few cans! But I sometimes pick up cheaper supermarket beers if they look a bit interesting.

Commercial beers, for me, are often diminished by processes like pasteurisation and filtration, rendering them not worth the money. Here in England at least. A lot of the craft beer doesn't suffer from this, but is just over priced, and often not that great. Not worth the money. There are exceptions obviously. Some very good craft beer that is worth the cost.

 

[Kee]

I buy most of the beer I drink. Just a guess but maybe 95% is purchased. I brew 4-5 times a year 4-5 gallons at a time.

Did you just give us a math word problem?

If Y brews 4 gallons of beer 5 times per year, and this represents 5% of total beer consumption, how many bottles of beer does Y buy per year?

Sorry, that was too tempting.

 

[YeastFeast]

Did you just give us a math word problem?

If Y brews 4 gallons of beer 5 times per year, and this represents 5% of total beer consumption, how many bottles of beer does Y buy per year?

Sorry, that was too tempting.

You were supposed to figure out how many homebrew beers I’m able to drink a day

 

[pvpeacock]

I ran out of kegged homebrew in my keezer recently. Rather than buy a few 6 packs to hold me over, I called the local BevMo and was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a 5 gallon keg of Pizza Port's Swami's on hand. Although I had sticker shock originally ($140 + $40 keg deposit), I bit the bullet and am glad I did. Since I already have the keezer all set up, had room in it, had an open tap, had the CO2 tank and had a sanke coupler with ball lock connects, I thought why not go all out and buy a keg. I am glad I did. While I love my own homebrew, it was nice to have one of my favorite commercial beers on tap for a few weeks. (and no, I did not take credit and claim that I made the Swami's when friends came over).

 

[Smudgey]

I get a dozen random craft beers arrive in a box once every other month. The first year it was a gift subscription from my wife - who actually set the Xmas-present-bar close to the moon that year. My mates wives hate her for it! Legendary. But - I've continued it as it such a great surprise that just keeps on giving. 6 Christmases a year. Judiciously selected, winning beers that aren't all to my liking, but its interesting to try so many different syles I wouldn't think to buy, from breweries I wouldn't come across and at 'box of beer' rather than 'single' beer prices. It's makes it fun to visit the beer fridge even if I opt for the less adventurous safety of the picnic tap!

 

[Taket_al_Tauro]

The entry-level threshold to the market for selling your beer is much lower in Europe. We pour at about four festivals a year and that keeps us afloat. I think beer and wine are cheaper in Europe because of it. It affords us the opportunities to purchase beers so that we can see what others are up to. We also do trades with other local brewers and we take turns hosting brew days in order to help each other out. The information that I get from here is amazing and it is nice to share that with our small brew club.

Oh yes, I noticed your location and the entry-level threshold to the market is definitely ridiculously low in Switzerland. I did not get involved myself in the steps necessary to go commercial because I am purely a homebrewer, but it seems to be really easy. Heck it seems to me that every second homebrewer here is opening some sort of micro- or nano brewery at some point. Some of them are going commercial not even after a year of homebrewing (!). So at the moment it is kinda a wild west situation here with respect to craft breweries opening... how many do we have...1300+ "breweries" for a population of 8 million, if I am not mistaken? That gives an idea of the situation.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing!
The downside is that you can find everything on the market: from truly great beers to truly terrible ones. And of course you pay the terrible ones the same price as the great ones (meaning hefty Swiss craft beer prices).
Knowing which are the good breweries definitely helps a lot here. And luckily, there are more and more really good ones.

I'm not sure about other European countries, I believe most do have somehow stricter rules than Switzerland?

 

[BoitAHL]

I thought why not go all out and buy a keg

Same for me. Keezer out of beer I go to the local Liquor Store and order a keg of a favorite beer. Usually New Holland Brewing Dragon's Milk. (OK, the Keezer doesn't have to be empty) I also have a subscription to Tavour and get a great selection of craft beers (Dark & Intense) monthly.

 

[GalileoFarms&Brewing]

this was my goal this year! so far i've had three batches done: an alt, a belgian wit, and a marzen.

i did buy a 6er of guinness for an irish stew on st. paddy's day, though...

 

[225]

I still buy PBR....

 

[Plastic Brewkettle]

OK, where are all the purists excoriating @225 for this heresy?

 

[grampamark]

OK, where are all the purists excoriating @225 for this heresy?

Well, his user title is “village idiot”…

 

[Ren06]

I’m a Belgian beer enthusiast so even though I homebrew there’s never a day where I can say I brew better than these monks; so yes I’m still buying beer .

 

[Brew_Dude41]

OK, where are all the purists excoriating @225 for this heresy?

PBR > Coors Light, so at least he has got that going for him.

 

[Plastic Brewkettle]

Yes, but Coors Light ≤ Getting Poked In The Eye With A Sharp Stick.