Cheaper to buy or brew?

[mattd2]

I don't think I really need to work out my costs for brewing, even if I did include equipment, as a doz. 11 oz. bottles of run of the mill beers costs $22 when not on special (usually something is on special for about $16), a 17 oz. bottle of craft beer is $6+, but the best part of all is the "imported" beer...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Budwieser doz. 12 oz. bottles = $29.99

I'm just doing no boil can and kilo kits at the mo untill I can scrap some cash together to upgrade but even using 2 cans of coopers extract and no sugar homebrew beer will cost me ~$22 for 22 litres, $25 if I make a hop tea to add to the fermeter (my next step to get a bit more flavour with very little investment). Therefore I could make 60 x 12 oz. bottles of reasonable homebrew for less than a 12 pack of Bud!

 

[Homercidal]

I don't think I really need to work out my costs for brewing, even if I did include equipment, as a doz. 11 oz. bottles of run of the mill beers costs $22 when not on special (usually something is on special for about $16), a 17 oz. bottle of craft beer is $6+, but the best part of all is the "imported" beer...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Budwieser doz. 12 oz. bottles = $29.99

I'm just doing no boil can and kilo kits at the mo untill I can scrap some cash together to upgrade but even using 2 cans of coopers extract and no sugar homebrew beer will cost me ~$22 for 22 litres, $25 if I make a hop tea to add to the fermeter (my next step to get a bit more flavour with very little investment). Therefore I could make 60 x 12 oz. bottles of reasonable homebrew for less than a 12 pack of Bud!

Holy crap!

 

[cwilliams108]

I'm about where everyone else is, I don't have the distain for BMC that most seem to (a tour of Bud's St. Louis brewery finally got me off my ass to start this obsession). I brew because I love it, well and I'm a project addict and gave me an excuse to build something else. But when asked by pretty much everyone who knows I brew if it's cheaper than buying SWMBO quickly says no as I say yes. Even taking into consideration the stupid amount of money I spent building my all-grain rig I save at a minimum $100 everytime I brew over the craft brews I was buying at $10 plus tax a 6 pack. I brewed a $27 10 gal batch of Beirmuncher's Centennial Blonde, yes there are other costs (propane, electricity, sanitizer) even with those factored in I figure I will break even with equipment costs in 15ish 10 gal batches. That is assuming of course I don't buy more stuff...............

 

[tomlivings]

I think one way to enter this hobby with one eye on the budget is to share the cost with friends. I started a beer co-op, we put in $60 each and got around $800 worth of equipment. Not bad, I now have time-share on a 15 gallon pot, 2 x 10 gallon coolers, 220k burner and all the other knick-knacks necessary for brewing excellent all-grain beer. Turns out on-one else is all that enthusiastic, so its not yet left my house...
http://beercoop.wordpress.com/

 

[lincoln]

A bottle of homebrew is cheap. I wouldn't even want to calculate how much it costs me to catch a trout!

lol or a duck for that matter!

 

[Photopilot]

Way more expensive to brew your own when all things are factored in.

• Cost of equipment
• Time spent brewing
• Storage of equipment and beer
• Cost to relationships for some

On the other side of the equation: I just bought 5 of the big name microbrews, someone bought for me out of town, cost was $31 for under 100 oz of beer. My current price for a 10 gallon batch of beer is about $55 for the same (or better) caliber of beer. These prices will go down once my bulk grain gets here.

So making your own beer discounting the time spent is cheaper once the fixed costs are spent. It just depends if the pride of craftsmanship and joy in the process outweighs the other costs to make it worth it.

 

[Zamial]

I wanted to take a quick second to point out a few things. I am planning to, when my equipment funds come in one day, to go all grain. I currently do partials and also bake. I will, starting with my next batch, start baking with my spent grains.

This is important to factor in if you do any baking with your spent grains, making dog treats, bread, crackers, ect. I can use my spent grains as food and that will help bring down the grocery bill, not by much but by some.

HB also is healthier for you (so is home made baked goods), no preservatives or added chemicals, so that can equate to living healthier and less sick time/ Dr. visits.

If you grow any of your own items like hops, that can bring the cost down even more. (I have 4 varieties growing ATM)

It really boils down to how far you are willing to "split hairs" to reduce costs overall. I say looking at the big picture, HB compared to an import or micro, HB is defiantly cheaper...

 

[mattd2]

Way more expensive to brew your own when all things are factored in.

• Cost of equipment
• Time spent brewing
• Storage of equipment and beer
• Cost to relationships for some

On the other side of the equation: I just bought 5 of the big name microbrews, someone bought for me out of town, cost was $31 for under 100 oz of beer. My current price for a 10 gallon batch of beer is about $55 for the same (or better) caliber of beer. These prices will go down once my bulk grain gets here.

So making your own beer discounting the time spent is cheaper once the fixed costs are spent. It just depends if the pride of craftsmanship and joy in the process outweighs the other costs to make it worth it.

Not trying to argue with you pilot, your list just seemed to sum up all the extras that some dont know whether to include or not so nicely and I just wanted to put my 2c in :cross:

• Cost of equipment - Really isn't this an asset that you will get a fair bit of the investment money back from if you ever do sell it (ok somethings do need replacing and things do get broken)
• Time spent brewing - Is anyones work really willing to pay them 24/7, got to have some downtime doing the things you enjoy
• Storage of equipment and beer - Unless your renting out storage space this is moot
• Cost to relationships for some - If the better half can't give you a bit of freetime then I think there might be something wrong in the relationship anyway (or maybe you do brew too much - if there is such a thing)

Again just my 2c on your list

 

[Scut_Monkey]

Brewing is not a money saver unless you are making prison hooch.

 

[cwilliams108]

[*]Cost to relationships for some - If the better half can't give you a bit of freetime then I think there might be something wrong in the relationship anyway (or maybe you do brew too much - if there is such a thing)
[/LIST]

Again just my 2c on your list

My first 3 all-grains where with-in the span of a week the wife was starting to get annoyed (of course this was after I spent every night and weekend for 2 months building my smoker then brewstand)

 

[mattd2]

My first 3 all-grains where with-in the span of a week the wife was starting to get annoyed (of course this was after I spent every night and weekend for 2 months building my smoker then brewstand)

Yeah, I guess thats the difference between a bit and a lot!

 

[JNye]

so for ****s i looked up all my expenses and its $963. I have made 324 12 oz beers in 3 months! I'm ~ 3 bucks a beer. For comparable beer i pay ~ $2 a beer. next batch will get me down to 2.60 a beer for mine....so...I'm about 3 batches away from saving money. I have no plans/desire to buy any equipment for awhile. Plus those figures inclue~ 3 lbs of hops(assets) in the freezer and all my eqt. which DEF has at least 30% value if i quit brewing, but i included it anyways. ITS cheaper if you like good beer and aren't an eqt nut.

 

[Photopilot]

Again just my 2c on your list

For the record SWMBO supports the hobby 100% especially as I brew her favorites. She even contributes to the effort and brags about my setup to her co-workers and I have brewed a lot in recent months.

Also for the record I have a mountain bike that costs more than the cost probably more than all of my brewing equipment, but I have not ridden it yet this year, as I have been too busy brewing. I guess the true costs I am referring to are opportunity costs of time, money and space.

Now that I got my 3-tier done, and keezer built and filled I hope to get out on my bike. I would never have spent this much money on beer though if I could not call it a hobby.

 

[skunkmeister]

I'm very close to what JNye has. I've spent a total of $1022 on equipment, ingredients, books and whatnot. Have brewed around 46 Gallons of beer (in about three months) so I come out at around $2 a 12 oz bottle. I'll be very happy if I can get it down to $1 a bottle and achieve a high standard for my beers. The most expensive thing for me is the time brewing takes up. It's significant.

 

[mattd2]

For the record SWMBO supports the hobby 100% especially as I brew her favorites. She even contributes to the effort and brags about my setup to her co-workers and I have brewed a lot in recent months.

Also for the record I have a mountain bike that costs more than the cost probably more than all of my brewing equipment, but I have not ridden it yet this year, as I have been too busy brewing. I guess the true costs I am referring to are opportunity costs of time, money and space.

Now that I got my 3-tier done, and keezer built and filled I hope to get out on my bike. I would never have spent this much money on beer though if I could not call it a hobby.

Sorry if it sounded like I was having a go at the list, I guess I was also meaning that they are opportrunity cost so are really only of value if you could have done something else with them
After all my reading through these forums it seems that for most of us SWMBO really doesn't demand that much anyway and a lot are in the same boat as you (and me) with very supportive partners that brag nearly as much as us about the latest brew or project

 

[fredthecat]

everything that needed to be said was said i think heh... but anyway.. its cheaper to brew for me because i live in canada. the other factor is i want to be able to try styles that just arent available except for extreme prices. my equipment was quite modest but i planned it carefully, ive already paid for it in produced beer.

hops are the expensive part i find, so if i want to make a good beer for cheap i focus on a quality grainbill with low IBUs

 

[brettg20]

Only God knows how much $$ I have spent on buying equipment or building my own....3 chest freezers, 3 digital temp controls, 4 double towers, 6 kegs, 3 co2 tanks with dual regulators, SS megapot, starter flasks, 2 MLT, burner, propane, grain mill, 6 carboys, stir plate, 2 digital scales, 2 wort chillers, sparge arm, 8 million feet of tubing, sanitizer, buckets for grains, 2 heaters for chest freezers to ferm in the winter, water filtration system under sink, hydrometers, airlocks, bottles-growlers, counter pressure bottle filler, ETC ETC ETC. Literally $1,000's of dollars.

But now a batch will cost me under $15 per batch. It's just like golf in a way. You have to spend the money up front for the clubs, bag, shoes etc but after that initial cost all you have to pay for is the green fee. You can get cheap clubs, or really nice ones. I love brewing so I don't mind spending the time and money on what I love.

Cheers

 

[mezak1gd]

I just made up a spreadsheet. Ive spent $395, and made nearly 600 12 oz. bottles. I'm at $0.64/ 12 oz bottle all costs included. As soon as I order my corona mill, I'll be able to do a 5 gallon batch for $6-$7, which will knock my costs down even more.

 

[jessup]

river horse brewery used to sell there out of season beers for $10 a case. for a while i was buying beers for cheaper than i could brew them. those were the days obviously there's not contest for normally priced beers, beer prices are outrageous anymore

 

[Zamial]

When going to the store to buy beer do you count...

...the cost of the vehicle?
...the time spent driving to and from as well as in the store?
...the insurance on the vehicle?
...the gas it took to go to and from the store?
...the wear and tear on the vehicle?
...deposits paid/received?
...are we talking about beer that comes in 12 oz. cans that is $9.00 a case (24 cans) or beer that is comparable to HB?
...the shelf price or final price at register after taxes?

The problem with splitting hairs is you have to account for all of them on BOTH sides or a fair means to do so...

If we are going to throw out all the BS about crazy expenses, "my time" and equipment costs then I definitely think it is cheaper to brew, especially if we base this on the final cost of a store bought beer, that is normally priced and comparable to HB vs. the cost of the ingredients, sanitizer and caps of a partial or AG HB. The others before me in this thread PROVE this by stating the "equipment will have paid for its self in 3 more batches"...

 

[Bobby_M]

This is really interesting. We've never had a thread like this before or at least for as long as I've been here.

 

[Eden192]

Personally I did a lot of the math before I started brewing just to see what sort of investment I was in for and considering my taste in beers it seems that it's pretty much always cheaper to do home brew, especially since most things I drink tend to be anywhere from $80 - $175 a case.

 

[Bret86944]

It's not much cheaper, if at all, to make a homebrew, but there is the x-factor - you just can't go to the store and buy a home brew, know what I mean? Can't put a price on a delicious beer you made yourself.

 

[Conehead]

Yes it is. The price of beer in Canada and the rest of the world is very expensive. 50% of my reasons to brew my own beer is the expense of beer in Canada. The other 50% of course is lack of American IPA in our pathetic beer stores. They are owned by mega brewers who don't care about beer, just profit. I have a question for you American homebrewers.

If the only place you can buy beer is through a store owned by the brewers of Bud and Bud Light, how often would you step foot in their door? That is what we face in Ontario. Yes, you can buy beer from craft brewers, if you live close to them. This is the main reason I brew my own beer. I just hate Molson and Labatt. Besides, of course I like drinking my own brew.

 

[fredthecat]

Yes it is. The price of beer in Canada and the rest of the world is very expensive. 50% of my reasons to brew my own beer is the expense of beer in Canada. The other 50% of course is lack of American IPA in our pathetic beer stores. They are owned by mega brewers who don't care about beer, just profit. I have a question for you American homebrewers.

If the only place you can buy beer is through a store owned by the brewers of Bud and Bud Light, how often would you step foot in their door? That is what we face in Ontario. Yes, you can buy beer from craft brewers, if you live close to them. This is the main reason I brew my own beer. I just hate Molson and Labatt. Besides, of course I like drinking my own brew.

this is such a huge issue in canada it more than cost for me was the big deal. americans really dont get it i dont think. theres about 5 types of american IPA at the absolute most available in all LCBOs or Beerstores. and 2 or 3 dark belgians at MOST

 

[redalert]

It's not much cheaper, if at all, to make a homebrew, but there is the x-factor - you just can't go to the store and buy a home brew, know what I mean? Can't put a price on a delicious beer you made yourself.

Ditto.

"Going to the liquor store and buying a 6 pack of craft beer, $10. Making your own delicious craft beer, Priceless"

 

[Salanis]

I just brewed a saison. It's going to be a while before I can drink it, but whatever. I have 5 gallons of saison. I'm not sure I've ever seen a pack of saison. I'm not sure what the cheapest decent saison is. Maybe, $4/22oz bottle? So... if I have 25 bottles of that, I'm looking at $100 of beer, for which I paid about $45. Meh, $60, I splurged to get a heating belt to keep it warm enough. That takes a huge chunk out of my equipment costs.

Oh yeah, and when this batch is done, I will be crafting a special holiday ale that is 100% my vision, and unlike anything I've found in the store.

 

[Frodo]

especially since most things I drink tend to be anywhere from $80 - $175 a case.

What in the hell do you drink? I need to start brewing that to sell it... so please let me know.