Cost Analysis

[ajlee]

I spent a year home brewing and figure I spent about $9 per bottle so far.

You must be factoring your equipment into your per bottle cost. I don't factor reusable things in. Makes more sense to me to calculate savings (ie as compared to buying beer from the store) and figure out at which point I break even on equipment, purchased bottles etc.

 

[ajlee]

but like they say...time is money, so if you add that in it isn't really cheaper...unless your time isn't worth much. Still totally worth it!

Only if instead of brewing you could be doing something you got paid for... For me if I wasn't brewing on a Saturday morning I'd probably just be sleeping instead.

 

[MisterTipsy]

I spent a year home brewing and figure I spent about $9 per bottle so far.

My first beer was $500

 

[grathan]

You must be factoring your equipment into your per bottle cost. I don't factor reusable things in. Makes more sense to me to calculate savings (ie as compared to buying beer from the store) and figure out at which point I break even on equipment, purchased bottles etc.

That's just it. I don't think there will ever be a break even period. Not when you obsess over trying to make store quality beer. Perhaps if I was content with just cream ale with dry yeast in a plastic bucket. But I really like high OG with half a pound of hops type beers.

The used chest freezer I bought already died. The used kegs I bought need expensive replacement parts to seal good. One of my CO2 tanks is already due for hydro testing. PBW costs an arm and leg. My wife left the frozen yeast farm out in the garage for a week to make room for birthday party ice cream (not sure, but it could be a loss). The bunch of hops roots i bought got planted in a bad spot and died( heavy winds also seem to rip the vine in half). Ph probe needs expensive calibration liquids. Have like 5 lbs of hops pellets and 3 sacks of imported grain that are getting too stale to really use up (If the mice and bugs haven't done them in). There are equipment losses like broken $50 carboys, hydrometers, copper wort chiller left to freeze in garage over winter. There are buckets that fall and spill at bottling time, batches that need dumping because of failed yeast, infection, or poor experimenting. Co2/0 tank leaks that aren't detected until the tank is empty. Bottle explosions that take out the whole case. Friends who think you should be able to supply large amounts simply because the beer is homemade. End up buying fancy glassware to enjoy your beer in. Fancy must-have gadgets that you end up never using. Books, software, apps, memberships get bought to further the knowledge because for some reason there is more to brewing a beer than first meets the eye.


While I am sure after the first year things go smoother, there sure seems to be a lot of hidden costs.

 

[Apple_Jacker]

Well that was a depressing way to view homebrewing.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

I keep a running tally of everything I've spent on home brewing (equipment, tools, ingredients, books etc) and then generate an Average Cost per (12oz) Beer.

After 40 batches, my ACB is $2.05.

A couple of times I've gotten it down to less than $1.50 per beer, but then I go and buy a shiny new piece of equipment and blow my cost all to hell.

Can't imagine how long it will take to brew down the cost of my Brew Magic single tier.

 

[Zamial]

Those that brew for the love of brewing will ALWAYS profit. Those that brew for the love of profit seldom will.

This is one of the most flogged horses on this board...

 

[BBBF]

My break even point will be when I am too old to brew and sell all my equipment.

 

[blacksquid]

I started brewing a few months ago because I was fed up with buying my scotch ale at the liquor store (nationalized...!) for around 2.75$ a 354ml bottle. Figured I'd just make my own to cut costs. While it costs considerably less (around 0.44$CAD per 500ml bottle for a big beer, lot less for a simpler, lighter beer), I had to buy a lot of gear (give or take that I'll have to amortize over at least 4 years if I consider I used to shell out let's say, about 200$ on average in beer a year.

The most expensive hardware was kegs and a grain mill - and I could actually do without the kegs. That said, I'm always looking to get rid of the plastic stuff that 'doesn't last' and thus, increase my costs so I went with kegs to also serve as fermenters. The mill is good so you can buy grain in bulk and cut your costs even more (in my case, by about 40% for 2-row). It's definitely a no-brainer to go AG.

I'm about to do some more in depth analysis for my operations management class, I might find some more ideas to cut costs even more. Next in line will be growing hops I think. But all in all, money-wise, it's probably more economical to just buy at the store or start a commercial brewery.

Also, while I may come off as delving into this hobby as a penny pincher, it's more about my curiosity for beer micro/biology that is expanding every day. I think it's a fantastically deep and varied hobby that I won't quit anytime soon.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

That's just it. I don't think there will ever be a break even period. Not when you obsess over trying to make store quality beer. Perhaps if I was content with just cream ale with dry yeast in a plastic bucket. But I really like high OG with half a pound of hops type beers.

The used chest freezer I bought already died. The used kegs I bought need expensive replacement parts to seal good. One of my CO2 tanks is already due for hydro testing. PBW costs an arm and leg. My wife left the frozen yeast farm out in the garage for a week to make room for birthday party ice cream (not sure, but it could be a loss). The bunch of hops roots i bought got planted in a bad spot and died( heavy winds also seem to rip the vine in half). Ph probe needs expensive calibration liquids. Have like 5 lbs of hops pellets and 3 sacks of imported grain that are getting too stale to really use up (If the mice and bugs haven't done them in). There are equipment losses like broken $50 carboys, hydrometers, copper wort chiller left to freeze in garage over winter. There are buckets that fall and spill at bottling time, batches that need dumping because of failed yeast, infection, or poor experimenting. Co2/0 tank leaks that aren't detected until the tank is empty. Bottle explosions that take out the whole case. Friends who think you should be able to supply large amounts simply because the beer is homemade. End up buying fancy glassware to enjoy your beer in. Fancy must-have gadgets that you end up never using. Books, software, apps, memberships get bought to further the knowledge because for some reason there is more to brewing a beer than first meets the eye.


While I am sure after the first year things go smoother, there sure seems to be a lot of hidden costs.

Sounds like you are in over your head for your knowledge and attention to detail. Not trying to hate, just sounds like you are buying things you don't need and trying to do things before you have first educated yourself how to do it. Maybe you should start back over on the cream ale and dry yeast in a bucket and go from there.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I seem to recall the last time I tried to calculate the cost of a beer it was a little under a dollar but I've bought a few pieces of equipment and more ingredients so it's probably a little higher now. I do a good job of maximizing cost efficiency when it makes sense, I buy in bulk, yeast wash, etc. I don't make a lot of hoppy beers or use 18 different specialty grains in my brews so that prevents the costs of batches from skyrocketing. I don't have a lot of fancy equipment. I was able to get a fermentation chamber for $40 through craigslist. My turkey fryer, propane tank and johnson control were all free. So that helped a lot. If I had the cash to own the system I wanted and keg I would definitely be in the same boat as everybody else. I don't brew to save money but I don't see a reason to be wasteful when I can. (With $130k in student loans it's hard to justify wasting money.)

 

[jerrodm]

I just ran some numbers along these lines, and figured out that my average variable cost of production (grains, hops, yeast, fuel, etc) ran about .74 per 12 oz. bottle for all beers, while my average total cost of production (including equipment) over the next year will be around 1.90 per bottle, as I'm going to be building a three-tier brew stand and buying some new pots, &c. Convinced SWMBO to go for it by showing her that at 17 batches/yr. I'll cover costs in about two years, after which I'll be in the black.

Just kidding, by then I'm sure I'll be scheming about buying more stuff.

For those who have been doing this for a decade or more, what's the consensus? Are you saving money compared with buying store-bought, including all the money you've sunk in equipment, fuel, etc.? I get the argument that it's a hobby, you don't do it to save money, etc., but just curious if the financials come out in our favor as well, over a long enough time horizon?

 

[Jukas]

I just made a 10 gallon batch of stout for $45 and it should last me about a month to a month and a half. At $.56 a pint I feel that is a smoking deal! If I buy bottles (I keg) then I figure that they will last over the course of five brews, so add $.10 and you get around $.75 a bottle. Still less than all of the craft breweries around me. A sixer of Pliny will cost me near $20 or a growler for the same.

Greetings to another local guy. I get most of my bottles free from friends, or craft beer I tried.. My problem is I keg so I don't need nearly as many bottles as I have, and I'm about to recycle another 3 sixers worth of 12oz bottles which will still leave me with 2 cases of empties.

Anytime I can keep my per pint cost under $1 I'm happy. By buying hops in bulk and washing yeast I'm able to do my cheapest beers like BM's Centennial blonde for $.36 a pint and an IPA for $.60 a pint. If I factored in all the equipment though I bet the "cost" of each batch would go up by 10 bucks easy over the life of the equipment.

I think I likely have more good commercial craft beer on hand now, than I did before I started brewing. I really enjoy the beer I brew, but that doesn't stop me from usually having 3-4 Lost Abby bottles and at least 2 Pliny's in the beer fridge at any given time.

Edit: I didn't realize that portion of the thread I was responding to was so old.

 

[rawkstar320]

I wiped up a spread sheet that can put together a cost analysis if your interested. Its basic, but makes it a little more simple to figure out your costs. I guess one thing that I figure is that although I would like to see my cost LESS than store bought, I do have fun brewing - and being a hobby, it inherently costs some money. So, if for any given brew day, I spend $10-$20 it doesnt really matter what my final cost per bottle was because I would have spent that money occupying my time in some other way. (but now I have beer to look forward to!)

So technically, you could say that your homebrew was "free"

(PM me if you would like to see the spreadsheet, HBT wont let me upload files that aren't pictures)

 

[batchbrew]

I have to say that I am enjoying this string.

You know, it's funny how it really gets my attention to pay $7 or $8 for a six pack of good craft brew, but the $25 I spend on brew day for ingredients is just part of the cost of having fun doing somthing (brewing beer).

The finished homebrew that I get is just a bonus!

 

[stikman33]

I agree. I liked going to bevmo and buying individual bottles to try out different craft brews. As I tried different things I typically ended up paying 3-4 dollars for a 22oz bottle if not more so. Chimay Grande Reserve I think was closer to $10.

So in reality, ingredients and the like are cheap. With my basic "starter" type equipment mostly buckets, etc I'm at about $4 per bottle including everything. Next batch that is going to go down drastically to under $2 per bottle, and settle out from there.

At this moment I don't have delusions of graduer with huge setups and the like, I think its a fun hobby to mix in with all the other ones I like. My muscle car, golf... beer compliments those well!

 

[45_70sharps]

Whatever cost you come up with, divide by two and report back to her.
Make sure and confuse her with all the different beer styles and the varied cost, seasonal availability of hops, propane costs fluctuating and anything else you can think of.
Just don't give her anything that can be used against you later.
She WILL remember those parts.