Cost of all-grain brewing vs MrBeer vs buying beer at the store

[zzzman74]

Does anyone know the average cost per bottle of home brewing all-grain style vs MrBeer vs just going to the store and buying a quality beer? My wife and I make MrBeer beginner beers which are about on par with store bought beer cost wise but the quality isn't quite there. But we enjoy the brewing process. MrBeer recently released new RECIPES which use higher malt concentrations, no empty sugar boosters, but the cost is $30-45 for a 2 gal batch. That seems like a nice bump in quality but at too steep a cost for me. I'm inclined to spend my money on the equipment to upgrade to all-grain brewing but before I do I want to know the average cost per bottle to make a nice quality from scratch home brew. We make wine at home and the end cost is about $3.50 per bottle including the nice bottle itself and labels. If we put it in cheap jugs it'd be even cheaper. But we spring for the cost for the nice final presentation.

Can anyone help me with some financial analysis? I know that costs will vary widely for specialty brews. But let's assume I'm making an "average" cost home brew. Thanks!

 

[Braufessor]

It is highly unlikely you will ever "save" money making beer...... There is always just so many things to buy

That said - the key is bulk buying/all grain. If you buy kits it is gonna cost you about the same in the end - although, it will perhaps give you a better opportunity to make better beer.

I can probably make 5 gallons of beer for $12-$25 for most "normal" beers on average.
$2-$3 for RO water
$2-$3 for yeast (I save and repitch yeas for 2-3 generations so average)
$6-$10 for base grain
$1-$5 for hops
$1-$4 for base grain

$12 - $25

But, I buy hops by the pound. I buy Maris Otter, 2 Row, Munich and Pilsner Malt by the 50lb sack. I resuse wyeast packs 2-3 times by saving yeast repitching, etc.

Now, none of that counts the $1000's I have spent on kegs, CO2, Beer Gun, Stainless Pots, Brew Stand, Fermentation Chamber, Temperature Control, etc. etc. etc.

It is like any hobby - you can make it as expensive as you want. I don't do it to save money - I do it because I love brewing beer. It is my only real hobby that costs money.

The bottom line though - the ONLY way to make beer cheap is you have to buy ingredients in bulk. You can't pay $2 a pound for grain or $2-$3 an ounce for hops and use $7+ yeast one time and think you are going to brew cheap.

 

[plankbr]

After my initial 1 time purchases for all grain brewing equipment, I spend ~$20-$30 for a 5 gallon batch of beer; grain, hops and yeast included.

+1 for buying bulk as typical LHBS' around here charge $1.50 / lb. of grain, $2-$4 / oz. hops and dry yeast is comparable. For bulk, I can get a 50 lb. bag of Pale 2-row $42.50 ($0.85/lb). There is definitely a cost saving, IMHO for all grain vs any other style (extract, kits). I also belong to a beer coop so I reuse our 22oz bottles for my batches.

So on average, let's say an average recipe is $25 (yeast and hops included). I get ~25x22oz bottles from my batches (roughly 2 cases of beer). That basically equates to $1 per 22 oz bottle.

Hope this helps.

 

[fearwig]

I save a load of money making beer.

For a 2.5 gallon batch, which is roughly a case (which I definitely don't do, but this is scaled down for Mr. Beer equivalence):
6lbs grain - ~$6 (50lb sacks at under $1/lb plus some specialty)
yeast - $6 for liquid, about $3 for 1/2 a pack of dry (assuming you don't do anything to propagate or harvest, which I do--so free for me unless it's a new strain)
hops - $1-2 (by the pound)

So... you're looking at about $8-14/case of beer, compared to (non-craft) commercial, which is at least $24-30/case.

If you are thrifty, you can get by with almost none of the things people tell you you "need". A used 7 gal aluminum kettle with a weldless valve already in it cost me $25 on craigslist, and I fit a stainless mesh into it (scrounged from a $10 part) and a barb fitting for my valve ($6) plus various tubing ($10-20ish). That's my boil kettle and mash tun. Add an autosiphon and maybe a bottling wand ($20-30), a good waterproof probe thermometer ($25). Hydrometer, of course, if you don't have that ($15-20). Most people can fudge temperature control (more or less) without equipment, but you need that for Mr. Beer too. If you have a deep basement you might be good all year, though I use a $15 aquarium heater with a thermostat in a big tub of water to get my buckets up to fermentation temps.

I mean you're talking about a $100-150 bare-bones setup before ingredients, but if you buy any real quantity of commercial beer you're going to recoup that in the year or sooner.

Now, the real danger is that you might start to get excessively interested in really good commercial beer, and that's where it starts to get expensive. But then you can learn to make that too.

The bottom line though - the ONLY way to make beer cheap is you have to buy ingredients in bulk. You can't pay $2 a pound for grain or $2-$3 an ounce for hops and use $7+ yeast one time and think you are going to brew cheap.

That IS the bottom line. Maryland's bulk base grain scene is not so good, so when I'm traveling I look around. In Durham, NC I found I could get sacks of Rahr/Briess for $0.79/lb. So I came back with 100lbs. Next time I go I'll probably get another 100lbs. Even if you can only get it around $1/lb (standard in MD), you save 50% off the cost of "scooped" grain by getting a 50lb sack. If your LHBS won't do sacks you have options on Northern Brewer for about $1.10/lb shipped (Rahr 2-row, anyway). That was my first source.

Meanwhile, my chest freezer is mostly full of hops. Let's just say my family thinks I'm pretty weird. Anyway, you don't have to go as far as all this, but let's just say you're better off picking one base grain, buying 50lbs of that, picking one or two hops, buying a pound each of those, and then learning to recycle your yeast effectively... and you can make really cheap beer.

 

[AnOldUR]

For even the biggest brews, I rarely go over fifty cents per beer in ingredient costs. The trouble is that a week seldom goes by that I don’t spend enough on upgrades and various bling to buy a couple of cases of craft beer. And that’s not to mention the time I spend doing brew related stuff that could be used to actually make money. For most of us, homebrewing is a hobby, not a way to save money.

 

[Homercidal]

The cost of making beer brewing All Grain is significantly cheaper than Mr. Beer or Store Bought... UNLESS you spend a bunch on fancy equipment.

With a basic kit you can brew beer just as good as with a fancy set, but maybe not quite as conveniently, as long as you have proper sanitation, fermentation temps control, and a decent recipe.

A good basic kit might cost $150-200 after you toss in a couple of small convenience items like an Autosiphon, etc.

As an example of cost savings, by buying my grain in bulk I was able to make Bells Two Hearted for 50 cents a bottle, roughly. The cost at the store is about $1.50. I'm brewing it for 1/3 the price, and having fun doing it.

 

[RM-MN]

I've saved thousands of dollars by brewing my own beer...because I do my drinking at home instead of at the bar and have thus avoided getting a DUI.

 

[Beer-lord]

I buy my 2 row in bulk as well as my hops and keep a good supply of other grains on hand. With that, I harvest most of my yeast and save $4-$7 per 6 gallon batch by using that yeast. I make semi large beers in the 1.065-1.075 range and my average cost to make 6 gallons is about $24.
Of course, there is the extra expense of propane but $18 will usually get me thru 4 boils.
The cost comes with equipment but since I'll have some of the same equipment for many years, it's an investment. I love this hobby, love the beer I brew and it's worth every penny of it to me.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

im sorry to be so blunt but mr beer sucks and is not only a toy but a rip off.

All grain brewing is very affordable. i have a 5 gal batch for 20 bucks that will smoke anything mr beer can make.
Just saying. Even doing extract or partial mash brews is way more bang and quality for your buck. Heck using proper yeast will make an astounding difference over MB

mr beer is a joke and should be gracefully abandoned.
I do still use my brown keg for some test batches.

 

[MrHadack]

Here's my 2 cents:
A straight-up cost comparison is not the way to compare the three things. My all-grain operation is down to about 60-70 cents per bottle. But that doesn't include the time I spend on the process. Nor does it include water, electricity, and propane for the burner which could possibly be negligible when examined on a per-bottle basis.

Most importantly, how can I put a price on the hobby itself? It's fun. It's interesting. But that's because I really delve into the water chemistry, the science, and all the subtleties that make it even more than a hobby-- it becomes a passion. So I guess it depends on how far you want to take it. How much control do you want over the finished product? Is it worth it to you to spend a little more at the outset to buy the all-grain supplies and spend the time fussing over recipes and processes, or do you just want to occasionally mix stuff up and have beer?

 

[zzzman74]

Interesting point about the cost of the equipment. Our wine equipment was only $150 or so for everything. As with all hobbies, there is a minimum entry cost and then the sky's the limit beyond that. Maybe I'll post that as a separate thread so we can keep this discussion about the cost of INGREDIENTS and not about the equipment.

 

[zzzman74]

Thank you everyone for the comments about MrBeer being low quality. I get that. To each his own, right? My in laws are happy with MrBeer. My wife and I even enjoyed the taste and process of MrBeer for the few batches we've done. Some folks here may despise it because they've developed in the hobby and I respect that. But that's not what I'm here to discuss. Let's discuss COSTS.

 

[agrazela]

I think it depends where you live. Around here, any half-decent craft ale is up to at least $10-$12 a sixer. Cost-wise I can beat that all day long.

 

[kombat]

I buy my grain and hops in bulk through our local homebrew club, so my cost for a light, blonde 10 gallon batch would look something like this:

• 15 lbs base grain (@ $0.54/lb) = $8.10
• 2 lb specialty malt (@ $1/lb during OBK's "Thirsty Thursdays" special) = $2
• 3 oz hops (@ $0.75/oz) = $2.25
• Washed/reused yeast, DME for starter = $2
• Propane = $4
• StarSan, Oxyclean, Camden tablet, gelatin, Irish moss, electricity, CO2, other = $3

That works out to around $20 for 10 gallons, or $0.25/pint.

For a big, hoppy beer like a double IPA, it might look like this:

• 30 lbs base grain (@ $0.54/lb) = $16.20
• 2 lb specialty malt (@ $1/lb during OBK's "Thirsty Thursdays" special) = $2
• 2 lb dextrose = $2
• 12 oz hops (@ $0.75/oz) = $9
• Washed/reused yeast, DME for starter = $4
• Propane = $4
• StarSan, Oxyclean, Camden tablet, gelatin, Irish moss, electricity, CO2, other = $3

That works out to around $40 for 10 gallons, or $0.50/pint. Obviously more expensive, but not exactly comparable to Coors Light. When compared to a comparable craft beer, $0.50/pint for an 8%, delicious, bitter, super-hoppy Imperial IPA is what you call a "bargain."

 

[zzzman74]

1. what the bare minimum costs are to get into all grain brewing. What are the essential pieces of equipment and their costs? I'm only talking the BARE MINIMUM to make an all grain batch. Do not include costs of ingredients.

Obviously, costs can skyrocket from there into professional brewery level set ups.

2. Now that you've shared the BARE MINIMUM cost, I'd like to know what items you'd say are the things that you don't technically NEED but make the process safer, faster, easier and which you'd recommend any beginner brewer to get from the start. Please give ideas on cost for those items.

 

[zzzman74]

Kombat, that was an excellent and very helpful explanation. Thank you.

I also totally respect the idea brought up above about the enjoyment of the hobby being "worth" something. I agree completely, but for the purposes of this discussion I want to compare straight apples to apples. What's a good craft beer cost and how much does your home brew version cost in comparison.

 

[Jayhem]

Most serious homebrewers are going to say you won't save money by going all grain.

Well, I disagree. I brew 11 gallon All-Grain batches exclusively and so far I've brewed at least 300 gallons of beer this way. My equipment cost to date is around $1,500 (I made most of my stuff myself). So even if I figure in the equipment costs that only adds 40 cents/bottle which gets lower with every batch. I can brew 11 gallons (about 110 bottles) of 1.045-1.050 OG beer for $25-$30 in ingredients and propane cost (27 cents a bottle), so...

Even when I weigh in my equipment investment I'm paying about $0.70/bottle or $8.40 for a 12-pack of high quality homebrews and that cost will go down with each batch I make as the initial equipment cost is continually being offset.

 

[mtnagel]

Look into BIAB. Most likely you can start with your current equipment and a very inexpensive mesh bag. Some people use cheap paint strainer bags, but I went with a custom bag from Wilsnerbrewer on here for ~$20. I love doing BIAB and don't have any plans to upgrade my setup to a more typical AG setup.

 

[zzzman74]

I've made some basic MrBeer kits and have been pleased with the flavor of the beer but not the low alcohol content. MrBeer has very recently launched some "advanced" recipes that use more malt extract and have higher end alcohol content. But the cost of those kits is significantly more. I wonder if anyone's tried these "ADVANCED RECIPES"? Any thoughts about quality, value, etc? Does this indicate MrBeer trying to become a more legitimate home brew kit?

 

[zzzman74]

Mtnagel, so your costs were essentially $20 for the bag plus a big lot which you had already at home?

 

[kombat]

What's a good craft beer cost and how much does your home brew version cost in comparison.

Around here (Ontario, Canada), a 6-pack of decent craft beer runs around $13 - $15 if bought in the liquor store ($2.50/bottle, around 70% of a pint), or $5-8/pint if bought in a restaurant. For something I can make myself for $0.50/pint.

 

[MichaelBrock]

EDIT: wow, not sure how I managed to post what used to be here in this particular thread. Definitely did not belong!

 

[Clonefan94]

It's definitely possible to save money brewing beer, vs. buying quality craft beer in the store. It's actually a discussion that's been argued at length on these boards. The big factor is to not count your time as a labor cost. Which then, takes it into the realm of a hobby. And in my opinion, that's really where it should be, a hobby.

I will admit though, cost was a factor of getting me into the hobby. When I first purchased a kegerator in the late 90s. I could get a half barrel of domestic beer for about $50. Over the years, obviously prices have gone up. When I bought a keg of Miller Lite, for a 4th of July party in 2012 and it cost me $102, I thought to myself, "For that price, I might as well be brewing my own and making quality beer that is more enjoyable to drink." so I started looking into it and brewed my first beer in August of 2012. And I haven't stopped yet.

The thing is though, it's literally become my golf or fishing. I enjoy the process of brewing as much as I enjoy drinking the end result. So really, other than the first couple of months, trying to figure out if it was possible to save money, I haven't really worried about it too much.

For me, I had the kegerator, just had to convert it to a 3 tap and buy some kegs. Made a wort chiller, converted a cooler I already had to a mash tun, used a scrap of oak to make a mash paddle. Really, the only things I purchased for actually brewing was a burner and a brew kettle.

Now I buy as much as I can in bulk. Sacks of grain at a time, pounds of hops at a time, so strictly talking ingredients, my average to low gravity beers are probably costing me about $20 after I buy yeast and whatever specialty grains I need. So, compared to buying $10 - $12 six packs, I'm sure I'm saving a few bucks. But, as I said, for me, it really isn't about the cost. Even if it cost more to brew, I'd definitely be doing it because I enjoy the process, the fruits of my labor and the pride, when someone drinks one of my beers and asks, "Where can I get this, this is good." I say, "only here, I brew it myself."

My thoughts on not concering myself with saving money though, I think stem from wanting to brew the best beer possible. I'm not sure you can do that if you are constantly worried about saving a buck here or there in the process.

 

[Mojzis]

Keep in mind you can BIAB with a bag and an 8 ish gallon kettle. I haven't done that so here's the other route.

Needed:

Mash tun: DIY for about 65$
8g Kettle: Can buy cheap stainless or aluminum. (38-45 ish).
Another kettle or bucket, maybe from extract days (5g or more) to hold first and second runnings.
Mash paddle, plastic, stainless, wood. Plastic should be like 8$.
Some hoses to get things moving around, id say 15ft of 3/8 or 1/2 if you don't have any.

Nifty things to have:

Pump. Amazing thing to have. (150$)
Ball valve on kettle. (25$)
Counterflow chiller. (50$ DIY)
pH meter: (150$ after all the solutions) not necessary, but its a good step.

Keep in mind this is all useless without adequate fermentation practices. So I suggest a chest freezer or fridge (100$), ebay temp control unit (20$), stir plate (20$ DIY) and 2L flash (15$). That is if you cant withstand good temps in your brewery.

 

[Math0]

To have a nice setup, you will need at least a kettle with valve and maybe thermometer, burner and bag. You can add a mash tun and hot liquor tank later on. But kettle you can easily find a 8gal kettle for less than 120$, burner for 60-80 and bag for 10. About 200$ your good to go!

 

[TheZymurgist]

1. what the bare minimum costs are to get into all grain brewing. What are the essential pieces of equipment and their costs? I'm only talking the BARE MINIMUM to make an all grain batch. Do not include costs of ingredients.

Obviously, costs can skyrocket from there into professional brewery level set ups.

2. Now that you've shared the BARE MINIMUM cost, I'd like to know what items you'd say are the things that you don't technically NEED but make the process safer, faster, easier and which you'd recommend any beginner brewer to get from the start. Please give ideas on cost for those items.

What equipment do you currently have? Are you doing extract batches, or starting from scratch?

The first thing you want to think about is the batch size you'll want to do. Most people do 5 gallons, since you get more product with minimal increase in effort. You could also do as small as 1 gallon batches. The reason you need to decide this is that you don't want to be fermenting a 1 gallon batch in a 5 gallon carboy. Too much head space, too much risk of infection and oxidation.

If you don't have a decent sized pot, you want to look at getting around a 5 gallon pot to be sure you can boil without risking boil overs. If you're making a 5 gallon batch, you could always boil 3 gallons, and top up with water in the fermenter.

Other than a pot and fermenter, the other essential pieces of equipment would be a hydrometer, racking cane, bottle capper, and grain bag.

You should be able to get into all grain for less than $50.

 

[MrHadack]

This is the best estimate I can give you:

10 Gallon Igloo Cooler: $45
Hardware to convert said cooler to mash tun: $20 at a hardware store (instructions everywhere online)
10 Gallon Brew Kettle: This will vary. Some have built-in spouts, others don't. But since we're doing a bare-minimum set-up, I'd say go with a 10 gallon pot without a spout. $50
Immersion Chiller: Not ESSENTIAL, I guess. You can always sit the brew kettle in an ice bath and stir for an hour. So consider this optional. $50
Fermentation Bucket / Airlock: $20

I'm assuming you already have the necessary equipment to bottle (bottling wand, bottling bucket) as well as thermometers, hydrometer for measuring gravity, etc.

So as a REALLY rough estimate, $135 - $185 depending on whether you get the chiller or not. You can build your own, but I'm not sure how much that would cost.

 

[zzzman74]

Clone fan, I would be happy to drop money into equipment and in the end make my own beer at an equal or lower cost than buying commercial craft beer. Thanks. I'm feeling good about this already.

 

[mtnagel]

Mtnagel, so your costs were essentially $20 for the bag plus a big lot which you had already at home?

Assuming "lot" is supposed to be "pot", yes I already had a 10 gal pot I was using for extract brews. A 10 gal pot will allow you to do basically any beer you want in a 5 gal batch. I've done all the way from 2.5 - 6 gal batches with ABV from 5 to 10.5%.

Here's where I got the bag. I lied, his username is wilserbrewer. I'd highly recommend his bags. I've done 11 batches with it and I don't see any reason it wouldn't last a very long time.

I'd also recommend a grill grate like this one. There are lots of methods for dealing with draining the bag. You can use a rope and tie it to the ceiling or step ladder, but I've found the grate to work great. You lift the bag and then put the grate over the pot and under the bag and then let the wort drain in the pot.

If you don't have a lid for your pot, you will need one to help control mash temperatures. I already had one so I didn't have to buy it.

Those are basically the only things I've bought to go from extract to all grain.

 

[revdrmr]

I would say get two 5 gallon drink coolers from Home Depot for $20 each (total $40) replace one of the coolers spigot with a brass 1/2 ball valve, 1/2 - 2-1/2 nipple, 1/2 - 3/8 barb, 1/2 lock nut, 2 X 1/2 washers, 2 X red O-Ring, and make a bazooka screen out of a reinforced Stainless steel hose. Total with tax is under $100. And you have a pretty solid all grain setup for batch sparging.

As for a brew kettle, try to get as big of a pot as possible (8 gallon minimum) or several small pots and boil all the liquid, about 6-6.5 gallons if you sparge properly.