Cost of Home Brewing

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I don't know where you guys get extract but its like 5 bucks a pound most places I have seen. My lhbs has basic kits for like 50 bucks. Yeah you can get them online for 30 but you can't forget about the shipping!

I just switched to grain because ultimately I want to make big beer. Try pricing out an imperial IPA in DME. Forget about it.

it all depends on the lhbs, we are in the same state but my lhbs charges 2 bucks a pound for lme. Funny I think the lme prices are better than their grain prices which is why I buy 55# sacks. You can save a lot by reusing yeast, I can get 7-8 generations from one purchase.
 
my lhbs charges a flat $2 for grains, yeast and hops, but he also doesn't measure the yeast or charge tax.
 
As for all grain being cheaper, it only is if you buy your grain in bulk. If you buy your grain per batch, you aren't saving anything.

Disagree. Ruination Clone

DME: 8 lbs x $3.10 (Rebel Brewer - cheapest I've seen) = $24.80
AG: 14 lbs 2-Row x $1.16 (Rebel Brewer) = $16.25

There's no doubt that AG is more time-consuming, but it's also cheaper.
 
Disagree. Ruination Clone

DME: 8 lbs x $3.10 (Rebel Brewer - cheapest I've seen) = $24.80
AG: 14 lbs 2-Row x $1.16 (Rebel Brewer) = $16.25

There's no doubt that AG is more time-consuming, but it's also cheaper.

I agree with this. The day is longer but for the smart buyer, all grain is cheaper per recipe. Just go to Brewmasters wareshouse.com and use their brewbuilder to demonstrate this fact.
 
The better and bigger the beer that you make....the more you will save.

That being said...I'm always building or adding something on to my brewery so this isn't about saving money for me (Although that isn't what I told SWMBO)...it's fun, I like drinking my own beer and being self suffcient.
 
Disagree. Ruination Clone

DME: 8 lbs x $3.10 (Rebel Brewer - cheapest I've seen) = $24.80
AG: 14 lbs 2-Row x $1.16 (Rebel Brewer) = $16.25

There's no doubt that AG is more time-consuming, but it's also cheaper.

It's probably worth noting that the time you spend on an AG brew day could be accounted for in dollar amounts making both just about equal.

Some of you are lucky enough to have the time to spend on an AG brew day (i certainly envy you). I would venture most of us have way too many hobbies as it is and extract is our only option unless we were to abandon other hobbies. For me, my other time consuming hobby is Worship service production. That's a time killer in it's own right! Still love it though.
 
If you have the time to do it, then the labor is free. I have the benefit of not having to cut myself a paycheck for my own time. If you have to cut out other things, then it is probably not worth it. Extract will still be cheaper than buying good beer.
 
It's probably worth noting that the time you spend on an AG brew day could be accounted for in dollar amounts making both just about equal.

This has been done ad nauseum regarding homebrewing vs. buying commercial. For most people, homebrewing is a hobby, not an alternative to a paying job. I come home from a 9-5 job and brew some nights. Can I really dollarize that time? Is brewing really interfering with me making money during that time? My answer to both is no.

Plus, a lot of the extra AG time is waiting for the sacch rest (be it 60 or 90 minutes)...I sometimes go for a run, work out, cook, do whatever during that time period...it's not like I'm busting my butt.
 
I tell you what, if it's so nauseating then maybe you shouldn't talk about it. I wouldn't want you feeling sick or anything. For those of us that still think personal opinions can be shared on a forum based around opinions, we'll keep giving them.
 
The equipment you buy will also most likely work for your lifetime and still have value should you decide to stop brewing and want to sell it. I think the problem is you keep wanting to upgrade to better and better equipment to make better faster beer.
 
That sounded like an opinion to me? And even the implied opinion that people who do this, do it because they love it, not to save money (perk!). He just said that he wasn't personally chained to his pot while brewing all grain, making calculating a dollar amount for his time negligible.
 
If you use DME instead of liquid extract. i believe you can buy in bulk, store it longer, and it will not go bad. Buying ingredients individually instead of getting an ingreedients kit is cheaper, once you go to recipies. I just made the switch. If you list out the ingredients in the kit you buy, you can make it yourself next time (the kits I bought don't list the specific hops or yeast strain included). Also, your beer will improve because the grains haven't been sitting, crushed, in a plastic bag for who knows how long.
 
Thanks everyone! I definitely love brewing and will continue to brew for brewing's sake. I buy my kits from a home brew stores in CT. I just had heard time and time again that home brewing was cheaper than purchasing beer already made. When I started brewing I did the math and found it to be about the same price so I thought I must have been doing something wrong. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I hope to go all grain someday but I don't think I'm ready for it yet.

If you are spending $0-70 a kit you are doing it wrong. I typically spend about $25-40 per batch depending on the beer. I can make a good American Wheat for about $25. The higher priced beers I make are when I use liquid yeast and usually are higher gravity.

Check out kits online from Midwest Supplies, Northern Brewer and Austin Homebrew Supply. They all have good kits and are reasonably priced.
 
When I started in this hobby my curiosity (and anal retentiveness) made me keep track of every penny I have spent on it and everything that I have physically gotten out of it.

I started my first brew on March 17, 2011. Since then I have received 412 12 ounce bottles of drinkable results. I have spent $774.13 on everything, including all of my equipment, chemicals, ingredients, experiments (infected :(), shipping, tax, etc. This comes out to $1.88 per bottle. (Also consider that I don't use the entirety of everything I buy.. I still have lots of hops, extract, StarSan, cleaners, etc. on hand, so technically the cost per bottle would be slightly less. I don't consider cost of electricity so we'll call it even.)

To get comparable beer in town usually costs somewhere in the vicinity of $2 - $6 per bottle. Much, much more for higher gravity beers. The way I see it, I am saving money and the savings will only get better the more I brew. Not only that, but I enjoy it.
 
The equipment you buy will also most likely work for your lifetime and still have value should you decide to stop brewing and want to sell it. I think the problem is you keep wanting to upgrade to better and better equipment to make better faster beer.

Except of course your hydrometer. Just broke my first one last week :mad:
 
I'm brewing a Northern Brown Ale this weekend. Total cost if I walked to my LHBS and purchased everything of the shelf. $16.52. Because I buy in bulk, and haverst my yeast, total cost when all factors including DME for yeast starter and water treatment is figured in, $9.90. That's less than $1.50 a 6 pack with packaging included.


(Of course I turned around and spent $45 on a new stir plate.)
 
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