Cost of making home brew

[Hopheader]

Personally I never did this to save money, but as a way to spend money on something productive. My rig cancels out any savings that I could have seen.

I saw someone had a signature file here once something along the lines of:

"I got into homebrewing to SAVE money?!?!?!"

As for the time, factor. Very valuable advice. In any line of 'work', always ask:
"what is my time worth?"

If you have 6-8 hours to spend getting a batch of beer happening to the point of an 'all wort' kit, all the power to ya.

 

[snipper_cr]

I am just going to mirror what everyone has said.

Supplies wise, I was actually surprised to find that when all was said and done, it was actually slightly cheaper than a GOOD pack of beer. Plus I get to actually have the fun of brewing, racking (and the not so fun bottling). I did not get into this to save money on beer. I went into this for the fun hobby of brewing!

Once you figure in equipment, its considerably more expensive and will take quite a few years to recoup your losses. But I dont think there are many (if any) who started home brewing to save money. I've actually gotten most of my equipment and books as gifts.

 

[Hopheader]

If I may, I'd like to also point out THIS cost factor:Home Brewing prevents the infinite cost savings from not being forced into consuming plain, boring, inferior tasting commercial product!

That said, of course, there are MANY, many fine commercial beers. But when you get to the point where you can tailor your own brewing to reflect what you like in a beer and perhaps clone a favourite, you've just become very valuable to yourself.

And: if one really wanted to: factor in energy and water costs in brewing. Not exactly a green industry. I truly feel bad about my use of water sometimes...



Then I have a couple 650ml hefeweizens and feel just fine.

:fro:

 

[homebrewer_99]

For me, time is not a measurable factor because it is a hobby. If it were a job that would be totally different.

Another plus is drinking at home...no D&D/cops to worry about.

 

[petep1980]

I did a pretty crude calculation once of the actual cost of brewing my beer and came up with a pretty good ratio of ingredients:labor:equipment for extract batches. This is valuing my time at $10/hour, and assuming a standard gravity 5.5 gallon batch.

So you're looking at about $90 for 54 beers. Of course if you consider it's a hobby you can take out $30 for labor and now you're at $60 for for 54 hand-crafted homemade beers. You can't beat that.

I haven't done all grain costs yet, but I'm sure labor as a percentage of the final cost goes through the roof making it almost a couple black hole if you want to really get into the nitty gritty.


You're still getting beer VASTLY superior to anything considered BMC and I believe greatly superior to any crafts or imports.

 

[jbeauchamp]

One of the best things about brewing is the fact that I have up to 4 good beers on tap and I don't have to go to the pub. When I go to the pub, I usually spend $50 easily. I don't drink the cheap beers on special. I drink the high quality beers. With that being said, I can brew 5 gallons of beer for around $25. I do all grain but buy all my ingredients at the LHBS as I don't have a mill. That means I could brew 10 gallons for each trip to the pub. I am not in the hobby to save money, but when I look at it that way, it is great. Not to mention sitting in the garage drinking beer instead of driving after drinking $50 worth of beer. Way safer for everyone.

 

[chuggs]

I started in the hobby back in '91...and honestly I wanted more than anything to disprove the accepted adage of the time "Forget about making Beer! It's too hard to do right...make Wine instead".

Charlie Papazians THEN NEW COMPLETE JOY OF HOMEBREWING, empowered me to believe I COULD make good beer. Of course, I crunched the numbers. It's always easy to RATIONALIZE a new hobby when you prove to yourself you can actually SAVE money!

I bought one of those white platic pail kits, Bottling Bucket, Lid with air lock hole, Hydrometer, Racking Cane, bottling wand, tubing, capper, caps, air lock, floating thermometer. I also bought a Canned "Kit" beer...and dry yeast packet. Long story short...I made some of the most god awful stuff I've ever tasted. I gave the hobby a good go...but if you try too hard to save money...you make bad beer. It wasn't unusual to make beer by mixing LME and a bunch of corn sugar (cheap) and pitch dry yeast... And you'd come up with some pretty rank tasting beer like substance. Suppliers today realize that quality is important...so most KITs include pure DME or LME for the base...and have steeping grains and quality hops...and usually direct you toward a quality liquid yeast. My son, who started brewing two years ago in Gainesville, FL...started with a Ginger Beer Kit from the LHBS. His first attempt was fantastic!

After 5 attempts at making extract brew...I finally approached an all-grain brewer in our club. He agreed to teach me all-grain brewing IF I would bring enough ingredients over to make 10 gals... He'd keep 5 gals as "tuition" for the course. It was the best investment in time and ingredients I've ever made. My results improved dramatically! My all-grain setup started out on the cheap. Cooler, false bottom made from drilling holes in a peice of plexiglass, a bottleing spigot in place of the normal drink cooler faucet. A converted keg. A cajun cooker. Glass Carboys.

Quaility Ingredients, Quaility Yeast, and fermenting at the proper temperature (which in South Florida means getting an extra fridge (room temp is 78 most of the year)...are probably the most important factors of making good beer.

You'll keep on adding things. Grain Mill, Keg System, Kegerator, Jockey Box, Chill coil, you might even go over the top completely and make a computer controlled HERMS system with multiple burner, elements, PID's, Pumps, heat exchangers, hopbacks...and wind up spending a fortune. But it's all done in the spirit of making quality hand crafted beer.

I love to drink Guinness. It's over $5 a pint in restaurants. So if I consume a KEG (50L, 13.2 US gal) that would be over $422 plus tips. If I buy my own Keg...it cost $160 plus tax...or about $1.88 per pint (IMP Pint 20oz) and I don't have to tip myself. If I homebrew my own clone of Guinness...it costs around .65 per pint...and I could go cheaper by repitching my yeast...or buying bulk grains/hops. But when you compare .65 for a Pint of Guinness...to $5 a pint...you reward yourself with every satisfying swig! by saving money.

You can spend almost any amount on equipment... Consumables are an expense...the rest of the stuff...you can probably sell for almost as much as you paid for it. Most of my brewing equipment is worth as much today, or more, as when I bought it. I handed down a bunch of it, when my son started brewing...and had to buy more for myself.

If you're like me...the only regret you'll have after starting to homebrew is... I don't have enough time to brew as much as I'd like to...and I can't possibly go to every party that I'm invited to attend...(If you homebrew...you're always invited to every party --- if you bring some homebrew)

 

[northernlad]

Doh! Haha, was that statement = "if one is buying DME at those prices, one is taking it...?"

I'm not buying DME personally, have only ever bought 1lb in the past 15 years and that was for bottle priming. I've done kits up until the past year and has been mainly all-grain and kits since then.

But, yes, those are for 500g (just over 1lb) packages of DME. The price is correct. Unfortunately.

Nevermind, I just realized you are in Canada. $11/lb is probably about right.

 

[homebrewer_99]

...valuing my time at $10/hour,...

I make $40/hour now...but I wouldn't quadruple my cost for that reason...

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

One big money saver for me is that I never bought anything i don't still use. Even after expanding my operation to a small degree, everything i ever bought still has a place in the system somewhere. I like to think i plannned it that way, but in retrospect, it was still more luck than judgement. I dare say that things will change when I finally go electric, but even then I can still think of practical uses for the old propane burner.

I LOVE this hobby!

 

[dantodd]

I think we call all agree that the equipment is the sticking point economically and that the ingredients are actually much cheaper than buying finished beer.

Therefore the solution is clear. The more your drink the more you save. So brew more beer.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I think we call all agree that the equipment is the sticking point economically and that the ingredients are actually much cheaper than buying finished beer.

Therefore the solution is clear. The more your drink the more you save. So brew more beer.

I've already figured out where I make my savings....I just didn't want to be the first to say!

 

[bob1852]

since Bobby_M hasn't posted here yet - I'll steal some of his thoughts.

If you want to account for true price, you need to include 1) your time, 2) energy expensed (propane), 3) water, 4) mason jars to wash yeast, etc....

not just the cost of your equipment and ingredients.....

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

since Bobby_M hasn't posted here yet - I'll steal some of his thoughts.

If you want to account for true price, you need to include 1) your time, 2) energy expensed (propane), 3) water, 4) mason jars to wash yeast, etc....

not just the cost of your equipment and ingredients.....

I always take everything into consideration.....But mason jars? I use coffee jars. Do I have to account for the price of packaging when we bought the coffee?

Realistically, there has to be a cut off point before it gets ridiculous.

 

[Bildo]

Well guys thanks for all the advice, being the thrifty guy I am I was looking at a way to save money on carboys, and my grandpa happened to look at my computer and said "huh.. I've got four or five of those things in the basement..." I pretty much threw my laptop and ran downstairs to check. I might also be getting some cheap hoses to syphon beer out of the carboys, we make water filters at work and some hoses didn't look good enough to use! Now I've just got to find the other stuff I need to make a cheap setup. Maybe I'll make it a goal to get everything under $50, just for a challenge.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Well guys thanks for all the advice, being the thrifty guy I am I was looking at a way to save money on carboys, and my grandpa happened to look at my computer and said "huh.. I've got four or five of those things in the basement..." I pretty much threw my laptop and ran downstairs to check. I might also be getting some cheap hoses to syphon beer out of the carboys, we make water filters at work and some hoses didn't look good enough to use! Now I've just got to find the other stuff I need to make a cheap setup. Maybe I'll make it a goal to get everything under $50, just for a challenge.

Great news!! But honestly, buy new hose. That's dirt cheap and not to be skimped on. Great news on the carboys though! You owe Grandpa a beer!

 

[Bildo]

Great news!! But honestly, buy new hose. That's dirt cheap and not to be skimped on. Great news on the carboys though! You owe Grandpa a beer!

I'd give him a beer, but he only drinks corn wine!

 

[bob1852]

Realistically, there has to be a cut off point before it gets ridiculous.

point taken - but if you want "true costs" you really need to add up everything.

You add the cost of the coffee when you bought it (and the ratio of gas used to go to the store), but then subtract what an used coffee can would cost if you bought an empty used one soley for the purpose of brewing. pffffffftttttt. you call me rediculous?

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

you call me rediculous?

No, I call you a bad spellar!

 

[beerocd]

point taken - but if you want "true costs" you really need to add up everything.

You add the cost of the coffee when you bought it (and the ratio of gas used to go to the store), but then subtract what an used coffee can would cost if you bought an empty used one soley for the purpose of brewing. pffffffftttttt. you call me rediculous?

And don't forget to figure out the square footage you are using while brewing and amortize it into the cost per bottle of beer? Same goes for fermenting and equipment storage areas. And add in the time you are using to calculate how much time and money the beer is costing; and research time on HBT and other sites. Homebrewing sounds like a black hole money pit. You should all quit.

-OCD

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

And don't forget to figure out the square footage you are using while brewing and amortize it into the cost per bottle of beer? Same goes for fermenting and equipment storage areas. And add in the time you are using to calculate how much time and money the beer is costing; and research time on HBT and other sites. Homebrewing sounds like a black hole money pit. You should all quit.

-OCD

This reminds me of the self employed days when I used to claim a tax deductable for my border collie and her food because she was a "guard dog".

In all fairness, I never got burgled!

 

[Hopheader]

I started in the hobby back in '91...and honestly I wanted more than anything to disprove the accepted adage of the time "Forget about making Beer! It's too hard to do right...make Wine instead"...
I bought one of those white platic pail kits, Bottling Bucket, Lid with air lock hole, Hydrometer, Racking Cane, bottling wand, tubing, capper, caps, air lock, floating thermometer. I also bought a Canned "Kit" beer...and dry yeast packet. Long story short...I made some of the most god awful stuff I've ever tasted. I gave the hobby a good go...but if you try too hard to save money...you make bad beer. It wasn't unusual to make beer by mixing LME and a bunch of corn sugar (cheap) and pitch dry yeast... And you'd come up with some pretty rank tasting beer like substance.

Chuggs! We must be long-lost brothers! That was exactly my experience and reason for switching exclusively to wine between 94 and 07.

Now I can say in the past two years, I've made two bad batches of beer that I've dumped. (my last two batches coincidentally enough...). What is a harsh coincidence? Batch A was... a canned LME kit. Dry yeast. I took it to my local brew club and after many brewers confirmed it had several problems, one guy handed me the bottle and proclaimed it "TWFBIET" (the worst f... beer I've ever tasted). I agreed.

(second bad batch was reusing a yeast from another brewer, on a third go-round after different styles of beer had been on it)

p.s. Mind telling which Guinness clone you are using? I'm still searching for 'the grail' as I go toward making my first batch this fall of the dark goodness.

-J

 

[Hopheader]

Nevermind, I just realized you are in Canada. $11/lb is probably about right.

Hahaha, yeah, considering it is about a 93 cent dollar right now conversion rate.

 

[Hopheader]

I might also be getting some cheap hoses to syphon beer out of the carboys, we make water filters at work and some hoses didn't look good enough to use! Now I've just got to find the other stuff I need to make a cheap setup. Maybe I'll make it a goal to get everything under $50, just for a challenge.

yeah, remember the golden rule that cleanliness is next to goodliness.
If you must go 'used equipment of unknown origin/age', clean clean clean and then clean some more. And scrub/use brushes where you can. And then sanitize.

And good luck to ya!

 

[Hopheader]

And don't forget to figure out the square footage you are using while brewing and amortize it into the cost per bottle of beer? Same goes for fermenting and equipment storage areas. And add in the time you are using to calculate how much time and money the beer is costing; and research time on HBT and other sites. Homebrewing sounds like a black hole money pit. You should all quit.

-OCD

Priceless!

Thanks for that, OCD. That was a true LOL moment as the kids say.
Yeah, what's the cost of my laptop battery and carbon footprint when it is done and spent and sitting in a landfill/recycle station?



brew on! brew happy!

 

[olllllo]

You can joke all you want about not counting labor from the equation, but let me ask you this: Can I give you $20 (or whatever your batch cost) for the pleasure of coming to your house and dumping your beer?

Clearly not. That batch has exceeded the cost of it's constituents because of the value of the time that you put in it. So what is the amount of money that you will accept for me to dump your beer?

That is the labor cost... the amount of money that you will accept to compensate you for your time brewing.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

FYI- my 6-pack goes to $15.05 currently when I add in my labor cost. I charge $15/hour for my time when brewing.

 

[Bobby_M]

You can joke all you want about not counting labor from the equation, but let me ask you this: Can I give you $20 (or whatever your batch cost) for the pleasure of coming to your house and dumping your beer?

Clearly not. That batch has exceeded the cost of it's constituents because of the value of the time that you put in it. So what is the amount of money that you will accept for me to dump your beer?

That is the labor cost... the amount of money that you will accept to compensate you for your time brewing.

Rob, man.. they sucked you in. Must....resist.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

It really is an easy thing to keep track of. I keep a spread sheet and enter anything related to brewing into it. I then keep a running tally of gallons brewed overall. A couple quick equations and I have a number of how much my beer costs. If you want to factor in labor cost, just take whatever amount you would accept if this were a real job multiplyu that by your average brewday time (total), and add it to whatever volume of beer you were making.

If you don't want to count labor, don't count it, but understand it is still costing you.

 

[olllllo]

Rob, man.. they sucked you in. Must....resist.

Someone will take me up on it. I have a crisp $20 and unlimited flight benefits. Point me to your barleywine.