Economical Brewing

[Airborneguy]

I don’t track energy costs but I’m fairly attention of my electricity because I drive an electric car. I have never noticed an uptick from brewing, even during “busy” months where I’ve banged out 4-5 batches.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

Any body track their energy usage (electricity, propane, natural gas, etc.) per batch? I have a feeling that energy cost will be about the same as the cost of supplies and yes, you can't count the cost of your time if it is a hobby.

I use natural gas (in the UK) as I do stove top and on brew day two days ago I used a total of £1.74 in gas (I have a smart meter and app), which includes cooking and shower. So must have been around a pound for the brewing gas, about $1.25. $1.50 tops.

 

[mac_1103]

I never noticed an uptick in my natural gas bill when I used to brew on my stove top. Propane is the most expensive energy you can use to brew, but the easiest to track. I'm still on my first 15 lb tank since moving outdoors four or five batches ago, so we're talking less than $4 a batch and still dropping.

 

[Agent]

Any body track their energy usage (electricity, propane, natural gas, etc.) per batch? I have a feeling that energy cost will be about the same as the cost of supplies and yes, you can't count the cost of your time if it is a hobby.

By calculation, my 5500w element running full out (which it doesn't) for two hours at $0.14/kwhr would total $1.54/10 gallon batch. Which I don't even pay since my solar covers 90% of my usage.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

If you use Beersmith and the inventory feature, you can load your cost of ingredients and it calculates what it costs to do individual brews, minus energy and equipment. It's not exact but pretty close. Kind of a clunky system, but fun to play with, more from the inventory side vs. costs.

 

[WesBrew]

Where are you guys getting your ingredients?
I literally had to check (multiple time) if this post was 2023. I live in VT, and it seems nothing is cheap here. Shipping kills all of the deals for bulk stufff.
LHBS has decent prices on bulk grain, but only carry a few at a time and its over an hr round trip.

I usually buy semi-bulk from MoreBeer and take advantage of the free shipping deal.

 

[mac_1103]

I usually buy semi-bulk from MoreBeer and take advantage of the free shipping deal.

"Semi-bulk"? It looks like size larger than 1 3 lb aren't eligible for free shipping.

 

[redrocker652002]

Having just looked at Morebeer, a 55lb sack of 2 row is 48.00 with out tax. And they note it does not qualify for free shipping. If I was to go this route, I would probably have to drive to the store and buy it there. Only good thing in that is I can look at all the shiny new stuff they have that I cannot afford. LOL.

 

[kurds_2408]

Yeah a bag from RiteBrew is $53 for shipping to my house so $99 total. The $80 I paid yesterday was from my LHBS. He is a small store that doesn’t do tons of busines. Also he mostly only carries Rahr in the main grains which I’m just now discovering seems to be 10%-15% more expensive for a sack everywhere I look.

 

[z-bob]

Yeah a bag from RiteBrew is $53 for shipping to my house so $99 total. The $80 I paid yesterday was from my LHBS. He is a small store that doesn’t do tons of busines. Also he mostly only carries Rahr in the main grains which I’m just now discovering seems to be 10%-15% more expensive for a sack everywhere I look.

See if your LHBS will add a sack of whatever malt you want to his next order and tell him you're fine with waiting for it. That's what I used to do when I wanted something that my LHBS didn't have. (not just whole sacks, but a pound or 2 of weird specialty malt too) I assume it's actually a good deal for them because they get their markup without it taking up shelf space waiting to sell.

 

[Franktalk]

Great thread! I agree that the key to inexpensive brewing these days is buying grain in bulk. I have a maltster nearby. I think you could save on hops too, if you could limit how many hops you use. You can buy by the pound for less than half of what you pay for one or two ounces at a time. The reason I say limit how many is because if you buy different hops every time you brew, you will end up with a freezer full of opened hop packages (I know from experience). Figure out what hops you could brew all the beers that you like and only buy them by the pound; then, you might save on bulk hops.

 

[DuncB]

Factoring in the other consumables such as CO2, yeast nutrients, salts, finings bottle tops, electricity and cleaning fluids is very easy to do in brewfather. Surprisingly they all add up but tend to be a fixed amount per batch, however once the numbers are in the program the data is just churned out.
Certainly a parti gyle beer after a high gravity ale is

I do not factor in my time otherwise I might find the beer suddenly is very expensive!

 

[DuncB]

Speaking to a local brewery they were paying 24 dollars a kilo for hops.
I pay about ten dollars for a hundred grammes from lhbs.
I will be buying in bulk.

 

[WesBrew]

"Semi-bulk"? It looks like size larger than 1 3 lb aren't eligible for free shipping.

I put 2 10# bags in my cart and 6# Dme . Free shipping applied. The 55# sacks do not ship free

 

[mac_1103]

OK, I'm getting free shipping on 10 lb bags now. But 5 of those is still more than I'd pay for a 55 lb sack at the LHBS.

 

[t^3]

Good thread. I too am cheap.. I have really saved on my CO2 refills by using fermentation gas to purge dry hop and serving kegs. I also save "empty" serving kegs with the pressure still in them to push beer from a fermenter keg to dry hop keg and then to serving keg. Not only saves money but is a green process.
A couple years back when the GMO yeasts came out that released bound thiols I looked at it as maybe a cheap way to make NEIPA. A pound of more of the expensive hops really drive the cost up. I read a lot online, tried several yeasts, made several batches. Tried several offerings at local breweries. My conclusion was that I just don't like thiols. Others may find a way to make them work.

 

[Langerz]

Factoring in the other consumables such as CO2, yeast nutrients, salts, finings bottle tops, electricity and cleaning fluids is very easy to do in brewfather. Surprisingly they all add up but tend to be a fixed amount per batch, however once the numbers are in the program the data is just churned out.
Certainly a parti gyle beer after a high gravity ale is

I do not factor in my time otherwise I might find the beer suddenly is very expensive!

Do you put those items into Brewfather as misc ingredients? I do track cost somewhat losely but I miss a lot things like the ones you mentioned. I do keep (again loosely) track of "capital costs" which is mainly equipment but if I buy more Star San I usually list it there (often forget).

In the end I'm not really doing this to save cost so it isn't a big deal, but also find it interesting to think about it (the engineer in me). I have been tracking my investment vs what I "save" per batch (I'll compare to the cost of a similar store bought beer). Again I don't do pay enough attention to be real accurate, but mainly to joke that my brewery will be in the black in 5 years of whatever (assuming I stop buying stuff - unlikely).

On bulk grain at least where I live the shipping cost of 55lb bags has always made that route worse than buying 10 5lb bags from MoreBeer with free shipping.

 

[WesBrew]

55# sacks may be best through lhbs if it’s close. I had one local brewer offer to get an extra sack for me at his cost but I don’t have room to store it. Maybe an option if you frequent a brewery

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I pretend the sunk costs don't exist. After that, it seems pretty cheap.

 

[Agent]

55# sacks may be best through lhbs if it’s close. I had one local brewer offer to get an extra sack for me at his cost but I don’t have room to store it. Maybe an option if you frequent a brewery

SWMBO would never* notice if you stuck it under the loveseat....

*maybe

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Hah! ^Beat me to it^

Lives next door to a distributor? Or a malt house?

They got your $46 dollar bag, no problemo.
Then there's the shipping cost

View attachment 836417

Cheers!

46 bucks, I best put my order in and get a bag or two.

 

[day_trippr]

Today our friendly neighborhood BSG connection dropped off my annual base malt buy: two bags each of Simpsons GP, Weyermann Pilsner and Briess Brewer's Malt, for just over a buck a pound. It's good to be connected

Cheers! (Thanks Niles @whosradl! )

 

[tdf]

If you want a great deal on hops ($3-4 a lb), yakima valley hops currently has some 2021 varieties on sale: 2021 Crop Closeout

 

[DuncB]

Do you put those items into Brewfather as misc ingredients? I do track cost somewhat losely but I miss a lot things like the ones you mentioned. I do keep (again loosely) track of "capital costs" which is mainly equipment but if I buy more Star San I usually list it there (often forget).

In the end I'm not really doing this to save cost so it isn't a big deal, but also find it interesting to think about it (the engineer in me). I have been tracking my investment vs what I "save" per batch (I'll compare to the cost of a similar store bought beer). Again I don't do pay enough attention to be real accurate, but mainly to joke that my brewery will be in the black in 5 years of whatever (assuming I stop buying stuff - unlikely).

On bulk grain at least where I live the shipping cost of 55lb bags has always made that route worse than buying 10 5lb bags from MoreBeer with free shipping.

Yes I put them in miscellaneous.
One way to accelerate that payback is to drink more.

 

[AzOr]

Don’t forget how easy it is to grow your own hops.
I’ve grown Saaz, Willamette and Cascade hops. More for entertainment than savings.

 

[khannon]

Don’t forget how easy it is to grow your own hops.
I’ve grown Saaz, Willamette and Cascade hops. More for entertainment than savings.

hehe.. yeah, I grow my own hops too.. problem is, after paying the neighborhood teen to harvest them(cause it sucks) I and up paying ~$40 for ~4-5lbs of cascade(3lb), saaz,, and some wilammette, and sorachi.. the "savings" mean me itchy for 3 days. and storing 4+ lbs of dried whole cone hops.. vs. buying the same in pellets, with half the freezer space.

The solution is a once a year "wet-hop" batch, where I do all the harvesting.. and Thank you, No.

on the malted Barley front, I used to buy from a local brewery all base grain at ~$1/lb, a club member then had a wholesale agreement with Muntons which was sweet as wholesale their barley was ~$.65/lb or less.. Muntons closed local distributorship, and I was still able to buy local malted grain(again all base malts) for ~$1.00-1.05/lb but they have a 500lb minimum, so still made for a group buy or buying base once per year..

On the yeast front.. those M/Fers are for nothing but reproduction.. Harvest away, keep your eyes on Milk the Funk(MILF), and any other propagation theories you can find.. (bootleg biology, many threads on this forum)

Attributing the hourly cost per brew as a hobby is easy, as long as you don't have the "dream" of opening a brewery... still at (MA) min wage, $15.00/hr for a 5-6 hr brew day(for a 10G/42L) still adds to the price per pint.

And let us forget the "sunk" cost of our equipment.. I get that amortized when you follow the spike "your liver will fail before our equipment" is insignificant, but drop a few G's in stainless equipment, and it's hard to not have it affect the $/pint.

I guess I've rambled a bit, and will now head on my way, but don't forget for all those economy brew, At home, use what you can, build what you can , and reluctantly buy the rest..

P.S.
No clue what my last brew cost.. I used to keep track ( keggle system electric,, house built including running all my own lines/breakers, Cheap-ass MF(literally just had a 4th child) here), but after a while, I know that I'm well below commercial costs, but only because I don't pay labor and packaging (and losses) cost.

There is a homebrew/commercial side here that if you think of it in a rational sense, does not play out.. The math does not add up until you hit like 15 barrels... There were a few ~2 barrel operations that opened and failed in my area recently. The math is still tough unless you ignore human labor and "sunk" equipment costs, so why try?

That being said..
Avid homebrewer, avid hobbyist, and "If I die, please don't let my wife sell my homebrew equipment for what I told her it cost" kind of guy,
Kevin

 

[redrocker652002]

Don’t forget how easy it is to grow your own hops.
I’ve grown Saaz, Willamette and Cascade hops. More for entertainment than savings.

Unfortunately my harvest hasn't been all that great. This is my second year and I hope year 3 will be better. Once I retire, I am hoping to get some property and get out of California, and maybe expand my crop. I agree they are a pain to harvest, but with some good rock and roll playing and a cold beer I can get by that part. LOL.

 

[Langerz]

Yes I put them in miscellaneous.
One way to accelerate that payback is to drink more.

Man I'm trying to accelerate that payback as much as I can.

Should I track medical bills and ibuprofen in miscellaneous as well?

 

[gaviga]

Being an Englishman who was weaned on Boddington's cask bitter in the late 70s and early 80s, i brew regular ordinary pale bitters and it's clear to me that the brewers of Boddington's perfected the art of low cost/high demand, very moreish beer. Dry, light, bitter, thirst quenching, ultimate session beer. The OG was only around 1.035/6, and hops were only used for bittering, bar perhaps a handful in the cask. And they just kept repitching their own yeast, of course.

I have gradually got better at making this type of beer, whilst also giving up on trying to replicate Boddingtons. I just do variations. I brewed a variation a couple of days ago, 20 litres (5.25 gallons) using just 2.6kg (approx 5.7 pounds) of grain and 200g of golden syrup, and 25g of cheap Pilgrim hops. Pale malt 65%, pilsner 20%, golden syrup 7%, carawheat 5%, cornmeal 3%.

I pitched a dry lager yeast, never used a lager yeast in this type of beer before. Total cost approx 9.50 GBP, or $12 ish. I should get the equivalent of about 50 x your 12 ounce measures from that.

I'm sure people do similar variations of this - a bit stronger i guess, add some late hops, use different yeasts. Saison falls into the same bracket, and a lot of session lagers. I guess cost reduction is mainly about hops, and re-using yeast.

Not sure I've added to the conversation, really! Just musing on how I have returned to my roots, and how a simple template enables me to produce quite a wide variety of simple session beers. Vary the hops, vary the yeast, use specialty malts.

Cheers!

Saisons are my go-to style for inexpensive and tasty beers. I can brew a 10 gallon batch for ~$25. That's 80 pints for around 35 cents a pint! And it's really delicious beer.

 

[Mr. Vern]

Posts like this reminds me of Bracc, the king of cheap brew.

Make friends or join a homebrew club that meets at a brewery. Often you will be able to tag along on bulk grain orders _AND_ if you are friendly with the brewer(s) they might call you and say "bring a container we are dumping yeast today". Shipping cost is minimal when you are one or two bags on a full pallet! (their order volume increases, money stays more local... yadda yadda yadda)

My brews average $.40-.50 / Pint last I cared to look.

In the late 90's when I worked at a brewery our cost per pint averaged around $0.12 and sold for a whopping $2.95!