Has anyone else plowed through their brew budget

[petep1980]

I went to a store today for beer. The local "have every beer imaginable" store. I ended up getting (2) SNPA - never had them. So many micros suck. I find it almost impossible to actually purchase beer anymore.

 

[homebeerbrewer]

That just made me think of something!

If each time I were about to go to the store for a 12 pack, I put that money in a jar in the fridge for homebrew goodies, things wouldn't be so bad!

I haven't started brewing yet, so I'm still having to buy beer at the store so that dough would go a long way for ingredients.

Depending on how much you drink, the money could go towards equipment too. I used to buy a 12 pack a week, so I'm no where close to breaking even. I am drinking a lot more that 12 a week now though, so maybe I did break even, I just haven't realized that yet.

 

[Demon]

I started out telling myself I would spend about $200 for equipment and that's enough. Now I have over $1000 in equipment, another $950 into the keezer and nearly $2000 into my new brew rig. This is all over the course of about a year and a half. Its a great hobby and SWMBO enjoys seeing me happy so I don't hear too much about it.

 

[ODP]

I hear ya- my problem is I work nights so I don't drink during the week. I do drink ALOT of Friday nights, but I'm dj'ing at the time. Luckily it's at a German Biergarden so they have LOTS of great beers on tap to choose from. I've been drinking alot of Optimator and Bitburger lately, which is good but I can't take homebrew with me!
I also drink on Saturdays, but it's usually on the river where I'm confined to beers in a can or alum. bottle. Grrrr....

When am I going to drink all this beer I'm going to make? I think I'll figure something out

 

[Paul_Aris]

I was looking at how much ingredients cost alone to do 10 gallon batches. My wife tells me "so thats pretty cheap in comparison to buying even 6 6 packs of a good micro brew".

The other problem I have is this is not my only hobby.

 

[petep1980]

Even if you don't buy bulk an extract batch is like $40. That's like $1/pint. The ingredients aren't the issue.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Budget? Ha!

All a budget is, is how much you can get the wife to agree to let you spend "this time". And when she doesn't agree, you spend twice that much anyway.

Yup, I was gonna say a similar thing. There is no budget. There is just the continual push to find new excuses and more creative BS on how the next purchase will save money in the long run.

Any Item that is, say $9.99 must remain $9.99. Never round it up to the $10 it really is. Women love that penny.

Honestly love, the more I buy, the cheaper it becomes. It's like a Macy's sale......Honestly.

But sweetheart! My cooler MLT can easily be restored for use as a regular cooler for our vacation. This is actually true, but if it does not convince her then mention that you were hoping to go to Barbados this year.

Dearest. I would like to stop homebrewing and just use that biker bar instead.

 

[masonsjax]

I just started this hobby. Began reading up in march, made my first batch may 3rd. Decided to go all grain and start kegging right away. I knew I would end up there anyway, so I figured it saves money spent in upgrades down the road. I still feel it was the right way to go, but yeah, the budget waved bye-bye real quick. Having to buy some stuff twice because of getting robbed by kegkits.com didn't help either. I had originally started tracking my expenses in a spreadsheet, but thought it might be best if I don't know the exact figures.
I just started buying hops in bulk, so I guess grain storage and a mill will be close behind.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

I've read discussions before that it is not about the cost because of reasons like: A) its a hobby and B) it saves you from buying other beer, etc. I choose to factor cost IN because I am spending the money on it. My motorcycle is my other hobby, but it is also one of my means of transportation and I'm going to track what I spend on it to make sure it is sustainable.

Brewing doesn't have to break the bank. Having only spent a year with hobby I have spent (hold your breath) ~$1845 in non-consumable items, many of them good deals! (16 kegs, 3 5# CO2 Tanks, 20# CO2 Tank, 8+faucets, 3 regulators, 15 gal pot, 15# Barleycrusher, foodsaver, 50 foot wort chiller, 6 carboys, 1 kegerator, 1 keezer, 10 gallon mash tun, etc.) These items add a cost of about a dollar per 12oz beer, at the amount I've currently brewed (~35, 5 gal batches.) Putting my costs at about $1.40 per beer with an average consumable price of 20 dollars per 5 gallon batch. The reason this consumable price is so low is because of many of these fixed costs (the barleycrusher and the foodsaver for starters.) My costs will continue to decrease the more a brew and the less non-consumable items I purchase (like that will happen)!!

Its all about perspective.

 

[Hambone]

there is no budget in brewing. I've gotten myself in the same situation as our government, spending more money than I have available.

 

[Brewin_CRAZY]

Haha, as my signiture says:
I dont home brew because im broke, im broke because I home brew...
It is not a cheap hobby, my two cents, once you have the equip its yours. No more buying unless you want to upgrade to larger brews. Good times!

 

[r3dn3ckstyl3z]

after i spent all of the money on my initial equip and ingredients the swmbo now give me an allowance on beer brewing supplies.... I make the paycheck and i'm on an allowance, lol....

 

[Arkador]

I spent about $500 on my keezer including everything to make it go VROOM with 4 kegs in it, in the last 3 months..

Unfortunatley, this had a side effect, because i don't have to bottle anymore, I have brewed more beer in the last 3 months that in the previous 3 years....

 

[jkarp]

See, the trick is to start with a really expensive hobby first. When I did high power rocketry, I'd easily sink $200 into propellent alone for a single flight. SWMBO thinks this brewing thing is a massive bargain.

 

[r3dn3ckstyl3z]

See, the trick is to start with a really expensive hobby first. When I did high power rocketry, I'd easily sink $200 into propellent alone for a single flight. SWMBO thinks this brewing thing is a massive bargain.

i don't have that luxury, lol...... i'm living on a military E-5 paycheck..... For some reason there is always more month than there is money.....

 

[Arkador]

See, the trick is to start with a really expensive hobby first. When I did high power rocketry, I'd easily sink $200 into propellent alone for a single flight. SWMBO thinks this brewing thing is a massive bargain.

My cousin built 2 bigh powered rocket.... we spent 6 months building our own electronics package for one, to fire a Pulse Jet engine 4 seconds after takeoff.. The cops were called when we test fired the engine (strapped to a pincic table, and forcefed by an air compressor)

the carbon fiber wings were ripped off a few seconds after the 2nd stage engine fired as it broke the sound barrier.

 

[thelorax121]

Spending more than half of my paychecks on this "hobby" every two weeks currently I guess that's my budget

 

[Whut]

If I had a budget I wouldn't have the equipment I have. All I do is discuss it with SWMBO and go from there. It's definatelly cheaper than the Harley was.

 

[daveotero]

I don't have a budget. I just buy things through my business account so SWMBO has no idea what is going on

+1 :rockin:

 

[sean6247]

I just started buying grain in bulk... That has lead to..

Grain storage ($50)
Kegging systesm ($300) I am getting sick of bottling and I am getting the fridge for free
Kegs to convert into keggle/fermenters ($200)
Frementing freezer ($150)(I live in north CA and it is getting up to 100+ degrees)
Temp Control ($80)

Then brewing in 10 gallon batches is going to open a whole other can of worms. I guess it is time to go out to the shed and find out what stuff can be sold to fund my not-so-new obsession.

 

[r3dn3ckstyl3z]

..............

 

[scinerd3000]

its an expensive hobby......not one for the cheap at heart

 

[THart]

Holy ****, you guys are nutz, more power to ya. The wife gives me the $60 start up (includes first batch kit) 13 yrs ago & I'd be surprised if I've spent much more than another $100 on equipment since & most of that is just relacement. Everytime I think of getting something new I end up going **** it, the beers already great, I'll just buy more ingredients.

 

[homebrewer_99]

My wife never complains about how much I spend.

I spent $525 on supplies (hardware) the week before last...she just said Happy Birthday...

She knows we have the money so it's no big deal.

I'm certain it would be a whole new ball game if I spent that AND stayed out at the bars and such, but I don't.

 

[jpc]

Seriously... Are that many people here really that pvssy-whipped that their spouse puts them on a budget? I work hard for my money, and I'll be damned if anyone tells me how to spend it. Better yet, my SWMBO doesn't tell me what to do with my money, and I don't tell her what to do with hers.

I guess I just don't understand...