home brewing costs - is it me?

[Hang Glider]

I didn't get into this to SAVE any money...it's a hobby and far cheaper than owning a BOAT! (boats don't suck, but they sure can suck money).

 

[mosquitocontrol]

I'm on my 20th extract batch and will soon break even including every piece of equipment I've bought (pots, tongs, spoons, everything). I've been keeping track of everything on excel spreadsheet as sort of an experiment. I'm using Heineken (what used to be my session beer) as the basis at about 1.15/bottle to be conservative. So 5 gallon batches range around 33 but net about $15-25 depending on how many bottles I get out. Haven't had a bad batch yet, so no losses there.

The key is to be disciplined and not buy more that you need. Also spread out your big purchases and don't move up the allgrain/kegging ladder too fast.

Before I we were probably spending 175/month on beer (yes, how else can you deal with a boring 8-7 office job) now we are down to 125/month on brewing supplies. Sounds like a good deal to me.

 

[bull8042]

......The key is to be disciplined and not buy more that you need. Also spread out your big purchases and don't move up the allgrain/kegging ladder too fast......

You SUCK! Right now, my beers are $8.46 per 12oz bottle! And unfortunately, this is NOT an exaggeration!

But I have had one heck of a ball getting to this point. Actually, that figure is off. I forgot to count to $450 I spent this week on kegging "stuff"....

 

[ewbish]

Homebrew homies - (sorry in advance for the long thread)

This by no means is meant to be a complaint thread but more of a sanity check.

I got into homebrewing because I really enjoy drinking beer, wanted to make my own through experimentation, share with friends/family and because I am intrigued by the process. A small part of me thought that I would be saving some cash -with the exception of equipment start up costs- by brewing my own vs. buying beer by the case. At any rate, I'm about to brew my 3rd batch, an IPA, and the cost of ingredients ended up being $68. My second batch, a Hefe, cost around $61 and my 1st batch was a kit at $34. I don't think there is much savings, in fact, I think it's little more expensive in some cases. I know if I get really into this, which I already see occuring, I can begin to buy ingredients in bulk and save some cash...but I'm not there yet.

Again, not complaining, just wondering if it's me or if brewing beer is somewhat pricey. I know the enjoyment comes from enjoying the fruits of your labor and sharing it with friends, etc., etc. Just wondering if anyone else was/is a bit surprised by overall costs.

Thanks

All of the above..........but I really save money. I pay about 25.00 to 35.00 total cost per batch brewing AG. You really got to go AG to start saving money. Also, you have to look at it from the standpoint of........the beer you're drinking. MGD bottles here are 6.99 a 12pk.....pretty hard to beat that brewing.........but the beer I LIKE to drink is about 2.00 a bottle. So at that price, 48 bottles is 96.00 bucks. Even at the prices you're paying, you're still saving money over what you probably prefer to drink.

 

[iamjonsharp]

yes - it is you.

 

[HenryHill]

You have not been reading enough on HBT.

This has been hashed countless times, and the end conclusion is always 'you just haven't researched how to do it efficiently.'

 

[ghpeel]

You can partial mash in a 5-gal cooler and a paint strainer ($20).
You can reuse a banged up aluminum stock pot to boil in ($15-20)
You can get a used carboy from CL ($25-30)

Grain cracked at my LHBS is $2/lb
LDME Extract is $6/lb
7lb grain and 1-2 lbs extract = $20-26

Hops are $2-4 oz @ LHBS = $4-10 per batch (order bulk online for cheaper)

Good dry yeast is $2 pack (Notty, S-04 and US-05 are all great)

Collect the beer bottles from your boozer buddies for a month or two.

Borrow a buddy's capper and bottling bucket on bottling day. And find out if any friends want to go in half's on equipment or ingredients.

This makes for a damn cheap hobby for me, all things considered.

 

[bull8042]

You can partial mash in a 5-gal cooler and a paint strainer ($20).
You can reuse a banged up aluminum stock pot to boil in ($15-20)
You can get a used carboy from CL ($25-30)

Grain cracked at my LHBS is $2/lb
LDME Extract is $6/lb
7lb grain and 1-2 lbs extract = $20-26

Hops are $2-4 oz @ LHBS = $4-10 per batch (order bulk online for cheaper)

Good dry yeast is $2 pack (Notty, S-04 and US-05 are all great)

Collect the beer bottles from your boozer buddies for a month or two.

Borrow a buddy's capper and bottling bucket on bottling day. And find out if any friends want to go in half's on equipment or ingredients.

This makes for a damn cheap hobby for me, all things considered.

Dang, you ARE a cheap bastid!
Kudos to you though for getting by so cheaply. I go too hog-wild when I dive into a hobby and end up spending a small fortune.

 

[The Pol]

GRAIN less than $1 a pound
HOPS for $1.30/ounce
Yeast less than $2 a packet

The above prices are easy to achieve if you try to do it. Ordering in bulk helps, it will cut costs by 50%.

 

[JoeMama]

Man, at anywhere from $5-7 for a 22oz bottle of a Stone IPA (Or Ruination) I think that brewing my own would save me a butt ton - extract or not. I can usually pull around 1.5 - 2 cases of 22s from a given batch (when I bottle) And yes, this is your standard 5 gallon batch.
12 bottles in a case @ $5 a bottle would = $60 right there.
So in essence the rest is my 'bonus beer'
If you throw in the convenience factor (not having to wait a couple of months to get a Stone brew) I can on occasion splurge and not complain TOO much...
-Me

 

[Boondoggie]

I dunno...

My usual store beers are around $12-13 a twelve pack... so call it $50/2cases/batch....

I've yet to make anything (and I brew extract) that's cost me more than that, so I figure I'm ahead of the game, and having fun.

 

[Kungpaodog]

Homebrew: At least it's not crack!

 

[beerocd]

I just wanted to come in under what a commercial keg of beer cost. So, my goal was to have 3 cornies come in under $160. Not difficult at all; and of course equipment cost doesn't count. Something is definitely wrong if the ingredients are costing you more than buying commercial stuff.

-OCD

 

[Malticulous]

I've got it down to 20-40 cents a bottle. That everything, sanitizers and propane. Not counting the $500 or so in equipment. When I do 10 gallon batches it's about 2 hours of work per case.

 

[RayInUT]

Homebrew homies - (sorry in advance for the long thread)

This by no means is meant to be a complaint thread but more of a sanity check.

I got into homebrewing because I really enjoy drinking beer, wanted to make my own through experimentation, share with friends/family and because I am intrigued by the process. A small part of me thought that I would be saving some cash -with the exception of equipment start up costs- by brewing my own vs. buying beer by the case. At any rate, I'm about to brew my 3rd batch, an IPA, and the cost of ingredients ended up being $68. My second batch, a Hefe, cost around $61 and my 1st batch was a kit at $34. I don't think there is much savings, in fact, I think it's little more expensive in some cases. I know if I get really into this, which I already see occuring, I can begin to buy ingredients in bulk and save some cash...but I'm not there yet.

Again, not complaining, just wondering if it's me or if brewing beer is somewhat pricey. I know the enjoyment comes from enjoying the fruits of your labor and sharing it with friends, etc., etc. Just wondering if anyone else was/is a bit surprised by overall costs.

Thanks

My last batch, a hefeweizen, cost $13.85 with tax for 5.5 gallons. I don't know how you could spend $60 on a five gallon batch, especially now that hop prices have come down. Hefe's generally should be cheap to brew since you only do one hop addition in most cases. The hefe I brewed was relatively low gravity. It had an OG of 1.046. I used 2.5 lbs. of six-row, .25 lbs. of Belgian aromatic, .75 lbs. of Belgian Munich, .5 lbs. of melonoidin malt, and 4 lbs. of American wheat. Conversion was not a problem with the six-row. I used .7 oz of whole leaf centennial first wort hopped and pitched two quarts of pacman yeast cultured from a bottle of Rogue Yellow Snow IPA. This was an experimental batch and it came out great. I siphoned off two liters last night and carbonated it with my carbonator cap for a sample. I am going to do a ten gallon batch of this next time and maybe add some fruit to half of it. The other half will probably get some coriander and homemade orange extract. Who can argue with ten gallons of beer for less than thirty bucks?