home brewing costs - is it me?

[Whut]

Going all grain dropped my prices drastically. But wait, this has already been said. Crap, late again.

If you're looking to save money then quit brewing, buy a kegerator, and get kegs of BMC. But if you want to brew a barley pop that will be far better tasting, then continue down this path.

Edit: Let me rephrase, if you're looking to save money then don't by the equipment to go all grain - just do what I stated above. This is what I left out and I totally agree with LGI below. My problem is that I'm always seeing something new that I just have to have and spending more money on it.

All kidding aside, keep doing what you're doing but shop around for your ingredients as they can be had for far cheaper. NB, MoreBeer, Austin Homebrewing, Midwest, just to name a few. There's also probably a vendor on here that could assist you. This is a path well traveled with lots of great mentors on here to guide you. I know I wish I had found it a few years back when I first started.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I brew good beer cheaper than I can buy BMC......AND I love doing it! There really is no down side to this hobby.

 

[Homercidal]

You can start saving money by buying extract in bulk, but honestly, the real drop is going AG AND buying in bulk.

There is an investment in going AG. Mash tun, larger kettle, crusher (if you want to buy bulk and crush your own grain to prevent spoilage), etc.

After that you can pretty much cut your brew costs in half for each batch. I paid $40 for a sack of 2-row. 50#.

 

[craigd]

It would be the same for AG if you boiled on a propane burner for extract.

I don't agree. With AG I have to run my propane burner to heat the mash water, heat the sparge water, and then boil. With extract I just boil and depending on the brew I may only do a partial boil which uses less gas. With PMs I do use a little electric to heat mash and sparge water but not anywhere near the volumes so I'd say my Propane use is much higher for AG but still not a significant cost difference. Bigger is the annoyance of swapping / filling tanks more frequently.

 

[BrewDey]

Extract is the real stinker when it comes to cost. It helps if you buy bulk though. I got 50 lbs. of DME online for a good deal, and then by the time I'd gone through that, was ready for AG. Washing liquid yeast, or using dry helps a lot too (nothing at all wrong with dry yeast). $60+ is really high, especially if it's a normal gravity brew without a lot of extras (spices, crazy amounts of hops, etc.).

With AG, I found that I had more fun, for less money, and it resulted in better beer (at least in my experience). In terms of moving in on other hobbies-my biggest other one is disc golf. I can play during the week, but tournaments are always on weekends...I can only brew on weekends as well. The pipelines are still full from winter now, but I may need some double batch days if I want to stay stocked.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

With AG, I found that I had more fun, for less money, and it resulted in better beer (at least in my experience).

And there it is in a nutshell.

 

[bull8042]

walking on by... whistling... and playing pocket pool.

Ummmm, nice...... Now, would you mind getting your hand out of MY pocket?!?! :cross:

 

[KUbrew]

I recently bought ingredients from brewmasters wharehouse for my next few wheats and priced it out to $0.40/beer including shipping. I don't have a crusher, so buying in bulk isn't really an option for me right now but that will only drop the price further. Washing yeast has been the most cost saving thing that I have done so far. From one package of yeast, you can get at least 2 or 3 mason jars of yeast that can be used and washed several more times. Saving $7 a batch really adds up.

 

[CBBaron]

I don't agree. With AG I have to run my propane burner to heat the mash water, heat the sparge water, and then boil. With extract I just boil and depending on the brew I may only do a partial boil which uses less gas. With PMs I do use a little electric to heat mash and sparge water but not anywhere near the volumes so I'd say my Propane use is much higher for AG but still not a significant cost difference. Bigger is the annoyance of swapping / filling tanks more frequently.

If you are doing a full boil then the only additional heating costs for extract are heating the grain and water absorbed by the grain. The wort going into your brew kettle is already preheated unlike the cold water you start with for extract. Over all the cost difference is minimal.

Now if you are comparing partial boils to AG the difference can be noticable and it increases even more if you boil down large volumes for you big beers. However in any case your boil costs should be small compared to ingredient costs.

Craig

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I use more fuel overall but even though I have 2 propane burners I still usually mash on the stove. Since you don't heat the strike water all the way up to a boil and since it's less volume to heat, a regular stove can do full AG mashes even for big beers (6 gal. batches though). I usually just heat the sparge water and do the boil on the propane. Less tank changeouts.

 

[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?