Home Brewing = Saving Money?

[jbaysurfer]

another complication in the economic calculation, at least for me, is that since i've started brewing i am drinking more beer. i am also happier



you're doing it wrong.

Married for 11 years. Married a drunk college girl I met while doing it "right".

;-)

PS, I'm about to turn 40, so I'm old enough to be honest. Even back then, when my game was in it's prime, I didn't have enough charisma to get a gaggle of drunk girls over to my place at the end of the night. If I got one, and had to go to her place I was thanking my lucky stars.

 

[Greenbasterd]

"In general you won't save money even ignoring the value of your time"

i know right, my Battlefield rank has gone down considerably!!!!
haha i joke i joke.. kinda

 

[TalkingGoats]

I think its a lot cheaper.

Cheapest decent beer I can figure up...

55# 2 row $50 @ LHBS

1lb Cascade -$14 @ LHBS

US-05 $2.50 @ LHBS


Split across 4 batches and harvest the yeast from the first batch

13.75 lbs of 2 Row and 4 oz of cascade per batch.

53 12oz servings in 5 gallons x 4 = 212 12 oz servings

That is the equivalent of a ~$2 six pack (~$.03 per FL oz rounded up) and if you make light beers its $1-1.50.

Of course no one but me wants to drink all Briess 2 row beers but buying specialty in bulk you are still saving a ****load of money.

 

[bob1852]

I think its a lot cheaper.

Cheapest decent beer I can figure up...

55# 2 row $50 @ LHBS

1lb Cascade -$14 @ LHBS

US-05 $2.50 @ LHBS


Split across 4 batches and harvest the yeast from the first batch

13.75 lbs of 2 Row and 4 oz of cascade per batch.

53 12oz servings in 5 gallons x 4 = 212 12 oz servings

That is the equivalent of a ~$2 six pack (~$.03 per FL oz rounded up) and if you make light beers its $1-1.50.

Of course no one but me wants to drink all Briess 2 row beers but buying specialty in bulk you are still saving a ****load of money.

+ propane
+ water
+ grain mill
+ yeast harvesting equipment
+ bulk hop/grain storage equipment
+ time

etc. etc. etc.

 

[coypoo]

But what about quantity?

$0.99 avg cost of homebrew x # of bottles brewed = Total Spend
$1.50 avg cost commercial x # of bottles consumed had you not started brewing = Total Spend

Therefore, if your consumption increased by more than 50%, you're not saving money. And that's assuming you've not purchased any commercial beer.

Not trying to be a jerk about it, just showing that if you truly want to compare marginal costs, you also have to include change in consumption.

2010: 859 bottles, $0.90/bottle
2010: 837 bottles, $0.97/bottle

I think I've been to the liquor store twice in the last 18 months to buy beer. I drink 1-2/night on the weeknights, which may be a bit more than before. But I feel for whatever reason I dont drink as much on the weekends. Instead of a 6-pack on Saturday, its more like 3


Edit: Also this opportunity cost stuff is silly to talk about. Of course it would be more expensive to brew if you could have spent 4.5 hours on Saturday hustling for money or doing whatev you people do. But what about golf? That crap's an expensive 5 hour day with the cost of clubs/ball/cart fees/greens fee/etc. You dont take anything away after a round like you would have if you made a batch of beer. Because this is a hobby (and not a business) the opportunity cost and cost of time is a moot point to me so I'm only going to compare the cost of making beer to the cost of buying the same type of beer from the store.

#EndRant

 

[bssrf4]

Generally, you'll never save money with hobbies. Riding motorcycles is almost always more expensive than driving a reasonable car, once you consider all the factors. Reloading ammo sounds cheap, but then you start buying a ton of equipment and all of the sudden you have 25 different calibers. Fishing and hunting also get pricey quickly.

It is possible to save money while engaging in these activities, its just not likely...and one must then aim really keep costs to a minimum.

A hobby should be just that, something you enjoy doing in your spare time.

That said, since my brew kit was a gift (not from SWMBO), I figure I save about $.25-50 per bottle. Until I decide to upgrade something!!!

 

[ryno84]

As long as the SWMBO believes it is cheaper, then I am good. Just have to make sure to not leave these threads open on the computer when I leave.

 

[TalkingGoats]

I brew on the stove in a ghetto fashion.

Equipment

7 gallon turkey fryer (Previously used to fry turkey)
Richard Petty cooler mash tun (Free)
Scrap metal grain mill .... 25 minutes to crush 12lbs of grain FTL but free
2 6.5 gal fermentation buckets $40
2 Cornies ($5 and $20)
Keg plumbing and C02 tank $100
Auto siphon $20
Water is from SWMBO folks well




I am not saying that it has to be cheap, but I am saying where there is a will there is a way.


I do have plans in the near future to upgrade everything and switch to gas so I can brew outside. In the long run though it still pays for itself as a hobby.

I eventually want a 3 tier system that can easily do 15 gallon batches, after that I won't be able to argue cost savings lol

 

[Spartangreen]

Pints are $4 at my local pub. (For good craft beer on tap)
When I brew I get 40 pints per 5 gallons of beer.
40 pints @ $4 = $160

Averge cost of ingredients = $40 per 5 gallons. Makes $1 dollar pints. Savings of $120 per 5 gallons of good quality craft beer.
I have $1000 of equipment invested. $1000/$120 =8.33 Five gallon batches. Burdens of water and propane, not included.
ROI= 8.33 batches. 2 batches per month, 4.17 month return.

 

[Jayhem]

any Canadian will tell you its saves them money.. But in Merica you guys get such cheap booze already its more of a hobby thing..

Fear not. Sooner or later the US government will bring the taxes on things we love (like beer) to Canadian levels to help fund their overzealous spending. We are well on our way to European fuel prices in the name of "clean energy research"


As for this debate on homebrewing saving you money.

If you break even you are still saving money! How many other hobbies can you break even on? Golf? Boating? Fishing? No. Women? I think not.

 

[bob1852]

As long as the SWMBO believes it is cheaper, then I am good. Just have to make sure to not leave these threads open on the computer when I leave.

What's that old saying? When I die I hope she doesn't sell this stuff for what I told her I paid for it...

 

[BrewinHooligan]

How many other hobbies can you break even on? Golf? Boating? Fishing? No. Women? I think not.

Amen!! And I would be drinking while ejoying those too costing more $

 

[BrewByLos]

What other hobbies produce a product that you would normally buy? I'm gradually shifting a big chunk of my craft beer money to brewing.

I just totaled all my expenses as I am just a n00b and there is no way I'm going to let my SWMBO see the spreadsheet... yikes I'll need to get about 23 batches under my belt to get to $1.41 a bottle. I'm only brewing 2.5 gallons at a time.

I just had to have that mini fridge and temp controller.

 

[Hang Glider]

If you're factoring in your time, then it's not a hobby anymore. It's a vocation. Do you factor in the time you're sitting on the lake waiting for the fish to bite?

Keep the discussion to "hobby" and keep the labor out, or move the discussion to "vocation" and factor in the labor. simple as that.


All my expenses? way more than I would ever have suspected, but compared to that bass boat, trailer, poles, bait, reels, and big hoss truck to pull it - still cheaper than fishing....

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Do you factor in the time you're sitting on the lake waiting for the fish to bite?

I don't have to. The book-keeper does that for me.

Maybe if she'd stop calling to ask 'how long til', something might happen.

 

[tre9er]

They aren't?? Hmm...maybe if I put up posters?

bwahahaha

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

OP,

After you have;

- grown the barley
- malted grain
- grown the hop
- built the solara water heater
- built the reverse osmotic filtration system
- built the mill


Umm, yeah, you'd save tons of money after that. And can still use the simple starter kit brewing system.

 

[Airborneguy]

I save tons of money, and I love that aspect of this hobby. Unfortunately, buying in bulk will no longer be an option or me soon because of space, so my costs will go up, but I'll still be saving money.

 

[tre9er]

I started as a way to save money and make better beer than what I was drinking (Milwaukee's Beast Light). Granted, I loved good beer but wife wasn't going to let me spend $8/6-pack every few nights.

I became engrossed with the equipment and the DIY aspect of the hobby and pretty soon it became something I enjoyed spending my time doing, much like golf, fishing, movies, etc. But in the end I had fun AND created something that I would have bought anyways.

So imagine if you went to the liquor store and not only purchased beer but got free movie tickets too. Now you got beer and fun for the cost of beer.

So maybe the way to look at this is to compare a hobby that takes up the same amount of time as a batch of homebrewing does. Say, golf. 18 holes played at a wicked pace could be done in about the same time. What do you spend on the greens fees and cart and equipment costs?

If you golf less and brew more, I suppose you're spending money on a hobby, sure, and enjoying the same amount of time as you did when golfing...but you also get beer out of the deal.

I too have spent easily several hundred dollars and I'm only doing 5-gallon all-grain batches, have 3 cornies, picnic taps, no fancy kegerator, plastic ale pails for fermenters, no ferm chamber, etc. I spent money on kettles, FV's, heating elements/wiring, immersion chiller, thermometers, sanitizers/cleaners, ball valves/bulkheads, etc.

I went the cheap and DIY route on all of it, too. My 8g. kettles are aluminum and cost me $27 each plus shipping. My cooler I already had, bulkheads I did myself, hose-braid was DIY, chiller too, got kegs for average price of $40 shipped each, and a $40 CL fridge from the 70's. I think I've put about $500 into equipment.

I just did a bulk grain buy and I can say that will help tremendously. 50lbs. for $32 as opposed to $1.50/lb. from the LHBS (or $60/50lb. bag) is a huge savings. I also got a pound of hops for about $10 as opposed to $2/oz from LHBS ($22 savings). If you can get in on a bulk buy, harvest your yeast, and DIY as much as possible I think you can have fun building a brewery, making beer, and probably spending comparable amount on the product as you were before.

My last grain bill cost me about $7. Hops cost me about $1.50 and if you factor in the yeast had been split into 9 batches from one vial, that was just over $1. Probably $10 in consumables for over two cases of beer. Now i've made 13 batches or so...so my equipment cost is $38.50 per batch. Total for 2 cases of beer around $50. Eight 6-packs at $8 is $64. I'm still saving money.

 

[tre9er]

I save tons of money, and I love that aspect of this hobby. Unfortunately, buying in bulk will no longer be an option or me soon because of space, so my costs will go up, but I'll still be saving money.

If you have room for even 50lbs. of 2-row (and everyone has room for hops) you're helping tremendously. The grain bag takes up about as much room as a laundry basket. Surely there's a closet somewhere...

 

[Airborneguy]

Unfortunately not anymore. I've been buying in bulk for about 3 years and love it, but the space for my equipment is as we speak becoming about 15 sq feet. We're turning my garage into a master bedroom and I'm losing my beer room. Second kid + small townhouse = smaller everything .

I'm considering planning brew days in blocks so I can purchase at least base grain in bulk. Say five batches of pilsner based beers in a row, the bag would go fast so I could probably temporarily stash it somewhere.

 

[oakbarn]

I used to buy a keg of Spaten for $180. It would last me about six months. I have been brewing for about three years and I have spent about $10K to save about a grand. But the home brew gets cheaper every day. I think I will have it down to about $100 a six pack next month.

 

[aerod1]

I haven't saved a dime by homebrewing. AAMOF it has cost me more! There is always something else I want to do or brew.......always something new to buy!

 

[Clann]

Well I have not upgraded my equipment in about a year. When I did it was to get a turkey fryer setup. 30 bucks at a yardsale. All in for equipment I have about $400 invested Total and most of that is buckets and carboys. I couldn't have bought 1/4 of the $9 a sixpack beer I like to drink for what I have spent on homebrew supplies in the last year so YES you can save alot of money if you do not get obsessed with having to have every little gadget or $300 kettles or automated brew rigs bla bla bla.

Brew beer and be happy.

 

[jmprdood]

It's a hobby - and it's much cheaper than what the secret service paid for hookers in Colombia.

And my investment lasts longer than a few minutes!

Really - I was at my families last week and spent over $30 for like 13 pints in the space of 10 days. $30 in grain, yeast and hops makes me about 120 pints!

But again it's a hobby. So I'd do it even if it wasn't cheaper.

Cheers!

 

[KettleCorn]

>Home Brewing = Saving Money?
No Way!!!

I have spend more to brew beer this year than I have spent on buying beer for perhaps the last 5 or 6 years....

Home Brewing = Fun.
Oh yea.. and sometimes it even tastes like a good beer HA!

 

[bleme]

The beers I like run $10/6-pack or $4 each at the brewpub. According to my Google spreadsheet, I'm currently down to $.76/beer so that's a pretty significant savings!

 

[KettleCorn]

I did a back of the napkin calc and my 5-6 years is not even close...

But Thus far this noob has spent ~$175 (my half) on equipment and supplies for 3 batches (~7gallons = about 75 12oz beers) so... 175/75 is about 2.33 per bottle.
Not cheap but I keep thinking that the equipemt costs will end and then the costs will just be ingriedients... not yet...

but the math sounds good ~$50 for 5 gal of beer.
5gal = 128oz * 5 = 640oz then 640/12 = ~50 bottles of beer.
That would be about a $1 a bottle
That sounds good until you start to think about fuel/energy and time... but wait... Its a hobby.... yea...

 

[Daffypuck]

Simple math:
I like Chimay, St bernardus, 3 Floyds, Urthel etc. On avergae, a 22oz of Chimay costs $12. It costs me about $30-$40 to make 25-22oz beers of comparable taste. Hmm, $12 times 25 equals about $300 with tax. $300 minus $30-40 equals a savings of $260-$270!! I save a ton of money making my own beer. Plus i enjoy doing it. Its like someone who enjoys cooking, but why go out to eat at a high end restaraunt 3 or 4 times a week when you can get enjoyment out of preparing the same meal yourself at a fraction of the costs. Granted, I still buy beer, but I dont drink it as often or as much since i substitute someof those times with my own beer.

 

[Andy101]

I got my starter kit few months ago. and i got some free equipment from a Facebook freebie page in my area.

I have

3 frementers 2 beer 1 wine
1 plastic carboy
2 brew belts
1 corker
1 caper
1 auto syphen
3 barrels good ones

My starter kit was £50 and the rest i got free!
I know its not alot but i am making some good brews with this. Mostly the coopers range and 30 bottle wine packs for my wife.

Now We are saving money in the long run if i just stick to this and upgrading slowly as i go on.
We was spending £30-£40 per week on beer and wine from the supermarket.
With a bottle of wine costing anything from £3-£5 But with the 30 bottle wine kit i am using now cost £30 so it works out at £1 per bottle. And my wife loves it.
Coopers kit including sugar cost around £15 for 40 pints works out around 40p per pint.
So in the long run i am saving money and making some good brews.

Also i get free pet bottles and wine bottles ..
I don't think i will ever get fully into home brew like doing all grains as my budget wont allow me to..
But i am thinking about going up a step and doing some partials.
Home brew is good tho! even my wife likes to get involved.