Home Brewing = Saving Money?

[Clann]

>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!

BUt how far did you go on equipment? Sounds like you went beyond a kettel,burner and IC,and fermenter and transfer tubing wich is about all you need to brew beer

But I agree it is about the fun too!!

 

[Randolf]

For me ,it was always an issue of creativity.I tried producing beef jerky,blended dry rubs for BBQ,BBQ sauces,but homebrewing was the one that caught my fancy. I started in 1997 and brewed for several years and then put it on hiatus for 8 years do to physical problems,but now I'm back and enjoying my hobby again.As far as the "Saving Money"aspect,I don't really worry about that.This is the only real vice i have. BTW,I brewd a summerale sometime back and with the ingredients i used it came out to under 70 cents a 12oz. bottle. Not too bad.

 

[Transamguy77]

I started brewing with the thinking of it saving me money, and I have, I was drinking a 30 pack plus a week (prob closer to 2) so that's about $30 a week. Starting with extract and scoring all of my equipment on CL for $100 and the average kit around $35, at that point after maybe 10 batches I,m about even, now moving to AG with a turkey fryer and a Bag I can brew a 5 gal batch for $20 and if i reuse my yeast I can be under $15. So yes I can definately say I save money.

There is so much more to it though, the look on my friends face when they drink it, the time I spend with my kids brewing it (they want to be involved in every part) and the satisfaction of drinking a really good beer.

Craft beer in my area is $12 a sixer and $40+ a case and since I don't drink BMC anymore the cost of buying it will have gone up significantly if I didn't make it.

 

[brrman]

I buy way too much hops - I have a god damned freezer full of hops that I could not possibly use up this year.

 

[tom9d]

I have ADD when it comes to hobbies, so I've had a lot of them...and I always go overboard and spend lots of money on them. So saving money isn't even something I think about when it comes to brewing.

 

[NoCornOrRice]

Yeah, I started homebrewing because I couldn't afford beer; and then I got good at it; and then got into bulk pricing and it got insanely cheap; and then I started making tweaks to my equipment such as quick disconnects, plate chiller, march pump, control panel, kegerator, and other stuff; and it was no longer cheap, but very enjoyable. Realistically, the craft brew selection in the local liquor store is abysmal, so home brewing is the best way to get the beers I want, while they are fresh.

 

[progmac]

i just figured out i can make a 6 gallon batch of a mild ale for about $16. it is partial mash, uses one ounce of hops, and i'm reusing yeast. that works out to less than thirty cents a beer. it would be a partial mash and use 1.5 lbs extract and 4.5 lbs grain.

total i've spent less than $50 on equipment, but i already had some things that could be repurposed (4 gallon pot, 2 gallon pot, aquarium pump, some tubing, etc) for brewing. a single person or someone less pack-ratty or fresh out of college might not have that stuff.

this can be a very economical hobby if that is your goal

 

[Cromwell]

I'll add 2 cents. I agree with everyone who said it's all about how you approach it. If you don't try to save money, you buy new yeast every time, you buy a bunch of equipment, you buy hops and grains from an LHBS... you won't save money. If you try to make BMC cheaper than BMC, you won't save money.

But I drink craft Dubbels and Wee Heavies which sell for around $4/bottle. I drink Classic American Pilsner and IPAs that you pretty much cannot buy, but if you could they'd be $3/bottle maybe? And I enjoy farming yeast, and growing hops, so I figure I have my cost down to roughly $30 for 5 gallons which comes to 60 cents a bottle. It's expensive, usually big beer with lots of taste, so I save $3/bottle. If/when I make a session beer, I can make it for half that, so 30 cents a bottle. You don't save much on that, because BMC from the Giant Evil Retailer is very cheap.

What do you want to do? You can do it.

 

[Canuck137]

I know this is an old thread but somehow I came across it... let me add that if you are in Canada you are absolutely saving money brewing your own beer.

When I was last in Florida I looked at the beer prices and thought "Why would anyone down here brew their own beer?" At that point it is purely for the hobby. I think there are more ppl home brewing in Canada to save money, in the USA it seems more about the hobby and art of it.

Now that being said, I got into it to save money but it turned into a hobby as it does for all of us... still saving money though... just not as much as I was at first when I was simple brewing kits, with simple equipment.

 

[passedpawn]

I know this is an old thread but somehow I came across it... let me add that if you are in Canada you are absolutely saving money brewing your own beer.

When I was last in Florida I looked at the beer prices and thought "Why would anyone down here brew their own beer?" At that point it is purely for the hobby. I think there are more ppl home brewing in Canada to save money, in the USA it seems more about the hobby and art of it.

Now that being said, I got into it to save money but it turned into a hobby as it does for all of us... still saving money though... just not as much as I was at first when I was simple brewing kits, with simple equipment.

Hey hey, don't dis my art!

 

[kh54s10]

Yep, An old thread. I have been brewing long enough now that I am no longer buying big or expensive equipment. I pay less for brewing than I used to, but, I also drink more beer than I used to. .....

 

[Canuck137]

Hey hey, don't dis my art!

Haha I wont! I bought a case of Tecate beer there when I was visiting the parents lol. I want to say it was under $1 a beer when it was all said and done... now this was 2 years ago when the Canadian dollar was actually above the American dollar... and a tall boy of Tecate beer here in Ottawa is $2.20... so it was costing me 60% less... I know Tecate isn't an amazing beer but at that time it wasn't widely unavailable in Canada so I bought it... actually I dont mind Mexican lagers.

I guess my point remains the same... in the USA if you want cheap beer you just go to the store and buy it. In Canada you have to make it. Craft beer I am not sure about the price differences... it is more expensive for craft beers here but not a lot more expensive. It is odd in that regard.

Oh and for the record the Canadian dollar is in the toilet now!

 

[passedpawn]

Haha I wont! I bought a case of Tecate beer there when I was visiting the parents lol. I want to say it was under $1 a beer when it was all said and done... now this was 2 years ago when the Canadian dollar was actually above the American dollar... and a tall boy of Tecate beer here in Ottawa is $2.20... so it was costing me 60% less... I know Tecate isn't an amazing beer but at that time it wasn't widely unavailable in Canada so I bought it... actually I dont mind Mexican lagers.

I guess my point remains the same... in the USA if you want cheap beer you just go to the store and buy it. In Canada you have to make it. Craft beer I am not sure about the price differences... it is more expensive for craft beers here but not a lot more expensive. It is odd in that regard.

Oh and for the record the Canadian dollar is in the toilet now!

No idea what you're saying since I make all my beer, but good luck to you.

 

[aprichman]

I was going to come in here and say that brewing beer will "save you money" with a winky face because I'm sitting right next to my brewing gear I've easily spent $800-900 on gear since I've started up. But then I thought about how much beer I've brewed over that time frame and it's easily 100+ gallons (and that's with doing small 2.5 gallon batches for most of the time). I usually bought my beer by the 6-pack at around $8-9 and that's not even including the bottle deposit which I rarely ever took the time to get back. By those calculations I would have easily spent $1800+ on beer over that same time frame. Considering I'm producing beer at ~$0.35 - $0.50 a bottle which works out to ~$5 per gallon or $500 for those same 100 gallons. So over 1.5 years I've probably saved $1200-1300 on buying beer for myself, my wife, friends, etc. Of course the majority of that money saved has gone into buying brewing equipment and of course that's considering my time free. If you're factoring in your time as an expense the "cost" of brewing goes up considerably.

Basically homebrewing isn't costing me any more than drinking craft beer would, and that's including the cost of buying a 3 vessel system, a blichmann propane burner, a temperature controlled fermentation chest freezer, a bunch of carboys, and all sorts of other odds and ends. All of the equipment has pretty good resale value so in that sense homebrewing is a better "investment" than drinking craft beer

 

[Magnus314]

I just priced out 11 Gallons of American Lager and 11 Gallons of Zombie dust clone at "Build Your Own" pricing...

It was WAYYY cheap.

Craft Brews run ~ $10+/6 pack here (South Florida). Even "cheap" Am. Lagers run ~ $1/12oz.

I can make those for around 1/4 the price, including electric and propane, and excluding equipment cost - which for me is nominal on a per-batch basis.

 

[akthor]

My own beer is leaps and bounds better than 99.9% of beers that can be bought. And that .01 % is only as good not better. Is a big reason. Once you get used to having your beer available on tap 24/7 its hard to go back.

 

[ShizuokaBrad]

It's sooooo much more expensive to home brew in Japan than to just buy beer. Think like 10x the price for everything that you pay in America.

 

[thaymond]

My only reocurring cost is grain. I'll buy base grain in bulk and any specialty grains by the pound. Reusing yeast, growing my own hops, having water I don't have to drive to buy (a huge inconvenience and a waste of money) keeps my overall costs to 12-20 dollars for a 5 gallon batch, depending on what I'm brewing. If I am using a different yeast or hops, prices tend to increase a little more.

Intermittent costs include propane (every 3rd batch per tank), CO2 (about every 12ish kegs), small odds and ends like tubing, whirlflock, camden, starsan, etc. I don't include those in the cost per gallon every time. If I did, it jumps to roughly 30ish dollars per 5 gallon batch.

My equipment, trellis system for hops, kegging odds and ends have long been paid for so it's not at all included in cost per batch.

Still, if a 6er is $9-$14, 5 gallons will run you roughly $72 to $112, depending on what you buy. Since I rarely buy beer at a store anymore, I would say I'm saving money.

Of course, one could argue that NOT brewing and not buying beer also saves money, but that is just silly nonsense.

 

[fuelish]

I still occasionally buy good bottled beer to use the bottles (still a diehard bottler here....don't make much beer, mostly meads, now, and bottles stay tied up for a LOT longer...)....I mean, yeah it's "costs" more to get the bottles (as opposed to, what, $12 a case for new empties?) but....can try different beers/styles and see if anything interests me. Once in a great great while, I buy beers in the fliptop bottles....get to drink the beer and the rubber grommets make great low budget "strap locks" for guitars

 

[sweetcell]

It's sooooo much more expensive to home brew in Japan than to just buy beer. Think like 10x the price for everything that you pay in America.

"buying beer" - are you talking about industrial lager, or craft beer?

 

[Canuck137]

Its literally all over the map... I will say this: it is one of the few hobbies where you can actually save a few bucks or at least break even.

My two friends that really got me into home brewing, one is still doing simple kits (with a bit of tweaking) and I imagine he saves a lot of money, his beers are OK at best. Other friend has gone full into it with all the latest gadgets, all grain, extract, BIAB, grows his own hops, has a yeast making kit, electro brew, kegging system etc... some of the stuff he has I don't even know what it is. His beers are amazing. I doubt, even in Canada, he has saved any money.

I am the middle ground. Doing mostly partial mash BIAB... I save a little money for sure. So it all depends... easier to save money in Canada when beer prices are double what they are in the USA.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

Yeah I think it depends on how equipment heavy you are. I have the simplest BIAB setup for 5 gallons, ferment in buckets, and bottle (I do want to keg though). Before I get to into it, I'm in the black for sure I'd say.

 

[m00ps]

If youre saving money on beer, buying, brewing your own, or both, you're doing it wrong. Money is meant to be spent on beer. It what our forefathers intended

 

[berrywise]

I've got a long way to go before before I could even say I've broken even on the money I've invested in my brewery. It doesn't help that I continue to buy gadgets.

That said the one thing most people overlook is that your time is worth money, even if you say you do it just for fun. Factor in paying yourself even minimum wage and you've just blown any savings.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Saving money by brewing is like driving a Lamborghini to save on gas.

 

[JKaranka]

It definitively saves money in the UK when four cans of Brewdog beer are around £5.50 but two pounds of malt cost about £1. Of course, if you buy expensive gear you won't save money, but you can make perfectly decent beer with a coolbox mash tun, a big dedicated boiler or big pan (for partial mash + extract) and a £10 FV. Beer prices in the US look low (low taxes?), but usual non-BMC beers start at £1.50-2 a bottle or can and are often in the £3-4 territory over here.

If I had to buy a keg worth of beer here it would cost from £60 onwards, when brewing the same amount can be done for £10 but anybody would happily settle for £15-20.

For reference, a pound is now about 1.4 USD but used to be closer to 2 USD a few years ago.

Edit: Again, for reference, minimum wage is around £6.50 / hour. Average annual earnings are circa £26,000-27,000.

 

[JKaranka]

A keg of Blue Moon Belgian style wheat ale for £64 (+ shipping + dispense equipment). Full size kegs of BMC starting at £112 going to £150.

http://www.battlefieldbeers.co.uk/keg/blue-moon

 

[thaymond]

I don't think you can ever save money, unless you live in Canada were beer is expensive or you are doing large batches and reusing yeast and maybe growing your own hops.

These are my 2 biggest savers. Yeast can be 5 to 8 bucks per batch if puchased individually. Hops can also be 5 to 15 dollars per batch, depending on the recipe and amount. My one time cost on yeast was last may, of a batch of scottish 1728 and us05. I cultured a WLP002 over 2 years time. Since, I haven't used much else. I've used lager yeasts in the past, but lost most cultures two years ago. I've bought exactly 2 dollars of hops in more than one dozen batches in the last year and a half. These both account for the bulk of savings. I'm sipping on my ipa and blonde ales, and realizing it cost 20 bucks exactly for two 5 gallon batches.

 

[Natdavis777]

After being in the game for a few years, I feel I am now at the point where I am starting to save some money. The last two batches (20 gal total) Ive harvested enough yeast in two different strains equal to 20 smack packs. I buy hops bulk online and utilize hop extract. I use 240V exclusively for heating which hasnt made any impact in my electric bill whilst brewing 2x monthly. So I only go to the LHBS for grain. Granted it has taken years to get to this point, but I rarely go to the LQ store anymore. I have kegs sitting in a staging area in my garage ready to go on tap.

Again, Ive invested a few thousands $ total in my brewing setup since 2010. Since then, Basically 90% of the beer I consume is my own. It wasnt my goal to save money brewing my own beer, but I feel I have come close to that threshold.

 

[johnhenryrolf]

I'm doing extract kits right now due to lack of money and space for AG (New baby...so wife put a stop to my spending on equipment!). My average kit including hops and yeast runs about $35. That's not bad for 5 gallons. I can't buy 4 cases of craft brew for 35. I can usually only buy 2. So in that sense, I'm saving money. But with the cost of the equipment I have, plus kegging/kegerator costs of co2 etc, I'm probably breaking even. When I can finally go to AG, I'm sure I can start recovering some of the expense. But, as others have said, it's my hobby. It is cheaper than a lot of things I could do and I reap the benefits when I'm done. I don't spend $100+ a month getting my hair did like my wife...so that is my argument to allow me to keep brewing.

EDIT: Plus, nobody is counting in the Cool Points you get when you take your brew to parties and tell people after drinking it that you brewed it. Hello....that's worth something right?

That's why you don't save money...you give too much of it away (guilty as charged, myself!).