Homebrew Math

[BrewZer]

Here's my latest math...

Piraat Ale costs about $9 per bottle, or about $1.23 per ounce. I just brewed 768 ounces of a Piraat clone.

1.23*768 is $927.20. Ingredients cost me about $45. That's $902.20 pure savings.

Using OP's original logic, I can now spend those "savings" on more equipment (which I don't need) or more ingredients (that I can't use until I drink up the 6 gallons of Piraat clone). At 10% ABV, that's going to take me a while...

 

[Willy]

Here's my latest math...

Piraat Ale costs about $9 per bottle, or about $1.23 per ounce. I just brewed 768 ounces of a Piraat clone.

1.23*768 is $927.20. Ingredients cost me about $45. That's $902.20 pure savings.

Using OP's original logic, I can now spend those "savings" on more equipment (which I don't need) or more ingredients (that I can't use until I drink up the 6 gallons of Piraat clone). At 10% ABV, that's going to take me a while...

I think there's more testing to be done with the extra savings. Buy a few of the Piraat authentic to compare with your clones. Take notes. Tweak clone recipe... Re-test and do it again. You should pay yourself to do these rigorous tests... When you are ready to pay yourself in Piraat clone beer, you are now ready to buy more equipment you never even knew you wanted. Ha.

 

[Ninoid]

My beer costs me half the price of industrial lager for the masses, and almost four times cheaper than craft beer, with which I can almost compare the quality of my beer. Plus, I have a quality hobby and that good feeling of using something made with my own hands. Plus, I don't have to carry heavy crates of beer from the store to the fourth floor of a building and I always have enough beer for my friends without having to persuade anyone to go to the store for more beer. Priceless.

 

[madscientist451]

Here's my latest math...

Piraat Ale costs about $9 per bottle, or about $1.23 per ounce. I just brewed 768 ounces of a Piraat clone.

Sorry to go , but which Piraat beer are you cloning and what’s the best recipe?

 

[BrewZer]

Sorry to go , but which Piraat beer are you cloning and what’s the best recipe?

Plain ol' Piraat :

Recipe:

OG	1.085 sg	FG	1.020 sg
ABV	9.3%	IBU	28.5 (Tinseth)
Color	8.7 srm (Morey)	Estimated calories (per 12 oz)	282

Fermentables

Total grain: 17.000 lb
Name	Type	Amount	Mashed	Late	Yield	Color
Briess - 2 Row Brewers Malt	Grain	15.000 lb	Yes	No	80%	1.8 srm
Candi Sugar, Clear	Sugar	1.000 lb	No	No	78%	1.0 srm
Simpsons - Crystal Medium	Grain	8.000 oz	No	No	74%	55.0 srm
Briess - Aromatic Malt	Grain	4.000 oz	Yes	No	77%	20.0 srm
Briess - Caramel Vienne Malt 20L	Grain	4.000 oz	No	No	78%	20.0 srm

Hops

Name	Alpha	Amount	Use	Time	Form	IBU
Brewers Gold	7.6%	1.000 oz	Boil	1.000 hr	Pellet	21.1
Styrian Goldings	4.5%	1.000 oz	Boil	15.000 min	Pellet	6.2
Styrian Goldings	4.5%	0.500 oz	Boil	5.000 min	Pellet	1.2

Misc

Name	Type	Use	Amount	Time
Coriander Seeds	Spice	Boil	0.087 oz	5.000 min
Coriander Seeds	Spice	Boil	0.087 oz	15.000 min
Sweet Orange Peel	Flavor	Primary	1.000 tsp	5.000 min
Irish Moss	Fining	Boil	1.000 tsp	15.000 min

Yeast

Name	Type	Form	Amount	Stage
WLP500 - Trappist Ale Yeast	Ale	Liquid	2.37 tbsp	Primary

Notes: This is an all-grain mod of the extract recipe in the Recipes forum. I substituted Cascade for Brewer's Gold and stirred a 1.5 liter starter with the WLP500 for 24 hours to encourage a quick start to fermentation. I also mashed all the grains instead of steeping any. My actual OG was 1.089 and FG was 1.010, for a 10.37% ABV.

 

[mac_1103]

Piraat Ale costs about $9 per bottle, or about $1.23 per ounce

What size bottles are you paying nine bucks for?

 

[madscientist451]

What size bottles are you paying nine bucks for?

$6.50 (plus tax) at total wine in Virginia, for 11 oz. Bottle, so at least $.60/oz. The recipe above I calculated at about $.065/ oz, so by home brewing you are “saving” about $5-6 a bottle.
https://www.totalwine.com/beer/ale/...n-ipa/piraat-ale/p/3375817?s=205&igrules=true

They also have the Piraat triple hop for $19.95 for a 750ml bottle.

 

[mac_1103]

so at least $.60/oz.

Which is less than half of what he said. Which is why I asked.

 

[madscientist451]

Perhaps a bottle shop would upcharge for a single bottle?

 

[mac_1103]

They'd have to downsize the bottle.

 

[BrewZer]

It's $27 for a four-pack including tax locally. But I have to drive 15 miles in traffic to get it, so that adds about $4 in gas.

I said "about" $9.

Internet comparison: https://belgianstyleales.com/products/piraat-belgian-ale-11-2-oz

Work with me here, I'm justifying homebrewing.

 

[mac_1103]

It's $27 for a four-pack including tax.

Which is $6.75 a bottle, not $9. And a $9 bottle isn't $1.23 an ounce either, unless the bottle is 7.3 ounces. I mean, "math" is in the title of the thread after all.

 

[BrewZer]

Which is $6.75 a bottle, not $9. And a $9 bottle isn't $1.23 an ounce either, unless the bottle is 7.3 ounces. I mean, "math" is in the title of the thread after all.

So I see you're more into math than beer.

Not my fault -- I worked the calculator as hard as I could... and I probably shouldn't do that while sampling the brew...

 

[madscientist451]

So I see you're more into math than beer.

Hey, even with the "proper" calculations. its still way cheaper to brew your own.
My next journey to homebrew savings: Achel Bruin Extra clone.

 

[Snuffy]

homebrew math:
one, two, a few.

 

[Mr. Vern]

much closer to home, beer prevents Alzheimer's! :

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6682961/

Don't look, Ethel! (dementia and excessive alcohol) Maybe a rush to ROI should be a marathon not a race. It took me a few years to realize this myself (of course everyone has a different journey)! This is how I am approaching my late 40's (48 in September), your body/mind will tell you if you listen to it.

Please do not take this the wrong way, just my personal experience is pints can go down very quickly and in rapid succession when you are starting to keg. It is very exciting to have a beer faucet in your home and the ability to keep the faucet running... I'd love to see everyone here posting in 20 years and in good health. Now excuse me while I hydrate and order some Ensure, feeling a little less youthful after writing that

I still party, though. "everything in moderation, including moderation" -Oscar Wilde

 

[MaxStout]

I've long kept a spreadsheet to track my ingredients. One day in a time of boredom I made a new tab and listed my gear, along with the prices paid, to the best of my memory. I didn't itemize little things like tubing, bottle brushes, etc. Mainly kettles, fermenters, burners, ferm chamber, test equipment, and so on.

Close to $5k.

It'll take me a LONG time to recover those costs from savings with HB. I'd better drink up.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

There are three kinds of people in this world, those who are good at math and those who are not.

 

[Ninoid]

hobbies reduce the risk of dimentia:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10409527/

much closer to home, beer prevents Alzheimer's! :

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6682961/

"In summary, regular beer consumption could constitute a non-invasive preventive measure for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, since it is effective in reducing the aluminum body load, as well as in alleviating the mineral homeostasis imbalance in the brain and the pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory effects induced by that metal."

So beer helps prevent dementia, but not if it's in an aluminum can. Great, mine's in glass bottles.

 

[Willy]

I didn't itemize little things

Little things ? (For me, it adds up to 1-2k+ if I add - the mill I no longer use, the old copper coils, tubing, the flask, mag bar spinners, ispindels, and on and on. )

The little things were all part of slowly getting serious about brewing. But dang, that little stuff added up for me.

 

[MaxStout]

Little things ? (For me, it adds up to 1-2k+ if I add - the mill I no longer use, the old copper coils, tubing, the flask, mag bar spinners, ispindels, and on and on. )

The little things were all part of slowing getting serious about brewing. But dang, that little stuff added up for me.

I probably have a grand sunk into stuff like that. Starsan, water chemicals, cleaning supplies, tools, gloves, etc. I've come a ways since I bought that $150 brew kit 15 years ago.

 

[Skeeter686]

I've long kept a spreadsheet to track my ingredients. One day in a time of boredom I made a new tab and listed my gear, along with the prices paid, to the best of my memory. I didn't itemize little things like tubing, bottle brushes, etc. Mainly kettles, fermenters, burners, ferm chamber, test equipment, and so on.

Close to $5k.

It'll take me a LONG time to recover those costs from savings with HB. I'd better drink up.

I've kept all my receipts, because I was curious how much I'd be spending. They're all nearly stored, but I still haven't tried adding them up. I'm enjoying my hobby and I'm less curious about the total cost than I used to be.

 

[Snuffy]

I've kept all my receipts, because I was curious how much I'd be spending. They're all nearly stored, but I still haven't tried adding them up. I'm enjoying my hobby and I'm less curious about the total cost than I used to be.

I'd much rather guess than know for sure. I think some figures are best kept fuzzy.

 

[johnsonpvb17]

My beer math is my AX statement. After paying $10++ for a draft of Fin du Monde in St Augustine and buying a couple of special edition 750 ml bottles at Side Project and Perennial Artisan in St Louis recently, what ever I concoct seems very inexpensive. (Although the regular price of Abraxas at their brewery is way less than Total Wine.)

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Life circumstances created a brewing pause, and a shortage in my lineup. The wife decided to do Mexican for supper, so I offered to supplement our thin supply by picking up some Corona. It’s not my favorite, but available at the little beer store down the road. I have not bought beer in a while. I picked up a box of 12 and handed the gal behind the counter a $20. I got back two coins. The first thought in my head was; “I can brew 5 gallons of good beer for what I just spent on this stuff!”

Beer math sometimes hurts your feelings.

 

[Broothru]

Crop damage.

That seems to work with many people. A friend of mine would be able to get several deer that way plus what he could get during hunting season.

There's a lot of deer in my neck of the woods. I once asked my long-time neighbor across the county road how he controlled destructive deer on his 60 acres of mixed use agriculturally zoned land.

"Easy," he said. "A 30.06 and a freezer."

Harvesting destructive nuisance animals is allowed year-round, and doesn't require hunting license, at least in this part of rural Maryland.

 

[mac_1103]

Harvesting destructive nuisance animals is definitely not allowed here in the suburbs. At least not with a 30.06. The HOA of a subdivision that borders mine actually tried to hire some hunters to take out deer in the neighborhood a few years ago. Fortunately the hunters had a lot more sense than the HOA board.

 

[firerat]

So many moons ago when i got the green light from Mrs. Firerat to enter into this hobby, I sold it to her with the idea of me saving a boatload of money making my own beer!!

Fast forward about 5 years in, and we are standing amongst my fermenters, fermenting chamber, dozen or so kegs, pot's big enough to double as hot tubs, and the various other random things hanging about.

She looks me dead in my eye and says, "ok so how much have we saved so far?"

To which i replied, "in therapy, a ton!!"

I stopped doing the math a LONG time ago.

 

[Broothru]

I've long kept a spreadsheet to track my ingredients. One day in a time of boredom I made a new tab and listed my gear, along with the prices paid, to the best of my memory. I didn't itemize little things like tubing, bottle brushes, etc. Mainly kettles, fermenters, burners, ferm chamber, test equipment, and so on.

Close to $5k.

It'll take me a LONG time to recover those costs from savings with HB. I'd better drink up.

"Close to $5k."

How do you manage to get by so cheaply?

My son just turned 47. I started brewing the year he started college, so about 30 years since I brewed my first batch. I wouldn't know where to start compiling the money I've spent on this hobby, both directly and indirectly. Just counting my current setup of stainless gear, glycol chiiler and automated AIO, that itself is probably $5K combined. Then there's the kegerator, the 20 kegs, the refrigerator we didn't get rid of when SWMBO's got her new kitchen remodel, or when I had a 240V/30A box installed on the patio so I could brew outside. There's bins full of TC equipment, some frequently used but others mostly collecting dust. Glass carboys, plastic fermenters, a banjo burner and 10 gallon brew pot, three Igloo coolers, etc., that haven't been used in years, but surely do fill up a shed. So many bits and pieces that would surely take my brewing to the next level, but now merely take up space.

We're not even yet talking about over 200# or grain, or literally a freezer compartment filled to the brim with untold hops and frozen yeast samples. I do have electronic files of nearly every beer I ever brewed, so if I estimated an average of ~$25/per 5 gallon batch (prolly $15 per when I started, maybe $45 now) I might derive a rough estimate of consumables. Surely I've not accounted for everything. There's also $25 or so for HBT and (now) $49.99 for the electronic-only version of Craft Beer & Brewing.

If I'd only started investing all that money at 7% ROI, compounded over 30 years, I'd have a very tidy pile of cash. But it could never begin to match the fun, camaraderie, adventure, and (parenthetically) awards I've enjoyed. I'd have been a much poorer person. Glad I invested the time and money here!

 

[Broothru]

Harvesting destructive nuisance animals is definitely not allowed here in the suburbs. At least not with a 30.06. The HOA of a subdivision that borders mine actually tried to hire some hunters to take out dear in the neighborhood a few years ago. Fortunately the hunters had a lot more sense than the HOA board.

I remember about 10 years ago the bedroom communities of Rockville and Gaithersburg, literally the suburbs of D.C., were being overrun with deer, and the hiring of sharpshooters to cull the herds was discussed, but I don't remember how things finally got resolved. Fun Fact: Naturalists contend that the densely populated areas around D.C. Metro area have more deer today than when Colonialist George Washington was a surveyor in what is now Fairfax and Loudin Counties, long before 1776.