How can I save money on brew day?

[Jaybird]

Getting ready to bottle one batch and brew another today, and looking at my batch-specific costs—its sitting at about $9-12/gallon. I'd like to see if I can cut costs down some, so I have more money to spend on equipment investments to make better beer.

Here's my ingredient cost breakdown for today's 10 gallon pale ale:

Yeast starter: $11.58 (used one smack pack and spun it up with DME, thus saving $7.70 compared to last batch and getting an improved pitch rate.)

Grain bill: $25.49

Hop bill: $26.63

Water: $24.50 for RO water from store

Incidentals: $7.83 (caps, other one time use items)

Where could I focus on lowering costs, even if it requires equipment/time investment?

Man..I have seen RO system on Ebay for under 100 bones that will do over 1000 gallons. 4 batches and its paid for. Just a thought. Why are you buying water? Is your water just crap or what? You could get a water profile and brew the styles for the water you have....Just a thought.

Plan several brews in advance so you can pitch on your yeast cake, or at least save your yeast and repitch. We give a class on that at our store to help people save $$$. If your brewing IIpas then you are gonna pay for hops. Just the facts bro. But if you're like me and REALLY want to challenge yourself dive into Super LIGHT lagers. Simple grain and hop bills STUPID cheap to make. ya just have to be able to control temps. But they are a challenge THAT'S for sure!

Good luck man. If I can help at all please don't hesitate to ask.

Cheers
Jay

 

[MaryB]

I also have a 15x60 foot garden. I haven't bought vegetables from the store in years unless I want something for a stir fry(easier to buy that frozen and get water chestnuts, mini corn, etc). My cost is whatever I buy in new seeds each year because I save seeds of the heirlooms.

This is my first year of hops so how much I get is wait and see... but it can be done cheap with the only expense being the hop rhizomes. Well and the 3 screw eyes I used to make a fan of baling twine from the ground to a single point 14 feet up. I may add some twine around my bay window of the house just for fun.

Drying screens are old window screens from casement windows. I made a rack from scrap pallets to hold them and I use the same screens to dry morels.

I grow my own hops too, just for fun.
But come on, lets admit it - it's not fiscally profitable to do it. We do it for fun, not to save $$$.

How many pounds of hop leaves did you harvest in your first year?

How much time did you spend on gardening? (it's like gardening for 3 tomatoes like my SHMBO does and declaring they are "free" - in economics there is something called "opportunity cost")

 

[pdxal]

That's pretty good. Now, if you get 4 ozs dry this year from them (and that is probably on the high side), your cost of the hops works out to $200/lb.

If you spend nothing more, and get 3 lbs from them next year (and that would be a pretty good haul), you are still looking at $16/lb after 2 years.

Eventually they will provide savings, but not in the first 2 to 3 years.

I am looking forward to brewing a couple of fresh-hop beers this year, which is something I couldn't do if I didn't grow hops.

(OK, I'll admit I'm having fun with the math)
But, once the hop trellis and everything is paid for with the $200 per pound hops the first year they will become free, and the cost will amortize (accountants on here correct me if I'm wrong) and the true cost/pound will decrease over time. 6.25lbs over the 3 years/$50 as you mention would work out to $8.00/lb if there was nothing more than the original $50 spent.
Cheers Calder, just having fun with you. They're still $200/# the first year.

 

[Magnus314]

I reuse yeast slurry, use R/O (or catch rain), buy bulk hops, and buy grain from MoreBeer where I can get good-to-great prices and free shipping.

My last 11 gallon batch cost $24, including electricity.

 

[pdxal]

Typical 5 gallon brew:
$9 in grain
<$1 in water filtered with Brita filters and/or Campden tablets
$4 or less for hops (1/2 oz Magnum or Chinook for bittering plus 1oz late hops loose/pellet give or take)
<$10 in yeast plus DME for starter if I don't have a saved yeast strain for it.
=roughly $4.80/gallon without much difficulty.
IMO filtered/RO water, bulk grain and bulk hops, plus saving and propagating yeast when feasible could get your costs way down.

 

[jonny24]

Anyone saving slurry from dry yeast? I mean yes you obviously save money, but right now it seems like a hassle to save less than $3 (I get it in 20g baggies from the LHBS for 4.50, that's good for two batches).

 

[kombat]

Anyone saving slurry from dry yeast?

Absolutely! I don't do it to save money, I do it for better fermentations. When I repitch slurry from a batch that was originally pitched with (rehydrated, obviously) dry yeast, my lag time is much shorter, and I get a better beer. I pitch about half a yeast cake from a previous batch into a new one.

 

[wyowolf]

wow... 9 bucks, jealous.

That's all the lower hanging fruit. If your looking for a little more challenge but big savings, try malting your own grain. It's not terribly hard but does take some time and attention. I get 6row barley locally for 9 bucks a 50 lb bag, wheat is a little more.

 

[dstockwell]

Anyone saving slurry from dry yeast? I mean yes you obviously save money, but right now it seems like a hassle to save less than $3 (I get it in 20g baggies from the LHBS for 4.50, that's good for two batches).

Yep all the time... I do 3.25G batches and pitch one packet, and make at least two more batches from the slurry.

 

[Firewalker11]

I reuse yeast as well, no need to make a starter that way and it seems (to me at least) that its a lot harder to over-pitch.

 

[BeardedBrews]

Where could I focus on lowering costs, even if it requires equipment/time investment?

I like that this thread is still motoring along even though the OP seems to be gone Come on back Medic and help us understand why the hops for your 1.050 pale ale set you back $4/oz and who is selling the $1.50/gallon RO water.

The common theme is find a better source for hops, by the pound would be ideal and vacuum seal the extra. Then get water carboy and buy your RO in something other than 1-gallon jugs. Finally, you might be able to save a little money on grain in bulk, but $1.37/pound is not too terrible.

Good luck!

 

[mousehunter]

If you live in a rural community, you may have friends who have good well water.

My wife occasionally buys bulk wheett for bread, going to try home malting.

I have kept liquid yeast strains alive, but eventually just went to dry yeists. That said, dry yeast is not as cheap as it used to be.

Once upon a time I was trying to break under $2/gallon. Last 2 batches (I have not brewed for forever), were closer to $10. From the LBS ( "local" about 100 miles away) all grain kits are not much cheaper than extract.

 

[aprichman]

If I had more dedicated space for brewing I would go back to harvesting yeast.

I haven't been maximizing savings lately so my typical brew day costs:

~$15 grain
~$5 hops
$4 water
$7 yeast
~$5 caps, brewing salts, nutrients, campden, fining, priming, cleaning chemicals, sanitizing chemicals
~$5 electricity (hot cleaning water, fermentation chamber, boiling priming solution), propane

All said I'm probably making beer at ~$8/gallon. With equipment cost factored in its probably closer to $9, I've brewed more than a couple hundred gallons of beer and have spent around $1000.

If I had more space I would be buying grain in bulk and milling it myself and also reusing harvested yeast. I would invest in an RO filter so I don't have to buy from the machines at $2/5 gallons and also look into using my cleaning water more efficiently.

 

[bucketnative]

Man, as someone who doesn't brew IPAs, I have to say that the hop bill was a shock to the system. My taste buds seem to have shifted me away from IPAs over the past few years (although Terrapin's Mosaic has come into my recent rota of beers), and I have really been focusing on wits and saisons, which typically have very restrained hop requirements.

I have been saving money by reusing yeast for a few generations.

I also started using Philly city water, which from everyone I have talked to, is pretty good for brewing. I haven't yet explored RO water and salt profiles.

Another savings for me... doing away with hop bags.

 

[Magnus314]

Half a pack of dry yeast is enough for a 5 gallon batch pitch. Biermuncher has a thread about that here somewhere.

And if you save the slurry in a jar in the fridge, about a cup will get all but the highest gravity beers going fast.

 

[CBelli]

Hops by the pound always
Bulk grain (50# sacks)
My water thankfully is good for brewing
Reusing yeast
Cant see any other way to save money aside from brewing light beer all the time

Agree with JonnyRotten.... save money buying in bulk


Crisp Pale Ale Malt (good stuff ) for $62 a sack of 55lbs LHBS
Plain 2 row domestic ~$50 for 50 pounds LHBS
Hops from $15-25 a pound labelpeelers.com
Check your tap water $20+ for water is nuts.
$4 for a pack of S05

Last time I priced a good hoppy IPA cost me $20.00-$25.00 for 5 gallons

 

[easydays]

Hops are always expensive and sometimes unavailable. I grow my own! Lots of fun and lots of FREE hops! They grow like alien weeds and after the 2nd year you will reap the bennys. The first two years are slow, second year only got a few pounds, last year had so many was giving away what I didn't figure I would brew with, that is after I bagged and placed in freezer enough to brew for a year!

 

[3puttpete]

Another cost saving area. Our Costco has propane refills for about $7.50 for an empty 20# tank. Also, they only charge you for what they put in, so you can bring partial tanks.

My brew day is 2- 10 gallon batches.

Water - I have a well for irrigation. Water is great for brewing.
Yeast - washed and re used
Grains for both batches shipped for under $75.
Bulk hops for about $20 per lb so, a bit over a lb for 20 gallons
two 20# tank will get me through 2 brew days = 2 * $7.50 = $15 for 20 gallons of beer.

All told
$75 grains - shipped
$20 hops
$5 yeast (restock once per year)
$15 Propane (2 tanks)
$5 Misc - sanitizer, co2 etc
------------
$120 for 20 gallons. or about $6 per gallon

Also, Just planted 8 rhizomes. Bought 6 on ebay and they included 9 for $20. One did not sprout.
Used stuff around the house and bought about $20 in misc stuff to get the structure.

Should easily get 8 lbs per year (dried) starting 2017. So, yes, that should be a major ongoing cost saving.

It is a hobby. The time spent is not insignificant. But, then neither is golf
Somehow a great tasting $1.00 craft beer is more satisfying than a great tasting $6.00 craft beer.

 

[Kiknjville]

Look for the RO re-fill water dispensers in your local grocery stores. .25 a gallon here. Just need to save the plastic jugs to re-fill

 

[DrinknBuddy]

Don't forget the cost of the cooling water. Here in New Mexico it's my highest bill. $70.00/mth in the winter and over $100.00/mth in the summer. I send my hot water to the washer and do a load of laundry.

 

[nmenninga]

No one seems to have mentioned saving a jar of wort in the freezer for next batch, in place of buying DME for starters. I usually dump the cold break from the bottom of the boil pot into a cone filter into a jar on brew day, save maybe 3/4 qt, freeze it, and save the expense of DME every time I do a starter.

 

[BeardedBrews]

Man, as someone who doesn't brew IPAs, I have to say that the hop bill was a shock to the system.

I don't think there are many people using $26 in hops for every 10-gallon batch they make, but it's not hard to get there when you're brewing an IPA.

I use about 10oz of Centennial in an 11g batch of 2-Hearted, $12+S/H if I buy it from YakimaValley, or $20 from the LHBS.

 

[bucketnative]

Don't forget the cost of the cooling water... I send my hot water to the washer and do a load of laundry.

The other night I was running with a guy from San Diego who had a business developing water reclamation systems for commercial brewers. After running and talking with him, it got me thinking about my own process water... I like that idea. In the summer I might route it out to our rain barrel, depending on how wet the summer is in PA. But, the washer is an alternative. So is my mop bucket for cleaning the kitchen floor after brewing. Lot's of possible uses.

 

[bucketnative]

Don't forget the cost of the cooling water... I send my hot water to the washer and do a load of laundry.

Dupe

 

[jmcquesten]

The other night I was running with a guy from San Diego who had a business developing water reclamation systems for commercial brewers. After running and talking with him, it got me thinking about my own process water... I like that idea. In the summer I might route it out to our rain barrel, depending on how wet the summer is in PA. But, the washer is an alternative. So is my mop bucket for cleaning the kitchen floor after brewing. Lot's of possible uses.

I run my cooling water to the garden sprinkler during the summer. The fist bit of really hot water from the chiller goes into one of the 3 brewing pots for cleaning, then I connect to the sprinkler.

 

[GuruGerald]

I am an English Home Brewer so maybe I may be out of touch withyour systems. BUT water is surely water. Over here in England we just get it out of the tap. I know you guys like a lot of hops but $26 ! How can that be. Same with yeast . One needs only 20grams for ten gallons, I buy bulk yeast and store in a fridge. I also buy bulk malt extract to use with smaller ammounts of grain for easier brewing. Lastly why to all you guys bottle beer. I think it is because you are not used to good draft beer. Over in US of A you can buy great craft beer in bottles but all your draft is too fizzy and too cold. So why not put your brew in pressure barels?
I have been brewing for fifty years, but never better than now, thanks to American hops - love em. But $8 per five gallon should be enough for any hophead.

 

[Pkrd]

I am an English Home Brewer

I bet you save a bunch of refrigeration costs by drinking your beer warm too.

 

[Wiscohio_brewer]

Hops by the pound and reusing yeast have saved me so much money. Get a water report and use tap water. Make it work for you with salt additions. You might find that your water could add some unique flavor to your beer.

 

[Natdavis777]

Getting ready to bottle one batch and brew another today, and looking at my batch-specific costs—its sitting at about $9-12/gallon. I'd like to see if I can cut costs down some, so I have more money to spend on equipment investments to make better beer.

Here's my ingredient cost breakdown for today's 10 gallon pale ale:

Yeast starter: $11.58 (used one smack pack and spun it up with DME, thus saving $7.70 compared to last batch and getting an improved pitch rate.)

Grain bill: $25.49

Hop bill: $26.63

Water: $24.50 for RO water from store

Incidentals: $7.83 (caps, other one time use items)

Where could I focus on lowering costs, even if it requires equipment/time investment?

Grain bill cost seems fine...

For the hops, I would suggest investing in hop extract (I bought a 220g can last year for 20$ and still have 20mL left) and buying most frequent hops used in bulk.

Water.... Do you have a Kroger or WalMart near? They have Glacier RO systems @ 37 cents/gal. Check with a TDS meter to verify quality, but mine tests fine and costs me 5$ for 15 gal RO.

Water seems to be the biggest money gouger. If you dont have the store bought RO water available, Id go with others and get a home RO system.

If you arent around 80-90% efficiency, try and get there with better techniques/processes. This will cut down grain cost.

 

[Natdavis777]

Forgot to mention yeast. Check out Brulosopher and yeast harvesting.

I have a 5L and a 2L flask for yeast. Initially, I doubled a vial of yeast and store 100B cells in 2 different jars. Now, I use (1) 100B in the 2L flask (to create another 200B cells to divide in two jars, my harvest) and the other (1) jar of 100B cells in the 5L flask to make enough yeast to pitch in a 10 gal batch. It is all 1st gen yeast, unstressed, etc. I have 002, 007, and 090 saved in the fridge. Havent bought yeast in a long time.