How cheap can you brew?

[jbsg02]

I'm wondering who can brew the cheapest. Only factoring in ingredients, so don't bother with factoring in propane and equipment. I'm not buying in bulk yet, will probably order some hops in bulk next season. I saved some when switching to all-grain, but I know there are people brewing much more economically than I am. My cheapest brew to date is probably a blonde ale I did. 89 cents per pound of grain (10 pounds), 1 oz of hops (Around $2) and a package of S-04. It was a year ago, so I don't have my exact number. All in all, that was 5 gallons for around 17 dollars after tax.

So now tell me how cheap you can brew. Growing your own hops? Harvesting yeast? Growing your only barley?!?!

 

[Haputanlas]

I know I won't beat others here, but this is it:

$0.61 /lb of 2-row @ 9 lbs = $5.49
$0.50 /oz of hops @ 1.5 oz = $0.75
$2.99 for S-05 1 packet = $2.99

Total of $9.23 for ~55 12 oz beers ($0.16 per beer)

 

[jbsg02]

I know I won't beat others here, but this is it:

$0.61 /lb of 2-row @ 9 lbs = $5.49
$0.50 /oz of hops @ 1.5 oz = $0.75
$2.99 for S-05 1 packet = $2.99

Total of $9.23 for ~55 12 oz beers ($0.16 per beer)

Very nice! I assume these are bulk prices?

 

[reed1099]

Wow, I need to start buying in bulk. Or stop letting every friend/neighbor/and my wife indulge!

 

[reed1099]

Wow, I need to start buying in bulk. Or stop letting every friend/neighbor/and my wife indulge!

Time to implement the "tips" jar for contributions

 

[Haputanlas]

Yes, the grains are usually the same prices and never change. The hops are trickier and can vary quite a bit depending on variety, availability, etc.

 

[Brulosopher]

I buy bulk grain (.65/lb) and hops (.68/oz), plus I use harvested yeast (free). So... the ESB I just brewed cost me about... $10

 

[Haputanlas]

I buy bulk grain (.65/lb) and hops (.68/oz), plus I use harvested yeast (free). So... the ESB I just brewed cost me about... $10

For the size of the beer, you've probably got me beat. It's the yeast that can kill your cost. The beer I posted is a small session beer and is expected to be cheap.

 

[Haputanlas]

Wow, I need to start buying in bulk. Or stop letting every friend/neighbor/and my wife indulge!

What a sight!

Oh, and I'll be able to put a kings Stanley cup poster up on my wall now

 

[Brulosopher]

For the size of the beer, you've probably got me beat. It's the yeast that can kill your cost. The beer I posted is a small session beer and is expected to be cheap.

OG = 1.054. Yeast harvesting has proven a huge money saver for me, and I've yet to have a bad batch using harvested yeast.

 

[Haputanlas]

OG = 1.054. Yeast harvesting has proven a huge money saver for me, and I've yet to have a bad batch using harvested yeast.

I also didn't mention that I buy reverse osmosis water and treat with minerals. Usually adds an additional $3.50 to the brew, but it's worth it.

 

[DannyD]

$ 0.33 /lb of pale malt
$ 0.52/ounce of hops
(AND WHO BUYS YEAST ANY MORE?)

South Africa

 

[SouthBay]

$0.60 / lb for grain x 8 = $4.80 (GW Pale Ale malt)
homegrown cascade and centennial = free
harvested yeast = free
good tap water for brewing = free

getting tanked on a saturday for about a dollar = priceless.

 

[passedpawn]

Propane?
Ice?
Water?
DME for starter?
Bottle caps?
Priming sugar?

Electric brewing saves a few bucks - propane isn't free. You guys aren't including that cost I see. It's about $1 of electricity to brew a 10g batch. That's what I do.

If you chill with ice, you need to include that. I pull water from my pool for my plate chiller, then return to pool: net use zero. Then I toss the carboys into my large keezer to get them the rest of the way to pitching temps. No ice, no water.

I don't use DME for starters. Table sugar & olive oil. I know what you're thinking. Just don't knock it until you've done it for a year or two. I haven't had any kind of extract in my house for at least a year.

Kegging can save some money. CO2 isn't free, but I have a 20# tank that I've been using for about 9 months and honestly it doesn't seem like I've used much of it all all. I think it is less than $20 to fill.

 

[Yooper]

If we're not counting the cost of water (cheap, but still not free) or electricity, and just ingredients, I can brew a 10 gallon batch of cream ale for about $16.

The basemalt was $33 for 50 pounds, and the other few grains are cheap. I grew my own hops, and saved yeast from other batches. I buy hops in bulk (the ones I don't grow) so I have many pounds of hops in the freezer. It's far cheaper to do that.

 

[CGish]

I don't use DME for starters. Table sugar & olive oil. I know what you're thinking. Just don't knock it until you've done it for a year or two. I haven't had any kind of extract in my house for at least a year.

I did a quick search, found a lot of contradictory information and have to ask - Are you serious?

And if you are, does this work for every type of yeast?

 

[JonathanG]

Subscribed. (This will be a great motivator for me to get into bulk purchasing and storage, especially once I start brewing something larger than 5-gallon batches!)

 

[passedpawn]

I did a quick search, found a lot of contradictory information and have to ask - Are you serious?

And if you are, does this work for every type of yeast?

I'm not going to address this here. Let me just say to do your own experiments. PM me and we can discuss further if you like.

 

[CGish]

I'm not going to address this here.

Right, thread hijacking. My apologies to the O.P. and Mods. Got curious and forgot my manners.

Let me just say to do your own experiments. PM me and we can discuss further if you like.

PM coming your way. Thank You.

 

[Haputanlas]

Propane?
Ice?
Water?
DME for starter?
Bottle caps?
Priming sugar?

Propane - Not 100% sure, but it costs me approximately $10 for a 20lb tank and I believe I get about 6-7 5.5-10 gallon batches. Let's assume 5.5 gallon batches and it costs $1.42 per batch.

Ice - None. Plate chiller
Water - $3.50 for 10 gallons of Reverse Osmosis. I don't count the water I use from my hose for the chiller since it's negligible.
DME - I typically use dry yeast with no starter
Bottle Caps - None, I keg. When I do bottle, I have the swing tops and don't use caps.
Priming sugar - I force carbonate, which then begs the question of how much C02 costs.
C02 - I haven't filled my 10 lb tank in almost a year. Not sure what it costs per batch, but negligible.

Electric brewing saves a few bucks - propane isn't free. You guys aren't including that cost I see. It's about $1 of electricity to brew a 10g batch. That's what I do.

Putting together a heat stick right now to switch from propane (Or to augment the propane).

If you chill with ice, you need to include that. I pull water from my pool for my plate chiller, then return to pool: net use zero.

That's pretty damn cool. Are you using pumps? If so, how much does the electricity cost for those pumps. Just Kidding You'll get a headache thinking about all of this (Unless you're a brewery who needs to know).

Then I toss the carboys into my large keezer to get them the rest of the way to pitching temps. No ice, no water.

Same here

I don't use DME for starters. Table sugar & olive oil. I know what you're thinking. Just don't knock it until you've done it for a year or two. I haven't had any kind of extract in my house for at least a year.

I'd like to try olive oil just for the hell of it, but haven't had the balls yet. Glad to hear you've had success.

Kegging can save some money. CO2 isn't free, but I have a 20# tank that I've been using for about 9 months and honestly it doesn't seem like I've used much of it all all. I think it is less than $20 to fill.

Same here. As I said, I think it's ridiculously minimal in cost.

 

[matt2778]

I keep hearing you can't save money brewing and that's just not true. I can't match the cost numbers some of you are hitting but I'm happy with my savings.

Nierra sevada knock off price breakdown
Propane. 4.25
Yeast. 3.50
Hops. 4.00
9.375lbs [email protected]. 7.31
1lbs [email protected]. 2.00
.25lbs [email protected]. .50
Starsan. .50
Caps. 1.25
Minerals,whirlfloc etc. .75
Thats less than $12.00 per case in comparison to the $35.00 they charge around here for Sierra Nevada,or $46.00 in savings per batch. My equiptment costs to this point are in the $700.00 neighborhood(including broken hydrometers, and thermometers). Considering im up to batch 25 of all grain brewing my equiptment was paid off ten batches ago and I'm now ahead by approximately $400.

 

[Horseballs]

I just brewed a 1.063 stout porter that came to $14.25 for 5.5 gallons into the fermenter. I bought the hops by the pound, base malt by the 55 pounds and had some wlp004 yeast slurry that I pitched it on. I also was able to get about a quart of wort that didn't make it into the fermenter that I will use for making starters in the future. Not bad.