how do you save money... and what's your per bottle price?

[FuzzeWuzze]

While i do try to save money by buying in bulk when i can im way past making cheap beer after building my own 5 tap kegerator and now building a 3 vessel EHerms ...ill have to brew for 20 years buying no new toys to break even.

 

[andy6026]

Sure you can save money. That is part of the hobby for me; trying to make excellent beers a lower costs than buying it.

- Buy hops in bulk
- Buy grain in bulk
- Re-use yeast

I'm pretty anal about keeping records of costs. Over the past 5 years I have keep a record off the majority of my costs and total bottles.

Overall costs including all equipment and everything I have bought to make beer, including a couple of hundred lbs of grain and 20 lbs of hops I still have to use, averages out to 49 cents a bottle.

My current cost per bottle for ingredients is 28 cents a bottle (including caps, sanitizer, Fermcap, etc).

My average OG is 1.059, and I average 4.5 ozs of hops for a 5 gallon batch.

The only items not included in my costs are:

- Electricity (I use my stove)
- Water (I use tap water)
- Labor

Did you keep records on how much of it you drank yourself and how much you gave away? Or would you say that you give away home brew at the same rate that you would shell out to your friends/family/neighbors commercial beer?

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I drink most of it myself or with my gf, maybe 2 bottles out of a batch goes to friends.

If Friends want me to provide drinks for a party or something, they buy the food and we work it out...

 

[ncbrewer]

I've been doing hop stands for my finishing hops. I think this is very cost effective, and I like the results a lot. For hop flavor and aroma, I normally only use an ounce of hops.

Another savings is using dry yeast instead of liquid (still more expensive than harvesting of course). This won't work if you're brewing something that needs a strain not available in dry form. And some brewers don't believe the quality is as good, but I'm sold on it.

 

[azazel1024]

I call bull**** on anybody claiming they've saved money with this hobby.

Once you factor in the equipment costs (which you never stop buying), and how much homebrew you give away - it's a losing game.

You didn't read my long post then.

The TL;DR variety is, I have spent somewhere in the area of $400-500 in equipment. Maybe another $200 of equipment gifted to me. Over the last 2 years I've also probably spent maybe $1,000 in ingredients.

Even with higher costs early in brewing, I probably would have spend $1,200 on the LOW end on beer over the same time period, probably more like $1,500 or so. So roughly break even, but I have produced easily twice the volume of beer I would have for the same cost. My current running cost is easily 1/4-1/3rd the per bottle cost now.

Even with what I have given away, plus increased my own consumption, I am at worst break even.

Since I don't plan on buying any equipment for the foreseeable future, other than making a heatstick, that might cost me a total of $70, and save it's price in propane costs in a couple of years...I am easily saving several hundred a year at this point with all of my equipment capitol costs paid off.

Ignoring price per bottle, I am producing only twice what I would have been buying anyway, but the cost is roughly 1/3rd or even a little less than what it would have been.

I mean, heck, I am probably spending around $200 a year on grain and $100 a year on hops and herbs/ingredients. Maybe $30 on propane and $30 on other disposables (sanitizers, DME, etc.). That is maybe rounding up $400 a year now that I have moved to reusing yeast and buying grain and hops in bulk.

A SLOW year might have been $600 a year buying beer. Other bonus is, my wife IS drinking less wine now, even if it is only a little less. Probably saving $100 a year on beer (because I'll admit to maybe spending $100 on beer still, as I do go to the liquor store maybe ever 2-3 months and buy a few 6-packs) and probably saving $100-200 on wine because my wife is buying less of it as I am making beer to her taste sometimes.

So, my actual costs truly are less, even when you account for the fact that I am giving away so much of it and also drinking more of it myself.

More beer enjoyment + spending less than I had been = awesome times.

Easily possible if you don't either go crazy or do it "wrong". But hey, if you are enjoying it, doing it "wrong" isn't really wrong.

 

[azazel1024]

Yeah, I'm not in the 'give beer away' set. If you come over, I'll offer. A lot of my friends have hobbies and skills that I don't, so some arrangements get made. But as far as "Please, take this beer off my hands!" Flocc that.

I brought some in to work one time and shared with everybody. Then I started getting the "When are you going to bring me more beer?" My answer was "Well, when are you going to bring me something to trade?"

My wife gives my beer away to her friends sometimes, but I tend to discourage that. However, since I entertain a lot, I "give away a lot". You come to my place and I will PLY you with beer. I don't like giving it to people, in large part because I tend not to get my bottles back (my neighbor is cool though, he will rinse the bottles and give them back, so I give him a sixer every once in awhile).

My wife and I probably consume a very rough 66% of what we make however. The rest is friends/family visit consumption. My math comes to something like 50 bottles between my wife and myself in an average month, maybe 25 bottles on friends and family in a typical month. However, considering parties and holidays, the average might be a bit closer to 60 for us and 35 for others once you include a lot of those events.

I do about 10 a week, her about 5 a week. When we entertain neighbors or friends will often hit up a six pack and that is often once a week. Holidays can easily be a case if not more (was just at my in-laws for 2 nights and went through almost an entire case).

 

[azazel1024]

While i do try to save money by buying in bulk when i can im way past making cheap beer after building my own 5 tap kegerator and now building a 3 vessel EHerms ...ill have to brew for 20 years buying no new toys to break even.

This is half the reason I am holding off on doing anything like that. My BiaB setup gets good efficiency, is pretty fast and makes damn good beer in the volumes I generally require and is fun.

Someday I'll probably invest in an eherms system or something like that. Heck, if I keep up the hobby in to my twilight years, I'll NEED to automate a lot of stuff, especially the wort and liquor movement. Then again, in 30 years, I probably won't care or need to worry too much if I am dropping a grand or two on a fun hobby.

Besides, without some SERIOUS work, I doubt I could make brewing cheaper than I am now, other than moving more towards electric than propane, or what I am planning on, hybrid. Already buying grain and hops in bulk and reusing yeast. About the only what I could go cheaper is finding ways to get the bulk orders cheaper or doing mashes for pre-made starter wort (which I might do, because I kind of want to try doing some pre-made starters and canning them). So almost any new equipment wouldn't really increase my efficiency/save money, as it is, my brewhouse efficiency is in the mid 80% range for 1.055OG beers.

 

[notyal]

Did you keep records on how much of it you drank yourself and how much you gave away? Or would you say that you give away home brew at the same rate that you would shell out to your friends/family/neighbors commercial beer?

A kegerator is a kegerator. When beer freely flows, people will fill up their cups. I was buying commercial kegs before I started homebrewing, and they disappeared just as quickly if not quicker.

If anything, I think people now leave more cans and bottles at my house. They bring them just in case, then enjoy the homebrew, and then leave their 6 packs in my fridge.

 

[rodwha]

Since this isn't a business where I need to make a profit the cost o the equipment, which I could regain a portion of the cost from if need be, my equipment doesn't figure in, nor does the $2 for electricity or $0.50 in tap water. No one would even notice this on the monthly utility bills.

This is mostly about doing something that I enjoy, but it certainly costs less than buying it. I figure I'm spending Budweiser prices for craft beers. And I'm good with that.

 

[justenoughforme]

. I figure I'm spending Budweiser prices for craft beers. And I'm good with that.

+1, me too.

i compare my beer to a beer that costs 2.50 a bottle here. not to budweiser prices

 

[1977Brewer]

+1, me too.



i compare my beer to a beer that costs 2.50 a bottle here. not to budweiser prices

My go to ipa is based on a beer that sells for $11/6 pack. I brew it for a quarter of that. Just drank them side by side and I don't prefer one over the other, except maybe that mine is 2% less ABV.

 

[justenoughforme]

and mine is typically 2% more ABV than what i buy on the shelf.

 

[moreb33rplz]

If you don't count the first 12 batches I did that tasted terrible, I guess I'm coming out ahead.

 

[govner1]

Since it's my hobby & not my vocation, I do t really count all the costs. I brew what I like or friends would enjoy.

 

[TastyAdventure]

quote I once read here went something like, "Homebrewing to save money on beer is like buying a boat to save money on fish."[/QUOTE]


I completely disagree with this quote. How much fish do even good fishermen actually catch? How much fish were they actually eating before starting fishing? And a boat costs waay more than your standard brew setup. The analogy is just way off when you crunch the numbers

 

[notyal]

quote I once read here went something like, "Homebrewing to save money on beer is like buying a boat to save money on fish."

I completely disagree with this quote. How much fish do even good fishermen actually catch? How much fish were they actually eating before starting fishing? And a boat costs waay more than your standard brew setup. The analogy is just way off when you crunch the numbers

If you ate fish every night, and your preferred fish was chilean sea bass, and the only thing standing between you and a school of sea bass was some deep water, the analogy would be close.

I drink beer every day, and my preferred beer is a good IPA, and the only thing standing between me and gallons and gallons of good IPA is a little equipment.

On the other hand, if your fishing for catfish or Budweiser, just go to the grocery store.

 

[kombat]

quote I once read here went something like, "Homebrewing to save money on beer is like buying a boat to save money on fish."

I completely disagree with this quote. How much fish do even good fishermen actually catch? How much fish were they actually eating before starting fishing? And a boat costs waay more than your standard brew setup. The analogy is just way off when you crunch the numbers

Dude. It's a joke.

 

[justenoughforme]

it was a good joke.

 

[Firewalker11]

I didn't buy a lot of beer at the liquor store, mostly wine and spirits. I drank all of my beer in restaurants at $5-8 a pint. The cost of eating out was getting out of control so we eat at home now but but higher quality ingredients. Good beer is expensive at the store so home brewing looked to be affordable and a good hobby.

I do EBIAB only, bulk grain, 05 yeast, medium grain bills and keg my beer.

I think I am at break even at the end of summer if I use the restaurant prices pet pint and another six months of I use liquor store prices.

Being a hobby, I don't care about the price, it's still cheaper than any other hobby I have done (and still do from time to time).

 

[jaydlaw]

go all grain, reuse yeast. I just went all grain, and while have an initial buy in, the price of grain is less than half of extract.

 

[jignn]

how does hops account for 40 cents a bottle?

 

[justenoughforme]

how does hops account for 40 cents a bottle?

it doesn't. even citra hops are 38$ a lb.

 

[justenoughforme]

38 / 16 = 2.37 an ounce.
50 bottles in a batch, you'd need 20$ worth of hops in a 5 gallon batch,

i guess if you used nine ounces of citra in a dry hop or something.

 

[DrunkleJon]

it doesn't. even citra hops are 38$ a lb.

Holy crap! they are only $25/lb at my LHBS.

 

[rhys333]

For a standard pale ale with approximately 85% quality base malt, 15% specialty, and moderate hopping, I average around $0.70 - 0.75 a bottle. This includes extras such as bottled RO water and utilities.

To save money I reuse yeast, with one smack pack or sachet yielding 10 or more batches. I also sourced cheap RO water at $1 per 5 gallons. Waste water from the chiller goes into the washing machine for a batch of laundry. Doesn't save much there in terms of dollars, but it just seems wasteful to send all that water down the drain. I buy base malt and about half of my hops in bulk, and place online bulk orders for specialty malt about once or twice a year. I support the LHBS too for a lot of smaller purchases throughout the year.

As a side note, I'm in Canada and commercial beer is very expensive. A single bottle of something like Rogue costs upwards of $9 - $10. That's ONE bottle. Last time I checked, a 6-pack of craft beer averages $15. Nuts!

 

[MagicMatt]

I haven't read this entire thread yet so this may have been mentioned already, but here's a couple of ways I save additional money (besides the obvious "reuse yeast", "buy in bulk", etc):

- I add an extra gallon of water to my sparge volume, so that I can collect it, freeze it, and reuse it as starter wort. I let that last gallon sit in the MLT for about 30-40 minutes once I'm done lautering, and it surprisingly almost always comes out at 1.037, which is perfect for starters. This saves DME, which probably equates to ~$100/year.

- I repurpose my spent grain. I reserve about 6 cups of it to use for making breads/pizza dough for the next week or two, and I trade the rest of the grain to a friend who uses it as chicken feed, in exchange for a dozen yard eggs. These combined save me several bucks a week at the grocery (not having to buy bread or eggs), which equates to anywhere from $200-$400 per year.

 

[justenoughforme]

I haven't read this entire thread yet so this may have been mentioned already, but here's a couple of ways I save additional money (besides the obvious "reuse yeast", "buy in bulk", etc):

- I add an extra gallon of water to my sparge volume, so that I can collect it, freeze it, and reuse it as starter wort. I let that last gallon sit in the MLT for about 30-40 minutes once I'm done lautering, and it surprisingly almost always comes out at 1.037, which is perfect for starters. This saves DME, which probably equates to ~$100/year.

- I repurpose my spent grain. I reserve about 6 cups of it to use for making breads/pizza dough for the next week or two, and I trade the rest of the grain to a friend who uses it as chicken feed, in exchange for a dozen yard eggs. These combined save me several bucks a week at the grocery (not having to buy bread or eggs), which equates to anywhere from $200-$400 per year.

i have enjoy this thread so much, and gotten so many great ideas. while i may not actusally do your ideas, they are some of my favorite. i love connected systems like that


and rhys333, i'm from winnipeg, but i live in rural USA now. i live like a king compared to the peg and make less money.

 

[eadavis80]

All-grain KITS when bought online are not much less expensive than their extract counterparts, but yeah - washing yeast and obviously if you do buy online - buy a lot at once to cash on flat rate shipping, if applicable.

 

[justenoughforme]

the real reason i started this thread was to determine when All Grain becomes cheaper than extract.


obviously when you start out, extract is cheaper, you don't need a kettle, dont need a propane burner.

all you need is the biggest houshold pot you already have, a hydrometer, and a bucket.


so i haven't moved to all grain because i always assumed it was hundreds of gallons before you pay off the actual kettle, and god forbid immersion chillers and the like.


how do people determine when to switch from extract to grain? i assume it's not financial 90% of the time.

 

[DrunkleJon]

the real reason i started this thread was to determine when All Grain becomes cheaper than extract.


obviously when you start out, extract is cheaper, you don't need a kettle, dont need a propane burner.

all you need is the biggest houshold pot you already have, a hydrometer, and a bucket.


so i haven't moved to all grain because i always assumed it was hundreds of gallons before you pay off the actual kettle, and god forbid immersion chillers and the like.


how do people determine when to switch from extract to grain? i assume it's not financial 90% of the time.

I switched because I could taste that 'extract twang' or whatever it is I perceve as extract twang in every extract beer I have had. Have never tasted it in an AG brew.

Also, I accidentally ordered an AG kit once when buying PM kits. That ended up being a S-show but it was fun and not much more work than PM. Plus I had the space to go AG.


Dont feel pressured to go to AG. Do what works for you. You can make some stellar beer with extract if it is fresh. I just didnt like messing with all of the extracts. Plus I like the process of brewing a batch from grains to glass. Do what works for you.