How much do you generally spend a month on brewing?

[buzzkill]

I blew $100.00 bucks last week on just grains,hops and yeast....but what a big ass IPA it will be.. I usually only spend about $40.00-$50.00 bucks per 10 gal brew day. all grain and I DO need to start buying in blk.

 

[IceFisherChris]

I would say I average about $25 a month. It used to be about $15. This jumped up a lot because I brewed 4 batches within a month (to prepare for being out in Cleveland this summer.)

 

[Runyanka]

To damn much! (according to SWMBO)
Usually around $50 a month, however, I recently bought hops in bulk and have been brewing styles around these hops so my costs have went down a little, to around $40.

 

[nootay]

wow i dont think i realized the cost difference between extract brewing and all grain. i dont have the funds to upgrade to all grain yet, but even going to partial mash should save some green. guess ill have to start reading the all grain & partial mash forums!

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

I'm between $35 and $100 a month, doing extract with mini mash. I can typically brew 5 gal of a small beer for about $35. If I brew something bigger it could run about $55. Jamil's Evil Twin last week cost me $59. How many times a month I brew makes a big difference too. It's typically twice a month. I find it's just easier to go to the LHBS store the day before I brew and get what I need. I don't have the room to store bulk products and since I'm still a noob, I'm doing something different every week and wouldn't know what to buy in bulk. I guess if I could get a 55 gal drum of pale extract, that would be cool, since it seems to go in just about everything anyway! ha

 

[IrregularPulse]

wow i dont think i realized the cost difference between extract brewing and all grain. i dont have the funds to upgrade to all grain yet, but even going to partial mash should save some green. guess ill have to start reading the all grain & partial mash forums!

Don't let the Funds scare you. All you NEED for AG is a 7-8 Gallon Pot, a capable heat source (Propane burner or nice stove top) and a cheap 5G cooler MT. (Bigger cooler is preferred, but you CAN do AG with a 5G one just not big beers) The mashtun can be built for under $30 So you're looking at maybe $100 to get started. How many batches would it take to recoup that between AG and Extract?

 

[nootay]

Don't let the Funds scare you. All you NEED for AG is a 7-8 Gallon Pot, a capable heat source (Propane burner or nice stove top) and a cheap 5G cooler MT. (Bigger cooler is preferred, but you CAN do AG with a 5G one just not big beers) The mashtun can be built for under $30 So you're looking at maybe $100 to get started. How many batches would it take to recoup that between AG and Extract?

definitely not many batches. I have a 10 gallon SS pot right now and a propane burner. I live in a college town so getting empty kegs would be easy to find here as well. right now i only can manage about $40/month for brewing. Got a kid on the way and trying to budget pretty tight. id like to stick with 5 gallon batches for now so i can brew a bunch of different styles.

I guess the main obstacle right now is knowledge. headed over to the all grain forums now to do some reading. Thanks for the post

 

[ezerhoden]

Averaging out everything since i started September 2009, including equipment, bulk hops, etc. I would say about $80-90 a month. This will be ever decreasing as the only other equipment I want is a mill. Two 5 gallon batches a month cost me about $40 - $50/month.
I have only purchased commercial beer twice since i started brewing on which I would normally spend $60 month.

 

[k1200rsvt]

Alright who had to mention cost per bottle?? You got me calculating and in equipment alone I am sitting at about $3.50 per pint brewed...Which means I am probably about $4.65 per pint with ingredients. That's about bar price so I guess I can accept that, but what it really means is I just need to brew more beer to lower the average.

 

[Palefire]

Don't let the Funds scare you. All you NEED for AG is a 7-8 Gallon Pot, a capable heat source (Propane burner or nice stove top) and a cheap 5G cooler MT. (Bigger cooler is preferred, but you CAN do AG with a 5G one just not big beers) The mashtun can be built for under $30 So you're looking at maybe $100 to get started. How many batches would it take to recoup that between AG and Extract?

This.

Honestly, for you people who have been brewing for a while and are still spending $40-50 per month on equipment, what are you buying?

Maybe I'm just a cheap-ass, but I'm happy with my simple AG system (cooler MLT + turkey fryer (borrowed!) + 8-gallon pot), swamp cooler, and buckets for fermenting. Still bottle everything (and am happy doing so), buy hops in bulk, wash yeast. I probably end up spending $40-45 a month for 1-2 batches (usually brew every 3-4 weeks, depending on how busy I am). This includes propane + caps + other small costs.

I guess it can be as expensive a hobby as you want to make it (and I'm not knocking anyone who's built a bad-ass rig), but as we've seen, there's not necessarily a direct correlation between price of system and quality of beer!

 

[suprchunk]

In the states I was spending close to maybe $10 a month, and I brewed about 4-6 times a month. Buying bulk is the only way to go. AG is not difficult and only adds a couple more hours to your day. Once you have your equipment dialed in to what you are doing, you should only be paying for water (if your source is no good), and the occasional crazy ingredient for a different brew. But the initial cost has more than vanished.

Now being over here, I have had to start from scratch. The initial cost is starting all over again, but will even out and be moot in a matter of months. AG and Bulk!!!

 

[viking73]

Not Enough!:rockin:

 

[captianoats]

Let's ignore the last 6 weeks (I went all grain and bought a 2 keg system ) Overall, I brew either 1 big brew or two lighter brews, depending on my mood, the season, and how deep the pipeline is. I would say I spend 40 or 50 per month on ingredients and propane for the fryer.

 

[Stagnasty]

I have about 100 in my 4 buckets. I use empty 40oz miller bottles to bottle with. I make homebrew, I call it Obama beer, I get the ingrediants from the grocery store on food-stamps. However, If i had to buy em, i make a hard lemonade at 11 abv for $8 for6 gls, and a mole-asses brew at 7 abv for $9. So I make 24 gals/mth for $34. I turn em at the end of the month. I bottle 80/40oz bottles and re-make em in under two hours.

Works for me

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

Ingredients - Budget of $100/month.
Gear - hahahahahahahahahaha. lots and lots. never enough.

 

[CrazyP]

In the states I was spending close to maybe $10 a month, and I brewed about 4-6 times a month. Buying bulk is the only way to go. AG is not difficult and only adds a couple more hours to your day. Once you have your equipment dialed in to what you are doing, you should only be paying for water (if your source is no good), and the occasional crazy ingredient for a different brew. But the initial cost has more than vanished.

Now being over here, I have had to start from scratch. The initial cost is starting all over again, but will even out and be moot in a matter of months. AG and Bulk!!!

Being a new homebrewer (extract-only so far), I'm amazed that all-grain brewing has such a huge cost advantage. I brew once/month and spend at least $30 on ingredients. I'm already planning on taking the leap to AG in the near future... Given your estimate, I should only have to spend $2-3 month if I brew all-grain once per month. What ingredients do you recommend that I buy to build up my all-grain "pantry"?

 

[EO74]

Not as much as if i bought comercial brews at $11 a sixer i think thats why i homebrewed in the first place!!