How to save money homebrewing

[Golddiggie]

I have a big side by side that was given to me. I've actually been thinking about making it a four tap instead of two. It already equals your capacity since I use 5 gal kegs. I did the measurements, if I make a custom shelf I can fit four 5 gal ball locks in there. I'll have to remove the bulb and plastic housing as you did though.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

I'm filling two 3 gallon kegs per batch (typically, sometimes I get a bit more ). So, I get have one keg of a batch on tap, while the second keg ages in the basement. I've even started carbonating in the basement too.

Spouse: "Why do you have to keep so much beer in there, taking up all that space?"

Brewer: "Well, you see, honey, I'm just trying to save us some money...."

Use big words like "thermodynamics" to make it sound better.

 

[Golddiggie]

Buy your DME in bulk. They sell it in 50 lbs bags. Ask your LHBS. Bulk hops. Reuse or grow your own yeast. If you have some property, grow some hops.

I don't go through even 3# of DME fast enough to make getting larger amounts worth it. Even though I have the space to store larger amounts, I'd rather not.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

Here's another way to save money. This is a picture of my friend's keggerator.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I don't go through even 3# of DME fast enough to make getting larger amounts worth it. Even though I have the space to store larger amounts, I'd rather not.

I don't either, I don't use extract anymore. But the question was asked.

 

[Golddiggie]

Here's another way to save money. This is a picture of my friend's keggerator.

NICE!!! When I get my next fridge (or house with one, whichever comes first) I might look to do that. Or just get another brew fridge and have it next to the food fridge, and my current brew fridge. Or put my current brew fridge in my office/den. :rockin:

I don't either, I don't use extract anymore. But the question was asked.

Yeah... I only use DME for making starters. It doesn't go near my batches of brew. I even cold crash and decant the spent starter so that I get as little of that into the good brew.

 

[Mobius570]

My local grocery store chain tosses out those little plastic food grade buckets they use in the bakery all the time. A few times a year I call them and get their buckets that had icing in them. The icing buckets have a nice rubber seal in the lid to keep a nice seal. These 2 gallon buckets make great fermenting buckets for small 1 gallon batches or even to store grains in.

 

[iasquith]

Every brew day, when the time comes to clean out my MLT I squeeze the bejesus out of the grain with a course muslin type bag and collect the wort (typically with an SG 0f 1020) I boil that down to 1040 and put it aside, also I save the wort sample which I used to take the OG , put them together and freeze until I'm ready to make a starter
I don't care about the tannin content and so forth and the yeast really seem to love all those minerals and vitamins. Each brew gives a 2 litre starter which i just boil up and pitch a few days before my next brew.