I drink a lot....is it cheaper to brew?

[Odin's_FJ40]

I like beer. Mainly amber lagers and wheat beers....yeah I'm a "Boomer" with a palate ruined by 30 years of Miller Lite. I am intrigued by the brewing hobby but am not convinced that I can drink 5 gallons of 3-4 different beers before it goes bad. A friend is gifting me a kegerator. Not sure how many taps. I thought I would start by seeing how long it takes me to drink a couple kegs. Current favorites. Yeunglng Trditional Lager, Michelob Amberbock, Tucher Helles Lager, and Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier. I don't care for sucking on grapefruit or pine needles.....So the whole IPA craze is beyond me. Change my mind. I am willing to drink one of almost anything.

 

[MaxStout]

It can be quite a bit cheaper. Buy grain in bulk, hops by the pound, reuse yeast, etc., and you can make good beer really cheap.

 

[bracconiere]

i can brew a $8 10 gallon batch of 8% ABV....so it can be as cheap as you want it to be....

as far as your taste, beauty of DIY, make what you like!

and as far as your alcoholism, my 10 gallon 8% batches last me about 8-10 days.....so once again

 

[pvpeacock]

If you just add up the cost of water, grains, hops and yeast and divide that by the number of gallons brewed, the answer is yes.

If, however, you include time and equipment costs (including the fact that you will inevitably graduate from plastic buckets to temperature controlled, glycol chiller cooled, stainless steel conical fermenters with tri-clamp butterfly valves, etc., etc., etc. ) the answer is HELL NO!

But it is still worth it? Yes!!!!!

 

[ITV]

If you factor in the obession to upgrade your equipment, then no it's not cheaper.

 

[Dgallo]

I make double IPAs hopped at 4lbs per barrel for less las $1.25 for a 16oz pour. This would cost me $18-$28 depending on the brewery if I bought it. Home brewing is far cheaper than buying beer

 

[Odin's_FJ40]

It can be quite a bit cheaper. Buy grain in bulk, hops by the pound, reuse yeast, etc., and you can make good beer really cheap.

"reuse yeast" I didn't know you could do that

 

[Dgallo]

If you just add up the cost of water, grains, hops and yeast and divide that by the number of gallons brewed, the answer is yes.

If, however, you include time and equipment costs (including the fact that you will inevitably graduate from plastic buckets to temperature controlled, glycol chiller cooled, stainless steel conical fermenters with tri-clamp butterfly valves, etc., etc., etc. ) the answer is HELL NO!

But it is still worth it? Yes!!!!!

Or you can use large mouth carboy with modified caps for closed transfer and a old dorm room fridge with an ink bird for temp control for under $250 bucks. Some people need shiny and some just need functional

 

[bracconiere]

"reuse yeast" I didn't know you could do that

not only can you reuse yeast..insanley overpriced yeast, i've take to buying 500g bricks of wine yeast...

and as far as equiment fetishes go, i'm still brewing with the same 15 gallon simple pot, on my stove with a 10 gallon round cooler with a bazooka tube, i've been the same stuff for almost 20 years now....

edit: i see no reason to upgrade, i pull 90% effec with store bought malt, and 80% with homemalt with this stuff....

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I like beer. Mainly amber lagers and wheat beers...

Welcome to Homebrew Talk.

There are people here who brew "smaller" (2.5 / 3.0 gal) batches as well as people who prefer beers styles that you also enjoy.

I am willing to drink one of almost anything.

... and the "good ones" twice!

 

[Odin's_FJ40]

If you just add up the cost of water, grains, hops and yeast and divide that by the number of gallons brewed, the answer is yes.

If, however, you include time and equipment costs (including the fact that you will inevitably graduate from plastic buckets to temperature controlled, glycol chiller cooled, stainless steel conical fermenters with tri-clamp butterfly valves, etc., etc., etc. ) the answer is HELL NO!

But it is still worth it? Yes!!!!!

See that's just it. I go whole hog, both feet, WAO, All In. Damn a bunch of plastic buckets. I envision a DR. Frankenstein's lab of S.S. equipment, valves and hoses, and coils, and beakers of mysterious fluids ,and blinking lights. Creating blissful nectar in various shades of effervescent gold and amber.

 

[Odin's_FJ40]

Welcome to Homebrew Talk.

There are people here who brew "smaller" (2.5 / 3.0 gal) batches as well as people who prefer beers styles that you also enjoy.


... and the "good ones" twice!

AMEN!

 

[kmarkstevens]

If you buy in bulk, it's really cheap.

If you "like" beer like I "like" beer, a 5 gallon keg rarely lasts a week.

Brew what you like to drink. For example, I'm 99% sure you can brew something in the spirit of Michelob Amberbock, that you will like a LOT better and impress your friends. OR you can figure out the type of hops you really like and brew with those. You got the power.

 

[bracconiere]

See that's just it. I go whole hog, both feet, WAO, All In. Damn a bunch of plastic buckets. I envision a DR. Frankenstein's lab of S.S. equipment, valves and hoses, and coils, and beakers of mysterious fluids ,and blinking lights. Creating blissful nectar in various shades of effervescent gold and amber.

....then no

 

[Odin's_FJ40]

Or you can use large mouth carboy with modified caps for closed transfer and a old dorm room fridge with an ink bird for temp control for under $250 bucks. Some people need shiny and some just need functional

I want good beer.....If cheap and ugly produces that I can deal with it.

 

[bracconiere]

I want good beer.....If cheap and ugly produces that I can deal with it.

we are just talking about barley tea? cheap and ugly works fine....labor is the only thing that increases...not actually cost...

 

[Odin's_FJ40]

So....what am I missing with the whole IPA and Juicey Fruit thing? Bad examples or is it all bitter or my grand babies juice boxes ? See I think hops is used to disguise bad beer and a rush to market.

 

[Odin's_FJ40]

Did you guys start with clone recipes? How long before you produced a "thump your chest, "I made that" beer?

 

[bracconiere]

So....what am I missing with the whole IPA and Juicey Fruit thing? Bad examples or is it all bitter or my grand babies juice boxes ? See I think hops is used to disguise bad beer and a rush to market.

IPA is a marketing gimick to set to little guy apart from the big boys....

and when it come to SS conicals, i just got a tip from a fellow HBTer, 50lb vittles vault fermenter for my 10 gallon batches, did my first batch works great!

(price looks like it went up, was $30)

 

[Dgallo]

IPA is a marketing gimick to set to little guy apart from the big boys....

You hurt me, why do you have to cut so deep lol

 

[bracconiere]

"thump your chest, "I made that" beer?

back when i was 18 and first starting, fermented some tree top apple juice, said "Damn, it's this easy!"

 

[bracconiere]

You hurt me, why do you have to cut so deep lol

 

[Dgallo]

View attachment 731276

Us hop guys.....We go straight for 3rd base

 

[renstyle]

So....what am I missing with the whole IPA and Juicey Fruit thing? Bad examples or is it all bitter or my grand babies juice boxes ? See I think hops is used to disguise bad beer and a rush to market.

You're not missing anything. You aren't a fan of super-high IBUs or drinking a beer that reminds me of a jug of orange juice that sat in the back of grandma's fridge and was forgotten for a month (or two). I'm also a non-NEIPA fan, never liked it... but I'll try a good IPA cuz I like the taste of hop character.

Many folks like that tho, it would appear. Folks also like pastry stouts, while I scratch my head... To each their own eh?

Loading up on hops (to me) can make for a very satisfying brew, if done with nuance. Like everything in life, balance it out with some lovely dark, malty brews regularly. That's where I'm at now.

My favorite lagers are brewed in the original Pilsner spirit: light color malts but still more than enough hops to provide a bite, and thus balance. Pilz Urquell, Paulaner Pils, things like that. That bitterness needs to be there for the whole enterprise to work. Clean tasting. These brews show how a strong hop character can accentuate the overall experience of the beer, rather than detract from it.

 

[renstyle]

Did you guys start with clone recipes? How long before you produced a "thump your chest, "I made that" beer?

I perused BYO's big book of clone recipes, and used those as a template to make something I liked. I've tweaked almost every recipe slightly.

Still a ways away from being able to whip up a recipe based on style, unless it's a SMaSH clone of Stella Artrois that has literally just one type of grain and single hop variety... it's not that important to me.

I work toward consistency, which is somewhat of a contradiction with my endless tweaking LOL....

 

[bracconiere]

Us hop guys.....We go straight for 3rd base

3rd base? isn't the right term, "back nine"?

 

[Dgallo]

3rd base? isn't the right term, "back nine"?

 

[renstyle]

3rd base? isn't the right term, "back nine"?

I don't golf... I merely drive the cart around with the beer cooler and let the other guys lose their balls! LOL

 

[renstyle]

I like beer. Mainly amber lagers and wheat beers....yeah I'm a "Boomer" with a palate ruined by 30 years of Miller Lite. I am intrigued by the brewing hobby but am not convinced that I can drink 5 gallons of 3-4 different beers before it goes bad.

Can you drink 20 gal of beer in a year? Once they are kegged and stay on gas and in the cold the brews you like will easily stay good for months.

A friend is gifting me a kegerator. Not sure how many taps.

Best.
Friend.
EVAR!

Yeunglng Trditional Lager, Michelob Amberbock, Tucher Helles Lager, and Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier.

All of these can be replicated "in spirit" at home. Lagers needing mid-50s fermentation temps is about the only part of the brewing process that would be in the "moderate difficulty" realm. Everything else is squarely in the "fairly easy" section.

 

[Odin's_FJ40]

You're not missing anything. You aren't a fan of super-high IBUs or drinking a beer that reminds me of a jug of orange juice that sat in the back of grandma's fridge and was forgotten for a month (or two). I'm also a non-NEIPA fan, never liked it... but I'll try a good IPA cuz I like the taste of hop character.

Many folks like that tho, it would appear. Folks also like pastry stouts, while I scratch my head... To each their own eh?

Loading up on hops (to me) can make for a very satisfying brew, if done with nuance. Like everything in life, balance it out with some lovely dark, malty brews regularly. That's where I'm at now.

My favorite lagers are brewed in the original Pilsner spirit: light color malts but still more than enough hops to provide a bite, and thus balance. Pilz Urquell, Paulaner Pils, things like that. That bitterness needs to be there for the whole enterprise to work. Clean tasting. These brews show how a strong hop character can accentuate the overall experience of the beer, rather than detract from it.

I am just beginning to notice reference to NEIPA (New England ?) and WCIPA (West Coast). What is the difference? Are the other IPAs? And yes I am not a fan of beers with high IBUs, I had to look IBU up).