Logistics behind brewing A LOT of beer...

[Jumbo82]

Man, you are some good friend to brew, bottle, and give away 5 or 6 batches for a wedding. That's a lot of work and expense.

20 gallons of beer for each wedding probably cost me around $60 for grain, hops, yeast, propane, cleaner, sanitizer, etc. And since that was my wedding gift in both cases, I probably saved money. The labor involved is for a hobby I love, so if anything I was being subsidized to brew. In other words, I got to refine my brewing skills for free since I was going to be out that money anyway for a wedding gift. Maybe this is a rationalization, but I am always looking for an excuse to brew. And having a hundred people drink my beer at once is more than worth the effort in my opinion.

 

[DeathBrewer]

I brought 8 kegs to the last wedding I served at...they finished 7. They paid for the ingredients, tho.

 

[bakins]

On my partial mash brews, I've only saved $1 or $2 on the whole recipe, because malt extract from morebeer.com is actually quite cheap.

FWIW, I got 55 pounds of DME for under $100 from north country malt during our last group buy.

 

[shortyjacobs]

It's $2.30 per lb (6 lb bag of DME @ $13.80).

Where's that? DME is 11.25 per 3 lb bag on morebeer.com

http://morebeer.com/view_product/16409/103553/Dried_Malt_Extract_DME_-_Light

 

[LordHedgie]

's $2.30 per lb (6 lb bag of DME @ $13.80). At $1.40/lb on US 2-row at my LHBS the grain can add up to the same as malt extract unless I get really good efficiency. (I know I could buy bulk grain, but I don't have room to store it, plus a miller costs $$$).

Without a doubt AG won't save money if you're not buying bulk. That same 2-row would cost 75 cents a pound in bulk... FWIW, I've been picking up big food-grade buckets from Ace for a few dollars apiece, then buying airtight twist-off lids for about $7 each, and it's working real well. They stack nicely and hold about 25 lbs of grain each. Can't help you with the mill, though; you need to spend a little to get a high-quality mill, and the cheap ones generally say they won't let you use a drill and you don't want to hand-crack 23 lbs when making your barleywine.

But it will take years to recoup the savings once you factor in the costs of extra equipment and time.... All grain is more fun, you get more control, and there's something magical about converting grain to beer. I've been under the impression from the beginning this is his excuse to go AG, and I'm not going to stand in his way.

 

[agusus]

Where's that? DME is 11.25 per 3 lb bag on morebeer.com

http://morebeer.com/view_product/16409/103553/Dried_Malt_Extract_DME_-_Light

Sorry, I meant to say LME. http://morebeer.com/view_product/18465/103552/Ultralight_Malt_Extract_

For some reason morebeer charges much more for DME. I just keep a couple bags of their LME in my fridge to have enough extract for my next month or so of brews.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I think you're on the right track here. If you are making the switch to all grain I would suggest doing a few test batches of the beers you are going to brew to make sure you get everything right before you have to "officially" brew it. I know when I first started AG it did not go so smoothly with hitting my numbers.

As far as consistency and your feeling that AG will help improve consistency. I definitely think that extract will give you better efficiency compared to starting out at all grain. However, if I were doing this I would go the AG route.

 

[DRoyLenz]

I'm in the process of planning everything out, and I'd like to start working with some recipes in Beer Smith, and start figuring out the best way to do all of this. Right now, I'm working with the assumption that I'll be working with the following styles:

-Belgian Wit (I have an extract recipe, but I'd like a good, simple AG recipe from which to work)
-Centennial Blonde (I'll be working from the recipe in the Recipe Database)
-Oatmeal Stout

For the Wit and Stout, I have some recipes that I downloaded in to Beer Smith, but does anybody have any recommendations for other recipes that you can vouch for?

 

[BierMuncher]

-Belgian Wit (I have an extract recipe, but I'd like a good, simple AG recipe from which to work)..

For the Wit and Stout, I have some recipes that I downloaded in to Beer Smith, but does anybody have any recommendations for other recipes that you can vouch for?

As far as a nicely rounded Wit...this one has some testimonials:
Just Another Brew Day

 

[DRoyLenz]

As far as a nicely rounded Wit...this one has some testimonials:
Just Another Brew Day

Oh yeah, I remember reading this thread last week. I like the idea of the freshly grated orange peel, fresh ground coriander and Chamomile Tea (somebody listens to the Jamil Show). I'm saving this recipe now, I'll let you know how it works out for me!

Thanks!

 

[metaltim]

i am planning on brewing some beers for my wedding as well.. i'm glad I came across this.. lots of info. I was planning on only brewing for about half the guests, the other half will choose from the variety i provide, including bud, and a good selection of crafts from all over.

 

[DRoyLenz]

I'm in the western burbs (near Naperville), I've got a case of empty Harpoons I won't be using... you're welcome to them if you're ever in the area, as my gift to the happy couple haha.

I will talk to my buddy who just moved out there (he's getting married this weekend, so I'll probably wait until things aren't so hectic for him to worry about this).

When you say Harpoons, I assume you're talking about the pop top brown bottles, like they bottle the IPAs in, correct?

Thanks!

BTW, your message store is full, so I wasn't able to reply to your PM.

 

[MrInternet]

I will talk to my buddy who just moved out there (he's getting married this weekend, so I'll probably wait until things aren't so hectic for him to worry about this).

When you say Harpoons, I assume you're talking about the pop top brown bottles, like they bottle the IPAs in, correct?

Thanks!

BTW, your message store is full, so I wasn't able to reply to your PM.

Yep, just the empties from a case of Harpoon Ale... which won't be *entirely* empty for another couple of weeks yet, so no hurry...