Make your own beer, they said. You'll save money, they said.

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Ragman

Ragman

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LOL - its been a fun ride so far.. and be forewarned - Im kinda rambling here...

All hobbies can be costly and I got into this because my tastes in beer changed which started to greatly impact my wallet. 2 of my friends let me enjoy their homebrew and told me how much they saved by brewing their own. After drinking some of their delicious brew, I wanted to see if I could make something that duplicated the taste of the more expensive beers my palate was becoming accustomed to.

My friends made all-grain brew which they said was better so I proceeded to build an all-grain setup.

It started with the search for a brew kettle. - My buddies had one built by someone out of a 15 gallon keg with welded taps, thermometer and sight glass. - they ended up spending a pretty penny on it - Almost $300. I wasnt about to spend that much so I looked on craigslist and found a bar owner who was getting rid of some old Kegs. Picked a nice one up for $40.

After cutting the top off with my angle grinder and a cutting wheel, I drilled 2 holes in the bottom and picked up 2 weldless bulkhead kits, a 2 piece ball valve, a thermometer and sight glass from bargainfittings.com for about $80. After assembly, I had my finished brew keg for about $120.

Next I needed a mash tun. I picked up a 70qt coleman cooler from Walmart for about $45, a cooler bulkhead kit from bargainfittings for $25 and I used a washing machine hose for a filter for $6 - so lets call it $80 for the completed mash tun.

OK next was a Hot Liquor Tank. I searched craigslist and found someone who was selling a home depot cooler built as a mash tun as well as some carboys (2-6gal, 1-5gal, and 1-3gal) a smaller copper cooling coil, a funnel, a thermometer, and some tubing all for $100.

While searching craigslist I also found someone selling 2 bottling buckets, 2 bottle cappers, 2 bottle brushes, 4 bubblers, an auto syphon, a large metal stir spoon and a hydrometer all for $25.

I had a propane burner from an old turkey fryer. $0

So at $325, I figured I was done and I did well.........umm I was wrong.

When I brewed with my friends they had the equipment to make the yeast starters - which was necessary to achieve the results we were looking for in our 10 gallon batches.

But the next brew was solo. So I needed to make yeast starters for the large batches I was doing so 2-2000ml flasks, 2 stir plates, and a scale. (all from Amazon) Not too bad but about another $100 for all that.

Decided I wanted to try whirlpooling and easier transfers of wort so I needed a pump. $90 for pump, $40 for fittings, barbs, silicone tubing and valve (bargainfittings) and $40 for whirlpool wand (not sure where i got this but Im sure looking back I couldve gotten it cheaper., . - $170

So now Im up to $595...- cant tell the wife.....

Solo brewing I realized how I was missing some items that my friends had that I didnt. Needed to pick up Star San ($15), PH5.2 ($10) Bottling wand ($4), more tubing ($10) Hop basket ($35) and a strainer for sparging ($7), Bottle caps ($5), DME ($6) sugar for bottling ($6) all these I picked up at the local homebrew supply store - Sunset Hydroponics. - ~$100

$695.....sheesh - I just wanted to make beer......

So after buying the ingredients (I wont include that) I finally made my first solo brew - came out ok but bottling sucked and I got too much oxygen into my beer.

Decided I needed to keg my beer from now on.

Bought a used pinlock 2 -corny keg setup from AIH for $120 - this included 2 used corny kegs, a regulator, fittings, tubing and 2 picnic taps.

Got a 5lb Co2 tank for $70, a freezer for $90 (craigslist), and an inkbird temp controller for $40 (Amazon) - oh and I bought a new autosyphon $15.

$1030 in and I think I have everything I need for a little while. I just had some time and needed to figure out how much I spent. Im wondering if there is anything I missed.

I know I plan to buy 2 forward seal - stainless steel beer faucets and shanks along with a drip tray so Im looking at at least about $125 -$150 for all that.... heh heh - it never ends..

I never thought I would spend this much trying to save on my beer costs but to be honest - its a ton of fun trying to duplicate flavors, creating new recipes and learning some chemistry along the way.

Like I said its been a helluva ride and looking at other setups in this forum, I may have gotten off pretty cheap - what do you guys think?

Anyway, I couldnt have done it without the help of the people on this forum. I appreciate you guys and I am learning more everyday,
 
Similar experience with installing a wood burning stove to save money:

Stove $1200
Chainsaw $200
Donation to local Vol Fire Dept for 1st chimney fire response $100
New Pickup Truck $25,000
New rear window for Pickup truck $150
Redneck tow to get pickup truck out of mud (AAA doesn't go into the woods) $50
Emergency room bill to get splinters out of eye $250
Donation to local Vol Fire Dept for 2nd chimney fire response $100
New coffee table (old one chopped up and burned while drunk) $400
Chiropractor bill for herniated discs in back $300
Divorce settlement to the tune of $40,000 or so.
 
Haha, that sounds about right! I did the same thing..."Oh, I need that too..."...."Yep, bottling sucks, I need a keg setup..."

I would say that I have about $1,500 in equipment, and my list looks a lot like yours. But, I have a few sparkly things that I maybe could have saved some cash on...But, man, you can go spend $600 each for conical fermenters, buy a $1500 electric brew house, and have tons of cool accessories, and the whole outfit. I have seen some setups where people must have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on homebrewed beer. Do I think that is necessary, no, but its all in what you want, and the amount of disposable income you have...I would say that you took a good path with how much you have wrapped up in it.

My philosophy has always been, to buy the things I need to make beer that is good as, or better, than what I can get commercially. I started slow, and said "Oh, this is my 3rd stuck fermentation, I should start making yeast starters, maybe that would help". Or, "This IPA is oxidized as hell, maybe I should buy some parts that will allow me to do closed cold side transfers...".

Its all in what you want, and I didn't start homebrewing because I wanted to save cash. I started because I had a lot of fun doing it a few times with my brother-in-law. And its a conversation piece. And people love my beer. And I have made new friends over homemade beer. And I get to fart around in the garage with friends a couple times a year...I think its a lot more than trying to save money.
 
I just added up all my online beer receipts for equipment and it was like $1100. Eesh.

I think, in theory, if I keep brewing forever, and pretty much only drink my beer instead of buying from the store, I should come out ahead in 2-3 years. We'll see.
 
The trick is to either brew manually with the basic plastic equipment and be satisfied with the results, or make those investments in higher end gear and then brew enough that it pays for itself. At 5-8 bucks a pint in the brewpub and maybe $1 a pint homebrewed you can figure you saved, conservatively, at least $160 per 5 gal batch. 10 batches and the ROI becomes pretty evident. Of course, you'd never drink that much at brewpubs so it's all BS, but it'll do.:mug:
 
My batches average $16 for 50 bottles and I make about 10 batches a year (so 500 bottles total for $160). A 6-pack of craft beer is at least $10, or $1.67 each. Times 500 would be $833/year for a savings of $673. If I limit myself to $300/yr in equipment upgrades, I am guaranteed to come out ahead (or at least that is the way I explain it to my wife!).
 
My Wife loves that I brew beer. I told her how much money we would save, never told her that's only if you don't count the equipment and time. Now I'm like a crack head, if Spike or SS Brewtech sells it .... I must have it.
My wife still loves that I brew beer but now for a different reason. Because every time she goes out to the garage and sees a new shiny object, she says "hmmm.....time to buy a new purse." Me: (hangs head)...."ok"
 
Yeah, I think I need a few more brews under my belt before I can figure out how much Im saving - I also need to stop buying equipment lol.

Ive seen others with very expensive electric setups, I just knew from the get-go that wasnt going to be something I could do. From lack of space in my house to the fact that I would more than likley need to install a 220 line, but man it would be sweet to brew INSIDE.
 
FleEsq said:
My Wife loves that I brew beer. I told her how much money we would save, never told her that's only if you don't count the equipment and time. Now I'm like a crack head, if Spike or SS Brewtech sells it .... I must have it.
My wife still loves that I brew beer but now for a different reason. Because every time she goes out to the garage and sees a new shiny object, she says "hmmm.....time to buy a new purse." Me: (hangs head)...."ok"
Click to expand...
If you start factoring your time into it, the logic gets shot all to hell. I always conveniently leave that out. Even at 10 bucks an hour, with all the washing and sanitizing and weighing and waiting you'd seriously lose cred. Gotta ignore the overhead too.
 
it is sweet to brew inside, i wont tell you what i spent on my equipment but at 36 years old i have lots of years for it to "pay for itself" in money saved by brewing. i love this hobby and i wouldnt change any of the decisions ive made on equipment purchases. btw you save more money when you buy in bulk .... so your gonna need a grain mill.. :mug:
 
bailey mountain brewer said:
it is sweet to brew inside, i wont tell you what i spent on my equipment but at 36 years old i have lots of years for it to "pay for itself" in money saved by brewing. i love this hobby and i wouldnt change any of the decisions ive made on equipment purchases. btw you save more money when you buy in bulk .... so your gonna need a grain mill.. :mug:
Click to expand...
... yeah, been on the lookout for one.... add it to the list lol
 
Ragman said:
My friends made all-grain brew which they said was better so I proceeded to build an all-grain setup.
Click to expand...

How the conversation should have gone:

My friends made all-grain brew which they said was better so I proceeded to buy a kit and brew it on there equipment, then I get 5 gallons of beer for $30 tops!

End of story :bigmug:

Look at all the money you saved!
 
bailey mountain brewer said:
it is sweet to brew inside
Click to expand...
One of the ways that I cut costs was to brew in a 10 gallon tamale pot on my NG stove. A major downside of that is that it takes about an hour to get to mash temp and another hour to get to boil, giving me a 6 hour brew day. I estimate an electric heat stick could drop an hour off that, which would allow me to brew more often, which would 'save' me even more money! It's a win-win!
 
It doesn't ever really end (spending $$)...

Things you're missed:
Malt mill/barley crusher.
Refractometers (hydrometers suck and break easily).
F*ck autosyphons, look at pressure transfers (save your back!).
Fermentation chamber build (and/or fermenting under pressure setup).
I've found the 3L flask size most useful (I also have a 2L and 5L flask). Using the 3L you can do multiple step starter sets.
Fluke 52-II thermometer (two type-k sensor connections) was an early, high value, purchase for me.
Plate chiller!! You have a pump, so do the plate chiller for fast chilling (provided you're in an area with good/cool temp water). IME, the immersion chillers are only 'ok' at best. At least without adding a LARGE container of ice water to pump through the IC.
Look at hop filter setups. I don't whirlpool since I have a 300 mesh hop filter for the boil keggle. It keeps all the hop matter out of my lines and makes cleanup easier. Plus it's less holes to make in your keggle. ;)

I don't know if ANYONE told me that I'd be able to make great beer cheap. I DO get great beer for less per pint that you can typically purchase. That's cost per batch. I don't include hardware/gear costs in that number. Since that will continue to reduce as you brew more batches.
 
I can definitely relate to this thread.. I helped a friend with a couple batches of home brew and really liked what he had been making (stouts, porters) and wanted to get in on that fun.

Found a guy locally selling an older Northern Brewer setup with a kettle, bottle bucket, two carboys, some random tubing, etc. I think $100

-that progressed from trying to bottle and being so frustrated with the caps not sealing.. decided to make a keezer..

new freezer (none available used due to COVID scare) $220
wood and faucets (3) and supplies to make the collar $350
kegs $100
used co2 tanks and supplies $100
Inkbird $40
dehumidified $25
circulation fan to put down in the bottom: free from work

trying to keep the carboys chilled during summer was a task, so I bought the Anvil cooler setup for $120

-I thought all grain was the hot ticket to go after my second batch..

mash tun/sparge coolers and supplies to outfit them $180-200

-I didn't even get to try these out when I found a guy locally selling a like new Anvil Foundry for $240

-so of course I have that fancy electric kettle.. now I need to really step it up and find a conical..
Grainfather conical with cooling pump $685 on eBay

-that progressed with needing to figure out how to close transfer because I've ruined a couple IPA batches to oxidation
new blichmann riptide pump $200
blowoff cane for the conical $35

-and now my next item will be a glycol chiller to hook up to it so I'm not letting my beer get ruined if I'm gone from home for an extended time again.
To be continued.... 🤦‍♂️
 
Yeah I havent saved much but the people who come to fill growlers and drink the beer are saving a lot lol. I like the hobby and process so its a win win for me.
 
I'm super cheap and have made a lot of my own equipment, some of which I have salvaged from other uses and other people. Some of my new stuff was paid for with gift cards, so that's not much money out of my pocket. However, when we bought our house it included a bar, CO2 tank and keg set up. Does that mean I have to include the entire price of the house as brewing equipment? Because in that case I'll never break even!
 
Yeah...doing something to "save money" rarely works that way. It can of course..but..and really...time is money. So??

Knowing how much you've spent ($$) on a hobby can sometimes de-motivate you from doing it anymore. So if you enjoy doing it...and you can afford it...then just keep doing it..because you enjoy it.
 
deuc224 said:
Yeah I havent saved much but the people who come to fill growlers and drink the beer are saving a lot lol. I like the hobby and process so its a win win for me.
Click to expand...
My buddies are saving a lot too hahaha in the past we used to buy some bottles for bbq and other meetings, now we buy half of it as we drink part of my HB beer
 
To be perfectly honest I got into homebrewing for the same reason. Now, to be fair, my expenses on hardware paid off after two years because I don't really buy beer from stores or breweries anymore, though a lot of breweries are in my area (17) and they give me free beer to taste what they have being a cicerone and won my fair share of brewing comps etc... it has become cheaper for me.

Now, I have used a keg system from the start and my beers, for 5 gallons, run me an average of 36 dollars a batch plus water and cleaning. For me to get beer on par with what I make I'd have to go to my local bottle shop (Select Beer in Redondo Beach for example) and to get 2 cases of, lets say, 12% stout would run me a good 125 bucks. So I can make a stout, at 12% for about 40 bucks, and it is really half off.

I do think the savings is based on what you would be spending your money on to drink instead of your homebrew. If you would be buying craft beer by the case, you'd be burning a hole in your pocket. Russian River Brewing Co. cases break down to 7.25 for a single bottle. Their beer is good, but with my homebrew turning out quite nicely I will say I don't need to pay 84 bucks for a 12 bottle case of blind pig when I could make something equivalent to it or close for half that cost.

It took my buddy 4 years to pay off his beer gear as well. I think it all comes down to how you break down your expenses on it and checking the equivalent expense for craft beer (which should be the closest beer in quality to your homebrew). If you are comparing the cost savings to, lets say, a case of Blue Ribbon... then you're probably spending the same amount of money to homebrew. But even then, I did a SMASH beer for 20 bucks a year or so ago... for 5 gallons... so somehow the math is odd or perhaps the standards you are holding your budget towards is a bit off.
 
I'm reading all the posts in this thread, and realizing how lucky I have been. All told, equipment-wise, I am maybe $1500 into this over 4 years, and my system is a slightly ghetto three-vessel system. In grain/hops/yeast (which I learned early on to buy in bulk) I have spent maybe $1000 over those four years, which if we do the math is $250/year in ingredients alone. I didn't buy everything all at once, which the husband woud have put the kibosh on anyway. But I DO brew about 50 gallons a year, which is plenty for my personal consumption (don't tell the feds).

How much do you spend on buying commercial beer, not for parties/get togethers and such? Just personal consumption? Even a 24 pack of Coors Light (about the only mass-produced beer I can stand) costs $25 on sale around here. I can brew something better (usually) for half, or a THIRD, of that. Yes, the initial layout of $$ is a bit high, but it will pay for itself over the years of brewing, IF YOU STICK WITH IT. Finding equipment on craigslist or offerup can also help you along. It all depends on how much you are willing to spend or what direction you want to go in, be it a three-vessel setup, or a fancy shiny electric all-in-one. Even fabricating equipment yourself can save you $$ if you are so inclined.

I do hate to see those posts on craigslist or offerup, of a beginner setup, when you know the seller just didn't have the wherewithal to keep going with it; but I do also know that maybe this hobby/obsession isn't for everyone. You have to have the desire/ambition to keep on with it. One failure can put paid to your dreams of delicious beer, until you realize, as Rome wasn't built in a day, perfect beer wasn't made in one batch.

TL:DR;, but it is depressing to see newbs give up after one "failed" batch that didn't live up to expectations. This is a hobby/obsession/SKILL that takes practice, learning, and sometimes many failures before you get to that point of "OMG this is effing tasty beer!!!". Ok I'll stop ranting now.
 
I'm saving money and drinking very good beer brewed to my taste.

If I had bought my gear instead of cobbing it together (for a few $ grand savings), I'd still be ahead, even financially.

It does take time, thought, and like a lot of other stuff, likely not worth doing if one takes no interest in the process.

At this point brewing is one of the more pleasant of the chores I have to do, and the beer tastes great, in my opinion, (which is the only one that counts).
 
I brewed for several years on about $200 worth of gear - a turkey fryer burner for $40 the week after thanksgiving, a $30 Graniteware pot, and an $80 starter kit, plus a few extras here and there, bottling into bottles saved from commercial beers (some of those original bottles are still in my stock.)
I upgraded here and there, and time, and luck presented - 50 feet of 1/2" copper tubing for $20 became a chiller, a fairly inexpensive cooler and another legnth of tubing, plus a handful of connectors became the mash tun and so on. I haven;t done the math, but I THINK that overall, I've spent less on homebrewing than I would have on an equivalent amount of commercial beer.
 
Lol. I’m right there with you.
In a similar vain: I was bottling in 22oz when I first started, then I decided to keg because “I will drink less if I don’t have to open a whole bottle every time”......I’m sure you can figure out how that has gone.
 
wstumper said:
Similar experience with installing a wood burning stove to save money:

Stove $1200
Chainsaw $200
Donation to local Vol Fire Dept for 1st chimney fire response $100
New Pickup Truck $25,000
New rear window for Pickup truck $150
Redneck tow to get pickup truck out of mud (AAA doesn't go into the woods) $50
Emergency room bill to get splinters out of eye $250
Donation to local Vol Fire Dept for 2nd chimney fire response $100
New coffee table (old one chopped up and burned while drunk) $400
Chiropractor bill for herniated discs in back $300
Divorce settlement to the tune of $40,000 or so.
Click to expand...
Brilliant! I need to upgrade my vehicle too. Those 50lb sacks of grain are gonna eventually wear out the suspension on my Subaru. It’s practically unsafe to be on the roads with that kind of load.
A new truck only makes sense.

Wish me luck.
 
AzOr said:
Brilliant! I need to upgrade my vehicle too. Those 50lb sacks of grain are gonna eventually wear out the suspension on my Subaru. It’s practically unsafe to be on the roads with that kind of load.
A new truck only makes sense.

Wish me luck.
Click to expand...
The new (2021) Silverado 2500HD series are nice. ;)

Even though I could transport plenty in the bed of my 2020 1500. Or hook up a trailer if I needed to transport even more. ;)
 
Here are two memes I created a long time ago to depict our financial plight as homebrewers


IMG_20201008_001529_920.jpg
IMG_20181107_080951_380.jpg
 
Ragman said:
So after buying the ingredients (I wont include that) I finally made my first solo brew - came out ok but bottling sucked and I got too much oxygen into my beer.
Click to expand...

Am I the only one who's happy enough bottling? I'll admit that the sanitising step is a bit laborious, but an evening listening to music and completing the job is well spent in my opinion. When I'm done, the bottles stand before me like loyal subjects. It's very satisfying to see the output of the process, plus they're easy to share, ration, and you can see when you're going to run out.

We'll see if I change my tune once I've bottled a NEIPA.
 
robertkerr79 said:
Am I the only one who's happy enough bottling? I'll admit that the sanitising step is a bit laborious, but an evening listening to music and completing the job is well spent in my opinion. When I'm done, the bottles stand before me like loyal subjects. It's very satisfying to see the output of the process, plus they're easy to share, ration, and you can see when you're going to run out.

We'll see if I change my tune once I've bottled a NEIPA.
Click to expand...
I enjoy bottling too, I have an Spotify playlist for brewing related chores, so I just turn on my music and go ahead with the bottling, plus I brew mostly belgian beers so I need to bottle condition.

I'm aware of its limitations so I'm thinking about getting a keg and a keezer for more hoppy brews in a future
 
One of my brew buddies owns the LHBS and 20 years ago he told me it actually wouldn't save much money but I could make what I liked and it's a hell of a lot of fun.

In 2011 I had a horrible harley wreck which almost killed me. When I got back on my feet my wife said you can have a new Harley or that backyard brewery you've dreamed about.
IMG_20180526_162848252.jpg
 
I don't want that much stuff to brew all grain. Use the keggel for mash and boil. Batch sparge. Buy copper make chiller. Corona grinder. Reusable paint bags for hops. Thermometer, hydrometer, buckets, padel...basics. Stopped using recipe calculaters long ago. To me micro brewing is like scratch baking. Once you get the idea what's going on and make adjustments you can tell what you'll have in the end.
Anything more technical and it takes the fun out of it for me. If I wanted to brew the exact same thing I'd be a commercial brewer.
Oh and grow your own hops. Could care less what exact AA they are. It's only beer. Enjoy the process.
 
The old saying you get what you pay for. If you want seriously good beer, expect to pay for seriously good equipment, and ingredients.
If you want low cost, bodgy, twangy beer. Go to a supermarket and get a can of goop and sugar.
 
Just found a grain mill on CL.- $50 lol.

As many have stated, it isnt necessarily about the money if you enjoy the hobby. And I do enjoy it.
I also enjoy drinking beer. I prefer IPA's and Stouts. I have yet to find a domestic that satisfies anymore.
The beers I usually drink range from about $1.75 to $5 each. If I dont think about the equipment and the time, and just about the ingredients then I am spending around $1.50 a beer. Im about to knock that down a little with the grain mill and this spring I plan on starting to grow my own hops.
I need to find an inexpensive hop that I like cause thats where the majority of the money spent is going.

Anyway - I dont see myself stopping anytime soon, I have yet to make a beer that is un-drinkable so I feel Im winning.
 

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