Poll: What is your investment in homebrewing?

[Brewmech]

I probably have around $2500+ in equipment and I brew 10.5 gal batches. With all the overhead (electricity, gas, water, ingredients) and amortization of the equipment, I brew for around $1.10/pint per year.

 

[MaxOut]

To much and counting.......

I think brewing is worse than gambling. I started brewing in hopes of saving money on buying beer.....bad move.

 

[CiscoKid]

One point I forgot to mention before, upgrading along the way will cost you more money. If you really want that better boil kettle, or that whatever cool gadget, spend the extra money upfront and be done with it, IMO.

 

[bizarrojosh]

One point I forgot to mention before, upgrading along the way will cost you more money. If you really want that better boil kettle, or that whatever cool gadget, spend the extra money upfront and be done with it, IMO.

That's exactly how I feel and the reason I'm still doing extract batches. :rockin: I could go ahead and drop about 200 dollars to get the cheapest items I need to make the jump to AG, but I know that I'll have to upgrade in a year or two to be at the place that I want to be and therefore would loose out on soo much money. I'm just saving my money for about 6 months - 1 year and then going to splurge on all the items that I know will last forever and be what I need them to be for 10+ gallons of beer!

And whoever said they have spent close to 100,000 in equipment I call bull**** unless you are doing micro-brewing commercially.

 

[DromJohn]

$200ish.
Swing-top bottles.

 

[iaefebs]

My total investment in the last hour has been $38.00.

 

[CastleHollow]

I'm still using the original 34qt enamel stock pot & plastic fermenter I bought 25 years ago when I started with extract kits. Along the way I added carboys, a wort chiller (originally $25!) various other pieces & parts, and eventually upgraded to all-grain via a converted Coleman cooler and keggle. I think I still have less than $1000 invested, if you exclude the 10-12 cases of bottles I accumulated from drinking commercial craft brew.

Single biggest expense was a Craigslist chest freezer ($175) and a chugger pump (which I received as a Christmas gift, so it was technically free--except my wife bought it with my money.) Amortized over the life of my hobby, $40/yr doesn't sound so bad.

 

[ScotBrew]

And whoever said they have spent close to 100,000 in equipment I call bull**** unless you are doing micro-brewing commercially.

Have a look at the 'Backyard Brewpub' and some of the other projects in the DIY Projects and you'll see why!:rockin:

 

[acidrain]

Just counted it up (shouldn't have done that)... ~$1700.
Just last month alone I spent over $650 in pots, pump, and SS hardware (I like shiny things ).
I think I'm gonna walk out to my garage, uh brew-pub and have a cold one.

 

[Darkness]

Well my wife say's I voted in the wrong amount and should be in the 10K section. Brew Troller is my Most $$$ pice of equipment and I don't have it setup. I have two systems and 2 BT setups
I have 3 pumps at 290 each (B&G way quiter than chugged or marsh)
In the last two months I have spent 550 on brewing ingredients
If hops are on sale you buy extras Right!!!

 

[CatHead]

I have about $150 but I have been doing this for about a month or two. Will be spending about another $100 by summer.

 

[Phunhog]

I have been brewing for almost 5 years. I have spent probably 4k on brewing equipment....which isn't bad as far as hobbies go. I can also "justify" it because someday I would like to own a small brewery. It turns the hobby into the potential for something more.

 

[aiptasia]

Been brewing off and on since 1991, so hard to quantify this question. I'm a cheap ass, so I guess my most expensive piece of equipment is my boil pot.

 

[andvari7]

I've only spent about $300, but many of the pieces of equipment, such as the heating element and kettles, were already in my house. I have a feeling that I will be spending another three Bens on some de-luxer all-grain stuff - mostly Igloo coolers and, well, Igloo coolers - within the next six months. Assuming, of course, I do a five-gallon, all-grain batch. This is not likely to happen in the near future.

 

[jbaysurfer]

So far this year I've spent 350 bucks. Altogether (ingredients too) I checked the 5k box, but it's probably more like 3-4k.

I have a 2 burner stand and second bayou burner. I have 3 10G SS kettles, 2 ICs, a plate chiller (which I don't use because I hate it), a 20G SS kettle, a 10G Igloo MT, a 4 tap kegerator, a 2 tap kegerator, a ferment chamber, another chest freezer being used as a fridge, 2 pumps, a bunch of kegs (I'd guess 9-10 of them) 5-7 fermentors, two propane tanks, a monster mill, and probably a few things I'm forgetting. Just quick disconnects alone probably set me back 2 bills.

I'm a year in basically. I've made the mistake of buying multiples of items because I didn't get the right one to start with, and I've had a few things fall into my lap because a fellow brewer got sick and had to give up some of his stuff.

I don't know if this constitutes having a problem or not, but I won't be showing this post to SWMBO. FWIW, I make great beer, and she and our friends love it. If I knew then what I know now, I may have waited a year and just bought a Sabco or a Morebeer sculpture.

But then again, I'd be just a newb if I waited!!!!

 

[Billy-Klubb]

in the span of almost 14 years brewing: bottle tree w/2 injectors (one broke), 8 gallon mega pot, 15 gallon mega pot, two 5 gallon pots, wing capper, bench capper, bottling bucket, Corona mill, O2 set up, keg/fridge conversion set, two 6 1/2 gallon carboys, three 5 gallon carboys, five used corny kegs, 14 gallon heated/cooled conical from MB, 10 gallon AG cooler set up from NB, counter flow bottling set up, mash paddle, big spoon, 3 or 4 auto siphons, a few hydrometers & thermometers, 2 strainers, 2 funnels, many cases of 16oz/22oz/12oz/1L/6oz bottles (I have no idea how many of what), and a Celli tower (flea market!). we gotta include kits & ingredients and wine/mead too? hell, I don't know. way too much but somehow not near enough.
I've given away some equipment: 5gal carboy, 5gal pot, books, wing capper, and many of a variety of bottles.

 

[Braufessor]

hmmmm . . . I answered before I knew we weren't counting ingredients - All the money I have spent (including ingredients) I am sure goes between 10-20K easy. I would like to hope it was under 20K anyway I have been brewing for 17 years though, so, $1000 per year on a hobby you love is not really all that much money in my book. I am sure serious golfers spend much more than that. Plus, I really have not bought much in the way of store-bought beer in the past 3-5 years, so that offsets some of the cost.
Single biggest purchase was a Morebeer 3 tier 5 gallon brew stand/system I bought about 13-14 years ago. It cost around $1300, free shipping and 50lbs of grain came with it. Best money I ever spent in my life.
I don't spend money on much to be honest - not clothes, vehicles, or much else.. I hunt and fish, but don't spend a lot there. I am pretty content spending money on brewing. There is almost nothing I would rather do with a free day than brew beer. Can't think of a better way to spend my money.

 

[corkybstewart]

I've probably got at least $10,000 including kegerators, kegs, 3-tiered stand, my 12.2 gallon stainless conical(gift from my wife), chillers, cold plates, ingredients, the list goes on forever. But that is over 20 years of brewing.

 

[xdalisx]

Hmm, I voted in the <1k, but know that I have been thinking and if I actually add it up....

Starter Kit - 120
7gal kettle - 90
6.5gal Carboy - 30
Bottles - ~60
5lb co2 tank - 70
Blichmann burner /w leg extensions - 170
Ferm chamber - 100
Valve / diptube - 50
Mash tun - 70
Keggle - 50
Cutting / polishing discs for keggle - 40
Misc tubing, air locks, etc - 100
Misc. Kegging parts - 50
Temp controller - 40
Stir plate + flask - 70
Copper IC - 60

Unless I'm forgetting something, which I probably am, I am just over 1k without ingredients.

Planning on building a 4 tap keezer soon and putting together 2 more keggles. So my cost will go up quite a bit in the next couple months.

 

[Tizzomes]

I'd say close to thousand over the past 2 years. I'm completely set up to brew 10 gallon batches but haven't made the jump.

 

[corkybstewart]

My post above show an annual average of at least $500 but honestly there were the fat years where I had lots of money to spend on brewing(and did) and the lean years. In the past 5 years I have probably spent less than $500 total not counting ingredients.

 

[strambo]

3 tap kegerator with a tower, kegs and Perlicks was the most expensive at about $1k, forcing me into the <$2k poll category. My brewing equipment is just a beginner's kit, 10 gal triple clad stainless kettle, a couple extra Better Bottles and misc. bottle tree, vinator, scale etc. So, minus kegerator, under $500.

 

[Zuljin]

Under $500. Maybe not by much though.

I bought a lot of my set up as a kit and it's lasted me. I still have both buckets, capper, wands, hydrometer, spigot, some of the bottles, an airlock and some other misc gear from it.

My outdoor burner was on blow out sale at Cabelas with a pot. Watch Cabelas and Bass Pro for those. They have ridiculous sales now and then.

I made my mash paddle and spiral wort chiller.

Between the kit, what I drink and what's shown up on the porch, I've plenty bottles.

Caps are cheap and one LHBS sometimes has printed caps that no one wanted for whatever reason for real cheap.

I made my tun from an existing Igloo cooler.

My starter/rehydrater is an empty fifth bottle of Jager.

All the LHBS I use have mills and will either let me crush or crush for me, free.

Got my Better Bottle on sale.

Buying local for all but my initial kit has also worked well for me. No shipping. An 8.75% discount here and there.

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm all in.

 

[iaefebs]

I'm all in.

I fold with 2 keggles, 3 mash tuns, 10 corny's a converted undercounter BevAir ferment chamber. You Win. Plus I just sent you an order for some more cam locks so I can convert the Mash Tun that wasn't set up for cams.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I have a simple set up and I've made it work for me. My beers are coming out good so I'm comfortable where I'm at. Cooler mash tun $20, SS 13 gal BK $90, Burner $30, Grain mill $180, Carboys $100, Wort Chiller $40, and misc $30. I've definitely brewed enough to where I'm saving money at this point.

 

[passedpawn]

It'd be easier to add up how much I didn't spend on brewing.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I've probably spent on equipment (or had given to me as a present around 300

I bought a kit for my brother and I to brew with, that was like 70 or 80, plus our kettle was like 70, but for myself I was given a 100 dollar brew kit and I have an additional 40 for a 5 gallon stock pot. Plus some other odds and ends things here and there (my brother has a thing with breaking hydrometers and thermometers)

 

[Lushife]

Not too much so far maybe $200 I got alot of stuff for Christmas/ birthday presents but I'm currently building an AG brewery and might have to build an outside brewery Ina woodshed type building. Even with all that I don't think I'll break $1000, for now.

 

[evolcoms]

In equipment I have around 130 and around the same in recipes. I scored finding all my stuff on craigslist for 100 bucks!