Pound of Flesh

[Immocles]

I looked at the fields required for that calculator and quickly realized that I wouldn't enjoy the answer it spit out at me. I figure I'm either waaaaay ahead and drink too much ( ha! ), or waaaay behind and have spent too much, which would honestly bum me out. Either way....

 

[gnef]

I am a firm believer that hobbies were never meant to save us money, they were meant to save our sanity.

Of course, this is within reason given our priorities and constraints. Some really enjoy having the best and shiniest, while others really enjoy the building and figuring things out. There isn't one right way for everything.

I think the biggest question is if you are enjoying the hobby, and are spending within your means. If the answer to those is 'yes', then I think you are set.

I've been brewing for over 15 years now, and have accumulated over those years, so I know I have spent a very significant amount of money on the hobby ( A few of big ticket items are the walk-in cooler itself, the serving setup with 14 perlick 650ss faucets, the electric brewery, and the 90 kegs that I have).

I will continue to brew as long as I enjoy it, able to physically do it, and can afford to brew. Brewing is only one of my many hobbies, I have others as well that I divvy up the money for (I roast my own coffee on a behmor 1600+ for espresso with an ECM S-automatik 64 grinder and Rancilio Silvia machine, I am into PCP air rifles, also into charcuterie and have 2 year old procsiuttos hanging, woodworking and just bought a Laguna 12/16 lathe with accessories in addition to my laguna 18 BX bandsaw, plus other tools, etc.)

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

If you’re getting malt for $1/lb online please share where... I’m looking to start buying sacks but haven’t seen any crazy values yet.

You could check into local homebrew clubs. Ours has annual dues of $15, but we get grains in a group buy from a local brewery for about $25/bag. We also do group import grain orders where we save a lot on shipping. I got floor malted maris otter and golden promise for about $50/bag.

 

[firerat]

I wish this was my most expensive hobby...….

 

[SouthBounds]

You also have an asset. So if you sell the equipment at 50% of purchase price you really haven't lost/spent as much as you think.

Bonus points if you buy previously depreciated equipment.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I feel like I need to clarify my original post. I'm not complaining; I think it's money well spent. I just didn't realize how much money was well spent. I don't have any regrets! I love this hobby!

 

[BruceH]

I'm still fermenting in plastic buckets, have a fake corona mill, and have developed a modified method of one vessel brewing.

My brew kettle was part of a special that included a tall kettle with clad bottom, very good burner, and copper chiller. I've since gone to a ss chiller but have the copper chiller linked in series. The copper one sits in a bucket of ice water to chill the ground water.

The biggest improvements have come from a water analysis which allowed for adjustments to ph and minerals, and kegging which allowed for spunding and reduced oxidation.

If our retirement house has the room for a 3v setup I may upgrade, there are some things I'd like to try. However, for now I can reliably make beer that's pretty tasty.

I would guess that I'm into it less than $1k with about $600 of that in kegging equipment and kegs. Always looking for a deal on kegs.

 

[rwinzing]

If I never bought another thing (which is never gonna happen) I would need to brew until I die and still not be anywhere close to even. I do it because I love it!

 

[Jayjay1976]

Homebrewing is cheaper than my other hobbies, and besides SWMBO loves beer and we enjoy brewing together.
She also jokes that as a midlife crisis, brewing is a relatively benign habit to take up. She'd rather I ran out and bought a muscle car, but hey, beer.

 

[blubyu]

I wish this was my most expensive hobby...….

I totally agree... unlike the poster above (sorry but 90 kegs?? not a hobby anymore) Golf, Guns, Quads, Cigars and Scotch are my other hobbies.....I stopped adding up what my "hobbies" cost me a long time ago

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I totally agree... unlike the poster above (sorry but 90 kegs?? not a hobby anymore) Golf, Guns, Quads, Cigars and Scotch are my other hobbies.....I stopped adding up what my "hobbies" cost me a long time ago

Quads?

 

[khannon]

That’s a nice LHBS price, wow! I’ll have to keep shopping around.

(Wish I had an old Mac still!)

Talk to your local brewery, mine helps me out when they order grain...

 

[deuc224]

I wish this was my most expensive hobby...….

You and me both, compared to the other 4, this is literally the cheapest. Music studio is the most, and im not a professional in any sense lol.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I had a spreadsheet for awhile where I was tracking my $ outlays on everything but ingredients vs my batches brewed and figuring out if I was saving money but I stopped updating it like a year ago. I was obviously in the hole for awhile because of the equipment purchases but I now haven't made any big ones in awhile. I ferment in kegs, have a keezer and chest freezer for ferm chamber. I'll bet if I'm not at the breakeven and saving money I'm close. It's definitely possible to save money homebrewing if you eventually get your brewhouse process nailed down and stay with it without constantly upgrading to more expensive stuff.

 

[Gozie Boy]

This reminds me of a friend of mine who put in a small tomato garden (at his wife's "suggestion"), then he got this book and realized a lot of it was "him":

The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden:Amazon:Books

He shared that experience with me (before I got into HB), and when I did I remembered this and that a lot of it applied to me too. Basically, almost no one ever performs an objective, comprehensive cost analysis of what goes into their hobby, and HB is definitely in that category. I would comfortably wager that few HB'ers can brew a "less than $2/6-pack" beer when all is included, and I'm not even including labor. When I got started, I developed a comprehensive spreadsheet, which calculated beer costs both on a variable cost basis and one including amortized capital. It is also almost universally true that your capex will only be (much) higher than you can ever originally estimate. That is one of the things about a serious hobby, it sucks you in and you willingly, happily allow it to happen.

I also developed a small hops garden. Not because it was ever going to be cost efficient or begin to cover all my hops needs, but that it would simply put a little more of myself into my beer.

Yep. I knew going in that that this was going to be my $64 tomato, but hey, there's something priceless about drinking and sharing your beer.

 

[firerat]

Quads?

I'm assuming he means 4 wheelers.

Like this:

A guy I work with used to race them and holy bajeezus they can get pricey.