tomy2
Active Member
Is AG brewing cheaper ( ingredients wise) that buying a extract kit?
this way, the initial cost of all the equipment to jump from Extract to AG is taken out of the equation. You pay for the coolers and all that out of the money you saved per batch.
only the grain is cheaper. The hefeweizen is not the best comparison as it uses very little hops. Do an IPA and the numbers will be closer. Buy fresh yeast for every batch and the numbers get even closer. Tack on the cost of equipment... You're not gonna save lots of money doing AG.
wow...did not realize that!....like i just bought a beer kit to make a lager (5gal) for $54. hoping I can reproduce that cheaper with the AG brewing cheaper.....
My time is worth at least $100 an hour. AG 6 plus hours. Extract, less than 2. Extract brewers save way more money.
Well said...If you look at it that way your still talkin $200.00 for 2 1/2 cases of beer plus the kit. Sounds like you would be cheaper to go with the local cap and cork shop.
Personally I like the extra time that AG allows me to brew. I don't like 6 hour brew days but lately they have been 4.5-5 hours which I like. The extra time versus extract brewing lets me enjoy the process much more. I wouldn't be making beer if I didn't like the brew day itself.
Is AG brewing cheaper ( ingredients wise) that buying a extract kit?
I agree with what someone said earlier. You can buy bulk hops and wash/slant yeast if you brew extract. Even specialty grains end up costing the same. The savings is in AG is in base malt over malt extract.
I recently bought about 400 lbs of grain from NCM as part of a group buy (2-row, Maris Otter, Pils, Munich). Including shipping, 2-row is $0.56/lb, the other grains are around $0.80/lb. You can also get DME or LME in bulk from NCM. With shipping ($0.06/lb for my group buy) DME would be $2.02/lb and LME is $1.28/lb.
If you run those numbers out to 'per batch' costs, assuming a 1.050, 6 gallon batch and 75% efficiency for the AG batch. The base malt cost per batch comes out to:
DME: $13.07
LME: $9.86
2-row AG: $6.05
All else being equal, you can save $4-$7 per 6 gal. batch in going extract to AG. If course, depending on where you plan to buy ingredients, these numbers can change.
I agree with what someone said earlier. You can buy bulk hops and wash/slant yeast if you brew extract. Even specialty grains end up costing the same. The savings is in AG is in base malt over malt extract.
I recently bought about 400 lbs of grain from NCM as part of a group buy (2-row, Maris Otter, Pils, Munich). Including shipping, 2-row is $0.56/lb, the other grains are around $0.80/lb. You can also get DME or LME in bulk from NCM. With shipping ($0.06/lb for my group buy) DME would be $2.02/lb and LME is $1.28/lb.
If you run those numbers out to 'per batch' costs, assuming a 1.050, 6 gallon batch and 75% efficiency for the AG batch. The base malt cost per batch comes out to:
DME: $13.07
LME: $9.86
2-row AG: $6.05
All else being equal, you can save $4-$7 per 6 gal. batch in going extract to AG. If course, depending on where you plan to buy ingredients, these numbers can change.
Thanks for putting up some real numbers. I'll stick with the extract.
i also think it comes down to the brewing aspect as in enjoying the brew process as it pertains to the hobby. just was wondering which was more cost effective stricky ingred wise.
Man, you're reminding me that I need to get on the ball as far as putting together a group buy for grains. I've found some good deals, but the minimum order is 2000#, which is definately more than I can handle on my own.
wow! thats alot of grain!
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