Raw ingredient cost?

[Gizzygone]

I’m new to Home-brewing... I’ve been giving it more thought and consideration lately, but I want to be sure I don’t jump feet first into another “hobby” that I won’t keep up with!

I’m curious: on average, how much does it cost to brew your own batch (not the equipment, just the ingredients).

I’m thinking 2.5-5gallon batches to serve in my kegerator.

I’ve seen lots of kits online, they range in the $40-50 areas... is this typical?

 

[PADave]

Depends on what style of beer you brew and where you get ingredients from. Buying kits is going to be most expensive. If you do IPA's, they will cost more, as lots of hops can add up. But you can figure about $1.50-2.00 for a pound of grain. Then $2-4 for an oz of hops. Buying in bulk can lower cost, but then you have to buy containers to store everything. So you could do something like a cream ale for $20/5gal, or say an average IPA for $30/5 gal.

 

[Gizzygone]

Depends on what style of beer you brew and where you get ingredients from. Buying kits is going to be most expensive. If you do IPA's, they will cost more, as lots of hops can add up. But you can figure about $1.50-2.00 for a pound of grain. Then $2-4 for an oz of hops. Buying in bulk can lower cost, but then you have to buy containers to store everything. So you could do something like a cream ale for $20/5gal, or say an average IPA for $30/5 gal.

Ah; and how long do the loose ingredients keep for?

I’m thinking kits are a good starting point for me to get used to what-does-what, but bulk ingredients would be something to consider long-term!

 

[PADave]

Ah; and how long do the loose ingredients keep for?

I’m thinking kits are a good starting point for me to get used to what-does-what, but bulk ingredients would be something to consider long-term!

Uncrushed grain, store cool and dry, a couple years. Hops keep the air out and in the freezer a year or more.

 

[jtratcliff]

Yeast is another expense that can be reduced via re-using yeast cakes, and/or rinsing the yeast and keeping it in a jar in the fridge...

Dry yeast is usually cheaper than liquid. But usually fewer varieties are available in dry form.

Both can be reused several times if you maintain proper sanitation.

You can also over build a starter to make extra to save for your next brew.

 

[grampamark]

Last year I brewed 13 times. I spent about $300 on ingredients, all from my LHBS. So, $20-25 per batch. Buying in bulk would save about $100/yr, more than enough to buy a grain mill.

I'm lucky to have access to a really good local store and try to support them. The advantage of having almost any combination of malt/hops/yeast available at any time makes spending a little more on ingredients worth it, to me. As always, YMMV.

Mark

 

[Gizzygone]

So $20-25 isn’t too shabby.

I started another thread about automated brewing machines and asked about savings: most agreed it’s cheaper to buy kegs than brew your own beer, but at <$30 a batch, you can nearly justify it!

 

[PADave]

If you factor in ALL costs, including your time and equipment, then no, you will not save anything. You will spend lots, and then some. It's like any hobby, if you enjoy what you are doing, that's what matters. There is a certain satisfaction in drinking something that you made, that is as good or better than a commercial product. As well as sharing something that you made with someone and seeing them enjoy it.

 

[mongoose33]

I brewed a SMaSH today. 12.1 pounds of Maris Otter ($11.86), 4 packs of hops ($8), a pack of S-04 yeast ($4).

That doesn't include the cost of water additions, cleaning solution, propane, sanitizer. Add probably another $7-8 for that.

And there you are, maybe $32.

 

[grampamark]

So $20-25 isn’t too shabby.

I started another thread about automated brewing machines and asked about savings: most agreed it’s cheaper to buy kegs than brew your own beer, but at <$30 a batch, you can nearly justify it!

Compared to the cost of craft beer, you can save a little by brewing your own, as long as you can live with something in the "ghetto quality" range for a brewing rig.

Twenty-five bucks for a 5-gallon batch is 12 bucks a case. You can't buy a case of Old Milwaukee for 12 bucks. In my part of the world, craft beer is 8-12 bucks a six pack. So, if I can brew craft quality beer for 12 bucks a case, I have quite a bit left over to amortize the cost of my brewing rig.

I have about $1000 invested in brewing/storing/serving equipment (about 60% of that in the storing/serving components). Since I started all grain brewing, about 4 years ago, I've brewed 45 batches on my current rig. At $25/batch, that's $1125. Forty-five batches is 90 cases of beer. At the low end of craft beer prices in this area ($8/six pack), that's $32/case, or $2880. $2880-$2125=$755. So, I've saved 3/4 of my cost of equipment. If I keep brewing at about the same rate, and can resist the urge to upgrade, I'll break even in another couple of years.

As others have pointed out, the purpose of homebrewing isn't really to save money, but it is possible to justify a relatively modest brewing setup, assuming you were going to buy as much beer as you are brewing. At that point, it becomes a chicken-and-egg question. Would you really buy as much beer as you can brew? Probably not, but making the assumption that you would can at least make the numbers work out on paper.

Mark

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

There are a few factors in the cost.
- Style (as mentioned before)
- cost at your LHBS
- Bulk ingredients vs by-the-batch

Example: Basic Pale Ale

By-the-batch
10lbs 2-row - $1.25-ish per/lb = $12.50
3oz Hops (cascade) - $2.25/oz = $6.75
1 pack yeast = $6.75-ish
Total = $26 / 5gal

Bulk ingredients
50lb sack 2-row is $43 (10lbs = $8.60)
1lb Hops is $8.95 (3oz = $1.98)
Yeast = $6.75
Total = $17.33 / 5gal

 

[Calder]

For me, cost of ingredients is about 25 to 30 cents a beer, or about $15 for 5 gallons. I brew 6.5% abv on average and don't skimp on the hops. I buy hops and grain in bulk, and probably get about 20 uses out of a pack of yeast. And I make decent beer.

Keep a look out for sales of kits from Northern Brewer. About twice a year, they run an offer of $19.99 for a kit if you but 3 or more. They are generally decent kits too, not the cheapest ones they have. Shipping is $7.99. Works out pretty good if you get maybe 6 of them. If you really want to work the cost of kits, you can get a Northern Brewer gift card (buy $100, get $20 free), and then use that to get a further 17% off the discount kit offer.

I partial mash, partial boil, so I use some extract. I get these kits and break them up, sometimes it works out that I pay $2 for a lb of extract, and get hops and some grain for free..

Beer can be made cheaper, but it takes some work.

 

[beerlover77]

I spend 20-30 CAD per 5 gallons. This includes hops by the LB and full bags of grain. Also re-use liquid yeast.

 

[BruceH]

I’m new to Home-brewing... I’ve been giving it more thought and consideration lately, but I want to be sure I don’t jump feet first into another “hobby” that I won’t keep up with!

I’m curious: on average, how much does it cost to brew your own batch (not the equipment, just the ingredients).

I’m thinking 2.5-5gallon batches to serve in my kegerator.

I’ve seen lots of kits online, they range in the $40-50 areas... is this typical?

I understand the concern. I'm new to home brew myself and every hobby I've ever had has gone over what I thought it would cost. However, I'm obsessive-compulsive about things and the more I learn the more money I seem to spend getting everything just so.

With that said you can get by relatively inexpensive cost wise but it requires a little legwork. I've found that hops can be had for around $1 per oz when purchased by the pound from a hop farm. I also found a local malter who will sell malt to me for less than $1 per pound but I have to purchase in 50lb. increments and I have to call a few days before I'm going to pick up so they can have my small purchase ready. I also have to mill the malt myself but it's pretty easy. I have a cheap auger type mill that looks more like a meat grinder than a mill. Hand cranking at a reasonable pace takes about 1 minute per pound of malt.

I've recycled yeast and it has worked. However, now I'm just making a big starter and keeping some back to grow for the next batch. IMO it's easier than harvesting from the prior brew. I can't remember who posted it but I read about it on this forum and it made a whole lot of sense to me.

If I was going to do a 2.5 gallon all grain batch it would cost under $5 for the grain, nothing for the yeast, and maybe $1 worth of hops. I'd also need a $.75 one time use grain bag.

Let's say it was $7.50 when factoring in the initial yeast cost over time and multiple batches. That's $3 per gallon for ingredients with the one time use grain bag.

Now, lets say you don't want to mill grain and can't find a local malter who is nice to homebrewers.

Milled grain is under $2 per pound from most of the internet places so let's say grain cost went up to $10 along with $2 for an oz of hops. Let's also say that you felt better about just using fresh yeast each time so yeast for 2.5 gallons would probably be $3.

Now it's up to $6 per gallon for ingredient costs. Still pretty low imo. Plus, you get to experiment and tinker with things while learning all about what affects what. That's my reason for doing this or any other hobby, learning and experimenting.

 

[Horseflesh]

It costs me about 50 cents per pint for low-hopped moderate ABV ales like stouts. Moderately hopped ales like an APA w/ light dry hopping are about a buck a pint. If I buy yeast instead of reusing, costs go up 10-20 cents per pint.

These are all LHBS prices, and mine is expensive. I can reduce my hop costs by half if I buy online. I'll probably do that for staples and continue to buy oddball hops at the LHBS.

I could save more buying bulk grain and milling my own but I'm not up for that currently.

Don't ask how much I've spent on gear.

 

[TGFV]

Just for 5gal batches I can usually range from 24$CAD to 40$CAD.

Generally I use coopers kits on sale (buying 3-4 at a time when my grocery store has them on for 12$) plus DME at 10$ a kilo, and my yeasts are generally a one time buy and re-use thing (got a pack if Nottingham on 4th gen with no off flavours and a saisons yeast on its 5th gen next month when I use it again).

Depending on the quality of ingredients you use and the cost of beer where you live (craft bombers are 6-12$ here in Vancouver) you can save money PER BOTTLE (mine usually works out to 1$, so 5$ savings) but overall you will be spending more money with the hobby as the brewing bug kicks in.

(Just ask the 7 fermenters I have going now...)

 

[JimRausch]

So $20-25 isn’t too shabby.

I started another thread about automated brewing machines and asked about savings: most agreed it’s cheaper to buy kegs than brew your own beer, but at <$30 a batch, you can nearly justify it!

Most of us are brewers not because it saves us money. I've never figured out my cost per batch. I probably don't want to know. But, the thrill of trying a commercial beer, figuring out a recipe to match it, brewing and fermenting it, and have it come out BETTER than that commercial sample- that's priceless!

 

[masskrug]

+1 for $20-$25 range. I can't justify paying $40-$50 for homebrew.

 

[jdonley]

It will be more expensive if you go the Extract route.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

+1 for $20-$25 range. I can't justify paying $40-$50 for homebrew.

When you consider that a 6pk of craft beer is on average $10+ then even at $50 per batch your only looking at $5.50 per 6pk.
But as you’ve read most are putting the cost around $25-$30 per batch. Which equals around $3.33 per 6pk.
So I don’t think you have any worries.

 

[VTX1300]

For me it's not about saving money. It's the "are you sure this is homebrew?" Or "wow, that's really good" from my family and friends when they take the first sip. I enjoy the challenge of trying a new style or recipe and making something that I absolutely love. Then sharing with my friends. I just recently started purchasing supplies in bulk to offset some of the cost, but still get special grains and hops from my local HBS as needed.