I pay $6 for a tall glass of Hefe at the local brewery in my city. I feel it's worth it. Yum. If I learn to brew my own what can I expect a tall glass to cost me once I have all my equipment down? Just curious.
Yeah, just put those thoughts of saving money right out the window. That's simply not going to happen.
Yeah, the 2 great myths:
1. I'll save a lot of money
2. I'll stop drinking commercial beer.
And t-shirts, pint glasses, cool bottle openers, hats, beer taps (whether or not you keg), beer mirrors, brewiana from old breweries, at least one glass for EVERY style of beer out there including every one for Belgian beers, tattoos if you're inclined that way, hop bines, obscure scientific instruments for harvesting/growing yeast, storage things for all your beer gear and collectables, tools so you can make some beer gear of your own, as well as more storage, plane tickets to travel to breweries, more luggage to bring back beer swag and beers you can't get at home, a second home or at least some sort of a brewshed or man cave, scrap metal to make your own brew stand, foods you never tried before to pair with your beers, your own set of pots, pans, knives and other cooking gear because you're also going to become a gourmet cook since your pallete has been refined, a smoker since beer and smoked meat goes together, a new computer to better surf homebrewtalk, sausage making and cheese making kits, since you started reading those other forums on here, and not to mention, a lawyer to help with the divorce when your wife can't take it anymore.
Welcome to the obsession.
I have almost completely stopped drinking commercial beer. Every other week or so I'll stop and buy a single bottle of something that I'm planning on brewing, a "calibrator". Verdict: NOT A MYTH
You probably could save money doing this, but only well after you stop upgrading the system. I'm at that point now. I'd say I save a lot of money compared to buying. VERDICT: MYTH IN THE SHORT TERM, TRUE FOR THE LONG RUN
And t-shirts, pint glasses, cool bottle openers, hats, beer taps (whether or not you keg), beer mirrors, brewiana from old breweries, at least one glass for EVERY style of beer out there including every one for Belgian beers, tattoos if you're inclined that way, hop bines, obscure scientific instruments for harvesting/growing yeast, storage things for all your beer gear and collectables, tools so you can make some beer gear of your own, as well as more storage, plane tickets to travel to breweries, more luggage to bring back beer swag and beers you can't get at home, a second home or at least some sort of a brewshed or man cave, scrap metal to make your own brew stand, foods you never tried before to pair with your beers, your own set of pots, pans, knives and other cooking gear because you're also going to become a gourmet cook since your pallete has been refined, a smoker since beer and smoked meat goes together, a new computer to better surf homebrewtalk, sausage making and cheese making kits, since you started reading those other forums on here, and not to mention, a lawyer to help with the divorce when your wife can't take it anymore.
Have I missed anything gang?
Welcome to the obsession.
Bell's Celebrator Dopplebock
I'm different than most home brewers. I got a process (brew in a bag) down, I can make pretty good beer within a fairly defined window of styles (nothing too big), and now I just churn out 50 beers at a time for $20 - $25. With 3 kids I don't have time to experiment (experiment=buying lots of new gear).
My equipment cost me $150 bucks, and I've made up that money by now.
I just can't make a 12% RIS.
I still buy my share of commercial brew, but much less than a year ago.
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