So I was rumaging around looking for something the other day and I came across a 1998 cataloge from my brew shop and some even older notes from when I brewed my first homebrew back in the mid 80's. One thing that stood out (beside the primative receipe) was the prices.. WOW, it cost just a few dollars back in 1984 to brew 5 gallons.
Here is the receipe:
2 cans premier Malt (4.4lb each)
2 cups corn sugar
1 1/2 oz cascade hops
3/4 oz finishing hops
1 package yeast
3/4 cup priming sugar
og 1.040
fg 1.012
We thought we were the bomb back in those days...there was no LHBS, so getting supplies was an event of it's own.... we could get some Malt from the local grocery store, the other items had to be mail ordered.
My brewing in the mid 80's lasted only for a few years, due to my restless nature back in my younger days, after a few years I got side tracked.
Moving forward 10 years and I'm settled down and I decide to return to the brewing. Even though I still had no LHBS and it's pre-internet , I had a health food store about 70 miles away that sold brewing supplies. I used that shop along with another shop a friend gave me the catologe for....(the very one I just found)
After starting up again in the mid 1990's I brewed for about 5 years and then once again I quit brewing till this past fall when I started up again.....
present day.....
The basics are the same but some ideaologies have morphed... We were drinking beer that was by todays standards ...green. I started one batch on 1/2/98 and was drinking it Super Bowl sunday (Bronco's beat the Packers) which was on 1/25/98... just over three weeks from start to gone....and my notes said every one LOVED it and we consumed the entire batch...LOL
The one thing that kept buggin me with my most recent restart back into brewing was the prices...I keep thinking, "man these prices seem high". Well once I found the catologe from 1998 I saw the reason behind those thoughts...they are high compared to the last time I brewed. The catologe showed back in 1998 prices were less than half what they are today... the kits I used cost just $10.98 a piece for any one of the 7 different styles they sold.
Back in the day I kept a brew going pretty much all winter long, where as now I had to cool out after brewing just three batches, my finances are tight right now....and I have grandkids to look after. Life moves on and the times they are a changing.
Even though I'm not brewing, I'm reading and gleening lots of good info from this forum...thanks to all that make it happen.
Happy Brewing.....
Here is the receipe:
2 cans premier Malt (4.4lb each)
2 cups corn sugar
1 1/2 oz cascade hops
3/4 oz finishing hops
1 package yeast
3/4 cup priming sugar
og 1.040
fg 1.012
We thought we were the bomb back in those days...there was no LHBS, so getting supplies was an event of it's own.... we could get some Malt from the local grocery store, the other items had to be mail ordered.
My brewing in the mid 80's lasted only for a few years, due to my restless nature back in my younger days, after a few years I got side tracked.
Moving forward 10 years and I'm settled down and I decide to return to the brewing. Even though I still had no LHBS and it's pre-internet , I had a health food store about 70 miles away that sold brewing supplies. I used that shop along with another shop a friend gave me the catologe for....(the very one I just found)
After starting up again in the mid 1990's I brewed for about 5 years and then once again I quit brewing till this past fall when I started up again.....
present day.....
The basics are the same but some ideaologies have morphed... We were drinking beer that was by todays standards ...green. I started one batch on 1/2/98 and was drinking it Super Bowl sunday (Bronco's beat the Packers) which was on 1/25/98... just over three weeks from start to gone....and my notes said every one LOVED it and we consumed the entire batch...LOL
The one thing that kept buggin me with my most recent restart back into brewing was the prices...I keep thinking, "man these prices seem high". Well once I found the catologe from 1998 I saw the reason behind those thoughts...they are high compared to the last time I brewed. The catologe showed back in 1998 prices were less than half what they are today... the kits I used cost just $10.98 a piece for any one of the 7 different styles they sold.
Back in the day I kept a brew going pretty much all winter long, where as now I had to cool out after brewing just three batches, my finances are tight right now....and I have grandkids to look after. Life moves on and the times they are a changing.
Even though I'm not brewing, I'm reading and gleening lots of good info from this forum...thanks to all that make it happen.
Happy Brewing.....
