Why are homebrew people SO cheap??

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I wouldnt say I'm cheap(my wife does though,lol) probably directly relates to how I was raised in the 70s and 80s. Dad was a blue collar worker and we had a lot of times growing up when we just had to make due and live within our means. Frugal is more like it. Waste not, want not. Reuse, repurpose, recycle... I mean why would anyone pay more than they need to for anything or be disposable? I could open up my checkbook or flip out the credit card and buy whatever I want but I have to be responsible...I still have other financial commitments . I could have bought a grainfather or something along that line, instead I chose to build my simplistic but very effective brew rig on the cheap. I took the parts from a small apartment sized electric stove and built my gravity 3 tier rig. It works . If it ain't broke, don't fix it type of thinking. Better yet, Improvisation.
My daughter likes to buy herself expensive purses ($300+)on credit to impress people she doesnt know and have nothing to put in it. My wife (not my daughters mother)is NOT a purse girl, rather have a cheap one and have money to put in it.
So, are you brewing to make beer for your own enjoyment or buying equipment to impress people?
Just my $0.01 because I'm too cheap to give you my $0.02 ,lol.
 
catdaddy66 said:
I was told by my frugal sister, "Never pay retail for ANYTHING!"

I look back in my life and can never recall ever saying "I am glad I payed top dollar for" whatever...
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do you people actually enjoy living like that?
the rich grandpa story seems sad to me. what is the point of having money if not to enjoy it? seriously. why would you wanna amass a pile of money and never enjoy it?
money on it's own is just paper or numbers on a screen.
when i go out with friends to a bar or out for breakfast i'm more inclined to buy breakfast or grab a round of beers for us without asking. my friends are the sme way. no bickering. no obsessing about deals or stingy cheap bs. we tip well and enjoy being out.
i simply cannot imagine enjoying life while being a cheapskate about everything. it sounds like suffering to me.
 
NewJersey said:
do you people actually enjoy living like that?
the rich grandpa story seems sad to me. what is the point of having money if not to enjoy it? seriously. why would you wanna amass a pile of money and never enjoy it?
money on it's own is just paper or numbers on a screen.
when i go out with friends to a bar or out for breakfast i'm more inclined to buy breakfast or grab a round of beers for us without asking. my friends are the sme way. no bickering. no obsessing about deals or stingy cheap bs. we tip well and enjoy being out.
i simply cannot imagine enjoying life while being a cheapskate about everything. it sounds like suffering to me.
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You're making an assumption that all people who brew "have money"...

Why would you assume that?

If I had the money to do what you are arguing for, then my set up would be a lot nicer. But my budget and level of income tell me that I should brew the way I am currently. I could always win the lottery but until that happens...
 
NewJersey said:
I see it EVERYWHERE on hbt and it's driving me insane. I love craft beer and the homebrew hobby, but I can't help but notice it everywhere. I imagine some of it is just related to having a low income, but that can't account for all of it.
From complaining about the price of beer in a bar to bragging about how cheap you brew a beer per ounce. I assume if you're into beer then the priority would be to make good beer, but for many on here it seems to be how cheap you can be about it. The most annoying is when people seek to find ways around well known longtime good vendors to save $10. That kills me honestly. I'm not gonna act like I've never bought something on amazon, but I always try to support good vendors and my lhbs.
I am also into cars as a hobby and naturally see the same type of people. It's like a cancer to hobbies in general.
Am I insane?
Anybody agree?
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NewJersey said:
do you people actually enjoy living like that?
the rich grandpa story seems sad to me. what is the point of having money if not to enjoy it? seriously. why would you wanna amass a pile of money and never enjoy it?
money on it's own is just paper or numbers on a screen.
when i go out with friends to a bar or out for breakfast i'm more inclined to buy breakfast or grab a round of beers for us without asking. my friends are the sme way. no bickering. no obsessing about deals or stingy cheap bs. we tip well and enjoy being out.
i simply cannot imagine enjoying life while being a cheapskate about everything. it sounds like suffering to me.
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my dad is like that , been retired for 26 yrs and still cheap even though their bank account is really healthy. He still has extension cords older than me and Im 51. I have to refer back to my previous post. I remember when I was in high school I think and my dad and I were at the mall . I was looking for a new wallet. Dad says let me see the one you have now...I showed him. He asks whats wrong with it. Nothing at all. He asks how much do you have in it . I say about $40 . How much is the new wallet. $36 . He says the one you have holds money , why would you buy another one with all you have and only have but $4 to put in the new one, who are you trying to impress? I put the wallet back , carried the old one for another 5 yrs. You have to remember the old folks grew up in times of the depression . They saved everything , scraps of string, rubber bands, etc. Things werent as cheap and disposable as they are now.
 
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I've read about 90% of this thread. The only thing that sticks in my mind is why do you even care? Why do you care if someone is frugal and looks for a deal? Why do you care if someone flashed a big wad and spends top dollar on their hobby? The whole thing is just beyond me. I have never once read a thread here and was like "Wow, i can't believe he/she was cheap" or "Holy crap i bet he/she spent top dollar on that." HBT, IMHO should be a place where you can come and enjoy the fellowship, pick up a few tips and share a few. Not felt pushed down because you look for a bargain. Whatever, I'm on to a thread that actually adds value to homebrewing and the community as a whole. Course I'll probably get banned for that.
 
ApolloSimcoe said:
I've read about 90% of this thread. The only thing that sticks in my mind is why do you even care? Why do you care if someone is frugal and looks for a deal? Why do you care if someone flashed a big wad and spends top dollar on their hobby? The whole thing is just beyond me. I have never once read a thread here and was like "Wow, i can't believe he/she was cheap" or "Holy crap i bet he/she spent top dollar on that." HBT, IMHO should be a place where you can come and enjoy the fellowship, pick up a few tips and share a few. Not felt pushed down because you look for a bargain. Whatever, I'm on to a thread that actually adds value to homebrewing and the community as a whole. Course I'll probably get banned for that.
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i encounter the cheapness in every corner of the forum. you knew what you were getting into when you opened this thread- it's in the title.
If you didn't like the discussion you didn't have to partake.
 
ListerH said:
I haven't read all the posts on here but I'll add my thoughts on the original post... you really don't save money by homebrewing no matter what anyone says... but it's not about that... it's about the fun of being creative; designing and building a brew rig, building recipes... experimenting and yes... cooking.
I'm looking at growing some hops in my garden, not to save money on a batch of IPA but because I want to know if I can!

If you factor in the cost of the time spent brewing, then the cost of the beer is absolutely huge! But I absolutely love all the hours I put into it, even when things go wrong... plus I get to enjoy my creations and share them with people who also shares theirs with me. I still buy beer too. In fact, since starting to brew, I probably spend just as much on shop bought beer... I just drink more overall!

In terms of shopping around for deals, we all do it... but generally, you kinda get what you pay for and I for one have been burned by going for a cheaper option... crappy quick keg disconnects is one I remember vividly that cost me a tank of CO2! You tend to just end up going back and buying what you should have bought in the first place, but sometimes you genuinely get something good for a good price.
Homebrewing is expensive and it can be ridiculously expensive if you are not careful. I know people who have unnecessarily spent thousands on kit that I have been able to build myself. So it works both ways.
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Nope. I do it when I'm not working. I also brew early mornings so I don't lose the whole day. I can also do housework at the same time. I'm only losing the time to play video games or watch movies.

Homebrewing is cheap to get started. And if you do it right you'll still be using the same equipment decades later. After many years I have a few thousand into the hobby but started at maybe $200. I'm still using everything but the glass carboy (still have it though).

If I had to buy from a brewery what I brew it would cost me a lot more.
 
I'm with ya on that ^^^
I don't brew to save money, i do it because i enjoy it so i don't calculate my time as money spent. (even tho he's technically correct)
my favorite brew days are actually when i simeltaneously brew beer AND do my yard work. weed whack, check on mash. trim hedges, go inside and get boil started. wait a few minutes into the boil and go cut grass. finish grass and have a homebrew. go back out and run the blower. put everything away and finish boil/chill/into the fermenter. clean up and have another beer. can't wait for summer!!!
 
When did this become so much about money, I brew because I love the HOBBY, remember here people we all started this as a hobby, anyone can spend any amount of money on anything that they want, if the OP wants to constantly buy rounds of drinks and breakfast, oh well, brewing is a hobby, I also do not consider the time that brewing takes in terms of time vs. dollars, its a hobby, yes it takes time, it also gives a great deal of pleasure, I enjoy it, if I spend sh!tloads of cash doing it, who cares. I think that I might a start new thread............. "Does spending all your money really make you happy?"
 
ABI Brewery said:
When did this become so much about money, I brew because I love the HOBBY, remember here people we all started this as a hobby, anyone can spend any amount of money on anything that they want, if the OP wants to constantly buy rounds of drinks and breakfast, oh well, brewing is a hobby, I also do not consider the time that brewing takes in terms of time vs. dollars, its a hobby, yes it takes time, it also gives a great deal of pleasure, I enjoy it, if I spend sh!tloads of cash doing it, who cares. I think that I might a start new thread............. "Does spending all your money really make you happy?"
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as opposed to being cheap your whole life and taking the money to the grave? answer is absolutley yes. i enjoyed you mocking me in your post. you achieved several veiled insults succinctly.
 
NewJersey said:
I'm with ya on that ^^^
I don't brew to save money, i do it because i enjoy it so i don't calculate my time as money spent. (even tho he's technically correct)
my favorite brew days are actually when i simeltaneously brew beer AND do my yard work. weed whack, check on mash. trim hedges, go inside and get boil started. wait a few minutes into the boil and go cut grass. finish grass and have a homebrew. go back out and run the blower. put everything away and finish boil/chill/into the fermenter. clean up and have another beer. can't wait for summer!!!
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Exactly the point I was trying to make... I don't really think about the cost of the hobby... it's not about that. If I did think about it, it isn't a cheap hobby but I don't really care. What better to spend money on than doing something you love? If that is not a good use of the money we work so hard to earn then I don't know what is :)
 
Still Brewn said:
You are so wrong!
Wrong!
Let me start off by saying , I get the equipment thing and mine just doesn't carry much of anything so I don't have a choice.
But saying your home brew store doesn't care about your business.... wrong! Unless your brew store is run by a moron or a large corporation they very much care about you and your business! And the fundamentals behind owning a small business dictate that It be that way.
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Right they care about my business. Some people have a tendency to make a personal attachment to brands. ("Apple people" come to mind) My comments were more about only purchasing from a particular brand/vendor. Locking in to one source prevents you from reaping the benefits of having variety.

And I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I'm anti-small business. That is not true and not what I was trying to project. Largely I agree with everything you say in principal, but there's a limit. Extra dollar to get my coffee at the local place? No big deal because it's small money and a better product. $250 more for a snow blower at the local hardware place? Big deal, not only for the price, but because it's the same exact product. If only for the sake of rebuttal, I'd say you also need to account for money saved and where that goes. E.g. that $250 I saved by buying a snow blower on Amazon allows me to take my family out to dinner at local restaurants, buy beer at the local craft brewery, more grains/ingredients at the LHBS etc. There's higher levels of economics here that I'm not able to make any informed statements on, but it's not as straight forward as just money lost.
 
r4dyce said:
Right they care about my business. Some people have a tendency to make a personal attachment to brands. ("Apple people" come to mind) My comments were more about only purchasing from a particular brand/vendor. Locking in to one source prevents you from reaping the benefits of having variety.

And I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I'm anti-small business. That is not true and not what I was trying to project. Largely I agree with everything you say in principal, but there's a limit. Extra dollar to get my coffee at the local place? No big deal because it's small money and a better product. $250 more for a snow blower at the local hardware place? Big deal, not only for the price, but because it's the same exact product. If only for the sake of rebuttal, I'd say you also need to account for money saved and where that goes. E.g. that $250 I saved by buying a snow blower on Amazon allows me to take my family out to dinner at local restaurants, buy beer at the local craft brewery, more grains/ingredients at the LHBS etc. There's higher levels of economics here that I'm not able to make any informed statements on, but it's not as straight forward as just money lost.
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this sounds reasonable for the most part.
 
NewJersey said:
with how much I have gotten from hbt i should've donated long ago
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lol, they tried chasing me off...but all google searches led back here....

edit: and i stand by my statment i'm the only cheap homebrewer here...why not post some links to the offending threads?
 
NewJersey said:
I assume if you're into beer then the priority would be to make good beer, but for many on here it seems to be how cheap you can be about it
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I love trying to make the best beer I possibly can because I like really good craft beer, but I also attempt to find the best deals and spend as little as possible on my equipment/supplies. I don't think those 2 things are mutually exclusive.
 
thehaze said:
It can become a means to produce cheaper beer, but it doesn't make it better than what I can usually find in supermarkets or local beer / wine shops and pubs. Not even by a stretch. I know homebrewers that brew cheap beer and you can taste it. Actually, you can smell it and then taste it.

For me it's not cheap and I never intended, nor do I intend to transform it into a method of procuring beer, at a lower price. For that, I can always turn back to the likes of Heineken, Carlsberg, and all other macro lagers and ales you can find around. .
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I've gotten really into craft beer the last few years, so when I buy beer it's a lot more expensive than the Heinekins or mainstream craft stuff like Sam Adams or Lagunitas. I like going to our local bottle shop and picking either something from a local VA brewery or something I've never had before, and a lot of that stuff is pretty expensive. So I think brewing is cheaper than buying beer for me. It's not a perfect substitute because my stuff isn't on the same level but hopefully if I do this long enough mine can get close.
 
I’m admittedly a cheapskate — I don’t like working and the less I spend, the less I have to work. I will admit I kind of roll my eyes at the posts with gleaming expanses of stainless triclover kettles and fermenters and glycol chillers; but it’s obviously making those folks happy and not doing too much damage.
 
Oh, I get the appeal of buying off the internet and I'm guilty of the same thing. I couldn't have my Brewie+ without shopping online. And I'm glad you get my point. Loyalty to a brand is a little ridiculous look at what undieing loyalty has done for apple. I have yet to own an apple phone. They made me dislike them back in the 80s when I couldn't upgrade or work on their computers. My wife uses an apple phone and when try i to do something on it there are not enough buttons to get things done. Stupidest thing I've ever seen.... reach across the screen to go back.... cover the entire screen to go back? At least for right handed people. Of course my phone is a few years old so maybe everyone else is copying this stupidity by now also. Navigation buttons should be the easiest buttons to get to
 
r4dyce said:
Haha I think a bigger "problem" in homebrewing isn't being cheap. It's convincing yourself that you're somehow being cheap by spending more money.
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But have you seen the price of custom tap handles?
https://www.custommade.com/custom-beer-tap-handles-odin/by/mkcarving/

Ps: I'm just adding that link to make the point...... "We as humans are able to justify anything we do no matter how ridiculous even as what we are doing destroys the world around us." Arnold
 
Sailingeric said:
In order to save money for my bar set and to avoid paying an arm and leg for nice tap handles I spent nearly $1,000 on a lathe and tools to make 4 tap handles. :rock:
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buying a 3d printer soon and i'll most likely end up designing and printing up my own tap handles with it among other things.
 
ABI Brewery said:
When did this become so much about money, I brew because I love the HOBBY, remember here people we all started this as a hobby, anyone can spend any amount of money on anything that they want, if the OP wants to constantly buy rounds of drinks and breakfast, oh well, brewing is a hobby, I also do not consider the time that brewing takes in terms of time vs. dollars, its a hobby, yes it takes time, it also gives a great deal of pleasure, I enjoy it, if I spend sh!tloads of cash doing it, who cares. I think that I might a start new thread............. "Does spending all your money really make you happy?"
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I can answer that...it made my ex-wife extremely happy to spend all my money...
hence , the "ex" part.
 
ListerH said:
you really don't save money by homebrewing no matter what anyone says...

If you factor in the cost of the time spent brewing, then the cost of the beer is absolutely huge!

I still buy beer too. In fact, since starting to brew, I probably spend just as much on shop bought beer... I just drink more overall!

In terms of shopping around for deals, we all do it... but generally, you kinda get what you pay for

Homebrewing is expensive and it can be ridiculously expensive if you are not careful. I know people who have unnecessarily spent thousands on kit that I have been able to build myself. So it works both ways.
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I like seeing the deals and DIY that people do. It gives me ideas where I can save some money so that I can brew more beer.

I am at the point (at least temporarily) where I don't need any equipment, so I DO same money homebrewing. I have long since paid off my equipment by not buying beer.

If you would not be getting paid during the time spent brewing (day off - weekend) your time is worth exactly $0

I still buy some commercial beer - research. I also drink a lot more beer than I did before taking up homebrewing. But I drink less soda so I am probably saving money there.....

Homebrewing is only as expensive as you make it. Keep your equipment purchases under control. Do you really need the latest bling?? Buy in bulk, reuse yeast etc.
 
I follow different threads than the OP. I see folks investing in good grain, good yeast, proper water, good books, good equipment, new systems, temp control. You name it. Most times I feel like the cheapskate among folks who have funds to invest in the hobby.
 
soccerdad said:
I follow different threads than the OP. I see folks investing in good grain, good yeast, proper water, good books, good equipment, new systems, temp control. You name it. Most times I feel like the cheapskate among folks who have funds to invest in the hobby.
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its all good. The only person you have to answer to about what you're paying for things is yourself or maybe your spouse.
This is about having a fun hobby that we can enjoy with others and share the end product.
Spend what you want .Nobody else knows what other bills you have.
 
ong said:
I’m admittedly a cheapskate — I don’t like working and the less I spend, the less I have to work. I will admit I kind of roll my eyes at the posts with gleaming expanses of stainless triclover kettles and fermenters and glycol chillers; but it’s obviously making those folks happy and not doing too much damage.
Click to expand...
I roll my eyes at that stuff, I just roll my eyes harder when guys are learning chinese to save $3 on a heating element. (a fabrication, but I could see it happening with some people)
 

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