Why are homebrew people SO cheap??

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Idk, I feel like calling anybody with a hobby “cheap” is kind of oxymoronic. A hobby is something that you spend your time and money on for your own gratification and nothing more.

Of course, there are some people who comment on ways to cut costs and do things cheaper but I look at those as those things as innovative and creative not cheap. I guess it’s a perspective thing. Also, I love a great bargain.
 
sborz22 said:
Idk, I feel like calling anybody with a hobby “cheap” is kind of oxymoronic. A hobby is something that you spend your time and money on for your own gratification and nothing more.

Of course, there are some people who comment on ways to cut costs and do things cheaper but I look at those as those things as innovative and creative not cheap. I guess it’s a perspective thing. Also, I love a great bargain.
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Amen to that brother
 
tiredofbuyingbeer said:
It's true that, even if you can brew cheaply, you could probably get beer even more cheaply by buying American macrobrew.

But it's also true that, even if you can brew beer well, you can probably buy better beer than you can make. So on neither front are you at any absolute advantage homebrewing.

Here's why I'm cheap: I like the idea that I can produce any sort of beer I want, whenever I want, at a low marginal cost. It's the same reason people buy swimming pools for their backyard. Given how much most people actually swim, it's probably cheaper in absolute terms to get a membership at the local Y or use the municipal pool. Their pools are also probably better than whatever hole you're going to dig in your yard. But some people really like the idea of being able to go swimming whenever they feel like it for zero cost. Personally, I don't, but I get the idea.

Not everyone's cheap because they want to maximize their absolute consumption potential. Some people are cheap to maximize their freedom, i.e., minimize the cost for them to do what they feel like doing. If you think about the costs of owning tools, and the value of your time, learning how to fix things around your house probably also doesn't pay off. You wouldn't expect it to, because of the division of labor: a trained plumber is so much better than you are at fixing a leaky faucet that your time is probably better spent either enjoying yourself or working longer hours. But people do DIY fix-it stuff because they want to be self-sufficient. They don't want to wait around for someone else to fix it. They don't want to think of their relationship to their home as one of managing a bunch of contract repair persons. Not for everyone, obviously, but the ethos seems perfectly intelligible to me. Homo faber ain't homo economicus--they're different outlooks.
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I have to disagree on too many levels here.

First of all if I were really cheap and trying to compete with really cheap beer such as Natural Light, which is 4.2% and $18.97/12 pack here, I could easily make a 5.25 gal all-grain batch using 4.5 lbs of pale ale malt, 1 lb of cane sugar, and 0.25 lb of DME for a yeast starter and 1 oz of Willamette hops, including store bought water and come in under the 12 pack price for more than 2 cases of crappy home made beer.

Second of all the majority of my beers are on the top end of the average scale of commercial options with a good enough portion being much better than anything I’ve found.

On both counts I’m winning here. And I’m not a class A homebrewer.

I also still buy a lot of commercial beer. Typically I buy three 6 packs twice a month plus whatever we buy when out, which isn’t so often these days like it used to be. And I’m frugal and will often buy a 12 pack of something for $15 in place of two 6 packs for $10/ea.

The tools to fix a leaky faucet likely don’t cost more than the repair bill. Likely the tool purchase pays for itself on the first need or close to it.
 
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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I must say I’m at a loss here with your reasoning. It seems like you poohed all over anyone who is frugal by any means and associate anyone like that as being “cheap” in every aspect of their lives. You’d be sorely mistaken.

My wife grew up with next to nothing. My family had but weren’t so boisterous in spending. I went a different direction and didn’t grow as an adult with plenty. We both understand hardship and we both felt that when we go out a server starts at 20% and can work up or down from there. We also like to support local/small businesses when the price difference isn’t extreme. Yet we both don’t just toss money likes it’s nothing and collectively we are doing quite well. Your view is rather absurd and seems only fitting for the top few percent in the country. It seems to me you don’t understand the world around you and are here to complain about it.
 
NewJersey said:
you got me wrong.
i do not think you have to or even should spend a ton on equipment or ingredients.
i do not think you need super fancy fermenters.
i like looking at other people's setups and recipes from the simple to the insane overkill.
my gripe is about people who seem to be obsessed with "deals" over anything else in the hobby. it's pervasive in most sections of the forum and i, personally, find it tiring to read through.
no matter how much money one has, cost will always of course be at least a consideration. for some it's everything and it irks me.
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You don’t come across that way honestly.
 
While I cannot speak for the Op's thoughts, I can say there is "cheapness" abound at times. I am ALL for saving a buck on grains and gear. But how many post are there around here where a person is trying to rationalize ( or rather get US to rationalize for them) using their crappy tap water AS IS so they do not have to spend a couple bucks on salts or god forbid, an extra 7-8 buck on some RO water from the store? It happens all the time, and it is NOT being frugal, it is being cheap and there is a difference. THAT is the sort of thing that I feel gets irritating.
 
imasickboy said:
So, after seventy-something posts, and next-to-no participation from the original poster, I think it's safe to say, TROLL.
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He's from New Jersey, where a bagel costs $5, there are tolls everywhere you drive and people blow money on Rutgers and Giants football season tickets. So he doesn't understand why everyone doesn't have a brewing rig that cost $3500.
 
madscientist451 said:
He's from New Jersey, where a bagel costs $5, there are tolls everywhere you drive and people blow money on Rutgers and Giants football season tickets. So he doesn't understand why everyone doesn't have a brewing rig that cost $3500.
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Oh boy, here we go.
 
$10 bucks saved is $10 bucks saved.... When you have a wife, little kids, mortgage, etc... hobbies tend to take a backseat when they need to. I love brewing so I'm buying whatever I need the cheapest way possible. I'm part of a club at a LHBS which I support when I can even though the prices are much more than they need to be. I'm also in another club at a local brewery to get the bulk grain buy deals.

Nothing wrong with buying bulk grain, washing yeast, growing hops, etc to save money where you can. I spent almost a year putting together my 2 tap draft setup but it was totally free and worth the time to make it happen. In my experience most wealthy people I've known save money where ever they can even if it's only $10 bucks. With that said there is a fine line between saving money and wasting your time and effort but that line will vary depending how desperate you are to brew.
 
Right on!! I feel the same way, I have 3 kids and a stay at home wife which has made life super easy because we dont have to worry about who stays home with sick kids, driving kids around to school, practices, friends, whatever, but anyway money is at a premium in our house and "$10 bucks saved is $10 bucks saved" an can that can add up when your in a hobby that always seems to "need" upgraded equipment
 
I can kind of see what the OP is talking about. There are people that spend $5 in gas to get to the station that sells the gas $.02 a gallon cheaper. That's called penny wise/pound foolish. It's not always that easy to spot though and the people I think are generally getting ragged on here are the ones that are nearly blind to the cost of saving so much money. It gets even trickier when the person who does this sort of thing actually gets gratification from it, i.e. that saving money is another hobby in and of itself. I get that. I have a couple friends who are like competitive couponers that get a cart full of stuff for nothing. We won't get into the fact that half that crap expires and gets thrown out.

As a retail store owner, the small portion of this discussion that annoys me the most are people who value saving money in the short term at a greater later expense. This is realized in two ways. Buying from budget retailers like Walmart and Amazon when it is almost guaranteed that they are trying to corner the market. The other is buying the cheapest thing that will need to be upgraded soon enough.
 
madscientist451 said:
He's from New Jersey, where a bagel costs $5, there are tolls everywhere you drive and people blow money on Rutgers and Giants football season tickets. So he doesn't understand why everyone doesn't have a brewing rig that cost $3500.
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Oh man the bagels are soooooo good though. I grew up in NJ but have spent half my life in Massachusetts. I've never stopped searching for good bagels up here (and pizza). There's some that are ok but everytime I head back to NJ I load up on bagels and Taylor Ham to bring home.
 
Cantina De Jefe said:
I'm so cheap, i just spent $200 so I can do my own RO in batches. No more running to Ralphs with all my quarters.
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damn, got you beat! being i brew for $8 a 10 gal batch, only spend about $12 a week on groceries...i donated $100 to the local college scholarship fund, and got nothing for it! lol
 
NewJersey said:
I think most people that describe themselves as "frugal" are actually just plain old cheap. Stingy.
I don't think it's a virtue either.
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depends on how they do it, at the cost of other people...or doing things themselves...

(and one of my posts got deleted in this thread for being ' too political', i sent a message to them asking what i said so i don't do it again, sorry if i'm being too politcal)
 
Bobby_M said:
I can kind of see what the OP is talking about. There are people that spend $5 in gas to get to the station that sells the gas $.02 a gallon cheaper. That's called penny wise/pound foolish. It's not always that easy to spot though and the people I think are generally getting ragged on here are the ones that are nearly blind to the cost of saving so much money. It gets even trickier when the person who does this sort of thing actually gets gratification from it, i.e. that saving money is another hobby in and of itself. I get that. I have a couple friends who are like competitive couponers that get a cart full of stuff for nothing. We won't get into the fact that half that crap expires and gets thrown out.

As a retail store owner, the small portion of this discussion that annoys me the most are people who value saving money in the short term at a greater later expense. This is realized in two ways. Buying from budget retailers like Walmart and Amazon when it is almost guaranteed that they are trying to corner the market. The other is buying the cheapest thing that will need to be upgraded soon enough.
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This is kinda what I'm getting at.
 
ABI Brewery said:
Right on!! I feel the same way, I have 3 kids and a stay at home wife which has made life super easy because we dont have to worry about who stays home with sick kids, driving kids around to school, practices, friends, whatever, but anyway money is at a premium in our house and "$10 bucks saved is $10 bucks saved" an can that can add up when your in a hobby that always seems to "need" upgraded equipment
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anymore I dont see some decisions as 10 dollars saved, I see it as 10 dollars thrown away. i.e. keystone light. You bet, way cheaper then weldwerks juicy bits. The only problem is, I dont want to drink keystone light so its 10 in the trash. I buy l' occitane shave cream. Its near 30 dollars a tube. Someone might think its expensive, extravagant, maybe even wasteful. On closer inspection the stuff is so well made and requires such a little amount that one tube lasts me 2 years. Now couple that with the fact that it is some of the best stuff made within reason and the lens changes. 10 dollars saved is 10 dollars wasted if the shave cream makes me break out.

The great question appollo brought up is why do any of us care, yet we do. We encourage thought and ideas within each other trying to help, often leaving hard feelings. My buddy said this to me, why do you care that I buy lucerne cheese. I dont, I only care that he wants to say its as good as bellavitano. He doesnt actually know because he is so cheap he has never had any quality cheese, but somehow thinks they are the same. I dont care if any of you want to drink key light, stay in motel 6s, never eat out, never travel, etc....but I dont want to hear that key light and juicy bits are the same, they are not. Thats my rant.

And Ill say it again, I know a lot, and I mean a lot of millionaires and they are all hard working and well paid. And a lot of them are "cheap" by this discussion, yet, they also buy 10k couches, heli ski, ans flybto ireland 2x a year.
 
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bracconiere said:
damn, got you beat! being i brew for $8 a 10 gal batch, only spend about $12 a week on groceries...i donated $100 to the local college scholarship fund, and got nothing for it! lol
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You and the 8 dollar beer. We know, you have told us. I like you a lot. You and I have plenty in common, but lets be clear, how much work do you put into malting, etc..How good is the grain? I am using golden promise now, stick a big handful of simpson gp in your mouth then your grain, same?

Look I get malteurop for .70 cents a pound. So 10 pound batch 7 in grain, 2 for bulk hops and 5 for yeast. Thats 14 dollars for a basic batch. I understand that for your budget this is necessary, but for most, malting the grain, and feed grain etc, isnt worth 10 dollars. I work my a.. off every day and only drink one or two beers, so 10 dollars savings on 50 beers just iant worth it for me.
 
applescrap said:
You and the 8 dollar beer. We know, you have told us. I like you a lot. You and I have plenty in common, but lets be clear, how much work do you put into malting, etc..How good is the grain? I am using golden promise now, stick a big handful of simpson gp in your mouth then your grain, same?

Look I get malteurop for .70 cents a pound. So 10 pound batch 7 in grain, 2 for bulk hops and 5 for yeast. Thats 14 dollars for a basic batch. I understand that for your budget this is necessary, but for most, malting the grain, and feed grain etc, isnt worth 10 dollars. I work my a.. off every day and only drink one or two beers, so 10 dollars savings on 50 beers just iant worth it for me.
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hey, it's new thread about being cheap! lol, had to mention it! :) and it takes me a ~a week to brew a batch, but it's mostly just waiting...and i just brewed three batches with breiss, and i like homemalt better ;) just like how the craft beer market started, i prefer my homemalted grain!

and your very right, drinking 2 beers a day, wouldn't make it worth while....and if you work your ass off, got a favorite charity you'd like me to give to? been trying to think of one (being that this is the cheap thread, about how we're all 'SO' cheap, i'll sport them a $50 spot)

edit: (and like entering a beer in a comp and winning gold, i'm fiercely proud of it!!!) :D
 
I think the whole premise is misguided and reeks of pretension which i wouldn’t consider a virtue either. I certainly don’t assess my friends whether they buy rounds of drinks. Some do and some don’t but it’s not something I care about.

I think it’s more a case where “cheap” people(their rationale for being cheap I couldn’t care less about) also draws them to brewing.

It’s the calculating type who sees flaws in inefficiency or simply wants to understand how it works and gets drawn in.
People like that typically hate waste and inefficiency.
 
And yeah, nj blows for the most part. Been stuck here 15 years.

I tried last week to find a place to get spring water(free) for my first brew attempt. Spring water is illegal. The only place I was aware of had to throw a pad lock on back in 2015 because they weren’t keeping up with testing standards. Let me repeat, water is illegal here.

OP might know the place I’m referring to. We are close by.
 
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BedtimeBrewer said:
It’s the calculating type who sees flaws in inefficiency or simply wants to understand how it works and gets drawn in.
People like that typically hate waste and inefficiency.
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that's kinda why i started doing a three step mash, i could just do a one, or even two....but then i would have to add 50 cents of sugar, instead of getting better efficiency from doing a three...it takes a little more time, and a bit more stirring....but it's worth it to me! :mug: (and welcome to the 'important' things here on HBT!)
 
ABI Brewery said:
Right on!! I feel the same way, I have 3 kids and a stay at home wife which has made life super easy because we dont have to worry about who stays home with sick kids, driving kids around to school, practices, friends, whatever, but anyway money is at a premium in our house and "$10 bucks saved is $10 bucks saved" an can that can add up when your in a hobby that always seems to "need" upgraded equipment
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I have an ex-wife like this. but the fact she doesn't work is her new BF's problem not mine. :)
My problem is I pay for pretty much everything where the kids are concerned so yeah i'll save $$$ when I can wait for something to go on sale.
 
BedtimeBrewer said:
And yeah, nj blows for the most part.
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Back in the 90's I was selling over $30,000/year of collectibles on eBay and I cringed every time an auction ended and the buyer ended up being from NJ. Every single negative feedback I got was from NJ, and those were all because they claimed my item arrived broken, wanted a refund, but wouldn't ship back the item or even take a picture. I feel sorry for all the honest people in NJ who have to deal with all the con artists on a daily basis. eBay has a checkbox to not sell internationally but I would love a checkbox not to sell to NJ!
 
bracconiere said:
i'm tryin too! out of my 10 gal batch and shipping, i could try and send a recapped soda bottle to every regular! (and daid ain't a word! lol :tank: you sure you only drink 'two' beers a day?)
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I didn't do the mispelling and the post wasn't addressed to you lmfao[emoji23]. How many you had, hiccup??[emoji23][emoji23]
 
kh54s10 said:
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.
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I also always look at the time spent argument the same way. For me personally if I wasn't brewing that day I would literally be sitting on the couch watching tv so I can't count that labour into the costs. Now if I took a day off work to brew or missing your kids soccer or whatever that's a different story. Cheers
 
Cantina De Jefe said:
I didn't do the mispelling and the post wasn't addressed to you lmfao[emoji23]. How many you had, hiccup??[emoji23][emoji23]
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maybe i should have double quoted...i thought the reference to the word daid would make it clear...and honestly, i'm up to #10 i think! f'in'a i'm listeing to get this party started by pink too! (you need to join the music match game!) ((and, yeah i pay for 'youtube premium' too because i'm a 'cheap' homebrewer!))
 
Cantina De Jefe said:
You should buy the forum a round to class the place up a bit.
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bet yo a.. seeing how this is the cheap thread how bout key lights all around. 30 stone ought to do it.

Haha, whoa, flashback. My friends and I got a deal at boulder liquor mart in college on 64 cent quarts of, cant remember, key lights. hah, we drank about a hundred dollars worth of them. Man glad this thread popped up for that memory. Ahh, the good ol days when a hundred quarts of keystone light and a 500 sq ft apartment with 3 guys was heaven.
 

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