"you won't save money homebrewing"

[Hwk-I-St8]

I didn't start homebrewing to save money (well, not completely). I really like NEIPAs and the best local source is Toppling Goliath at $10/bomber. I was also spending money trading for and buying Trillium, Tree House, etc. Between hassles getting it and the cost, I decided to get back into homebrewing and brew my own figuring I could brew stuff that was just as good. I still drink some commercial beer, but I'm about 90% homebrew.

Let's look at some math:

With my wife and I going through one or two bombers a day on average (I figured 1.5/day), that's almost $5500/year.

Brewing the same style beer, I save a ton. I get my base grains for $25/50lb bag (50 cents/lb) in our twice anually club grain buy. I buy hops in bulk. I overbuild starters and reuse yeast. I'm figuring a 5 gallon keg is costing me around $30 for the equivalent of about 20 bombers. At the same consumption rate, that's in the neighborhood of $500-600 year or a savings of over $4000

Even if I buy $1000 worth of gear/year, I'm easily coming out ahead. I didn't really think about it until now because we don't keep super tight grasp of our cash flow, but anecdotally it does feel like we've been spending less the last year.

My case is different from most because I was buying really expensive beer and we have two people drinking that expensive beer, but when you buy in bulk you can really bring the price down pretty cheap. Not Budweiser cheap, but who wants to brew that stuff?

All that being said, I love brewing and I brew great beer (even if I do say so myself). I look forward to brew days and love planning new recipes. I have ready access to beer I love. Saving money is just gravy really.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

My average cost for ingredients per 5 gallon batch is about $12. I will not include equipment in the cost per batch for the same reason I don't include the cost of my clubs in a round of golf, car insurance in the price of a can of tuna, or gas in the price of gas. Including time is ridiculous. If you include time in the cost then you must also do this for commercial beer (and everything else in your life ever). It's not $10 a six pack - it's closer to $14. Time, gas, insurance...these things add up.

Let's put some numbers together just for squirts and wiggles.

Fermenting bucket = $14
I put a tally mark on the side for every brew that goes through a bucket. So far I have 34 on one of my buckets. That's $0.41 per batch

I have a DIY e-BIAB pot I spent about $100 building. I easily have 150 brews through it. That's $0.67 per batch.

As far as time goes, I consider myself a very decent brewer so I'm going to pay myself $25/hr as a head brewer and $15/hr as an apprentice - the guy who cleans up after wards. The brew lasts about 3 hours set-up and tear down about 1. That's an additional $90 per batch in """""Labor""""".

My batch cost has now gone to a ridiculous $103 per batch. 5 gallons x 128 ounces per gallon / 12 ounces per bottle = 53.3 bottles per batch. $103 / 53.3 bottles = $1.93 per bottle or $11.59 per six pack.

We just compared kegs to bottles though. Let's do an apples to apples comparison. My local beer supply place (amazing shop in the Portland area if you ever find yourself here) John's Marketplace, has sixtels of craft beer ranging from $92 - $134.

If you remove the ludicrous additions of time/labor and equipment, I do save about 80% over the commercial stuff. If you feel you need to include that, you at least break even if not a little savings.

At the end of the day I do not do this to save money. I do it because I love my beer and it's fun. Saving money is just a welcome byproduct.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

If I have more than $1500 invested in my poverty biab setup I’d be really surprised. Even if it was 2k with bulk grain buys and bulk hops sales and reclaimed yeast I’m making 5 gals of simple delicious beers for $12-$15 per 5 gallon batch. Consider the cost of two 30packs of labattes is $40 and I can brew a pale ale that will taste better for $13/14 that will be really damn good and get 53 beers. That’s 1.3$ per beer buying vs .26 cents per brewing. I’m saving a buck a beer. After 25 kegs or 125 gallons it is now cheaper to make beer because my equipment is paid for. That’s using cheap store bought beer most people who would say” you don’t save any money” would be drinking anyways. When you move into hoppy ipas and stouts , Oktoberfest, winter the savings go up compared to commercial. I’ve hit the point where people actually keep drinking my beer instead of drink one to be polite and go back to cans. Essentially I’m making good beer for cheap.

 

[El Nino]

It doesn't save you money depending on what kind of beer you drink. If you're a miller / budweiser drinker then no. However, my favorite beers are usually $13-$15 per 6 pack. I get roughly a case of beer each batch and the ingredients cost me $17. Eventually I'll break even but I'm not even concerned about that right now. It's a hobby I enjoy, and if I have fun doing it, I'll keep doing it.

 

[Knightmare1]

Homebrewing to save money on beer is like buying a bass boat to save money on fish.

I have heard this one for years as people ask me how much it cost me for my fish/Lobster per pound after all the expense. Would be cheaper/easier to buy it they say. Most everyone golf's here in Florida(courses everywhere and weather always makeable). so my response was and know is "How do your golf balls taste when your done with your hobby?" "My fish/beer is excellent.

 

[Denny]

I have heard this one for years as people ask me how much it cost me for my fish/Lobster per pound after all the expense. Would be cheaper/easier to buy it they say. Most everyone golf's here in Florida(courses everywhere and weather always makeable). so my response was and know is "How do your golf balls taste when your done with your hobby?" "My fish/beer is excellent.

We have a large garden, and I hate to think about what the vegetables from it cost. We keep chickens and I don't even what to know what my per egg cost is. Like brewing, you do it because you like it, not to save money.

 

[brewbama]

We have a large garden, and I hate to think about what the vegetables from it cost. We keep chickens and I don't even what to know what my per egg cost is. Like brewing, you do it because you like it, not to save money.

...but I grow some damn good veggies. LOL $$$

 

[shoreman]

We have a large garden, and I hate to think about what the vegetables from it cost. We keep chickens and I don't even what to know what my per egg cost is. Like brewing, you do it because you like it, not to save money.

Yeah don't even get me started on chickens - anyone who thinks you save money there is crazy. I wouldn't even want to start that calculation - but they are part of my home system and would never get rid of them b/c of cost.

 

[Murphys_Law]

I have never thought of cost as a reason to start home brewing. I couldn’t tell you how much $ in equipment I have or how much $ a batch of beer cost me to save my darn life!

That said, I do buy base grain and hops in bulk because it’s cheaper/easier but don’t reuse yeast because, to me, it’s a PITA.

It’s a fun hobby I can share with my friends and family.

 

[beernutz]

I think for my first few years brewing back in the early 90s I probably did save more than I spent on brewing because I was a poor graduate student whose wife was the primary breadwinner. I used one pot, bulk grain, a Corona mill, and swamp cooler fermentation in my one glass carboy so my equipment overhead was minimal.

That was 27 years in the past and I long ago stopped worrying about what I spend and just try to make good beer. I am happier this way.

 

[Francus]

It is a hobby so not really entered into for savings, unless your hobby is saving. My beer is better than store bought. It is what I truly want. And most of all I enjoy designing my brews, brewing my brews, and sharing my brews with friends. And that is why I have stuck with it for over 30 years despite the equipment costs.

Remember, the ultimate job of the homebrewer is to make the process as complicated and as expensive as your significant other will allow.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

The people telling you you won’t save money are the same people pounding Keystone Light.
So in that case... a 24 pack costs $10
So $20 for 48 12oz bottles.

In that case. Sure. You are not saving money.

But for those of us who buy real beer where a 6pk is $10-$12, then you are saving a ton of money.

But like others have said, it’s not about saving. It’s about making good beer at home. And the education of all of it.

 

[OpenSights]

As a business owner I was about to make that exact point.

You can never consider you’re making a profit, or save money in brewing, until your equipment pays for itself.

At the rate that I’ve been brewing, 5-15 a month, it will take close to a decade for my brewing equipment to pay for itself. Yep, I through any kind of sensible business plan out the window taped to a lit stick of dynamite!

So in my case it would be considered a hobby and not a cost saving activity. I find it to be a stress relief and gives me a chance to not jump at every phone call.

 

[OpenSights]

Oops! Forgot to insert the quote. This forum format is new to me...

If you only look at ingredients, then yes, you will save money. Factor in equipment and time, no way. All depends on how you look at things.

As a business owner I was about to make that exact point.

You can never consider you’re making a profit, or save money in brewing, until your equipment pays for itself.

At the rate that I’ve been brewing, 5-15 a month, it will take close to a decade for my brewing equipment to pay for itself. Yep, I through any kind of sensible business plan out the window taped to a lit stick of dynamite!

So in my case it would be considered a hobby and not a cost saving activity. I find it to be a stress relief and gives me a chance to not jump at every phone call.

 

[Denny]

The people telling you you won’t save money are the same people pounding Keystone Light.
So in that case... a 24 pack costs $10
So $20 for 48 12oz bottles.

In that case. Sure. You are not saving money.

But for those of us who buy real beer where a 6pk is $10-$12, then you are saving a to. Of money.

But like others have said, it’s not about saving. It’s about making good beer at home. And the education of all of it.

Dude, I have never had a Keystone Light in my life. I buy great craft beer. And I still don't save money.

 

[Rev2010]

yeah its much cheaper to brew your own especially if you want options as the craft beer market seems to be selling out going very commercial and catering to the "hottest trending" or best selling beer style amongst craft beer drinkers which is IPA or some variant of it... Took me ten minutes to decide on a twelve pack the other day when looking for a variety pack that had something other than multiple forms of ipas. Right now its just shandys and ipas... What happen to variety!

If there was an option I would "love" this post! Soooo sooo sadly true! I find I've been drinking cocktails I make at home myself more often these days cause I'm just so disappointed with the current beer selections at the supermarkets and such. Way way too many IPA's flooding the shelves, and I do like IPA's. I cannot wait for my Coconut Porter to be on tap in 3 weeks.

Anyhoo, yes you can definitely save money even factoring in equipment cost, but it will some take time to recoup the equipment costs. But if you stick with it in the long run you certainly will start seeing more money in your bank if you are one that drinks beer often, especially if you have a couple after getting home from work daily. I brewed for 5 years straight where I'd brew almost every weekend. Saved a bunch from buying in the stores and there were far less recyclables in the bin every week.


Rev.

 

[brewcat]

We have a large garden, and I hate to think about what the vegetables from it cost. We keep chickens and I don't even what to know what my per egg cost is. Like brewing, you do it because you like it, not to save money.

Another reason to brew is brewing varieties that aren't available locally. I'm still drinking a maibock. Craft brewers are probably on to Fall by now.

Anyway, same with gardening. I can grow varieties that aren't in the stores.

 

[Staticsouls]

My best friend buys all the special release beers from local breweries and we bring an back and test em against homebrew. After doing his taxes he averaged $800 a month on buying beer. I built my eherms system for about that.

 

[TimmyWit]

people are stupid.

you could have a good but simple beer for 20 cents a 330ml homebrewed.

This is if you omit the hops, right?

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

In brewing materials vs store bought beer, I save a around $3K per year over the higher end beer I used to drink. The cost of equipment does not have to be high if you are able to modify/fabricate it. I did buy my conicals used, and had lot of C kegs left over from a previous life, (stored on rotted pallets in the woods for 30 years, they all had to be refurbished). But with all the other gear, the I figured my equipment investment has been pretty much paid off in a year, even including a new 12 keg freezer I lager in.

If I figured in my time at what I charge per hour at work, it would be a loss several thousand dollars. However, I brew on my day off, and enjoy making beer a lot more than running my business, and the beer I make is very good and the way I like it. In fact, my old "daily driver" imported beer tastes like crap to me now, hopelessly stale. And with only one exception, all the local craft beers available around here are over hopped IPAs that seem to be trending with the young craft brewers, and are more expensive than most high end imports.

Let’s see the breakdown on your 3K saved a year. That means you would have to drink around 20 beers a day by my numbers. Its reasonable to make beer at $10 a twelver if you keep it simple. For comparable beer where I live that would cost you $15 dollars a twelve pack. 3K saved is 72K beers divided by 365 days = 19.7 beers a day. Even if you could manage $5 a twelve pack, that’s still 10 beers a day. Not saying it isn’t done, but at that rate you would hit your 200 gallons in 3.4 months.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

If I have more than $1500 invested in my poverty biab setup I’d be really surprised. Even if it was 2k with bulk grain buys and bulk hops sales and reclaimed yeast I’m making 5 gals of simple delicious beers for $12-$15 per 5 gallon batch. Consider the cost of two 30packs of labattes is $40 and I can brew a pale ale that will taste better for $13/14 that will be really damn good and get 53 beers. That’s 1.3$ per beer buying vs .26 cents per brewing. I’m saving a buck a beer. After 25 kegs or 125 gallons it is now cheaper to make beer because my equipment is paid for. That’s using cheap store bought beer most people who would say” you don’t save any money” would be drinking anyways. When you move into hoppy ipas and stouts , Oktoberfest, winter the savings go up compared to commercial. I’ve hit the point where people actually keep drinking my beer instead of drink one to be polite and go back to cans. Essentially I’m making good beer for cheap.

In your example it takes 70 batches or 351 gallons to make back your $1500. I’ve ran the numbers on equipment and in my opinion $1500 dollars is not reasonable for the kind of equipment you would need to make that much beer.

The margins in craft beer would be better, but your costs would also go up. Using your numbers it would take around 150 gallons to break even.

Even though this would be a labor of love, that much beer would be a lot of work. I figure around 100 - 200 hours. I really don’t think you can completely discount that amount of time, unless time is to you a not valuable resource.

 

[bpgreen]

Let’s see the breakdown on your 3K saved a year. That means you would have to drink around 20 beers a day by my numbers. Its reasonable to make beer at $10 a twelver if you keep it simple. For comparable beer where I live that would cost you $15 dollars a twelve pack. 3K saved is 72K beers divided by 365 days = 19.7 beers a day. Even if you could manage $5 a twelve pack, that’s still 10 beers a day. Not saying it isn’t done, but at that rate you would hit your 200 gallons in 3.4 months.

It costs you $10/12 pack to make beer? That's almost $45 for a 5 gallon batch. There are probably kits in that range, but I make my own recipes. I also buy in bulk and grow my own hops. And I often reuse yeast. A 5 gallon batch usually costs me around $15-$20.

I recently switched from partial mash to all grain after buying the mash and boil. Even if i get poor efficiency, it'll still pay for itself compared with extract.

For a long time, I tracked every purchase. Even accounting for things like my kegerator, my home brew is cheaper than what I could buy in the store. Since I live in Utah, I should clarify that my beer costs less than the 3.2 beer (4% abv) I can get at the grocery store.

 

[bpgreen]

It costs you $10/12 pack to make beer? That's almost $45 for a 5 gallon batch. There are probably kits in that range, but I make my own recipes. I also buy in bulk and grow my own hops. And I often reuse yeast. A 5 gallon batch usually costs me around $15-$20.

I recently switched from partial mash to all grain after buying the mash and boil. Even if i get poor efficiency, it'll still pay for itself compared with extract.

For a long time, I tracked every purchase. Even accounting for things like my kegerator, my home brew is cheaper than what I could buy in the store. Since I live in Utah, I should clarify that my beer costs less than the 3.2 beer (4% abv) I can get at the grocery store.

I concede that I'm not including my time. I'm having fun brewing so I don't add the time as a cost.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

It costs you $10/12 pack to make beer? That's almost $45 for a 5 gallon batch. There are probably kits in that range, but I make my own recipes. I also buy in bulk and grow my own hops. And I often reuse yeast. A 5 gallon batch usually costs me around $15-$20.

I recently switched from partial mash to all grain after buying the mash and boil. Even if i get poor efficiency, it'll still pay for itself compared with extract.

For a long time, I tracked every purchase. Even accounting for things like my kegerator, my home brew is cheaper than what I could buy in the store. Since I live in Utah, I should clarify that my beer costs less than the 3.2 beer (4% abv) I can get at the grocery store.

Sure, I was illustrating from a reasonable high cost to a reasonable low cost. The low costs on this thread being bandied about don’t include many hidden costs like CO2, Starsan, PBW, electricity for both brewing and fermentation, driving to the LHBS to pick up your stuff or shipping if you have it mailed. Any number of other things that we discount out of hand when we have these discussions. ABV is certainly another variable and it makes it difficult to compare apples to apples.

All I’m saying is what the OP says. If it is solely your intent to save money brewing your then you can do it, but if you do it the regular way, the way most brewers in the hobby are doing it then you aren’t going to be saving any money.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I serum concede that I'm not including my time. I'm having fun brewing so I don't add the time as a cost.

One can’t choose to discount your time, even if you enjoy the hobby, the time is an opportunity cost. We are taking about cost and those little dollar signs don’t rest when you do. You are either wrangling them up a penny at a time or the little buggers are jumping out of your pocket never to be seen again.

 

[Bamos6928]

My problem is that I buy just as much craft beer as I ever did. Gotta stock up on bottles and get inspiration somewhere.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

My problem is that I buy just as much craft beer as I ever did. Gotta stock up on bottles and get inspiration somewhere.

That’s fine, since you enjoy the craft beer, that money doesn’t count as part of the cost. ;P

 

[DownstairsBrewing]

In your example it takes 70 batches or 351 gallons to make back your $1500. I’ve ran the numbers on equipment and in my opinion $1500 dollars is not reasonable for the kind of equipment you would need to make that much beer.

The margins in craft beer would be better, but your costs would also go up. Using your numbers it would take around 150 gallons to break even.

Even though this would be a labor of love, that much beer would be a lot of work. I figure around 100 - 200 hours. I really don’t think you can completely discount that amount of time, unless time is to you a not valuable resource.

Not sure quite how you get to 70 batches to pay off $1500 if you are using a contribution margin of $1/beer, 53 beers per batch, per NW's assumptions.

 

[augiedoggy]

Let’s see the breakdown on your 3K saved a year. That means you would have to drink around 20 beers a day by my numbers. Its reasonable to make beer at $10 a twelver if you keep it simple. For comparable beer where I live that would cost you $15 dollars a twelve pack. 3K saved is 72K beers divided by 365 days = 19.7 beers a day. Even if you could manage $5 a twelve pack, that’s still 10 beers a day. Not saying it isn’t done, but at that rate you would hit your 200 gallons in 3.4 months.

I dont know why it costs more where you live but I brew all grain and buy everything as my local brew store and I can brew 11 gallons of many beer styles for around $45-50... that brings a twelve pack closer to $6-7.. just saying. I get what your saying about time spent driving for supplies and such but thats really a wash as you have to do the same if you buy the beer and then deal with cleaning and returning the empties for deposit..

there are many folks who keep it simple with a propane/cooler setup who do save themselves money and spend thier time more enjoyably doing it.. Lets face it, many people have extra time they would spend on less productive things why not spend it on a hobby like others do? just like we enjoy spending all that excess time here at least with this vs something like golf you come away with SOMETHING to show for your time and effort including the knowledge a person gains.

 

[augiedoggy]

One can’t choose to discount your time, even if you enjoy the hobby, the time is an opportunity cost. We are taking about cost and those little dollar signs don’t rest when you do. You are either wrangling them up a penny at a time or the little buggers are jumping out of your pocket never to be seen again.

Your right only we should ADD the value of the time doing a hobby someone enjoys... Just like people pay to participate in other hobbies like golfing or going to a sporting event or cooking class or even see a movie. In reality the more important equation is if your spending your time enjoyably or not .. you only have one life to live and the money does you no good without the time to spend it enjoyably (on things one enjoys like say homebrewing)..

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

One can’t choose to discount your time, even if you enjoy the hobby, the time is an opportunity cost. We are taking about cost and those little dollar signs don’t rest when you do. You are either wrangling them up a penny at a time or the little buggers are jumping out of your pocket never to be seen again.

There's only opportunity cost if you'd otherwise be earning money instead of brewing. I brew on the weekends and would not be earning money if I weren't brewing. I'd probably be sailing, golfing, playing guitar or watching tv. There's no opportunity cost for me and there's a good chance I'd be spending money.

I imagine this is true for the vast majority of us.

 

[augiedoggy]

And then there's And then there's guys like me that took that home brewing experience and decided to make some money with it by opening a brew pub So I can actually be making money while brewing at the same time Although I'm not expecting to get rich

 

[beersk]

I didn't start homebrewing to save money (well, not completely). I really like NEIPAs and the best local source is Toppling Goliath at $10/bomber. I was also spending money trading for and buying Trillium, Tree House, etc. Between hassles getting it and the cost, I decided to get back into homebrewing and brew my own figuring I could brew stuff that was just as good. I still drink some commercial beer, but I'm about 90% homebrew.

Let's look at some math:

With my wife and I going through one or two bombers a day on average (I figured 1.5/day), that's almost $5500/year.

Brewing the same style beer, I save a ton. I get my base grains for $25/50lb bag (50 cents/lb) in our twice anually club grain buy. I buy hops in bulk. I overbuild starters and reuse yeast. I'm figuring a 5 gallon keg is costing me around $30 for the equivalent of about 20 bombers. At the same consumption rate, that's in the neighborhood of $500-600 year or a savings of over $4000

Even if I buy $1000 worth of gear/year, I'm easily coming out ahead. I didn't really think about it until now because we don't keep super tight grasp of our cash flow, but anecdotally it does feel like we've been spending less the last year.

My case is different from most because I was buying really expensive beer and we have two people drinking that expensive beer, but when you buy in bulk you can really bring the price down pretty cheap. Not Budweiser cheap, but who wants to brew that stuff?

All that being said, I love brewing and I brew great beer (even if I do say so myself). I look forward to brew days and love planning new recipes. I have ready access to beer I love. Saving money is just gravy really.

If you can find it, check out Tank Puncher by ReUnion. They're out of Coralville, IA. Good chit, mang.



On the topic of brewing to save money - I think that if you ONLY drink your own beer and no commercial beer, then you would likely save money, especially if you had a cheap n' easy brew system. But I, like most of us, also like to buy commercial beer to change it up when I'm tired of my own beer. There is no saving money in the hobby of being a beer enthusiast.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

If you can find it, check out Tank Puncher by ReUnion. They're out of Coralville, IA. Good chit, mang.



On the topic of brewing to save money - I think that if you ONLY drink your own beer and no commercial beer, then you would likely save money, especially if you had a cheap n' easy brew system. But I, like most of us, also like to buy commercial beer to change it up when I'm tired of my own beer. There is no saving money in the hobby of being a beer enthusiast.

A couple things: first, I've had Tank Puncher...tasty. They have really upped their game since they first opened. I had a BA stout from them called Imperial Banshee that was really good too.

Also, related to your variety comment. I don't keep a strictly continuous pipeline, so I end up drinking some other stuff in between batches if I run out before the next is ready. I also go to beer fests from time to time (Smells like a beer fest and Great taste so far this year). I also try different stuff when I go out or travel as well. I had some great stouts from Epic in Utah (Triple Barrel Baptist and Big Bad Baptista) recently.

I'm in a group that does shares periodically, where we have some killer beers.

Also, this year I'm on a "Wheel of styles" kick where I'm brewing a bunch of different styles. I started brewing with my favorite styles: NEIPA and big, smooth stouts. This year I decided to mix it up more. I've brewed a blonde ale and a porter (I keep brewing NEIPA's and stouts intermixed). I'm planning a pilsner, a peach Hefe, an imperial dry hopped cali common, a fruited berliner weisse, Saison and a dopple bock.

Between the fests, the times when I'm out and about, and the variety I'm brewing, that's a lot of variety without going to the store and it keeps the brewing fresh and interesting.

 

[jack13]

There's only opportunity cost if you'd otherwise be earning money instead of brewing.

Agreed. It's leisure time....would you factor in "your time" when calculating the cost of a vacation? (unless you're specifically taking time off to take the trip and you wouldn't have taken that time off and stayed home.). To what extent a leisure activity outwardly appears to be labor is totally irrelevant.

 

[Blazinlow86]

There's only opportunity cost if you'd otherwise be earning money instead of brewing. I brew on the weekends and would not be earning money if I weren't brewing. I'd probably be sailing, golfing, playing guitar or watching tv. There's no opportunity cost for me and there's a good chance I'd be spending money.

I imagine this is true for the vast majority of us.

Dead on. I was gonna say the same thing. If you take time off work to brew than that time could be worked into the cost. My brew days would have literally been spent on the couch. I usually brew 1 18gal batch every 2nd weekend which allows me to keep 6-8 different beers on tap. I buy everything in bulk whick works out to about .50 cents a beer compared to 2.00$ + at the liquor store. Admittedly I've probably got close to 10g in equipment but that's not required and I figure I could resell it at a later date and get half my money back. Maybe another key point to consider is to make your money back you have to brew most of the beer you drink. I only spend about 100$ a year now on store bought stuff.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Not sure quite how you get to 70 batches to pay off $1500 if you are using a contribution margin of $1/beer, 53 beers per batch, per NW's assumptions.

At 60 beers of Lablatts at $40 dollars is .50 cents a beer more than .26 not a dollar. One other thing to consider about equipment is that it isn’t truly a fixed cost. When it takes 2 years to pay off equipment things break, get old, become obsolete. Additionally, looking into my crystal ball says that the price for grain may be different 2 years from now.

 

[bleme]

Additionally, looking into my crystal ball says that the price for grain may be different 2 years from now.

Have you noticed how much craft beer prices have gone up in the last 2 years? I don't see ingredient prices going up nearly as fast.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Agreed. It's leisure time....would you factor in "your time" when calculating the cost of a vacation? (unless you're specifically taking time off to take the trip and you wouldn't have taken that time off and stayed home.). To what extent a leisure activity outwardly appears to be labor is totally irrelevant.

Substantially, going on vacation vs. brewing, you can heavily discount your time and depending how you brew the cost to spend your time could be a savings. But I would submit that for the majority of brewers, the cost of sitting and watching TV is substantially less than brewing. The cost of your time is what a business calls overhead. Leisure time in your life isn’t compulsory and most of us pay dearly for it. It is worth something in actual dollars. If it wasn’t, companies would not provide paid time off as a benefit. Depending on lifestyle, your free time can be worth more or less. I can choose to ignore that I spent money on my credit card, but at some point I have to go back to work to pay for my time off. If cost of leisure time is irrelevant, then we’d all quit our jobs tomorrow. If you live in your mom’s basement, you might have a point.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Have you noticed how much craft beer prices have gone up in the last 2 years? I don't see ingredient prices going up nearly as fast.

My crystal ball says we will get better ingredients for less in the future. All I’m saying is that to really answer the question of cost, you can’t be cavalier about what you don’t consider. If I seem zealous about that it’s just that I get excited about Truth and when talking numbers it seems like truth is simple. I’m not invested in this topic particularly, it’s just that it is this type of topic that is deeply intertwined with truth finding processes.