Home brew costs

[Morrey]

For years I have bought commercial beer in kegs and the price is continually going up up up. There was a time when commercial kegged beer was much less expensive than bottled beer ounce for ounce. Now days, kegged is often more expensive than bottles.

Home brewing beer is a hobby so that is a factor, plus once you know the general idea of beer making, lots of flexibility exists. Once again, back to the price point...

I have made all kits to date. I think I need to shift to building my OWN kit and putting together DME, grains to steep, liquid yeast as an example. With out getting into all grains just yet, how will putting my own kit together compare to buying a packaged kit as far as price goes?

 

[BigMack]

For years I have bought commercial beer in kegs and the price is continually going up up up. There was a time when commercial kegged beer was much less expensive than bottled beer ounce for ounce. Now days, kegged is often more expensive than bottles.

Home brewing beer is a hobby so that is a factor, plus once you know the general idea of beer making, lots of flexibility exists. Once again, back to the price point...

I have made all kits to date. I think I need to shift to building my OWN kit and putting together DME, grains to steep, liquid yeast as an example. With out getting into all grains just yet, how will putting my own kit together compare to buying a packaged kit as far as price goes?

Unless you are buying ingredients in bulk then I'm not sure how much you will save using your own recipes rather than a kit. Is there a reason that you don't want to get into all grain? Not that homebrewing to save money is ever really a winning proposition, but if your goal is cheap then all grain is what could save you money in the long run.

 

[Sailingeric]

I have been extract brewing for over a year now and I found that getting LME is a lot cheaper than DME at my LHBS. They pour it out of the big barrel so you need to bring a bucket but you can how much you need without having to buy extra. Other ways to save, save your yeast, I just pour out from the bottom my fermenter and once I am ready to use it again, just pour off the beer and top and pitch, has worked out great so far.

 

[davidst]

I brewed two extracts before I realized that all grain is often at least 25% cheaper (now I buy grain and hops in bulk, my all grain batches are more than 50% cheaper), and I made the switch.

If you're wanting to do your own recipes and save money, but not wanting to do a full blown all-grain, I'd recommend looking at doing mini mashes. You can get a two gallon cooler and a paint strainer bag and then fit about 4-5 lbs of grain into it (with 1.25 quarts per lb). By cutting that amount of grain off of your extract kits you can save money. Using this method you can also keep doing 3 gallon partial boils if that's a limitation you have.

As for the kits many kits have a list of ingredients in them, compare those with buying the ingredients separate.

 

[GHBWNY]

Ironically, while cost is very important when I consider brewing a batch, when I'm sitting there enjoying one of my own creations it is the last thing on my mind.

 

[Morrey]

I know that my final goal is all grain and there are a couple of steps along the way. I'm simply working my way up to that level since I feel that extracts are a better way to learn the process.

I'm not opposed to spending on beer...believe me. It just kinda burns me that Mich Ultra in a sixtel costs $55 including tax. Extract kits with liquid yeast are actually not that far behind cost wise.

But I know before too long, all grain is calling my name...for both quality and cost.

 

[stratslinger]

See, the cost argument always gets me.

If you look at ingredient costs only, the batch of beer I made yesterday (5 gallons of coffee IPA) cost me under $30 - it was a little on the expensive side since there's quite a bit of hops and I went to a local coffee roaster for some good coffee for it.

However, if you look a shade deeper, yesterday was also my first brew on my brand new electric rig - a rig I just spent the better part of 6 months planning, designing, and building, and several hundred dollars assembling. If I start amortizing that rig with yesterday's batch, that's a REALLY expensive batch of homebrew. And I still plan to make additions to this rig down the road!

If you ask me (and you didn't, but I'm gonna offer up my advice anyway!), never, ever, look at homebrewing as a source of cost savings. For every measure that will make your ingredient costs a little less, you get new equipment costs. If you're willing to write those off as hobby costs, and look at the ingredient costs as the only cost of the beer, then maybe you have an argument. But if you're going to look at everything that goes into the hobby as part of the cost of the beer, there's always that next thing to buy:
Want to go all-grain? You need a mash tun and an HLT (or a kettle big enough to BIAB)!
Already doing all grain? Want to buy your grains in bulk? You need a grain mill! And air-tight bins to keep your grain fresh in!

Those are just a couple of easy examples. Not to burst your bubble - but make sure these are things you're OK writing off as hobby costs or as long term investments to make back as savings at a later date...

 

[BrunDog]

My opinion is you do not homebrew to save money. Whether you pimp out a high-end rig or scrap together some pots and utensils from your cupboard, buying it is always cheaper because, whether or not your hardware and raw ingredients cost you anything, your time certainly did.

I would not want to know what a pint of my beer cost in real dollars. Fortunately I do it for the thrill of learning and in the victory and pride in the finished product!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Short answer: Yes. I think building your own recipes is cheaper than kits. Example... My LHBS sells a Rogue kit for $49.99 not including yeast. I did a Dead Guy Ale clone for ~$30. That's base & specialty grains, 2 oz bags of hops, and yeast. An extract batch of the same would cost about eight bucks more. Unlike the kit I have some leftover hops for the next batch of beer.

Long answer: Same as the short answer, but read it slower.

 

[LandoLincoln]

For years I have bought commercial beer in kegs and the price is continually going up up up. There was a time when commercial kegged beer was much less expensive than bottled beer ounce for ounce. Now days, kegged is often more expensive than bottles.

Home brewing beer is a hobby so that is a factor, plus once you know the general idea of beer making, lots of flexibility exists. Once again, back to the price point...

I have made all kits to date. I think I need to shift to building my OWN kit and putting together DME, grains to steep, liquid yeast as an example. With out getting into all grains just yet, how will putting my own kit together compare to buying a packaged kit as far as price goes?

So you're asking how much money you can save making your own extract batches vs. buying an extract kit.

Hm. Lot a whole lot. I'm thinking...maybe 10% of costs? That's a real spitball of a number.

If I were an extract batch maker and I was looking to save as much money as possible without going into the all-grain route, I'd focus on the following:

1) Re-use yeast. Yeast is really freaking expensive, so if you can re-use that yeast a few times over it would help out a lot. Racking a new batch of wort into a freshly emptied carboy containing an old yeast cake is the easiest way to accomplish this.
2) Buy DME in as large of packets as possible.
3) Focus on beers that don't have a lot of specialty grains or high hop bills.

Can't think of anything else.

 

[davidst]

See, the cost argument always gets me.

I have to agree with this, I've brewed about 15-20 batches so far. Since buying everything in bulk, I find that I pay about $1.25 per lb grain and about 1.25 per oz hops, so a normal size batch is only $15+ yeast. But a few months ago I added in the total cost of my batches plus all of the equipment I've bought and I'm paying about $10 per 6 pack (which is the price of quality craft beer). Although one day that price should decrease....but then again I find that the money I save from home brewing goes back into home brewing as I continually buy better equipment.

 

[Morrey]

I follow your well stated points, and I love the paraphrased quote..."Sure, I could just buy beer". All your posts are absolutely true, and drinking a beer that YOU (I) create is more meaningful than just a dollar saved...or spent in most cases.

I am in coastal SC, and my buddy invited me to go offshore fishing. We caught a beautiful tuna at which time he said, "that tuna just cost me about $200 per pound considering the boat, fuel ,dock fees, bait, tackle...etc! Talk about busting my bubble on a great fishing trip.

BUT, I am all with you about costs. Even a minimal start of equipment is several hundred, and this is for extract based brewing. I will add to that I bought new two AEB corny kegs and a new CO2 regulator for dispensing. I consider that an investment making my hobby possible, so now I look at my raw materials in a separate category. Like buying a HUGE box of a product at Costco for about the same as I'd pay for a real small box of the same thing at the grocery store.

All in all, would buying items like DME in bulk be a significant savings in the long run? I don't have the experience to make that determination yet. I'm learning and you all are helping me with that learning curve. THANKS!!

 

[Stillraining]

Pretty much you will need to go all grain to save any money...If I didn't save money I would not brew...I have lots of other hobbies.

You can keep this hobby on the cheaper side of just about any other named hobby out there if so inclined. I do not include my time as I only brew when I have nothing else to do..and would probably just be on here reading or answering questions like im doing now.

My last SMASH was $9.53 for 5.5 gallons. Plus 2 to 3.00 of propane and 54 bottle caps.

An 18 pack of Bush is 14.00 at the store right now. A 6er of Porter 9.50...I can brew a batch of porter for <20.00
My rig is <300.00 total and no plans to upgrade ... I did just order a dang PH meter though to try and figure out some things, so that was another 1/3 the cost of my whole investment so far. Maybe it will be useful for the hot tub as well?? I did not want to buy it but it seems water is the last link in the chain to getting my beers perfected.

Don't get me wrong I like to brew..but not enough to pay the same $ as what I could buy beer for. Us miserly beer brewers do exist out here..I'm proud to be called one.

 

[IslandLizard]

Most has been suggested, but I want to reiterate, if you don't want to do AG yet, buy your ingredients in larger sizes or bulk, and find the best prices and places that have the quality you desire. Maybe through a local group buy.

Here are your main per batch costs, so focus on items toward the top first:

• Extract
• Hops
• Yeast
• Steeping grains
• Fuel

I too hate spending $18 on a 6-pack of Grapefruit Sculpin or so. And that's relatively cheap compared to what some of the other beer tend to go for. I can brew a 5 gallon AG batch of something very similar, or very different, for under $30, grain purchased in a group buy, ranched yeast, and hops bought by the pound. Then I look at that and think: "Mmm, I brewed that!"

 

[Citizen86]

Wow I'm seeing much cheaper prices than I'm accustomed to in the 4 batches I've done so far. I have just bought what I needed at the LHBS's though, so that probably explains some of it. It really seems like buying bulk is the way to go though. Plus, going all-grain over extract, as extract is a pretty decent chunk of that.

edit: the higher ABV beer I did (was my second) was a little over $50 for a 5 gallon recipe!

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Cost is cost and your time doesn't equal money unless you actually stop earning to brew beer, which I would argue most peoples spouses and bosses would take issue with.

If you spent 3500 dollars on gear, which I think is a fairly reasonable number and spend an average of 3 dollars a gallon in ingredients and make your whole 200 gallons allowed over 10 years you would make 2000 gallons of beer for 9500 dollars which is $2.67 a six pack.

Most of us however are not dedicated enough to realize the full extent of this savings. I know that I myself am making beer at a slight loss compared to craft brew.

 

[CUrchin]

My thoughts:

-Go all grain BIAB. Extract is pretty pricey. A paint strainer bag is not.

-Avoid the gear arms race. Lots and lots of really good beer has been made in repurposed coolers and turkey fryers bought two days after thanksgiving. Do you really need all the bling bling? I sure as heck haven't spent $3500
on gear. I don't think I've spent $350 and I've made dozens of batches.

-Consider the satisfaction value of the final product. Sure, you could make 10 IBU/3.0 ABV beers all the time, but will you really enjoy that beer?

-bulk ingredients, harvesting yeast.

-keep an eye out for deals. Sales, Amazon, EBay, Craigslist, garage sales, etc.

-bottles cost the beer that came in them, kegs, CO2, keezers....

-buckets are cheap compared to just about any other container.

-this is a hobby, you are not a professional. Your time should be considered a donation to the greater good.

-Yeast selection.

-Base malt selection.

-I used to change the oil in my car. I don't anymore, be as I really don't get any enjoyment out of it and it wasn't really saving me any money. Brewing on the other hand, I enjoy. Priorities.

 

[brewcat]

The key is buying in bulk. It looks like bulk LME could save you 25% while DME up to 40% Then bulk hops and reusing yeast. Looks like you could lower per batch costs quite a bit.

Yes making your own recipes will save money over kits.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Do you really need all the bling bling? I sure as heck haven't spent $3500
on gear. I don't think I've spent $350 and I've made dozens of batches.

Bottling 200 gallons of beer a year would be quite a chore and save you .56 a bottle in my scenario.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

I had a spread sheet going for when I was going to break even on my Picobrew. Buying bulk grains/hops, washing yeast, etc. I haven't revisited it in a while, because with the cost of the machine, at $15/batch, it'll take me 75 batches to get to $10/6-pack.

I don't care. I'm going to use it to try and dial in recipes. If I can get it making anything that verges on Chimay Premiere, or Triple Karmeliete (both ~$20-22/4-pack) I'll be coming out way ahead.

When I got back into homebrewing, I never pretended that I was doing it to save money. Sure, I buy bulk ingredients, re-used yeast, etc. to cut costs - but the cost per beer isn't why I do it.

-I used to change the oil in my car. I don't anymore, be as I really don't get any enjoyment out of it and it wasn't really saving me any money. Brewing on the other hand, I enjoy. Priorities.

I change the oil in my car because I don't want some tech who wants my car in and out as quickly as possible doing maintenance on it!

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

If I can get it making anything that verges on Chimay Premiere, or Triple Karmeliete (both ~$20-22/4-pack) I'll be coming out way ahead.

+1 I want to make something fun that is different and try to excel at it. I after just 4 brews made a beer that for my money out competes any beer that I have ever had. Homebrewing offers the opportunity to make world class beer at a reasonable price and be able to say "I made that deliciousness".

Like I mentioned earlier though, if you live in Canada, the ridiculous cost of beer makes it really easy to make the numbers work.

 

[Bosh]

Also you really really really really don't need more than:
-A big-ass pot.
-A a big-ass bag.
-A fermenter.
-A thermometer.

To do all grain. It's really not expensive.

Also a LOT of people quit homebrewing all of the time, get into the local homebrewing facebook group and/or comb Craigslist and pick up used **** there. Korea's great for this, you get people leaving the country and selling EVERYTHING all the time. Just picked up a 15 gallon brew pot for $27.

Stupidly easy to save money in Korea as long as I import the hops myself since good craft beer STARTS at $5 a bottle at the local stores. When I can brew a gallon or buy a 1/3 liter bottle for the same price that's a pretty damn easy choice to make.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Its not unreasonable to find gear for cheap of for free. After all this is a hobby and you can take as little or as much time as you want.

There is a downside to free/cheap gear. Each person needs to decide on her own what road they want to go down.

 

[Bosh]

Its not unreasonable to find gear for cheap of for free. After all this is a hobby and you can take as little or as much time as you want.

There is a downside to free/cheap gear. Each person needs to decide on her own what road they want to go down.

Yeah but a loooooooooooooooooot of people buy new stuff when they can get good used gear for a fraction of the price.

 

[Tactical-Brewer]

It just depends. There's always going to be people that would rather just "buy" everything, ready to go. Be it all grain or not.

Then there's people like me, who will scour craigslist, thrift shops, whatever, to find the things to make what I want, exactly how I want it, and learn from it.

I couldn't pull the trigger on buying a brand new 10+ gallon cooler, even though you can get them for 30 bucks, simply because I knew I could find one elsewhere or snag one off craigslist one day. I did an all grain New Castle Clone using 2 2 gallon coolers until I found a basically brand new 10 Gallon cooler on craigslist for 15 bucks and built my mash tun. I bought a new turkey fryer from my parents years ago for like 40 bucks and only used the propane stove portion of it so I had a brand new 7 gallon aluminum kettle.

Don't get me wrong, one day I want to have all SS hardware, those fancy looking sparge arm things, pumps, etc. Until then, I'm having a blast learning the craft using my make shift equipment.

As far as actual "Beer" cost, I'm not a real "Hoppy" guy, so at this point, most of my beers fall around the .50 cent range. Hopefully once I start washing my yeast and buying in bulk, I'll get it around the .35 - .40 cent range. Cheaper than 'Natty Light and a heck of a lot better!

 

[MVKTR2]

I read pgs 1 & 3 so maybe someone on pg 2 mentioned it but for extract brewers just as you can buy hops & grain in bulk you can buy extract in bulk. You can buy hops on sale which may mean you don't get Citra or Amarillo or some other 'hot' hop but you can always find sale items for ingredients.

I'm an AG brewer since my 4th batch and still use the exact same cooler based mash-tun I built then even though I'm on about batch 80, that was a cost of about $50 and my 10 gallon pot cost me $56 shipped. I've only recently bought a 2nd hydrometer, occasionally replace mesh bags, etc. Buying in bulk my costs per bottle average less than $.50 per bottle (I keg btw) even with all my equipment added in across time. I drink a beer almost everyday and figure I've saved a few grand across the past 8+ years by brewing.

Now if you add in the cost of my time at any sort of hourly rate, especially 'research/reading' time OH MY WORD I'm in the hole. However this is my hobby and I don't charge for time. Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

@Morrey
I don't blame you for sticking with extract for a while, and with certain techniques like steeping grains or partial mash, not boiling all the extract for an hour, etc., you can make great beer.

The biggest "hurdle" with all grain is you need to be able to boil 6-7 gallons of wort for an hour to make 5 gallons of beer, so your kettle and heating source need to be up to the task. Spreading it out over more pots and burners is possible.

Here's where a lot of your savings can come from:

• Buy bulk extract through group buys, it runs around $2.00-2.50 a pound, by the 50# sack.
• Base malts run between $30 and $60 a sack.
• Especially when brewing hoppy beers, buying hops you use often by the pound, will run $0.50-1.50 per ounce. After use, squeeze all the air from the bag, tape it down and they'll keep well in the deep freezer for years.

 

[yono1986]

Northern Brewer, morebeer, and love2brew are nice enough to provide us with the ingredients list on all of their kits, though I haven't done the math as to whether it is more cost effective to buy the ingredients separately or as a package. The real advantage of putting together your own recipe is that you can be as creative as you want.

 

[mongoose33]

My opinion is you do not homebrew to save money. Whether you pimp out a high-end rig or scrap together some pots and utensils from your cupboard, buying it is always cheaper because, whether or not your hardware and raw ingredients cost you anything, your time certainly did.

I would not want to know what a pint of my beer cost in real dollars. Fortunately I do it for the thrill of learning and in the victory and pride in the finished product!

So, as near as I can tell, your time *did* reward you--not in dollars and cents, but in satisfaction.

I brewed a batch on Saturday; about five hours of my life was given over to this exercise. Had I *not* brewed, I would not have spent that time making money, so there was no opportunity cost to my brewing. Further, like you, the learning, pride in finished product, even the ability to say "I made that" all are valuable, if not in the fiscal sense then in the psychological sense.

Unless you're taking time off from another money-making activity, your time is valued at zero--thus IMO you are, in fact, saving money.

My 2 cents.

 

[Aristotelian]

My opinion is you do not homebrew to save money. Whether you pimp out a high-end rig or scrap together some pots and utensils from your cupboard, buying it is always cheaper because, whether or not your hardware and raw ingredients cost you anything, your time certainly did.

I would not want to know what a pint of my beer cost in real dollars. Fortunately I do it for the thrill of learning and in the victory and pride in the finished product!

Point taken to an extent, but I disagree that commercial is "always cheaper". Sure, it is possible to buy two cases of Bud for cheaper than brewing a 5 gallon batch of beer. Then again, a bomber of a decent microbrew is $8 at the store. If you are looking to drink high quality beer with specialized ingredients to your own tastes, homebrew is (or at least can be) cheaper.

I do not keep track of amortized equipment expenses and such (as a small batch brewer I have very minimal equipment expenses), but I like to do a quick back-of-the-napkin calculation just to see how much money I am spending. A typical half batch (2.5 G) of All Grain costs me about $8 in grains, $2 in hops, and $1 for yeast (I use dry or harvest and culture my own). That comes in about $.55 per beer or maybe $1 per bomber. Pretty good deal if I am brewing something comparable to at least Sierra Nevada standards.

 

[BrunDog]

Very valid points mongoose. If you were going to do another leisure activity, you could qualify the time as "free", no doubt.

And Aristotelian: sure, if you ignore the cost of your hardware and any value in your time (both building the hardware and time committed to the Brew), HB can be cheaper. Certainly better quality per cost anyway!

 

[BeardedBrews]

My $0.02 on this:

1. All grain is cheaper, but if you don't want to do AG, don't. Many have pointed out that it can take a bunch of beer to recoup the hardware upgrades.

2. Any kit can be re-produced from separately purchased ingredients. Save the recipe sheets from your kits to see what they generally use.

3. Any ingredient can be bought in bulk to save 10-50% on the ingredient. Some items store better than others. DME sealed up tight and Hops in a freezer last a LONG time, LME in an opened can or Milled Grains in a paper bag will not last long.

4. Storing bulk anything probably adds overhead cost. You'll need sealed buckets/bins/jars/etc.

5. Cost isn't the only reason to consider buying bulk, having ingredients already on hand means you can have impromptu brew days.


You can certainly save money building your own kits, although you may have to shop around for ingredients. I suggest you take your favorite kit recipe and spend a bit of time shopping and pricing out buying the ingredients separately. Include the option of buying two or three batches worth at a time to see how much savings on shipping you can get.


I set a goal for myself of $30 or less in ingredients per 5g batch. By doing BIAB and saving yeast, I can brew IPAs instead of Cream Ales at that price point.