Low Grain Bill Recipe?? Thoughts?

[Raider]

Hey All!

I’m reading through all these great recipes and I got the BrewFather app. It’s pretty cool and I’m new to home brew. I’m trying to come up with the cheapest 5% brew. Current covid-19 and now being laid off is putting a budget on my brewing and beer drinking so I want to solve both problems! Plus I have lots of time on my hands now.
Any suggestions? I got a 1-5 gallon setup

 

[cyberbackpacker]

You don't mention style... but for 5 gallons at 70% brewhouse efficiency, you could do something like 9 pounds pale malt, 1/2 pound of a lighter crystal (20-60l), and your favorite hop. For something like an APA, a ounce of magnum at 60 minutes, and then 1/2 oz of Cascade at 10 minutes. This would give you a pretty tasty beer at ~5% abv, with minimum ingredients.

Or go super simple-- 9.5 pounds of pale malt, Cascade or your favorite dual purpose hop to ~35 ibus at 60, and then same hop at about 1/2 oz with 10 minutes left.

If feeling crazy, dry hop with another 1/2 oz of the same hop.

 

[brownni5]

Come on, we can go cheaper than 9.5 lbs of malt! I'm thinking a Saison with dry yeast (B-134). Low OG and low FG minimizes fermentables while maximizing ABV. OG of 1.040 could easily get you to 5% ABV. Substituting some sugar, store-brand corn flakes or rice crispies for parts of the malt bill could further reduce cost.

Hops? Don't need 'em. Bitter with dandelion root (those are coming up in many areas of the US right now - not here, of course - spring just arrived yesterday).

I bet I could do 5 gal of 5% ABV beer this way for under $10!

Disclaimer: it might very well be terrible - how would I know, I've never tried it!

Edit: at 70% efficiency, $10 might be tough. $11 would definitely cover it though.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

I could do 5 gal of my recipe for roughly $7 (rounding up)...

 

[Velnerj]

Smash beer is your best bet. That's a Single Malt And Single Hop beer. You can make a golden ale either brittish or belgian (depending on the yeast). And if you want to skimp a bit on the the Malt to save money you can add table sugar to the boil. But for a 5% beer I wouldn't go much higher that 5-10% of the grain bill.

Speaking of yeast go dry yeast it's cheaper (and easier). I've had good success with the mangrove jack series but ferments is great too. Then when you finish fermentation you can reuse the yeast and that'll save you money too.

 

[khannon]

Hey All!

I’m reading through all these great recipes and I got the BrewFather app. It’s pretty cool and I’m new to home brew. I’m trying to come up with the cheapest 5% brew. Current covid-19 and now being laid off is putting a budget on my brewing and beer drinking so I want to solve both problems! Plus I have lots of time on my hands now.
Any suggestions? I got a 1-5 gallon setup

I would look on this site for BeirMuncher's Centenial Blonde https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/centennial-blonde-simple-4-all-grain-5-10-gall.42841/ . Look for a deal on hops by the pound.. it will save you alot, look at re-using yeast, boil down some of those second(third) runnings to make a starter solution at ~1.037, 1 pack of yeast will get you several generations.. I've even been known to go to the local package store and pick up something un-filtered and un-pastuerized and use the dregs to make a starter, usually runs the same cost as a pack of yeast and I get beer out of it.

Smash beers are a good way to go too, I've done a few where I split the batch, and pitch with 2 different yeasts to see the difference.

Talk to your local brewery, sometimes they'll give you yeast for free, sell you bulk grains/hops at pretty close to cost.

Talk to brewers that grow their own hops... It's a longer-term project, but now for very little effort(still probably more than it's worth) end up with ~5lbs cascade, and ~1lb each of Saaz, Sorachi, and another that is escaping me at the moment.. takes a few years to get going, but if you have the space it's pretty straight-forward, and rhizomes are pretty cheap if not free at certain times of the year.

 

[brownni5]

I could do 5 gal of my recipe for roughly $7 (rounding up)...

Perhaps if buying all your ingredients in bulk first. I was not making that assumption. If only the ingredients for this batch, you'd have to find grain for about $0.50/lb and relatively popular hops for less than $1/oz. And that's not counting yeast...

If you have a place to get those prices, please let me know!

 

[khannon]

Perhaps if buying all your ingredients in bulk first. I was not making that assumption. If only the ingredients for this batch, you'd have to find grain for about $0.50/lb and relatively popular hops for less than $1/oz. And that's not counting yeast...

If you have a place to get those prices, please let me know!

I don't know about $.50/lb grain,I get mine in bulk for ~$.80/lb in 55lb quantity for 2 row, and ~$1/lb in 55lb qty for things like pilsner and maris otter. Looking today at https://www.morebeer.com/category/hop-market.html?a_aid=hbf&page=1&sort=sales they have cascade and centenial hops at ~$13/lb so that is less than $1/oz (plus shipping, so to keep the price/oz low you probably need to make a larger buy) the stock there changes pretty frequently too. Look into yeast harvesting and you can get your spend on yeast to go WAY down.
Some things like yeast you can pretty easily trade time for money, so depending on how much of each you have..

 

[khannon]

I suppose the OP did fail to mention All-grain vs extract brewing though, so this whole conversation could be predicated upon certain assumptions.

 

[brownni5]

I suppose the OP did fail to mention All-grain vs extract brewing though, so this whole conversation could be predicated upon certain assumptions.

Touche.

 

[brownni5]

I don't know about $.50/lb grain,I get mine in bulk for ~$.80/lb in 55lb quantity for 2 row, and ~$1/lb in 55lb qty for things like pilsner and maris otter. Looking today at https://www.morebeer.com/category/hop-market.html?a_aid=hbf&page=1&sort=sales they have cascade and centenial hops at ~$13/lb so that is less than $1/oz (plus shipping, so to keep the price/oz low you probably need to make a larger buy) the stock there changes pretty frequently too. Look into yeast harvesting and you can get your spend on yeast to go WAY down.
Some things like yeast you can pretty easily trade time for money, so depending on how much of each you have..

So yes, you were assuming ingredients bought in bulk and assuming you already have harvested yeast (which you likely had to pay for at some point).

Fyi - the math still doesn't work out. 9.5 lbs of malt at $0.80 is over $7 alone.

 

[jrgtr42]

if you buy in bulk, things get progressively cheaper.
So an outlay for a 55-pound sack of grain is more to start, on a per-pound basis it's pretty cheap.
Same with hops - by the ounce it's up there, by the pound it's much less.
Yeast, if you save and repitch it saves cost again.
I have a pale ale I brew all the time, 11.5 lbs pilsner malt, 1/2 lb crystal 10
2 oz cascade hops, split 2/3rds oz at 60, 10 and FO,
WLP1056/wyeast001/S-05 yeast, it's under $20 for the batch.

 

[captaincoffee]

$8 for the dark mild I brewed today. Traditional dark mild based loosely on Ron Pattersons' recipe for JW Lees 1952 Best Mild -- 5 lbs of different grains, some dark invert sugar, and 1.25 oz of hops. Made just over 4 gal and re-pitched yeast. Comes in at 3.6% ABV with a lot of flavor.

 

[khannon]

Right,
The thing I'm saying is that beer has 4 ingredients right?
Malted barley: The cost goes down the more you buy, here in the northeast, .80/lb seems about the lowest.
Water: potentially "Free"
Hops: buying by the lb can get down to .80/oz and how much do you need to brew a decent 5g batch of pale ale/other style than IPA/2xIPA/NEIPA etc..?
Yeast: find something that works for you. It's a living organism that will happily reproduce for you. A couple dollars investment will last a long time if you you brew the same thing over and over.

I was stating that with yeast, time and some third runnings can keep you in yeast forever? and if you have the space and time, hops plants can last longer than you(me) and produce plenty of hops to brew on a personal scale over time. Of course all of this assumes access to clean water and a grain mill..

The rest is what it is..

Of course living in a college(pre pandamic) town, it might still be cheaper for a rack of natty ice.

Kevin

 

[NitrogenWidget]

if you buy in bulk, things get progressively cheaper.
So an outlay for a 55-pound sack of grain is more to start, on a per-pound basis it's pretty cheap.
Same with hops - by the ounce it's up there, by the pound it's much less.
Yeast, if you save and repitch it saves cost again.
I have a pale ale I brew all the time, 11.5 lbs pilsner malt, 1/2 lb crystal 10
2 oz cascade hops, split 2/3rds oz at 60, 10 and FO,
WLP1056/wyeast001/S-05 yeast, it's under $20 for the batch.

yep.
initial investment in vittle vaults aside, buying bulk is where it's at.
I buy bulk grain when the price is low and the shipping is free.
black friday yakima valley hops sale is one of my most favorite times of the yr. mostly because when you order enough hops the shipping no longer bothers you they start throwing in extra hops instead of packing to fill up the box.
harvesting yeast also.

i justify my dispensing hardware expenses by pointing out how cheap a batch of damn good beer costs to make.

If I were to go to the home brew shop to make my favorite smash pale ale, i'd be able to pull it off for $30.
that's 10lbs of two row.
S-05 yeast
and two OZ. of fuggle hops.

he could save a few $$$ by just doing an oz of hops and exchanging some grain for table sugar and quick oats or even rice and grits. (cream of 3 crops?)

op didn't say extract or AG.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Of course living in a college(pre pandamic) town, it might still be cheaper for a rack of natty ice.

Kevin

of all the beers introduced back in the early 90's I think natty ice is one of the few still around.
red wolf
red dog
nope.

natty ice though?
you could buy a case of that with your monthly bottle returns.

 

[Raider]

Hey Everyone! Im enjoying reading all your posts! It’s great and has my mind just turning with ideas and possibilities! I’m super interested in re-pitching my yeast and I will adventually be buying bulk 2 Row with my own mill. I am doing all Grain which is what I meant. I also want to grow my own hops and looking local to see if I can get a plant or 2 to get it started so maybe I’ll get there in a year or 2. Question i used the yeast calculator but still don’t now how much re-pitch yeast from my 1 gallon batch I got fermenting now? I’m planning a 4 gallon American IPA. I ordered 2 packs of dry yeast but would love to repitch if I can. The 1 gallon is also a American IPA.
Thanks for all the help I’m super pumped to try some of the recipes u guys provided! I love beer but sick of the prices places are selling for. I have a local brewery I support but it’s a huge hit on the wallet and like the idea of cheaper beer!