Poor Man's solutions

[bearcat22]

Thank you for taking a look at this post. Your relevant and constructive answers are welcome.

I'm looking to brew on a tight budget of space and money. I currently have no equipment, no experience.

I live on a very small Social Security Disability Pension, and live in a tiny apartment, about 325 square feet.

I don't have a lot of money, or a lot of space.

I have a girlfriend. From my point of view, she is very rich. She owns a big house in the suburbs, Lorton Virginia. We frequently shop at her local Costco.

I'm a big beer drinker, and she frequently buys me cases of beer from Costco. They run around $30 a case, maybe a little more. Many are what I would call a "craft brew" from a company like Heavy Seas, Sam Adams, Stone Brewing.

I've gotten to like these beers a lot. In my neighborhood in Washington DC, a single six pack of one of these brews can easily cost $12, which I consider quite a ripoff.

Some beers just "disappear" from Costco. I got to love a mixed pack from Sierra Nevada that included something called "Blindfold Black". I was told that has been discontinued.

I guess my favorite type of beer is what is called an "IPA".

On the other hand, there is a brew at the other end of the spectrum that I still frequently drink, a Malt Liquor called Steel Reserve.

Okay, that's enough background. Now for my Question.

I have some time, and I'm willing to put in some work. I have a small amount of money to invest.

What I'd like to do is find recipes that VERY closely match a wide variety of beers I have tasted, including even the cheap Steel Reserve.

I can't afford to mess up very much, or waste ingredients. So, my aim is to just brew small one gallon batches.

So, just to be clear, I'm looking for a book or website that has "copycat" recipes that will produce just ONE gallon at a time, with no need for me to do math or invest in an expensive scale or other equipment.

Nice to have advice on specific sources of equipment and supplies. Where can I get the cheapest ingredients and still reproduce the cost of the beers I buy at Costco?

A bottle from a case there costs roughly $1.25. Would be great to cut that cost in half.

Again, thank you for your relevant and constructive replies.

Please, if your response is something like "that's impossible", refrain from answering. Just because YOU believe it isn't practical, or easy, doesn't mean that SOMEone out there does have a decent answer.

 

[Homercidal]

Welcome! First off, let me say "That's impossible!"

Not really, but let me explain what I mean a bit.

Firstly, there recipes all over the Internet that purport to be what we call "Clone" recipes of commercial beers. Some of them are more or less "official", some of those even come from the brewer themselves. You can find books for cloning beers with recipes as well.

The downside to that is that these recipes are often not really going to perfectly clone the beer. Add to the fact that your equipment, methods, and available ingredients can greatly influence the end product, so you may have a great recipe and still end up with a beer that's disappointingly dissimilar.

AND, those recipes are almost always for making 5-6 gallons of beer at a time. I think you would have to look around a LOT to find clone recipes for 1 gallon batches.

The basic brewing equipment kit costs roughly $150, but if you do 1 gallon recipes you can drop that significantly. Probably down to around $75 or so. A lot of that stuff can be done using household items, but a few are specially designed for homebrewing.

I'll also mention that Extract brewing is easier and makes for a shorter brewday, but costs more. Brew-In-A-Bag All Grain brewing is only a little more difficult, but can save you money each batch.

So if I were in your shoes, I'd consider doing maybe 1 to 2.5 gallon batches on the stove and doing the very simple math of dividing the ingredients by 5 or 2. Unless your water is treated or extremely unsuited for brewing, you should be able to come close to your favorite commercial beers without much trouble (once you get the hang of brewing). Some people even find the hobby to be fun and fulfilling.

 

[Homercidal]

Oh, and I forgot to mention: When I brew my Two-Hearted Clone (recipe can be found right here on HBT) I can make it for 50 Cents a bottle. That's about 1/3 the price I can buy at the store in 6-packs.

 

[jrcrilly]

Where can I get the cheapest ingredients and still reproduce the cost of the beers I buy at Costco?

A bottle from a case there costs roughly $1.25. Would be great to cut that cost in half.

That is easily done in 5 gallon batches, but might be challenging with one gallon batches.

 

[d3track]

I think these are going to be your best bet then
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits/small-batch-beer-recipe-kits

 

[TasunkaWitko]

www.brooklynbrewshop.com - for 40$, you can be brewing great beer using an all-grain kit that was designed for small apartments, and at least a dozen varieties to choose from. It can be used again and again with your own recipes from your LHBS, or you can keep purchasing pre-packaged grain mixes with hops and yeast for 15$ each.

Actually, if you spend 45$, you get free shipping, so maybe pick up some extra equipment such as a capper and caps. But truly, you probably already have everything else that you need in your kitchen.

To see how truly easy and non-complicated beer brewing can be - with great results - click here: http://brooklynbrewshop.com/brew-timeline

 

[jrcrilly]

The trouble with those kits is the per-bottle cost. Without the economy of scale offered by larger batches, the cost per bottle is going to start at $1.50 and go up from there. He's only paying $1.25 for commercial craft beers. I'd do it because I enjoy brewing - but I surely wouldn't do it in an attempt to save money.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Point taken, jr - but once the kit is purchased, the cost goes down considerably, if there is an LHBS in town. I have to drive over 200 miles to one, so I rely on purchasing the mixes from BBS, but like you say, I do it for the enjoyment rather than to save money.

My way of looking at it is that the OP sounds as though he might be on the fence about whether to dive into home brewing. This is an opportunity for him to try it without spending much, and he can even try it with a style of beer that he likes (one of the most popular BBS kits is the Everyday IPA). My logic is that if he doesn't like doing it, then he's only out 40 dollars or so, and can use the jug for something else. But if he does like it, then he's got a whole new world opened up for him, along with the options that come with it. The 1-gallon size is good for his budget, his living conditions and perhaps his consumption rate as well - and allows the opportunity to try new styles that he will most likely enjoy. For instance, I never thought I would have any interest at all in a jalapeno saison - until I tried it!

 

[mredge73]

Check out the Mr. Beer kits; it is probably your best option to start.
They are very inexpensive (look for sales) with simple instructions and make about 2 gallons; nearly a case of beer.
Once you get the hang of it you can grow the hobby however you like:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=46360

You can even go cheaper/easier with just HME (Hopped Malt Extract).
Use standard oxiclean for cleaning and buy some inexpensive iodophor for sanitizing (star-san is better but more expensive).
Assuming that you clean and sanitize well, HME doesn't even need to be boiled and can be mixed with distilled water in the fermenting vessel.
These cans make 5 gallons so partition it out into 5 equal portions and store in sterilized mason jars (boil the jars first) for the next batch:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/home...vkA8Nx9I5sAKIEkrRcUOXZvZLqIkvgLI2IaAks98P8HAQ

 

[MaxStout]

I agree with the economy of scale issue. If you are set on doing 1 gal batches, you can economize a little by brewing beers in succession that use similar ingredients to one another. For example, try to do several brews that use most of the same kinds of malts, same hops, yeast, etc. That way, you aren't buying a huge inventory of ingredients.

Some of the clone recipes are really quite simple. Some pale malt extract, a few specialty grains for steeping, one or two varieties of hops, and a couple packets of US-05 can get you a long way if you plan well.

 

[Aristotelian]

www.brooklynbrewshop.com - for 40$, you can be brewing great beer using an all-grain kit that was designed for small apartments, and at least a dozen varieties to choose from. It can be used again and again with your own recipes from your LHBS, or you can keep purchasing pre-packaged grain mixes with hops and yeast for 15$ each.

Actually, if you spend 45$, you get free shipping, so maybe pick up some extra equipment such as a capper and caps. But truly, you probably already have everything else that you need in your kitchen.

To see how truly easy and non-complicated beer brewing can be - with great results - click here: http://brooklynbrewshop.com/brew-timeline

I started with a BBS kit, then added a second jug ($6) and airlock ($3) to be able to double my capacity, along with a capper ($15) and bottle caps ($2). I use an old pillowcase and 4-gallon stockpot for BIAB.

The tricky cost to control is your hops. If you can identify a couple of recipes that use the same hops then you can buy in bulk. But if you like to do a new recipe every time, you are going to have to buy hops in small amounts and it is hard to do that cheaply.

 

[sfish]

read this it cost nothing

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1

PM me your address I will send you and air lock to get you started

 

[Rhumbline]

It's certainly easy to do what you describe but like others I'd suggest you think about maybe going with a 3 gallon batch.

With the BIAB method you need a 4 gallon pot, a paint strainer bag, and a container for fermenting that can be tightly sealed and fitted with a simple airlock, some folks have gotten them free from bakeries. a thermometer that will read in the 50 to 200 degree range is also needed.

You can reuse bottles if washed and sterilized carefully, you'll need a capper and caps - a few $ for a decent one.

As for recipes, look on this site, there are many posted. You'll just scale the ingredients down, except for the yeast. Try ones that are in the style that you like instead of hoping to find an exact clone.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you.