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Bearcat

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Thanks for your patience with this post.

I'm only Considering getting into home brewing. I live in a small apartment.
At this point I have no equipment or ingredients. I dont' work so I have lots of time.

I am disabled, and my pension is less than 12 thousand a year, so budget is tight.
I drink a lot of beer, as cheap and as strong as I can find. Steel Reserve malt liquor
is my choice. That runs more than a dollar a 12 ounce can once tax is factored in.
I'd prefer to get that price down to around 25 cents a can.

So, knowing my goal, I could use some advice so I can crunch numbers and figure out if this is worth doing. I'd rather not have to invest in a big huge multi gallon pot. Glancing at Amazon, looks like the pot alone, a ten gallon is over Fifty Bucks! Yikes.

I also don't want to have to cram a big pot of liquid into the refrigerator to ferment, so I guess that also limits which recipes I could use.

I came across a recipe, but the instructions call for heating insane amounts of water. I don't think that's possible in a small apartment kitchen. Also, the instructions are incredibly intimidating and confusing. "Mash"? As in would have to grind up grain or something? not happening:

https://byo.com/article/21-alcohol-all-grain-beer/
 
Recipe appears on BYO dot com and is called "21% alcohol all grain beer"
 
Hello and welcome. The debate rages over whether or not homebrewing saves money over buying. Many factors are involved, but how much equipment is a crucial matter. You can brew with simple gear, even some that's in your home. Extract is more expensive than grain brewing, so you might not be able to achieve your goal without mashing grain.
I also want to point out that everyone has their own goals and tastes. I would say that most here seek to make craft quality beer, rather than just strong beer. Read through the threads and see if you can find a method that suits you.
 
Also found a page called
Brewing Strong Beer
03/14/2013


A Matter of Immense Gravity

Some Tricks to Successfully Brewing Strong Beers

By Jim Busch (Originally published in Brewing Techniques Magazine - Volume 4, Issue 2)

This article was IMMENSELY INTIMIDATING. I'd like to read something written for someone who has ZERO knowledge, wants to brew Cheap, and has little space or skill. Like maybe a two gallon batch of something with very high alcohol content that does not require a degree in chemistry to understand and follow.
 
JohnSand said:
Hello and welcome. The debate rages over whether or not homebrewing saves money over buying. Many factors are involved, but how much equipment is a crucial matter. You can brew with simple gear, even some that's in your home. Extract is more expensive than grain brewing, so you might not be able to achieve your goal without mashing grain.
I also want to point out that everyone has their own goals and tastes. I would say that most here seek to make craft quality beer, rather than just strong beer. Read through the threads and see if you can find a method that suits you.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply. So, if I understand you correctly, "grain brewing" would require me to buy some kind of bulk material, and grind it up myself? Yeah, not likely to happen. Looks like the price for devices to grind grain are beyond insane. To me, fifty bucks just for a ten gallon pot is a fortune.

yeah, I still am willing to learn and work, but I cannot invest in equipment or materials without FIRST being absolutely certain I can produce what I want for the price I want.

I mean, people brewed at home during the Great Depression, either out of poverty or necessity.
How did this become something only for.....well, I can't use the term, because it is rude.

I live in a big city, don't have a car, and the tax on alcohol is insane, and the "fancy pants" beers are
making it hard to find cheap strong stuff.

Thanks
 
You'll likely not find homebrewing to your liking if you're looking for a cheap way to get a buzz off Steel Reserve level malt liquor with minimal effort.

Really, the viable options I can see at this point are a charcoal filter and bottom shelf everclear or AA.
 
1 gallon glass carboy - $6.00
5 gallon stock pot - $15.00
Airlock and bung - $5.00
Star San - $8.00
Oxy Clean Free - $5.00
Recipe Ingredients - For 5 gallon batches, my average ingredient cost is $40-$50. If you did 1 or two gallon batches, you could probably get by on $20 per recipe...? That's a guess, I don't know that for sure.

I did this in about 5 minutes so I know I'm missing things on here that you would want to have and I may not have dug deep enough to find the cheapest stuff, but you're looking at approx. $60 dollars to get started, if you started small with minimal equipment. This still doesn't get you to the point of bottling. You'd have to buy bottles and a capper. With 1 gallon batches, you're looking at 10 bottles. A case of bottles (24) costs roughly $16.00...

Getting started isn't cheap. Not sure how you would make it work... I've never done a 1 or 2 gallon batch so like I said, I guessed on the recipe cost. Someone else may be able to help you out more.
 
I think what you should do is take a look at Palmer's online version of his "How to Brew." It will give you some idea of the process.

http://www.howtobrew.com/

It has the added benefit of being free. It's a little dated, but not as much as you'd perhaps think, and it provides a pretty simple introduction.

I agree with @mmb. If all you want is a cheap buzz, you may be too impatient to brew your own. I have a sense that very few that get into homebrewing just to get cheap beer keep at it. They either quit it, or move ahead to trying to brew good beer, not just cheap alcoholic stuff.

Extract brewing is more expensive than all-grain, but all-grain requires somewhat more equipment...and to really get the costs down, you need to buy grain in bulk and crush it yourself. That means a mill--many have had success with a Corona mill, which is pretty inexpensive. It also means a way to store the grain, and the means with which to buy it in bulk.

A 5-gallon batch of beer will fill two cases of 12-oz bottles. It'll take from 10 days to a month to get palatable beer. The one thing you do seem to have in abundance is time, so maybe waiting on beer is ok for you.

My usual advice to new brewers is to try to find someone local who would let you watch a brew day, so you can see first-hand how to do it. It'll advance your learning curve hugely, and much of what you read in books and online will make much more sense.

**********

If the above doesn't dissuade you, then let me tell you what I get out of brewing that isn't just cheap beer: I like doing it, it allows me to customize recipes to what *I* like, it has an almost zen-like feel to it. Brew days are...relaxing in a way. There are people who post here on HBT who have indicated they like brewing more than they like drinking the beer.

The hobby can be as deep as you want. I know many brewers whose interest in advancing their brewing knowledge stopped when they could brew acceptable extract kits. And then you have other wackos--I'm probably in that group--who are on a quest.

Anyway, good luck. Let us know what you decide.
 
To be honest, it's difficult to be into homebrewing just for the price of a pint. Yes you can do it cheaply. But the cheaper the more lack in taste, and more work, which you could have spent f.eks doing other positive things. And you have to lay down the hours. And if you have "unlimited" beer on hand, like it might seem you have when a batch is done, you're just gonna drink more of it, and empty it faster. So there goes 2 more weeks of waiting for the next batch where you drink the stuff from the store. You of course do have extract as an option, which is way easier.

From your post, especially where you said that you drink a lot of beer, and as cheap and strong as you can, I'd rather try to do something else, instead of getting into All Grain homebrewing.
 
It ain't cheap.... But it can be.
You need a decent size pot. 5 gallon would be acceptable. They can be found cheap if you look around, don't buy new, if you do 5 gallon batches look for a used turkey fryer set up. They usually come with a 7 gallon pot.

$50 a 5 gallon batch for materials is NOT normal for me. Grains, hops etc cost me $17 - $30 tops. It could be cheaper without specialty grains and yeast re-use. Table sugar will boost ABV at a low cost of that is the goal.

No you don't have to buy a grain will. Retail home brew stores will mill grain at a minimal fee or for free or have a mill for you to use usually for free. Online shops usually offer to mill it before shipping for you. Mashing is simply soaking the crushed grains in hot water for an hour or so then draining the liquid or removing the bag of grain leaving the liquid behind (wort)

Bottle in used bottles you collect or from others recycle bins. Then you will need a capper and caps. Use plastic bottles with twist on caps instead. Any size would do and they can hold the pressure.

I started all grain with a used 10 gallon cooler (free), bottles (free), turkey fryer burner and pot (already had it before brewing), 6 gallon bucket for collecting wort (free and had it around the house), fermenter bucket and other little supplies and tools I had but many you can do without.

Key is look around the house. Check out second hand store for things you can use that will fit your purpose. Recycle what you can. Bottles, yeast etc.
 
BrewInspector said:
No you don't have to buy a grain will. Retail home brew stores will mill grain at a minimal fee or for free or have a mill for you to use usually for free. Online shops usually offer to mill it before shipping for you. Mashing is simply soaking the crushed grains in hot water for an hour or so then draining the liquid or removing the bag of grain leaving the liquid behind (wort)
Click to expand...

This is true...but you're paying more for the grain, sometimes double. I can get 2-row in 50# sacks from Ritebrew for 70 cents a pound. It'll be far more than that at the LHBS. Mine charges $1.50 per pound for 2-row. The difference in a 12-pound grain bill is $18.00 versus $8.40. Ten or eleven brews and you've saved enough for a Cereal Killer; maybe 3 or 4 and you've saved enough for a Corona.

As well, crushed grains from a LHBS are often too coarse, even leaving whole seeds untouched. So you end up needing more of that grain to get the efficiency you want, reducing further the "savings" of not having to buy a mill. One of the big leaps forward in my brewing was being able to control the crush.

Now, if the purpose is to try it before deciding if one wants to go the route of buying a mill....I'm with you.
 
mongoose33 said:
This is true...but you're paying more for the grain, sometimes double. I can get 2-row in 50# sacks from Ritebrew for 70 cents a pound. It'll be far more than that at the LHBS. Mine charges $1.50 per pound for 2-row. The difference in a 12-pound grain bill is $18.00 versus $8.40. Ten or eleven brews and you've saved enough for a Cereal Killer; maybe 3 or 4 and you've saved enough for a Corona.

As well, crushed grains from a LHBS are often too coarse, even leaving whole seeds untouched. So you end up needing more of that grain to get the efficiency you want, reducing further the "savings" of not having to buy a mill. One of the big leaps forward in my brewing was being able to control the crush.

Now, if the purpose is to try it before deciding if one wants to go the route of buying a mill....I'm with you.
Click to expand...
Sure. For some people from some suppliers.

I don't buy online since I have a convenient LHBS and don't usually plan ahead enough to wait for shipping. How much is shipping?

My LHBS supposedly has an up charge of a few cents per lb if they mill it but no charge of you do it in their store with their mill. Nowhere near double. Their mills are set properly and I have never had an issue with crush among 3 of their localish stores I have used. You can also ask for or do a double crush.

I don't buy sacks since I have no mill. If I did I would. One store had a deal where you bought a bag of grain in advance that they stored for you and kept track of what you used. Still not quite as cheap as taking it home.
 
If you want to make beer, you are going to have some upfront costs, probably $50 minimum. If you aren't picky and just want to make alcohol you just need: sugar, water, bread yeast, a 2-liter or larger bottle, and a balloon.
 
Given your parameters you listed in your initial post make it tough to recommend home brewing as the answer to your needs. Typically those who get into brewing their own do so with quality over quantity. There are many malt liquor recipes for home brewing but the final cost will not get you anywhere near 25 cents per bottle. After reading your post, I would be remiss if I did not ask that maybe finding a way to get even cheaper and stronger beer for someone who professes to drink a lot is not a good thing. I am not judging, just concerned.
 
Rob2010SS said:
1 gallon glass carboy - $6.00
5 gallon stock pot - $15.00
Airlock and bung - $5.00
Star San - $8.00
Oxy Clean Free - $5.00
Recipe Ingredients - For 5 gallon batches, my average ingredient cost is $40-$50. If you did 1 or two gallon batches, you could probably get by on $20 per recipe...? That's a guess, I don't know that for sure.

I did this in about 5 minutes so I know I'm missing things on here that you would want to have and I may not have dug deep enough to find the cheapest stuff, but you're looking at approx. $60 dollars to get started, if you started small with minimal equipment. This still doesn't get you to the point of bottling. You'd have to buy bottles and a capper. With 1 gallon batches, you're looking at 10 bottles. A case of bottles (24) costs roughly $16.00...

Getting started isn't cheap. Not sure how you would make it work... I've never done a 1 or 2 gallon batch so like I said, I guessed on the recipe cost. Someone else may be able to help you out more.
Click to expand...



Thank you! Just pointing out the inexpensive Wal Mart pot is a big big help!

I'm thinking and hoping I can find heavy bottles that can be used over and over.
And on Craigslist there are a few kits for sale, so maybe this is do-able.

The darn tax here in Washington DC is ten and a half percent. A $65 malt kit on Amazon works out to roughly $1.22 a bottle. To buy a six pack of Sierra Nevada IPA works out with tax to about $1.56 per beer.

Eventually I guess the equipment pays for itself.

Thanks for taking my question seriously and thanks for NOT being a sarcastic jerk.
 
A pot doesn't have to be expensive. I started with the 2-gallon pot from my cupboard and after a couple of years upgraded to a 10 gallon tamale pot I found for $20.

I got all my starter bottles from a sushi restaurant. I talked with the owner and he had me pick up their empties on Friday and Saturday nights. Each night netted enough bottles for a 5-gallon batch.

I looked up homebrew supply stores in your area, and myLocal Homebrew Shop in Falls Church looks like the closest.

You also have a few local homebrew clubs that should be able to help you out:
WASHINGTON, DC
  • Mid-Atlantic Society of Brewing Curiosity
  • (202) 505-5240 | Email
 
Bearcat said:
Thanks for taking my question seriously and thanks for NOT being a sarcastic jerk.
Click to expand...

I don't think people were trying to be sarcastic or rude just simply responding to your statement:

Bearcat said:
I drink a lot of beer, as cheap and as strong as I can find.
Click to expand...

Most homebrewers put pride in the taste of their beer, and usually alcohol content and cost are after thoughts. Unless your goal is to balance all three!? I think maybe you misunderstood this audience for something else, and checking out distilling threads may be a better option for you.

But yes a cheap pot and bag to mash in, and a bucket to ferment in should make beer. All for easily less than $50 if you look hard enough. With that said, I have had some poorly made homebrew that was so bad that I would prefer Steel Reserve.
 
Last edited:
honestly, if your in it for cheapest easiest. i'd recommend going with doped apple juice from walmart...do 10 gal batches in a $20 15 gallon plastic bucket...as far as fermenting, don't let the 'quality' boys scare you off! room temp works just fine! most of my beer is room temp in S.AZ...I've got the price of my beer down to about 92 cents a twelve pack of 8%+ beer. But it takes A LOT of time investment to get it that cheap. that's why i'd recommend the apple juice...For the price of a bucket you could be making a decent 8% drink for $3 a twelve pack! now carbing, would be a matter of choice! if you have empty 2 liter bottles laying i'd go with them...or make it 12% alcohol and not carb at all!

Anyway 96oz Great Value Apple Juice ~2.3 x 13 for 10 gal and a 4lb bag of sugar 1.35 to bump it up to 8% would pretty much hit your target at ~28 cents a bottle!

And don't worry the quality boys give me **** too! i like your style!
 
bracconiere said:
honestly, if your in it for cheapest easiest. i'd recommend going with doped apple juice from walmart...do 10 gal batches in a $20 15 gallon plastic bucket...as far as fermenting, don't let the 'quality' boys scare you off! room temp works just fine! most of my beer is room temp in S.AZ...I've got the price of my beer down to about 92 cents a twelve pack of 8%+ beer. But it takes A LOT of time investment to get it that cheap. that's why i'd recommend the apple juice...For the price of a bucket you could be making a decent 8% drink for $3 a twelve pack! now carbing, would be a matter of choice! if you have empty 2 liter bottles laying i'd go with them...or make it 12% alcohol and not carb at all!

Anyway 96oz Great Value Apple Juice ~2.3 x 13 for 10 gal and a 4lb bag of sugar 1.35 to bump it up to 8% would pretty much hit your target at ~28 cents a bottle!

And don't worry the quality boys give me poopy too! i like your style!
Click to expand...

I was actually going to suggest the same thing. Making a lot of hard cider this way is extremely inexpensive and easy.
 
and when i was in the process of moving here, i actually just bought a plastic storage tote and dumped it all in it...didn't even carb just scooped a pitcher and poured glasses....think i might have left the pitcher in the fridge for a couple hours to chill though...

this guy said he's drinking steel reserve...He wants to know if he can make his own 'alcohol', and drink it. Not if he can win a Homebrew competition, out of a small apartment?

And i know for a fact, that we all can make a alcoholic liquid in our sleep! i've even fermented sugar wheat germ tea and mixed it 50/50 with coke! 16%, 50/50 8% decent coke mixed drink...Didn't saver me any money really, but it was fun because i was traveling! and trying to save my soul! :)
 
Agree with cider being cheap. I do 7% ABV cider with 5 gallons of Costco apple juice, a pound of surgar, tbspn of yeast nutrient and a packet of yeast which costs about 20 bucks. Takes 20 minutes to get it fermenting in a bucket.

Can do an all grain batch of beer around 7-8% easily for 30 sticking with single bittering addition and dry yeast.
 
stieg000 said:
Agree with cider being cheap. I do 7% ABV cider with 5 gallons of Costco apple juice, a pound of surgar, tbspn of yeast nutrient and a packet of yeast which costs about 20 bucks. Takes 20 minutes to get it fermenting in a bucket.

Can do an all grain batch of beer around 7-8% easily for 30 sticking with single bittering addition and dry yeast.
Click to expand...

he didn't want to put any money down on equipment and lives in a small apt.

yeah, just as food for thought, for my investment of a 15 gal polarware kettle (~200), 10 gal mash tun, (~100), and a propane burner i don't use anymore..6 Cornies (~50 a peice), 20lb co2 tank (~150), co2 regulator twice (~60), used fridge (~150), and more i can't think of...most of which was an upfront cost back in 2003, i now can brew a 10 gal batch for ~8 bucks give or take 50 cents...8%, or 7 cents a glass!
 
bracconiere said:
honestly, if your in it for cheapest easiest. i'd recommend going with doped apple juice from walmart...do 10 gal batches in a $20 15 gallon plastic bucket...as far as fermenting, don't let the 'quality' boys scare you off! room temp works just fine! most of my beer is room temp in S.AZ...I've got the price of my beer down to about 92 cents a twelve pack of 8%+ beer. But it takes A LOT of time investment to get it that cheap. that's why i'd recommend the apple juice...For the price of a bucket you could be making a decent 8% drink for $3 a twelve pack! now carbing, would be a matter of choice! if you have empty 2 liter bottles laying i'd go with them...or make it 12% alcohol and not carb at all!

Anyway 96oz Great Value Apple Juice ~2.3 x 13 for 10 gal and a 4lb bag of sugar 1.35 to bump it up to 8% would pretty much hit your target at ~28 cents a bottle!

And don't worry the quality boys give me poopy too! i like your style!
Click to expand...

Okay! Is there a recipe to follow to make this?

I don't mind quality, IF it is quality I can afford. That said, I appreciate very much
your friendly and constructive suggestion. I come from New Hampshire originally, and love
Hard Apple Cider. It just never occurred to me that I could make it myself.
 
You can make a 6%, all extract beer for about $11 for 2 gallons. More Beer has 3 lbs of LME for $10, and I was figuring $1 for a small amount of hops. The price doesn't include the yeast, but if you keep making beer, you can re-use the yeast several times and keep that cost pretty low.
So that's about $.50 a 12 oz. beer.
You can add some table sugar to bump up the ABV, if desired.
I can probably make the same beer for $.25 using grain, but I buy grain in bulk, have a mill,
and a bunch of other brewing stuff that takes up a lot of space.
For equipment, I'd get a cheap 3-4 gallon pot (about $16) and use a Mr. Beer Kit that comes with a 3 gallon fermenter and the PET bottles. If you drink soda, you can re-use screw cap soda bottles if you want to.

Edit: More Beer offers free shipping, you can get 10 lb bags of base malt for a little over $1/lb and they'll mill it if you want them to.
So that would get your per beer price down to $.30/beer.

If you buy hops by the pound, you can get them cheaper.
A BIAB bag and a 4 gallon cheapo pot, would be all the gear you need for a 2 or 2.5 gallon batch.
 
Last edited:
madscientist451 said:
You can make a 6%, all extract beer for about $11 for 2 gallons. More Beer has 3 lbs of LME for $10, and I was figuring $1 for a small amount of hops. The price doesn't include the yeast, but if you keep making beer, you can re-use the yeast several times and keep that cost pretty low.
So that's about $.50 a 12 oz. beer.
You can add some table sugar to bump up the ABV, if desired.
I can probably make the same beer for $.25 using grain, but I buy grain in bulk, have a mill,
and a bunch of other brewing stuff that takes up a lot of space.
For equipment, I'd get a cheap 3-4 gallon pot (about $16) and use a Mr. Beer Kit that comes with a 3 gallon fermenter and the PET bottles. If you drink soda, you can re-use screw cap soda bottles if you want to.
Click to expand...


Thank you. Can you post a link to how to do all this?

So, I'm guessing that plastic bottles with screw tops ARE okay to use for bottling the beer?
Is there any alternative to bottles, such as just putting it in a big jug and drawing off what you want as you go?

Is it okay to sterilize things using just a little laundry bleach diluted in water?

I found a youtube video on making cider, and it provided links to the ingredients and tools.
The champagne yeast was insanely priced. Is all brewing yeast that costly?



This yeast page that descibes this says it is incredibly difficult to do, and really does not
explain HOW to do those difficult things

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/WLP099-Super-High-Gravity-P2808.aspx
 
Do not homebrew beer to save money vs Steel Reserve. You will not be successful.

Sugar wash and a pot still. It’s not beer but your coming from Steel Reserve so I think this is workable for you.

Expirement with cutting it and infusing whatever fruit is in season. Enjoy and don’t blow yourself up..I’m following this thread!
 
Moose_MI said:
Do not homebrew beer to save money vs Steel Reserve. You will not be successful.
Click to expand...

i disagree? it's what got me into homebrewing in the first place! my eternal quest for a 99 cent twelve pack, which i beat 3 years ago!

Bearcat said:
Okay! Is there a recipe to follow to make this?

I don't mind quality, IF it is quality I can afford. That said, I appreciate very much
your friendly and constructive suggestion. I come from New Hampshire originally, and love
Hard Apple Cider. It just never occurred to me that I could make it myself.
Click to expand...

Not really a recipe for it, just dump a bunch apple juice in a container, add yeast. Baker's yeast will work in a pinch but doesn't flocculate (settle out of solution). if you want more ABV, add a bag of sugar. as far as carbonation. you could use 2 liter soda bottles, just let the juice finish dry then add some more sugar and siphon into them and screw on the caps. you'd have to look up how much sugar to add from a calculator though, don't know off the top of my head.

But i find if i make a drink with around 10%+ it's got enough 'bite' from the alcohol to not need carb'ing, like wine does!

a hydrometer would be handy? bucket big enough to hold all the juice..i just used a storage tote from walmart for a month, a while back.

sorry for the bad typing! and i'll give you a :bravo: for good thinking on the drinking problem! a lot of people live their entire lives dependent!
 
Moose_MI said:
Sugar wash and a pot still. It’s not beer but your coming from Steel Reserve so I think this is workable for you.

Expirement with cutting it and infusing whatever fruit is in season. Enjoy and don’t blow yourself up..I’m following this thread!
Click to expand...

Actually, if your drinking on the cheap, and willing to go to 'the dark side' and distill...smoking chips are a lot cheaper! just give them a light toast in the oven add to 65% booze, wait a week or two!
 
Bearcat said:
Thank you. Can you post a link to how to do all this?

So, I'm guessing that plastic bottles with screw tops ARE okay to use for bottling the beer?
Is there any alternative to bottles, such as just putting it in a big jug and drawing off what you want as you go?

Is it okay to sterilize things using just a little laundry bleach diluted in water?
Click to expand...

Answers in order:
1. No link but I can give a quick explanation if that's what you want.
2. Nothing wrong with using plastic screw cap bottles.
3. If you don't want your brew carbonated, you can put it in a jug and drink it up.
4. Most brewers avoid using bleach, because of the possibility of off flavors.\
Note, Star-san may seem expensive, but you only need 1/2 oz to mix up 2.5 gallons of it.
I keep it in a a bucket and use it over and over again. A 16 oz container last for years and I brew pretty often.
Check out my edited post that gets your brew down to $.30/ 12 oz.
Keep an eye on your local craigslist for used homebrew stuff.
 
bracconiere said:
i disagree? it's what got me into homebrewing in the first place! my eternal quest for a 99 cent twelve pack, which i beat 3 years ago!
Click to expand...

I don’t want to get into a debate. I think its freaking awesome that Home brewing is economical for you.

To the OP: Odds are distinctly NOT in your favor, but don’t let me stop you from fighting the good fight. Please report back in a couple months and share your experiences so we can all learn.
 
Thank you to everyone. I'm sort of leaning towards those inexpensive one gallon fermenter jugs the link above uses to make hard cider. I appreciate the constructive advice, and I'm sure I'll be back soon to report results!
 
honestly i wouldn't even worry about sanitation...yeast kick ass on everything else...i don't sanitize my beer, comes out fine...

Moose_MI said:
I don’t want to get into a debate. I think its freaking awesome that Home brewing is economical for you.

To the OP: Odds are distinctly NOT in your favor, but don’t let me stop you from fighting the good fight. Please report back in a couple months and share your experiences so we can all learn.
Click to expand...

It's not a debate, i've used 8 pounds of malt and 10 pounds sugar for a while to cut costs! i definitely don't make GOOD Beer!

Bearcat said:
Thank you to everyone. I'm sort of leaning towards those inexpensive one gallon fermenter jugs the link above uses to make hard cider. I appreciate the constructive advice, and I'm sure I'll be back soon to report results!
Click to expand...

take a look at one of these from walmart. your turn around time with a 1 gallon fermenter won't be good enough to keep you in booze!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hefty-72...66001f5-46cfa622-53d397559a18a716&athena=true

just keep the lid on the keep bugs out and your golden, it takes a week for it to ferment. so you need to brew more then a gallon at a time!
 
Moose_MI said:
If you made it and drank it with any level of satisfaction then you made good beer. I always say “It’s OK if you don’t like my beer......I do!!!”

Brew on !!
Click to expand...

i got a compliment on it from the guy that asked to try it at the feed store! (they call me the barley guy there) lol

And amen(sp?)...I like my beer better than Milwaukee's Best, it has more carmely flavor! but i can tell it's not as clean a ferment...

and on the cheap side note...when i first started homebrewing it was 4.99 for a twelver of milwaukee's, and it cost me the same to make my own..But i liked thinking for myself, and stuck with it!

buying in bulk, reusing my yeast, getting my efficiency higher, and now malting my own, got it to my goal price!

I'm just excited about this thread, because another person wants cheap. Not the best it can be! i always feel alone here on that note. :(
 
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