I try to keep my prices around $30 per batch (I’m still extract brewing) but they always seems to creep closer to $40, which is quite an expenditure all at once for a college student! I’m not complaining, it’s still cheaper than store bought beer or beer at a bar, but I’m just trying to stay thrifty.
So my question, (to both extract and all grain brewers):
How much money on average does a 5 gallon batch cost you? Any what are your brewing mostly (dark beers? Light beers? Belgians? etc.)
(Feel free to throw in any tips for keeping costs down… ;D)
Yeah, I’m hopefully joining a club soon. (I’ll be attending my first meeting this weekend! Woo hoo!) I don’t brew often enough (I try to brew once every 3-4 weeks) to reuse yeast without going to lengths to culture my own. I also don’t think my fridge is big enough to properly culture yeast.
every three to four weeks you should be able to reuse your yeast fine. just save the slurry and build up a new starter from it. keep it in a small mason jar.
All grain with 55 lb sacks is the way to go (I think I pay 88 cents per pound for Best Malz and MFB Pils sacks at my LHBS). Buying a pound of hops from hopsdirect is also going to save you a lot of money.
Everything else (yeast ranching, canning starter wort, etc) is worth it, but has less return.
My sentiments exactly! I try to keep my costs down by purchasing un-crushed base grains by the sack, and reusing yeast when I can - but that’s as much about convenience as it is cost. It seems almost silly that I think about saving a few cents per pound of grain when I have three refrigerators dedicated entirely to brewing and beer (one for fermenting, one for lagering, one for serving). I guess what I save on ingredients helps offset the fuel and electricity I use when I brew and store my beer. IMHO, saving money isn’t a good reason to take up homebrewing - or any other hobby. I do it because I enjoy it (okay, I’m obsessed, too!).
+1 on the full sacks of grain if you can store/use them.
There are lots of little tricks (like brewing 10 gallons instead of 5 to save pennies on propane or growing your own hops) that aren’t going to be appreciable.
I’d recommend acquiring the important equipment over time when you can find it cheap. When you do spend money, focus on the biggest bang for the buck in quality (i.e. control fermentation temperature before buying a draft system).
If you really want to control the cost per batch - brew the cheaper beers now while you’re poor. Get good at it, then when you can afford it move up the line.
My goal is to the make the best possible beer with quality ingredients. Therefore cost becomes secondary. I do try to buy ingredients in bulk or group grain purchases. I also price shop online to find deals. I won’t let cost get in the way of quality if I can help it.
You can still make great beer and keep the cost down. I never understood that “damn the cost” attitude. But I am a frugal dude. That said, I’m not suggesting skimping on ingredients either.
I brewed 10 Gallons of blond ale for a St Patrick’s day party. I used repitched yeast, hops that where giving to me by the party host. (He is from Yakima and get lots of hops every year for free ;D Lucky me!) So the total cost was $18.00. (Cheapest beer I ever made.)
That’s what I tell my wife and I am sticking to it! Never mind the $5k in brewing equipment over the last 4 years :o
Believe me, I would take that attitude if I had a bit more money to throw around. Right now, I have $30 in the bank and $15 in cash and I’m trying to decide whether or not I need to eat for the next two weeks…
I also just had a batch of brown ale go off the deep end (bacteria I’m pretty sure) and I REALLY don’t want that to happen again. I don’t have any beer right now b/c of that loss!
Nothing beyond what you’re already doing. Also, at a month or less I wouldn’t worry about making a starter either - since you’re doing extract that’ll save some money. With AG you can do propagations with your leftover wort: Yeast Ranching and You « SeanTerrill.com Check out the slurry tab on the MrMalty calculator for exact numbers, but you’ll be using around 50-100 mL of slurry for most ales.
To actually answer the question, an average-gravity AG batch costs me about $15-20 for 5 gallons. Roughly a quarter of that is propane, which people always seem to forget about.
Just brew, and kill two birds with one stone. It worked out pretty well for some monks I know…
i have various jars.some are full quart size and some are half pint. you could even use your leftover jelly, peanut butter or even a beer bottle. you dont need to go crazy but make sure it is at least washed with hot water and rinsed. i also save a little bit of my wort in the freezer to use as a starter for the next time if idont have enough slurry.
as far as propane, i have a natural gas grill off my house line. i am trying to get a burner to come off that line. still costs but i can blame the kids and long showers.
