My brewing costs are substantially less than $8/six pack and more than Budweiser. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you.
Sounds like I need to move away from extract brewing to keep costs down a bit more… :-\ As soon as I’m no longer confined to this dorm I’m going to be looking into all grain brewing (well, I’m already researching it, I just am not seriously considering acquiring anything in the near future…)
I think my costs are going to be about the same though whether I go with extract brewing or partial mash. Seem like an accurate judgement?
I don’t think so. Even in bulk, DME is going to run you about $3/lb. The equivalent amount of base malt would be less than half that. So moving half your gravity contribution from extract to malt would save around $5 a batch. Buying by the pound, the savings would be even higher.
That’s great news! I just printed off a huge PDF (40 pages) on converting all grain recipes to partial mash and how to brew partial mash. I’ll definitely look into that for an upcoming batch! Thanks!
Another tip: periodically check Craigslist and Freecycle (if you have a Freecycle locally) for people unloading homebrew equipment. Sometimes people are scaling up, sometimes they have tried it and it wasn’t their thing, but you can find some good buys or even freebies that way.
I used to worry about the price of grain and hops. A lot. I can tell you everything has gone up a fair amount in the past three years. Ingredients are now bought in bulk at some savings. Trips to LHBS for things,$$ Now I don’t worry about what it costs but it’s economical- maybe $0.50-0.75 a beer? Seems like it should be cheaper, but I remember when it was much less not so long ago; I could get a sack of two-row for $45 but now it’s $65+ so I pay extra for the Maris Otter. ;D
It’s not a cheap hobby but there are the benefits.
With equipment figured in I would say I am doing just better than breaking even. But, I average about $25 per batch with just ingredients, I do all grain and only buy my hops in bulk…
My typical pale ale runs around 35 or 45 bucks (all grain) for 5 gal, but i just make a maple DIPA that weighed in at $125/9gal (at 9.5%ABV) so it really depends. My next batch is a belgian gruit / robust porter blend, and I don’t skimp on the herbs, so it’ll probably wind up at around $200/ 17.5 gal. ($57/5 gal).
For me, the idea is not “how do I make a clone, but cheap?”, I’m more of a “nobody but me makes this” kinda guy. that’s not to say you are shooting for what I’m doing, or vice-versa.
++1
Yup. Constantly tweaking & experimenting with recipes. And they are uniquely mine. If I want a SNPA or Arrogant Bastard I’ll buy one. Otherwise I might take- say a Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Pale ale and shoot for the same body and mouthfeel. I’ll have a beer like that as inspiration and shoot for the things I admire and want reflected in my own brewing.
Out of curiosity, I have scoured all my credit card bills and checks for the last 15 years (thanks quicken) and I have found that my equipment averages $3.52 per batch (CO2 is included and I’ve brewed 432 batches). Counting my equipment, ingredients, and propane, I am at about $25 per batch. Far cheaper than I would have guessed ;D.
Edit: I forgot about inflation, my $3.52 was “then year dollars” so it would probably be more like $6 or $7 in 2010 dollars.
I buy malt from a brewpub for $0.50/pound. hops by the pound and dry yeast for basic recipes. Even figuring equipment costs of $5 per batch, which is probably twice what it really is, I can easily brew 10 gallons of a standard porter, pale ale or oatmeal stout for under $25. I don’t brew to save money, I never have, but the way I see it is that the money saved can be spent on my next beer focused vacation.
Sounds about right to me…I generally pay a similar amount for my malts (when I can), I buy hops in bulk, and have been using primarily the same yeast since 1989. I can make 5 gal of a standard brew for under $10.00 and some pretty hefty brews for the winter months for anywhere from $13.00 -18.00 per 5 gal. Not too many years ago (less than 10 years ago) , I was buying Crisp Maris for less than $18.00 per sack and the costs per batch were even lower.
Brewing at home began for me almost 40 years ago as a “can I do it” kind of challenge. The cost savings over commercial beer was never really the main issue, but it is a great benefit of homebrewing (and especially appreciated these days); for at least the last 15-20 years there has been no real reason to buy any commercial beer other than curiosity or research. It’s actually been quite a LONG time since I bought a commercial beer that I wished I could emulate.
I also could care less about my costs, but I figure I would do a (rough) per batch estimate of equipment ($15), propane ($5) and ingredients ($25/5 gallons). All of this combined comes out to less than a doller per 12 ounce serving, so I guess I am saving money. But, the fact that this is a consumable hobby, I would say the cost pays for itself.
Wow. I need to find a brewpub. Right now the only option that I have is DME or LME from a local grocery store (that has a devoted brewing section nonetheless) but still pay $11+ for 3.3 lbs.
Grain is very different than extract, but you really need to look online at some of the shops like Midwest or Northern Brewer.
I am also guessing most brewpubs are not using extracts for their base.
I also buy grain in bulk (about $30 for 55lb),
Hops by the lb,
and repitch most of the yeast.
If you buy DME in bulk it is about $98 to $125 for 50lb bag.
That is about $2-$2.5 per lb.
One bag would last you about 8 brews.