Ag Seems Expensive,am I Missing Something

[ekul]

Buying in bulk is the key. Below is a price comparison between buying a single batch and a double batch from craftbrewer

single batch coopers pale ale clone
3.5kg ale malt $14
200g wheat malt $0.80
30g dark crystal $0.17
Pride of ringwood flowers $7 (but you will have enough for 3 batches)
Postage $10.20
total from craft brewer $32.17 (you'd need to add 650g of sugar and gas to this recipe for an accurate costing)

Double batch
7kg ale malt $21
400g wheat malt $1.6
60g dark crystal $0.33
Pride of ringwood flowers $7 (but you will have enough for 3 batches)
Postage $16.95

total $46.88
per batch $23.44 thats nearly a $10 saving! (you'd need to add 650g of sugar and gas to this recipe for an accurate costing)


Further bulk buying will save you even more...

For the above recipe i pay...

3.5kg ale malt $5.6
200g wheat $0.28
dark crystal $0.17 (i don't get this in bulk)
650g sugar $0.65
yeast $1 ( i reuse the yeast a few times, so each stubbie gives me a few goes)
pride of ringwood $0.72
gas $4

total $12.42 So it gets cheap, you just need to buy in bulk. I use lots of base malt so i buy lots of ale malt. I don't buy spec malts in bulk because a bag of dark crystal would last me literally forever.

 

[fcmcg]

Ferg,

Just browsed this topic while drinking my fifth AG attempt, the first one I really took seriously. It's Tony's LCBA recipe.

Mick,
Just so we all aren't confused....
The OP was Fergi....
I'm Ferg...Fergthebrewer...Not the original poster !
:unsure:

 

[bignath]

I totally see where you're coming from being surprised that less processed is more expensive than highly processed (ie kits). It's counter-intuitive, but probably based on current transport costs. Extract (especially in the kits) is concentrated, so 2kg / brew vs 5 kg / brew. Also other market pressures - storage times, etc.

Howdy tanga,

i usually agree with your posts but i think this one's a little incorrect. A lot of people have posted on this thread (myself included) who have clearly indicated that assuming you have the gear to do all grain, it is often cheaper (quite often way cheaper) than a comparable or non comparable recipe using a can and some spec ingredients.

I would have to say, the less processed our ingredients we use are, the cheaper it becomes to brew as in the end, we are paying for convenience.
I think the cost of setting up to go all grain (particularly 3 vessel form) is probably more a limiting factor than the cost of sourcing ingredients.
As i said before in an earlier post, i left a whole lot of coopers international series tins on the shelf of the supermarket the other day at $6.50 each (half price) because at the end of the day, i can do the same thing for the same price using fresh ingredients, and i am sure it is because i'm not paying anyone to have already made it for me.

cheers,

nath

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

AG may seem expensive first up, especially some of the gear.

But you have to remember that once you have the gear, you will allways have it

Buying in bulk IS the go, depending on where you live, buy sacks of grain, not by the KG

Buy Hops in Bulk, use what you need, the freeze the rest

When you buy grains, use mates, work mates, auties, uncles, whatever to use as deleivery vessels..even see the local trucking companies, you would be suprised what they will do if you ask them

When ever I know my folks are comoing from Brisbane I get them to pick up an order from CB... saves a LOT of freight $$$

 

[mh971]

Mick,
Just so we all aren't confused....
The OP was Fergi....
I'm Ferg...Fergthebrewer...Not the original poster !
:unsure:

No confusion intended bud, 17000 members I am sure there's another Mick somewhere too(happy to introduce some confusion there so we can blame him for any of my awkwardor disjointed posts)

 

[Tanga]

Good to know Nath - I'm not an AG brewer myself, but am at the stage where I'm keeping an eye out. I guess it pays to shop around. I did post some suggestions earlier that would make the cost comparable to (but not cheaper than) kits. Good to know it can be done.

For me it's definitely the setup costs holding me back. Though I think I may have enough set aside to set up a brew fridge when I get back to Adelaide >.<

 

[bignath]

Good to know Nath - I'm not an AG brewer myself, but am at the stage where I'm keeping an eye out. I guess it pays to shop around. I did post some suggestions earlier that would make the cost comparable to (but not cheaper than) kits. Good to know it can be done.

For me it's definitely the setup costs holding me back. Though I think I may have enough set aside to set up a brew fridge when I get back to Adelaide >.<

yeah mate it was the set up costs for me too. Started getting pretty good at "bartering" nice hair cuts and handbags for the wife in exchange for the green light to pull the trigger on my equipment purchases.

now all the grief i get is when she walks past me on the laptop and simply asks: "beer buddies again" and shakes her head....

 

[Cocko]

But you have to remember that once you have the gear, you will allways have it

Agreed 100%.

A $200-500 set up may seem a fair outlay when you are pretty much enjoying your beer from your $80 dollar [Or whatever] coopers kit and a few cans of goo....

I was mashing my 57th brew in my mash tun on Saturday, doing a double brew day with Beersatan.. So much wort!, soo much... anyway and was saying/thinkging:

My tun cost me about $200+About $40 copper manifold - delivered = 100L tun.

Over 57 brews it has produced about 4788L of, if I must say, VERY enjoyable beer.

So, what is the cost of that outlay now per litre = 240 / 4788 = About 5c a litre. etc etc..

Buy right, buy once is MO.

2c.

 

[Tony]

Especially as I am a real hack, and don't take it all that seriously compared to most on here.

sort of :icon_offtopic:

Hack........... ???????????

what do you think i am

Oh... did anyone say that AG brewing is as awsome as ( . Y . )

 

[bignath]

Oh... did anyone say that AG brewing is as awsome as ( . Y . )

so that's how you draw a pair of ****s using just the keyboard!

learn something new every day..... :icon_cheers:

 

[raven19]

...now all the grief i get is when she walks past me on the laptop and simply asks: "beer buddies again" and shakes her head....

Almost word for word in our house too!

 

[Bribie G]

so that's how you draw a pair of ****s using just the keyboard!

learn something new every day..... :icon_cheers:

Another good one is Alt +2+4+8 which gives you the degree symbol in, for example 15 C
There are other combinations but this one is real easy to remember.
OOps off topic

 

[manticle]

How does that compare to ****s bribie?

That's right, it can't.

 

[QldKev]

How does that compare to ****s bribie?

That's right, it can't.

Maybe BribieG likes to play with ( . Y . ) which are at 15c

QldKev

 

[Bribie G]

That would be necrophilia
Dead boring



h34r:

 

[Sunshine_Brewer]

5kg sacks of rice at Coles today for 5 bucks, so 20% of your grain bill for 1 dollar. AG is cheap and plentiful at my place.

 

[Bribie G]

Back on topic, that's another aspect of AG. Because you are using diastatic base malt it opens up a huge field of recipes using unmalted adjuncts you can't do with kit or extract - for example Classic American Pilseners (maize) - Asian / International lagers (rice) - oatmeal stout - Stouts using flaked barley - not to mention the range of malts such as Amber, Acidulated, Abbey (and that's just the a's )
As the last poster said you can often get the adjuncts for a fraction of the cost of malted barley and this can be a real saving.

 

[Nick JD]

As the last poster said you can often get the adjuncts for a fraction of the cost of malted barley and this can be a real saving.

25kg sak of SUGAZ! Wonderful lazyass adjunct.

 

[Superoo]

Hey Fergi,
If it makes you feel any better, I thought the same when I started buying the equipment and ingredients I needed to do my fisrt AG, and was busily trying to justify it to SWMBO.

But then I tasted my first AG, and it was fully justified, and the cost was irrelevant.

As others have said, its how much you buy thats the key.
I now buy 500g hop bags for my regular brews, and have grown some cascade and chinook.
Plus buying bags of grain and reusing yeast is a big saving.

The main problem I have now, is being caught between showing off to visitors just how good my home brew is and seeing the surprise when they do taste it,
and the fact that if they do taste it, you cant bloody get rid of them !

 

[Mikedub]

Its all true..... now........can we get back to talking about (.Y.)