At last, a hobby that saves money!

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you are joking aren't you re the saving money bit :)
 
Love the joke, homebrewing would have to be the most expensive way to save money that I know of. Saying that I can't get the flavours and satisfaction from any commercial beer that I can from my home brew.
 
Early in my homebrewing days, I told a wise, elderly client how much money I was saving by brewing my own beer. He replied that I must drink a lot of beer. He was right. It is a hobby that you can get into in varying degrees. If I had the money, time and space, maybe I could go a bit overboard.
 
Do any of you really tally things up? Consumption vs price outlay? vs satisfaction too.
Anyone fill in the individual ingredient prices into your brewing software? To get an accurate brew/cost etc. I'm lucky in a way my home brewing kit is an esky and keggle, basic stuff to make up to 45lt batches. I grow a couple of kilo home grown hops each year that I take as free, but that's considerable time and effort too etc.
Remember that your hours put in are a holiday in self indulgence free of expense. So all good home brew consumed is a bonus especially when I tally up my beer as less than 30% of the retail pricing.
Pffft! If I was to resort to paying retail price on shit/boring beer what kind of homebrewer would I be?
 
Do any of you really tally things up? Consumption vs price outlay? vs satisfaction too.
Anyone fill in the individual ingredient prices into your brewing software? To get an accurate brew/cost etc. I'm lucky in a way my home brewing kit is an esky and keggle, basic stuff to make up to 45lt batches. I grow a couple of kilo home grown hops each year that I take as free, but that's considerable time and effort too etc.
Remember that your hours put in are a holiday in self indulgence free of expense. So all good home brew consumed is a bonus especially when I tally up my beer as less than 30% of the retail pricing.
Pffft! If I was to resort to paying retail price on shit/boring beer what kind of homebrewer would I be?


Yeah I really am taking the piss somewhat. It's definitely an overall saving.

If someone drinks a case a week and buys a middle of the road psuedo-craft IPA lets say 52wks x $70/case = $3640 per year for ~478L of beer

My house IPA which is pretty highly hopped costs about $1.70/l (I pay <$60 for a 25kg sack of base malt) = $1.70 x 478 = $813

So that's $2827 (obviously ex power, water, cleaning consumables costs etc) you can afford to spend PA on equipment and still break even.
 
I have only been BIAB for less than 6 months and before I commited I did the sums. My ball park calcs were similar to Engibeer. I came up with my cost of ingredients only, at about $2 a litre. This did not include consumables, LPG, CO2, water, cleaning chemicals whatever. My previous beer tastes were also a bit higher as I tended to buy 4 packs and 6 packs of craft beer on whim. I justified it as research. I have spent less than $1000 on brewing gear, fridge, freezer, kegs and two CO2 bottles to date. Most gear was new, some I picked up second hand and some bits I already had. I will definately break even in less than 12 months. The main reason I decided to jump in and invest in gear was the price war going on late last year and still continuing with no end in sight. I did not like the idea of bottling and would not have gone to kegging at the old inflated previous.
 
I think Dan nailed it it is the process and learning which is probably most rewarding, hobbies do cost money, fishing has cost me far more than brewing, get great pleasure from both.
Greetings and welcome back Sharpy
 
I have included all my on costs into my spreadsheet from my original purchases (equipment, fridge, temp controller, stir plate etc.etc.) add a small percentage for utilities and I am now way ahead on cost savings when comparing cost per bottle, $2 per bottle out of a store bought carton compared to 50 cents per bottle of home brew. I am really loving what I am producing now and have enjoyed all the beers along my progress. I'm now onto brew number 33 and believe the beer I am producing is the best I've had (for my tastes and my neighbours) compared to any store bought stuff. Admittedly I still use the kit base as the absolute base beginnings and with added ingredients and hops I am producing my nectar of the gods. Having said that I am not sure if I am saving, pocket wise, I'm now drinking 4 times as much as before I I started brewing and I now prefer to go to the fridge rather than the gym, but life seems to be a little better now than it was. And my neighbours seem to be visiting more regularly for a chat???? They always bring a couple with them and drink a few before they go??????
 
I remember about 12 years ago I bought a starter kit. Didnt take long before I relised It's called a starter kit for a reason. I'm still looking for the end.
The more you drink the more money you save 😆👍🍺
A bit like in the gambling vernacular, "The more money you spend, the more you win!"
 
Actually, I'm saving money. All my equipment has been amortized for years. I'm using the same gear I had ten+ years ago. I'm not into the latest new flashy piece of stainless steel. Last gimmick I bought was an auto-siphon which ended up in the trash ten minutes after I first used it.

All I'm paying for is ingredients, power, and water. Time doesn't count because it's pleasant time, not work.
 
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