At last, a hobby that saves money!

[butisitart]

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??????

making all grain wouldn't be half the price of kit base, and it's like fresh stew compared to canned stew. it's another level. it just costs a dumping to move up. (and you'll never drink kit again haha). even though kit is still a step up from commercial.

 

[butisitart]

Don't mean to sound like I don't believe you, but how can a 20l batch (that's 2.5 cartons) cost you $12 - $16 in ingredients? Hops alone are $10 for 100g and then malt on top is around $3 a kilo at bulk prices? And yeast would be at LEAST $5 even if doing a started, 1 packet of liquid $15 plus $20 of DME for starters is $3.50 per batch if doing 10 generations of one strain from starters?

Then sugar for priming, sanitiser, electricity etc etc.

my brew last week, bottled yesterday-
＄0.15 ph 5.2 stabilzer - tsp
$18 Pearl, 6kg @ $3kg, (sack on special)
$3 Barret Burston pale malt 1kg @$3 (last of sack, on special)
$1.60 Voyager Voodoo 400g @ $4kg (crystal, on special)
$2.93 Dr Rudi 45gm @ $6.50 Hg (from 1kg bulk)
$0.18 Aurora 5gm @3.70 Hg (on special)
0.16 whirfloc half tab
$0.96 Dextrose 320gm@$3 kg (bottle primer)
$1.10 LDME 100g@ $11kg
Lallemand Nottingham recycle @10c (bending here, as full priced on the brew that the original yeast went into)
yeast nutrient was boiled old bread yeast (for 10mins) works a treat. wife freebie.
this batch all with flip top bottles, so no caps.
sanitizer costs so little that i don't add it, but let's call it 5c.
split the grainfather to 2 fermenters, so looking at 3.8 - 3.9% abv


total $28.30 divided by 5.1 ctn (46L/9L per carton = $5.66 ctn.
ok, no electricity - but the rest is there. and a simple ale haha.
hadn't considered it before, but yeah, little things like no capping costs, and that particular yeast is super aggressive, so 500ml each starter on a recycle still blew straight through the airlock.

 

[kadmium]

my brew last week, bottled yesterday-
＄0.15 ph 5.2 stabilzer - tsp
$18 Pearl, 6kg @ $3kg, (sack on special)
$3 Barret Burston pale malt 1kg @$3 (last of sack, on special)
$1.60 Voyager Voodoo 400g @ $4kg (crystal, on special)
$2.93 Dr Rudi 45gm @ $6.50 Hg (from 1kg bulk)
$0.18 Aurora 5gm @3.70 Hg (on special)
0.16 whirfloc half tab
$0.96 Dextrose 320gm@$3 kg (bottle primer)
$1.10 LDME 100g@ $11kg
Lallemand Nottingham recycle @10c (bending here, as full priced on the brew that the original yeast went into)
yeast nutrient was boiled old bread yeast (for 10mins) works a treat. wife freebie.
this batch all with flip top bottles, so no caps.
sanitizer costs so little that i don't add it, but let's call it 5c.
split the grainfather to 2 fermenters, so looking at 3.8 - 3.9% abv


total $28.30 divided by 5.1 ctn (46L/9L per carton = $5.66 ctn.
ok, no electricity - but the rest is there. and a simple ale haha.
hadn't considered it before, but yeah, little things like no capping costs, and that particular yeast is super aggressive, so 500ml each starter on a recycle still blew straight through the airlock.

Man that is epic. I'm amazed how much cheaper it gets with bulk buy grain.

That's it I'm buying a mill!

Thanaks for the breakdown!

 

[Luxo_Aussie]

my brew last week, bottled yesterday-
＄0.15 ph 5.2 stabilzer - tsp
$18 Pearl, 6kg @ $3kg, (sack on special)
$3 Barret Burston pale malt 1kg @$3 (last of sack, on special)
$1.60 Voyager Voodoo 400g @ $4kg (crystal, on special)
$2.93 Dr Rudi 45gm @ $6.50 Hg (from 1kg bulk)
$0.18 Aurora 5gm @3.70 Hg (on special)
0.16 whirfloc half tab
$0.96 Dextrose 320gm@$3 kg (bottle primer)
$1.10 LDME 100g@ $11kg
Lallemand Nottingham recycle @10c (bending here, as full priced on the brew that the original yeast went into)
yeast nutrient was boiled old bread yeast (for 10mins) works a treat. wife freebie.
this batch all with flip top bottles, so no caps.
sanitizer costs so little that i don't add it, but let's call it 5c.
split the grainfather to 2 fermenters, so looking at 3.8 - 3.9% abv


total $28.30 divided by 5.1 ctn (46L/9L per carton = $5.66 ctn.
ok, no electricity - but the rest is there. and a simple ale haha.
hadn't considered it before, but yeah, little things like no capping costs, and that particular yeast is super aggressive, so 500ml each starter on a recycle still blew straight through the airlock.

Wow. I thought I was doing well having my beer cost 0.80 EUR (1.30 AUD) per litre (11.70/ctn) for ingredients/consumables but feeling a bit insignificant after reading this... It's a passion though, can't put a price on happiness!

 

[Nullnvoid]

If you are still buying hops by the 100g then you are being a fool to yourself and a burden to others

But seriously, there is cheaper hops out there if you go searching.

 

[kadmium]

If you are still buying hops by the 100g then you are being a fool to yourself and a burden to others

But seriously, there is cheaper hops out there if you go searching.

I use too many varieties to buy bulk. But also, i have been known to be a fool hahaha.

In all honesty, I'm happy that on average I brew a 20L batch for around $40 which works out at $20 a slab or just under. And that's buying hops by the gram LOL

 

[butisitart]

you're in Lux?? waaauuggh!!! beautiful part of euro. if i manage to get back there i''ll be headed straight for andy schleck's cafe.
oh, for accounting, i felt a bit guilty about cheating on the cleaning and electricity, but they go into plant and equip anyway, and not into actual ingredients (according to my spreadsheet), so it's all good. and yeast was accounted in full in the brew that the pack was opened. problem there (if i were to go to the n th degree) is that when you open a new yeast pack, you don't know how many times you'll use it, so you don't know the price per use. so the price all goes on the first use. when in full swing, i rarely buy yeast - and usually out of boredom.
kadmium - i know they seem hideously expensive, but if you're serious about a mill - i went with a millmaster, which was hideously expensive, after much reviewing and looking around, so i got one of the first of the fluted rollers that came out, with a Renegade torque drill ($340 for both, Feb 2016) ), and hopper when available a few weeks later. never looked back. i only bought it cos i couldn't get a grain supplier to mill roughly enough for a grainfather, so i kept getting really thick burnt toffee on the bottom of the boiler which took days to get off. i was a bit pissed off with the extra expense at the time, but now i wouldn't have it any other way .
pic shows mill set-up. drill lives there permanently. table $0 at footpath furniture emporium haha. couldn't believe it - a perfect fit for the bucket.
can post a breakdown of more expensive brew if interested.
have a salubrious weekend

 

[butisitart]

i buy whatever is currently highest alpha hops bulk, for the bittering backbone. (usually 1kg). so currently working through a Dr Rudi kg.
the rest (about 15 at present) are 50-100gm and obviously more expensive, but if you use them as later additions, you don't use a whole lot. would like eg 1kg styrian and 1kg fuggles on tap, but have wife and freezer space to contend with haha

 

[GalBrew]

ha Ha ha . How you could say me old mate that I seem to take exception and personal offence to everyone who disagrees with my position about the cheap cost of home brewing beer… Is in itself astonishing. I of all people most certainly do not take exception to ANYONE'S opinion at all and further, I encourage it because forums are such a great place for people with the same interests to engage with each other, and share their experiences, and learn from everybody, so with the greatest respect, I certainly don't agree with this comment of yours. I will, reiterate that whilst homebrewing most certainly is a budget conscious way of enjoying your favourite beer, to me, that pales into insignificance in that you can produce some amazing beer and, shock, horror, you can do it at an inexpensive way. I must confess that I have not read members comments before or after yours because it is nearing 10 PM, and myself and two friends are getting into one of my home brews so I need to be somewhat succinct in my reply. I can't even remember if I mentioned the fact that I was an accountant and for you to discuss issues like equipment costs and electricity and all these sort of things, to me, means you really have not understood the concept of what a hobby is. I am an avid fisherman, and I can assure you that I could buy the fish I catch, and this year, I have caught a lot, would have been so much cheaper to buy from the shop. This to me and I have no doubt the absolute majority of people on this forum is a hobby. And I know I said somewhere in previous posts, much like the old saying "friends with benefits", this is a "hobby with benefits". I just re-read one of your comments about accounting for the time you spend brewing beer, and with that comment, it clearly means, that there is nothing I can say, but please do not suggest that I am not open to other people's opinion because that comment is completely baseless.



Have a good night



Cheers and Beers Big Ears

If I have misconstrued some the tone of your post then let me offer an apology. Also I fully agree that the best part of homebrewing is being able to craft any beer you want, which is far more satisfying than buying someone else's.....that was never in question. But I personally have spent far more money that I probably should have on different brewing setups over the years (5 different systems to date, some big some small, ended up very happy with one of the early Grainfathers) to only find out it didn't really suit me. Anyway my point is I may never recoup the cost of all of this 'lost' equipment. Not that it matters, but I just can't call it a cheap hobby.

Now when will the courier deliver me my third Tilt?

 

[butisitart]

you've got 2 tilts??? waaaaaauuuuuuggggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!
i hate you haha
according to the treasury, she say that if i get a tilt for xmas (i'd love even one of them. i need one. i cannot brew in the modern world without one), then i can get the ss 65L with temp control in 2033 if i'm a good boy. or i can get the ss65L for xmas 2027 and the tilt in 2033.
i'm considering my options. it's 10:56, almost time to knock the top off a 23.6 cent beer and contemplate my savings.

 

[GalBrew]

you've got 2 tilts??? waaaaaauuuuuuggggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!
i hate you haha
according to the treasury, she say that if i get a tilt for xmas (i'd love even one of them. i need one. i cannot brew in the modern world without one), then i can get the ss 65L with temp control in 2033 if i'm a good boy. or i can get the ss65L for xmas 2027 and the tilt in 2033.
i'm considering my options. it's 10:56, almost time to knock the top off a 23.6 cent beer and contemplate my savings.

Tilts are an essential part of the process. I can't be expected to take multiple gravity samples for multiple beers!

 

[butisitart]

Tilts are an essential part of the process. I can't be expected to take multiple gravity samples for multiple beers!

double waaaaauuuuuugggghhh!!!!!!!!!!
how can i ever brew a decent beer if i don't even have access to an essential part of the process?????
i have copied your reply and shall include in my next written submission to the treasury.
atttached pls find part of treasury submissions folio, Vol2, 2020

 

[GalBrew]

double waaaaauuuuuugggghhh!!!!!!!!!!
how can i ever brew a decent beer if i don't even have access to an essential part of the process?????
i have copied your reply and shall include in my next written submission to the treasury.
atttached pls find part of treasury submissions folio, Vol2, 2020

I wish you well on your quest. Also it arrived today!

 

[butisitart]

n

 

[butisitart]

I wish you well on your quest. Also it arrived today!

darren the not overly sober couriered you a 3rd tilt?? i'm gonna needle him so i can get one too.
when i finish my degree and get my first pay packet, i'm gonna buy 4 tilts, no, 6 tilts and a star encrusted beer wand and a leaning tower of ss65 fermenters and send you a photo. yeah.
waaaaauuuuuggghhh!!!!!

 

[DarrenTheDrunk]

Well.. this is my FINAL comment on this topic. we certainly have some very special people on this forum which I am not complaining about...certainly not as it all adds to a bit of entertainment and lets face it...life is way better with a bit of fun

Good night all

 

[butisitart]

Well.. this is my FINAL comment on this topic. we certainly have some very special people on this forum which I am not complaining about...certainly not as it all adds to a bit of entertainment and lets face it...life is way better with a bit of fun

Good night all

good night darren

 

[butisitart]

oh, the one i didn't mention on the cost per carton - all up average cost per carton for ingredients only, across 171 brews - currently $6.59 per carton. that drifts a bit downwards heading into summer with wheats, kolsch, simple ales etc, and goes a bit north heading into winter with a string of brews you can drink at the fireplace while contemplating frostbite and daylight. so if i drop a $16 wyeast into a brew, that brew will be more expensive, the next however many on recycle won't have that cost attached. hope this clears up the dodgy accounting. starsan etc are considered part of plant, so not counted in brew ingredient cost.
all done

 

[DarrenTheDrunk]

I only hope you understand your post mate...

 

[AMcgreg]

i think i am already on that path ... its like bikes, and fishing rods the ideal number of gear ot bit of kit is always N+1