Cheapest Beer You've Ever Done

[phinnsfotos]

I was going to post this, then I thought, nah that's a stupid topic and then I thought, well if it is stupid then no one will reply, and that's cool.

I've been umming and arring about putting down a something really cheap just to see how it turns out. Something like:

1.7Kg Coopers Real Ale (or Dark Ale)
1 Kg Sugar (white or raw)
Maybe dry hop 10gm of what ever is lying around (there's always 10gms of something that isn't going to get used)

With Coopers kits going for $9 every now and again and a buck for sugar. Even if I only bottled a dozen just to see how it went. Just for a bit of a laugh/experiment.

Please don't bother with any of the "Life's too short for bad beer", "I'm a craft brewer", "You must be a megaswiller" comments. It's just a bit of fun and I do agree with the first comment at the very least. But I thought it would be interesting just to see, and who knows maybe even find a brainlessly simple shelf filler.

And even if it's a complete failure, for $10 the lawn will get some nutrients and I'll get a couple hours of entertainment Which all in all is a win.

Cheers,
Finn.

 

[Swinging Beef]

English Mild.

2.5 kg ale malt at $1.50/kg
1kg of munic malt at $1.5/kg
3rd gen yeast from a Danstar Nottingham pack, so .. say... $1.00
40g of egk hops at around $55/kg so $2.20
$8.45
Same as yours mate!

Plus my electricity bill, but I have no idea how much that would be.

 

[phinnsfotos]

I reckon that would be mighty tasty as well Swinging Beer

 

[Cube]

There was a rather large thread on this not that long ago. Called "Supermarket kits" or something like that. It was all about getting the cheapest beer possible and all ingredients from a supermarket. If I find it I'll post a link.

 

[bum]

well if it is stupid then no one will reply

You've been here too long to believe this. h34r:

My cheapest would be:
Coopers Lager tin - free
Coopers Brewing Sugar - free
some crystal left over from previous batch - effectively free but I suppose it was a couple bucks worth.

Coincedentally my worst ever brew (by a long margin) would be:
Coopers Lager tin - free
Coopers Brewing Sugar - free
some crystal left over from previous batch - effectively free but I suppose it was a couple bucks worth.

Having said that I tried it 9 months or so after bottling and it was actually drinkable. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was good but definitely drinkable.

 

[Weizguy]

<abbrev>
I was going to post this, then I thought, nah that's a stupid topic and then I thought, well if it is stupid then no one will reply, and that's cool.



Cheers,
Finn.
</abbrev>

Even if it's stupid, pointless, inane, trite or even trivial...

Chappo WILL reply or post.

sponsored by the Chappo-baiting association (of AHB).

 

[phinnsfotos]

I guess I should actually put my cheapest:

Coopers English Bitter
500gm Light Dry Malt
Kit yeast

Hardly original, and not as cheap as it could be, but I really enjoyed it.

 

[petesbrew]

Did a toucan of Farmland Draught once I got on special for $1.50 a can.
Honestly it was more of a waste of $3. :lol:

 

[Nick JD]

I occasionally make a brew with $2.20kg ale malt and hops that have been previously used for dry hopping (still gots their bittering acids!) with reused yeast.

...about 40c a liter. Tastes just like Megaswill, mainly because it pretty much is. Nothing like drinking a cold schooner that cost you 18c and tastes better than VB.

 

[phinnsfotos]

Never thought about reusing hops that way. How do you handle them after dry hoping? Obviously the get boiled so you don't need to be surgical, but still I thought they would mould up pretty quickly.

 

[Nick JD]

Never thought about reusing hops that way. How do you handle them after dry hoping? Obviously the get boiled so you don't need to be surgical, but still I thought they would mould up pretty quickly.

Laziness alert!

I dry hop in swiss voile "swags" tied with string. After bottling, I whip out the swag, rinse off all the trub and give it a few squeezes to flush out the beer in it ... and then chuck it in the freezer.

Then when your next wort is boiling, you open the freezer and there's 20g of hops pre-bagged. Chuck it in the boil as the 60 minute addition.

BTW - I use 40cm squares of voile so the hops are not restricted.

 

[Hatchy]

Coopers ginger beer kit with a kilo of raw sugar. At under $11 for the batch or around 37c per longneck it's actually not too bad

 

[Fourstar]

Cheapest but best beer would probably be the Saaz Ale for my mates 21st @ around $12-15 bucks in raw ingredients. (i didnt end up using the crystal there.)

Cieran 21st Saaz
Cream Ale

Type: All Grain
Date: 20/12/2009
Batch Size: 23.00 L
Brewer: Braden
Boil Size: 30.90 L
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: My Brew Pot (40L) and Frosty Cooler (38L)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.0

Ingredients
4.50 kg Pilsner, Malt Craft Export (Joe White) (1.7 SRM) Grain 90.0 %
0.30 kg Carafoam (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.0 %
0.20 kg Crystal (Joe White) (34.2 SRM) Grain 4.0 %
20.00 gm Magnum [12.10%] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 30.4 IBU
20.00 gm Saaz [4.30%] (20 min) Hops 6.0 IBU
30.00 gm Saaz [4.30%] (0 min) Hops -
3.00 gm Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
5.00 gm Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.047 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.5 %
Bitterness: 36.4 IBU
Est Color: 4.8 SRM

Mash Profile
Mash In Add 14.00 L of water at 70.8 C 65.0 C 75 min
Mash Out Add 10.00 L of water at 78.0 C 70.0 C 10 min

Notes
2g cacl in mash
3g CaCl 3g CaSO4 in Boil

 

[MarkBastard]

I've only done one 'cheap beer' that I've actually finished the whole keg of.

It was a Coopers Canadian Blonde kit, some sort of Brigalow Brew Enhancer, and 20g of Willamette dry hopped in the keg.

Nothing special, but drinkable, it came out clean without much kit twang and the dry hopping was resiny and nice.

 

[Pollux]

I've done quite a few simple ales for around the $13 mark....

Normally 5.5kg of whatever base malt I happen to feel like using, 20-30grams of hops, and a sachet from a bulk pack of US05 I bought ages ago.

 

[Bribie G]

What got me back into home brewing was the Rudd alcopop tax - I thought "now I bet anyone with a bit of nous could make a perfectly good alcopop at home for next to nothing" so I bought a fermenter set, a pack of champagne yeast, 4kg of white sugar, some yeast nutrients and a pack of ground ginger from the Indian Supermarket in the valley and made a couple of 7% ginger beer brews that I reckon set me back 30c a litre, drunk for less than a dollar. I dressed it up with crushed ice, mint leaves, Buderim ginger cordial and a cocktail umbrella and it was bloody nice and refreshing.

Then I thought "now I've got the fermenter I might do a Coopers Stout". Thank you Kevin, you'll never know how you changed my life :lol:

 

[kuzzy]

Many years ago I grabed a bavarian larger kit and a Kg of sugar as the shop had no dex, but in my haste I grabed a 1kg kit that had 25% extra = 1.25kg. I did not notice the extra sugar until the yeast was in. Long story short it was a geat tasting beer and a few tallies would knock me on my bum!

 

[praxis178]

Many years ago I grabed a bavarian larger kit and a Kg of sugar as the shop had no dex, but in my haste I grabed a 1kg kit that had 25% extra = 1.25kg. I did not notice the extra sugar until the yeast was in. Long story short it was a geat tasting beer and a few tallies would knock me on my bum!

Made many of those, started out that way many years ago, only recently have a started to stray from the kit and sugar path. Must admit that I really do like the "new" scenery much better than the old, and it still puts me on me bum after a couple of tallies (well 3-4 grolschies anyway)! :lol:

 

[phinnsfotos]

I'm always surprised by just adding a little more sugar and upping the ABV by only .5% or so can have such an effect on the drinker. I added 500gm of Rasberry Jam to a wheat beer I did and it's got noticeably more effect as you drink. I guess I should get around to making a Mild one day to see if it has the opposite affect.

 

[stuart13]

I occasionally make a brew with ... hops that have been previously used for dry hopping (still gots their bittering acids!) ....

And I thought I was a tight arse - I salute you!