I've never understood why people always want to apply this argument. Why should we factor in an hourly rate? If you were spending time homebrewing when you should be working perhaps, but this is a hobby.
The cost of ingredients is a valid cost because you spend that money, but unless homebrewing is something you do when you could, or rather would, be earning money, then factoring in an hourly cost isn't valid.
It would be like saying I shouldn't bother buying groceries and cooking because once you factor in the hourly rate it is much cheaper to simply buy takeaway food all the time. (Note: of course people may do this, and that's their choice)
If you work 75 hours a week for $50p/h, have a family and the weekend off - no matter how much you love your brewing hobby it simply does not make sense to brew because you are time poor and cash rich.
Sure, there's no need to factor in an hourly rate when you have time to brew that doesn't subtract from other commitments. Not everyone has this luxury; some people value their family more than their hobbies.
A friend of mine rolls his eyes when he hears how long it takes to make beer and swigs his can of XXXX Gold. He's rich and busy; I've got all day.
I know K&K brewers who will never move to AG because they don't see that spending hours crafting award-winning beers is more fun than going surfing, or playing sport with their kids. They brew K&K because it saves money, but also doesn't take hours of their day.
If I won lotto, I'd still brew. If I had to work 75 hours a week, I would go to Dan's and go hard. brewing takes time and time (for some people) is money. Hopefully this helps in your understanding about why people want to apply this argument.
No, not automatic. But the fact that the argument exists indicates others differ from you in their opinion on the subject.
Most come to homebrewing to save money. If there was a push button machine that made award-winning beer and put it into bottles then everyone would brew - but to some people their spare time is too precious (add any monetary synonym here) to be spent (again, any monetary synonym here) mashing grain when they have enough cash to blow on beer and sit in the pool drinking it.
To those people, they wouldn't brew if you paid them $50 an hour. That's the monetary value these people place on brewing. If they became time rich and cash poor they'd start brewing again.
And that's why it actually is possible to attach a time figure to brewing.
Nick, your argument is like comparing mowing the lawns to hiring a gardener to do it for you. The reason people do things themselves is to save money. I guess if you don't have free time however, it may be seen as money potentially earned, but if you look at it that way you should be working or sleeping.
BUt none of those things, until you pulled a $rate out of...thin air, are a value cost. Their spare time isn't precious because they could be earning x dollars, it's precious because they don't have much of it. How you choose to spend it is a value call, not an economic one.
Your original response stated "Now factor in the hours you spend brewing and your hourly rate at work.
Yup - it's not cheap at all."
Again, I have seen nothing that provides a reason for applying what you could earn at work as a time cost in homebrewing.
If you are right that most people come to homebrewing to save money, and in many cases you are, then the money they are looking to save is to the money they would spend on beer, time doesn't come into it.
What about hiring someone to mow the lawn/gardening etc so that I have time to brew beers I love and can not obtain while spending precious home time with my daughter?
Guilty as charged
Now I need to factor in his hourly rate into my beer cost too!
Exactly.
5 hours brewing on your only day off when you're pulling $3000 a week?
Just buy it. Your free time is too valuable. You might as well have done 5 hours extra work that morning and bought a week's worth of all the best beers from around the world. But you don't need to.
Those five hours of brewing just aren't worth the beer you produced. You did 70 hours this week - time to spend some of that money and relax!
This however, is not the way I think - but I can see why homebrewing is not the hobby of the fantastically wealthy or the hideously busy.
The whole discussion about the amount of time and the value you put on your time is such a complex and personal issue.
For most of us, the time we spend brewing doesnt over-lap with earning money time. I doubt any one here forgoes paid hours to brew. Therefore, I think the argument of what is your time worth falls over.
After you subtract work hours and I guess a few other necessary hours like sleeping, eating, etc, you are left with your discretionary hours.
We all make time choices how we spend this discretionary time:-
hobbies, gardening, DIY projects, family, sport etc etc. == even millionaires (like Charlie Sheen!!).
If Charlie Sheen wanted to home brew rather snot coke off whores arses, he would.
I wouldnt brew if I didnt enjoy it . even for the better beer.
I would bank my discretionary time and spend more of my discretionary $$$ on shop beer.
I brew with my kids aged 5 1/2 and 2 1/2. They add hops, yeast etc and love it. Of course, my son telling his creche teachers about beer is not ideal, but they love it.
It is like cooking- people do it because it is fun, even the wealthier amongst us. It is not cost effective to go shopping for ingredients, plan the meal, cook, clean. etc. Cheaper to go to a restaurant. Same with brewing, except it is generally cheaper than shop bought stuff, irrespective of the quality. Some may do it because it is cheaper, but it is no different than cooking (just that we generally have most of the ingredients on hand).
To my kids, it is no different to cooking.
Im in a similar position.
I have 3 kids who all share in my hobby.
They help me bottle, clean, play with kegs, shop, pour beer, searching, watching and bidding on ebay, making stuff, buying stuffetc
Brewing gives me the chance to teach them very practical aspects of science.
It is an interactive inclusive hobby.
I have even set up a soda water gun for them along side my beer, which they use to pour their own soda water so they have their own beer porn!!
