[ravenwater]

"Not why I do it." Exactly my sentiment. Early on I figured out I'd keep sinking money into equipment and I wasn't chasing any cost savings, even just counting ingredients. For me it's about love of the process and not worrying too much about expense. Whatever it costs I seem able to handle it in the budget.

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

I probably average 5 to 6 5-gal batches per year.  I have weight and prescription interactions that limit my consumption to 5 to 6 pints a week at most. I had been sharing the a few bottles with an older gentleman ( the "saint" who taught me how to brew), but he died two years ago and had also been taking two or three bottles to monthly brew club meetings.

I had also recently invested in kegging equipment so that I could donate a keg occasionally to brew club fund-raisers, but with the virus that is now on hold.

My primary reason to brew is to make the kind of beer I like to drink year-round but can seldom find.

Counting the outlay for equipment and my limited consumption, I'll probably never break even in terms of cost. Equipment aside, each batch doesn't cost too much.  I don't use RO water, but treat tap water with camden tabs and a few grams each of calcium chloride and gypsum, buy 50 lb bags of base malt from a local brew pub at their cost with no shipping, use dry yeast and no more than 1 oz of hops per 5 -gal batch.  My water utility has a set rate for minimum usage and most months I stay within the minimum.

I have however found one place I can save money by buying a beer at a commercial establishment.  In the PCV days (pre corona virus) my lady friend would drag me to a casino that had craft beer on draft.  Often that seat at the bar was much less expensive than the ones at the table games or in front of the slots.

[fredthecat]

re: saving money buying beer out of the house.

I lived in Korea previously, where beer at restaurants and anywhere is very, very cheap, especially compared to Canada. But it is universally terrible, just very bubbly, very corny, awful 4.5-5% pale lager.

However, I wondered if I could make a kind of extract that I could bring with me and add to say a pitcher of beer. Hyper concentrated roasted malt, crystal extract liquid that is very heavily hopped. Add say 100ml to 1 litre of crap macro lager and it turns it into something.


Anyone ever considered this? Here, the beer is too expensive to bother contemplating this idea.

[fredthecat]

Ya know, after 22 years I've never analyzed cost.

http://www.dennybrew.com "Cheap 'n' Easy Batch Sparge Brewing"

Perhaps this is just a kind of phrase the conjunction of "cheap AND easy" as a way of saying "simple to do".

Anyway, the setup pictured there is VERY, very similar to what I use for the most part. Let me know if you want an approximate cost rundown, maybe I can help you out Denny.

[denny]

Ya know, after 22 years I've never analyzed cost.

http://www.dennybrew.com "Cheap 'n' Easy Batch Sparge Brewing"

Perhaps this is just a kind of phrase the conjunction of "cheap AND easy" as a way of saying "simple to do".

Anyway, the setup pictured there is VERY, very similar to what I use for the most part. Let me know if you want an approximate cost rundown, maybe I can help you out Denny.

Thanks, but it doesn't really matter to me.  If I ca afgord tp brew or buy equipment, I do.  If not, I don't. I brew for enjoyment, not economic reasons.

[goose]

Ya know, after 22 years I've never analyzed cost.

Thanks, but it doesn't really matter to me.  If I ca afgord tp brew or buy equipment, I do.  If not, I don't. I brew for enjoyment, not economic reasons.

^^^^^This!

[BrewBama]

Ya know, after 22 years I've never analyzed cost.

http://www.dennybrew.com "Cheap 'n' Easy Batch Sparge Brewing"

Perhaps this is just a kind of phrase the conjunction of "cheap AND easy" as a way of saying "simple to do".

Anyway, the setup pictured there is VERY, very similar to what I use for the most part. Let me know if you want an approximate cost rundown, maybe I can help you out Denny.

Thanks, but it doesn't really matter to me.  If I ca afgord tp brew or buy equipment, I do.  If not, I don't. I brew for enjoyment, not economic reasons.

While I certainly agree based on my comment in #22 above: “It’s a hobby. It’s not meant to be cost effective”, ...but surely at some point economics must have been a variable simply based on the term ‘cheap’ in Cheap n Easy.  In addition, I recall being told I am doing something the most expensive way which also infers economic concern.

It seems we all evolve from “the simple, hands on approach to brewing.“. I know I certainly did because my initial all grain system was based on the Cheap n Easy system, Don O, old Northern Brewer videos, and others. 

With automation like the “Pico stable” as Drew says on the podcast, or the Grainfather, or glycol chiller testimonial we read about in Zymurgy, the evolution from hands on to automation moves us all closer to “pro style systems”.  Though my system is probably still more hands on than others, it does have more control points now. Flow control, mash temp control, boil control, ventilation control, etc. ...which all come with increased cost over the initial basic system.

But, like you, I am extremely happy with how my brewery has evolved. Around here cost is an independent variable.  ...within reason.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[denny]

Ya know, after 22 years I've never analyzed cost.

http://www.dennybrew.com "Cheap 'n' Easy Batch Sparge Brewing"

Perhaps this is just a kind of phrase the conjunction of "cheap AND easy" as a way of saying "simple to do".

Anyway, the setup pictured there is VERY, very similar to what I use for the most part. Let me know if you want an approximate cost rundown, maybe I can help you out Denny.

Thanks, but it doesn't really matter to me.  If I ca afgord tp brew or buy equipment, I do.  If not, I don't. I brew for enjoyment, not economic reasons.

While I certainly agree based on my comment in #22 above: “It’s a hobby. It’s not meant to be cost effective”, ...but surely at some point economics must have been a variable simply based on the term ‘cheap’ in Cheap n Easy.  In addition, I recall being told I am doing something the most expensive way which also infers economic concern.

It seems we all evolve from “the simple, hands on approach to brewing.“. I know I certainly did because my initial all grain system was based on the Cheap n Easy system, Don O, old Northern Brewer videos, and others. 

With automation like the “Pico stable” as Drew says on the podcast, or the Grainfather, or glycol chiller testimonial we read about in Zymurgy, the evolution from hands on to automation moves us all closer to “pro style systems”.  Though my system is probably still more hands on than others, it does have more control points now. Flow control, mash temp control, boil control, ventilation control, etc. ...which all come with increased cost over the initial basic system.

But, like you, I am extremely happy with how my brewery has evolved. Around here cost is an independent variable.  ...within reason.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

When I started brewing, the choices for equipment were pretty much a cooler or a 3 tier converted keg system.  I went with the cooler because I couldn't afford the other alternative.  Hence the "cheap".  I decided I was gonna batch sparge, hence the "easy".  I have a Grainfther and several Pico systems, but the cooler is what I use most often.

[fredthecat]

While I certainly agree based on my comment in #22 above: “It’s a hobby. It’s not meant to be cost effective”, ...but surely at some point economics must have been a variable simply based on the term ‘cheap’ in Cheap n Easy.  In addition, I recall being told I am doing something the most expensive way which also infers economic concern.

It seems we all evolve from “the simple, hands on approach to brewing.“. I know I certainly did because my initial all grain system was based on the Cheap n Easy system, Don O, old Northern Brewer videos, and others. 

With automation like the “Pico stable” as Drew says on the podcast, or the Grainfather, or glycol chiller testimonial we read about in Zymurgy, the evolution from hands on to automation moves us all closer to “pro style systems”.  Though my system is probably still more hands on than others, it does have more control points now. Flow control, mash temp control, boil control, ventilation control, etc. ...which all come with increased cost over the initial basic system.

Very good point, yes. At one time there WERE NO grainfather/ glycol cooling type stuff, so ones pride in their brewing system was based on their actual skills, ie. electrical system rigging, welding etc.


It's a very different world out there now for homebrewing. Do I have less respect for people I meet who have only started within the past few years?

Yes lol.

Can they probably make better and more consistent beer than me?

Yes.

[denny]

While I certainly agree based on my comment in #22 above: “It’s a hobby. It’s not meant to be cost effective”, ...but surely at some point economics must have been a variable simply based on the term ‘cheap’ in Cheap n Easy.  In addition, I recall being told I am doing something the most expensive way which also infers economic concern.

It seems we all evolve from “the simple, hands on approach to brewing.“. I know I certainly did because my initial all grain system was based on the Cheap n Easy system, Don O, old Northern Brewer videos, and others. 

With automation like the “Pico stable” as Drew says on the podcast, or the Grainfather, or glycol chiller testimonial we read about in Zymurgy, the evolution from hands on to automation moves us all closer to “pro style systems”.  Though my system is probably still more hands on than others, it does have more control points now. Flow control, mash temp control, boil control, ventilation control, etc. ...which all come with increased cost over the initial basic system.

Very good point, yes. At one time there WERE NO grainfather/ glycol cooling type stuff, so ones pride in their brewing system was based on their actual skills, ie. electrical system rigging, welding etc.


It's a very different world out there now for homebrewing. Do I have less respect for people I meet who have only started within the past few years?

Yes lol.

Can they probably make better and more consistent beer than me?

Yes.

I think it's a real canard to equate brewing expertise with how hard people work.  After all, what's the difference between a Grainfather and a 3 tier, PID controlled system?  It' all about the outcome.  The journey is up to each of us individually.  And I never had pride in my brewing equipment.  It's always been about what I can do with whatever I use.

[erockrph]

I think I enjoy brewing beer more than I enjoy drinking it. I'm finally getting back to brewing after a few years of not getting to do much of it, but at my peak I would brew 2 or 3 times a month even though I'd only have maybe 4 or 5 beers a week. I moved to smaller batch sizes, and moving to kegs made it simpler to dump a batch when I was ready to move on to the next. There's no right way to do it - it's a hobby, whatever makes it enjoyable for you is how you should do it!

[HopDen]

I checked my brewing for last year and I brewed 330 gallons of beer. Only 25 or 30 went into oak so I drink a lot of beer and so do my friends and neighbors. I should consider getting some help for my drinking problem..... nah I'll just have to make more friends to help me drink it all!!

[EchoValley]

2018 = 17 - 5 gallon batches
2019 = 20 - 5 gallon batches
2020 so far 6 - 5 gallon batches

In '18 & '19 I brewed for a couple of tasting parties we had each year.  Have a 7 tap keezer, and try to keep at least 5 beers on except for parties.  I don't expect that to be the case in 2020 "The Year of the Pandemic".  I'll still be brewing but at a reduced rate.  Definitely don't brew to save money and we still buy some beers from our favorite breweries in KY because well...we like beer.

[pete b]

I think I enjoy brewing beer more than I enjoy drinking it. I'm finally getting back to brewing after a few years of not getting to do much of it, but at my peak I would brew 2 or 3 times a month even though I'd only have maybe 4 or 5 beers a week. I moved to smaller batch sizes, and moving to kegs made it simpler to dump a batch when I was ready to move on to the next. There's no right way to do it - it's a hobby, whatever makes it enjoyable for you is how you should do it!

Eric!!
How are you?
Just been back here myself after a long hiatus.

[fredthecat]

Ok, so basically everyone says they "don't brew to save money".

Just realized the key factor that must be explained here.

In Ontario, in Canada, the taxes on beer are insane and sort of complex. 1. The government controls the sale of all alcohol much more strictly than in America, the vast majority sold at government stores the LCBO and "The Beer Store" (of Ontario) and now a select few large scale supermarkets.

There is an absolute minimum price on beer, roughly 2 dollars a can for the absolute cheapest garbage of 5% alcohol. You can not buy 99 cent oilcans of malt liquor or things like that. Higher alcohol results in higher prices, however better beer is not always as significantly expensive as in America, especially European Imports. The Ontario government is one of the biggest single purchasing entities of alcohol in the world, and it gets priority and good deals from established alcohol makers.

In short, I like good beer and actually good beer starts at around 3 dollars a bottle or can, so when I can make largely comparable styles of beer that I want for ~$1/500ml vs. ~$3 it does matter.

I am not in poor financial states, but I just don't like wasting money. Also there are some styles that are very very underrepresented here, as the government does basically control what brands are allowed in. It's quite hard now to get a variety of good english bitters, stronger ales and decent not-overly expensive stouts and porters.