46 replies to this topic

[KSUwildcatFAN]

I haven't brewed an extract for several months, and next week will be my first AG, so I don't have a lot of AG recipe prices to compare to. But, my 10 gallon recipe (the famous Memory Lapse Pale Ale) from LHBS cost $58 for grain (they crushed), hops and yeast. Thought AG would be cheaper, but comparing to extract prices online, it's basically equal. What gives?

[RommelMagic]

Bulk pays.

+1. Bulk @ $0.70 a pound (about)

[djinkc]

I spend less than that on 20g batches. But i buy in bulk and crush my own grains. You will get a better response if you itemize your ingredients here so it can be compared to others LHBS's. Sounds to me like your on the high side. I dont think i have beers in my recipe collection that 10g would cost that much. Including those are big beers with tons of hops. Bulk pays.

Bulk is the key. Off the top of my head ingredients for 10 gal of 1.060+ beer with about 50 IBUs brewed last Friday was around $36. And that's probably on the high side.

[jayb151]

Yea, most of my 10 Gal recipes cost somewhere around $40. I buy my grain as I need it. I will say, the one time I bought a sack of grain I got four batches in about 70 bucks. I brewed extract for about 9 months then went to All-grain and the savings has allowed me to brew alot more beer! I would never be able to brew as much if I was blowing my cash on extract!

[ncbeerbrewer]

+1. Bulk @ $0.70 a pound (about)

+2. I brew most of my recipes as 5 gallon batches but I buy all base in grains in bulk and hops as well. Most of my recipes are around 15-20 a batch I believe. Bulk is the key though for sure. I think you have to go your route if you are just starting off but then if you like All Grain then Bulk buys are the best. Good Luck.Mike

[JReigle]

+3 to buying in bulk. Now that grain is back to the low 30s a bag and hops are < 20 bucks a pound the amount I spend rarely hurts. Plus I'm back to brewing IPAs like it's nobody's business

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I haven't brewed an extract for several months, and next week will be my first AG, so I don't have a lot of AG recipe prices to compare to. But, my 10 gallon recipe (the famous Memory Lapse Pale Ale) from LHBS cost $58 for grain (they crushed), hops and yeast. Thought AG would be cheaper, but comparing to extract prices online, it's basically equal. What gives?

Your LHBS is probably more expensive than online. As others have said - the savings don't kick in until you buy your grain in bulk.

[Given2fly]

As suggested, buy in bulk - I buy my 50lb sacks of 2-row for $25 from a local brewery. I also buy my hops in bulk when possible. A basic AG pale ale recipe would roughly cost:8 lbs 2-row (@ .5 a lb = $4).5 lb Crystal (.75 cents).5 lb Munich (.75 cents)2-3 ounces Hops ($2 an ounce = $6)Yeast ($6)Total 5 gallon recipe = ~$17.5 (avg batch is about 48 bottles, so each beer costs 37 cents).Same recipe converted to extract would roughly cost:8 lbs 2-row (~5 lbs of DME @ $4 a pound = $20).5 lb Crystal (.75 cents).5 lb Munich (.75 cents)2-3 ounces Hops ($2 an ounce = $6)Yeast ($6)Total 5 gallon recipe = ~$33.5(avg batch is about 48 bottles, so each beer costs 70 cents).This again is a rough estimate. Buying in bulk cuts down on the grain when ordering it by the pound.

[Big Nake]

Prices vary wildly so that may be it. MLPA is not even a big or hoppy beer so $58 seems a little high. Midwest sells Rahr 2-row for 85¢ a pound (IIRC), so 7.25 pounds of that would be 6.16. A pound of C60 (maybe $1.50) and 12 ounces of wheat (let's call it a buck) so that's 8.66 for grain. Maybe $3 to $4 for an ounce of Mt. Hoods at 5.2% plus maybe $7 for yeast. That's less than $20. Double it for $40. Making 10 gallons of extract beer for $40 would be very tough. I realize that many people like to patronize their LHBSs and the prices will certainly be higher there. You could always look online and price out the same ingredients... but then you have to pay for shipping. Or... are you making this a bigger version of MLPA with more grains and hops?? Good luck.

[ncbeerbrewer]

One other thing I forgot to add as well is reuse of yeast. I bought one pack of Wyeast 3068 and have reused it 3x with excellent results. $6.00/3 beers= $2.00 a beer for yeast

[Deerslyr]

Something isn't adding up. When I was doing extract, I wasn't even coming close to $58. I think the most expensive extract I did came in around $36. I moved to AG, and before I bought in bulk, I'm guesstimating that it would be around $30 - $35 per 5 gallon batch. After going to bulk, the price is consistently below $20. I'd be curious to see the pricing and quantity. Now... if you said you were making a double batch... that I would understand, especially if you are not buying in bulk.

[Sharkman]

Something isn't adding up. When I was doing extract, I wasn't even coming close to $58. I think the most expensive extract I did came in around $36. I moved to AG, and before I bought in bulk, I'm guesstimating that it would be around $30 - $35 per 5 gallon batch. After going to bulk, the price is consistently below $20. I'd be curious to see the pricing and quantity. Now... if you said you were making a double batch... that I would understand, especially if you are not buying in bulk.

The original poster said he paid about $58 for a 10 gallon batch. That is $29 per 5 Gallons.

[Deerslyr]

The original poster said he paid about $58 for a 10 gallon batch. That is $29 per 5 Gallons.

Thanks sharkman! As I was writing the post, I couldn't recall if that's what he was doing, and the OP wasn't showing (it was just past that point where I could still see it). Well... $29 is right in line per 5 gallons for someone not buying in bulk. Yes, he will see significant savings once he does that. Just have to look past the cost of the equipment!

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I'm too lazy to check but I think my ingredients per batch were cut in half. I did however spend some cash on equipment. I'm guessing some time before I die I might break even.

[Big Nake]

One other thing I forgot to add as well is reuse of yeast. I bought one pack of Wyeast 3068 and have reused it 3x with excellent results. $6.00/3 beers= $2.00 a beer for yeast

I agree with this... but of course this applies to extract and AG.

[KSUwildcatFAN]

OK, had some projects around the house, so I couldn't get back to this. Although it does seem settled that the price is a reflection of not buying in bulk, here's what I bought:14.5 lbs Klagas2 lbs Crystal 601.5 lbs White Wheat1 oz Mount Hood (3.9 aauu's)1 oz Traditional hallertau (6.9 aau's)2 packs of Wyeast 1056 American

[KSUwildcatFAN]

BTW - I've been using a spreadsheet showing everything I've bought or sold when brewing and I compare that cost to the amount of beer I brew and break that down into how much that quantity of beer would have cost if I bought 12 packs of bud light. Make sense? Anyway, when the invested cost (including ingredients) is less than the price of my "BL beer quantity", I'm in the black. 100 gallons to go and then I'm there.