46 replies to this topic

[KSUwildcatFAN]

Typical tight arse Wildcat fan....

Maybe, but in fairness to me, I started brewing while in school. I developed an Goose Island taste on a Schlitz budget. Buying "expensive" beer was tough to do with multiple benders per month, and buying a bunch of equipment wasn't cheap either (kegged from the start). I needed a way to justify it to myself that I wasn't just making my finances worse. 2 years later, still need 100 gallons to get there! Truth be told, I've surely forgot some odds and ends so it would need to be more beer brewed to break even. Conversely, I won't buy bud light anymore so I could change the price of the theoretical beer I would have to buy to replace the beer I brew.

[jayb151]

Truth be told, I've surely forgot some odds and ends so it would need to be more beer brewed to break even. Conversely, I won't buy bud light anymore so I could change the price of the theoretical beer I would have to buy to replace the beer I brew.

Same here. I'm still in school but I love craft brew. If I can make a 12-pack for less than 10 bucks, I'm pretty happy. That being said, My homebrewing is Super economic! Not only that, It's ecologic! How much more local can you get?!

[3rd party JKor]

$58 for 10 gal. of MLPA is ridiculous. Even if you don't buy in bulk, you need to be shopping somewhere else for ingredients. Buying bulk malt gets you in the $0.50-$0.75/lb range and bulk hops gets you <$1.00/oz. Yeast is more tricky, but if you managed it well, the cost is essentially zero.

[3rd party JKor]

With the money I've put in equipment over the years, I doubt I'll ever break even on Bud Light cost, but since I'd never drink Bud Light I can substitute that for what I'd actually drink. So, if you compare to 6ers of Green Flash West Coast IPA or Stone Imperial IPA, I'm almost there!

[zymot]

5.55 lbs DME -> 1.050 OG in 5 gallons of wort @ $3.75/lb (Morebeer) = $20.819.13 lbs 2 row -> 1.050 OG in 5 gallons of wort @ $1.50/lb (Morebeer milled) = $13.70About a 35% savingsThe take into account for possible equipment costs and other cost such propane/gas/electricty and your time, it is not a huge savings. You can purchase in bulk, but then you have to buy a grain mill and the "cost" of storing a number of 50 lb sacks of grains.Depends on how much you love the hobby and what you are trying to get out of it.Myself, I am happy to "store" grains, hops and yeast at my LHBS, and I pay them to do that - by puchasing what I want, when I want it.zymot

[Spoon]

When I was really trying to max my savings I was getting into yeast ranching. My largest cost per batch was the yeast. Havesting, washing and storing my yeast, as well as pitching on a yeast cake, allowed me to get several batches of brew from one smack pack. W/ a tablespoon of yeast I was able to step-up my staters in about a week and have it ready to go on brewday.Of course buying everything in bulk added to the savings. Being in Kc w/ a large group of brewer it wouold be easy to organize a bulk buy from North Country malts and get pallet shipping prices.

[Stout_fan]

$58 is a 55lb sack of grain.I can brew a lot of beer with that.

[Sidney Porter]

I ran the numbers a few years ago andit was about a 33% savings comparing bulk grain to bulk extract. Had about the same savings buying by the lb. Buying extract in bulk was pretty similar buying extract by the lb. (the bulk extract was the 3 gallon (33lbs) muttons) I don't think hops and yeast really come into place, since there isn't a difference between extract and AG. As far as AG equipment if you are going from the stove partial boil to AG you pretty much need to upgrade the entire brewhouse and mill) but if you are already brewing full boil on a turkey fryer. A cooler and grain mill will get you AG and Bulk. But that is a pretty manual AG system

[3rd party JKor]

$58 is a 55lb sack of grain.I can brew a lot of beer with that.

It's 116 lb. of Canada Malting 2-row from North Country Malt.

[Big Nake]

As far as AG equipment if you are going from the stove partial boil to AG you pretty much need to upgrade the entire brewhouse and mill) but if you are already brewing full boil on a turkey fryer. A cooler and grain mill will get you AG and Bulk. But that is a pretty manual AG system

My brewing equipment is very vanilla. A 10-gallon Gott (or Rubbermaid?) cylindrical cooler, a worthog with SS braid, a plain 10-gallon Polarware pot witha lid, 25' copper IC, etc. Nothing fancy at all and I heat my mash & sparge water in the kitchen and then boil outside on a propane burner. My scale & thermos are inexpensive and my entire setup is pretty low cost. Most of my brewing $$ went to the basement bar, fridges, taps, etched glassware, etc. I usually brew alone so no one sees the process, but I typically have neighbors, friends or family over to drink so it's the back end I spend the money on. Cheers.

[nbbeerguy]

buying in bulk is great Muttons Maris Otter 55lbs $37 Canadian Canadian 2 row 55 Lbs $25 Canadian Wheat 55 Lbs $27

[japh]

These are the costs I calculated based upon the cheaper of my 2 LHBS for 5 gallons at 1.050:Buying PoundLME $15.32DME $18.01Malt $8.14Buying BulkLME Bulk $12.47DME Bulk $15.45Malt Bulk $6.11LME 7.125 lbs, DME 5.44 lbs, Malt 9.25 lbs (75% eff, from promash).

[zymot]

These are the costs I calculated based upon the cheaper of my 2 LHBS for 5 gallons at 1.050:Buying PoundLME $15.32DME $18.01Malt $8.14Buying BulkLME Bulk $12.47DME Bulk $15.45Malt Bulk $6.11LME 7.125 lbs, DME 5.44 lbs, Malt 9.25 lbs (75% eff, from promash).

For me the ~$6.00 savings of grain over LME/DME is worth it because I get closer and more of the homebrew experience and process.Buying storing, tripping over a couple hundred pounds of grain the 27 days that are not my 2 or 3 brewing days, isn't fun. I Guess I do not consider buying and storing grains part of the homebrew experience.AG? Yes Mashing in, sparging is fun. Plus you have more control of the process and wider choices of the ingredients. Bonus: you save some money.Bulk buying? The savings do not justify the hassle - in my case.zymot

[BrianBrewerKS]

My LHBS started carrying 50# sacks of 2-row 'bout a year ago. I need to buy myself a big trashcan type storage bin and buy a sack or two. I order most of my supplies online, and the bulk of the weight of my orders is base grain (2-row). Cutting that out of my order would save quite a bit.

[Sidney Porter]

Buying storing, tripping over a couple hundred pounds of grain the 27 days that are not my 2 or 3 brewing days, isn't fun. I Guess I do not consider buying and storing grains part of the homebrew experience.Bulk buying? The savings do not justify the hassle - in my case.

I only buy the bulk grain in bulk and it is usually only one bag at a time. Most I ever have is 1.5 bags at a time. I think this is pretty normal the brewers that buy a pallet and need to store it for the year I think is the exception to the bulk grain buyer.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I only buy the bulk grain in bulk and it is usually only one bag at a time. Most I ever have is 1.5 bags at a time. I think this is pretty normal the brewers that buy a pallet and need to store it for the year I think is the exception to the bulk grain buyer.

excuse me while I'm the exception - w00t!

[japh]

For me the ~$6.00 savings of grain over LME/DME is worth it because I get closer and more of the homebrew experience and process.Buying storing, tripping over a couple hundred pounds of grain the 27 days that are not my 2 or 3 brewing days, isn't fun. I Guess I do not consider buying and storing grains part of the homebrew experience.AG? Yes Mashing in, sparging is fun. Plus you have more control of the process and wider choices of the ingredients. Bonus: you save some money.Bulk buying? The savings do not justify the hassle - in my case.

With malt, you've got 2 things to consider with bulk buying:1. Space. If it's going to be a huge hassle to store then it's probably not worth it.2. Mill. $100+ easy for a good mill, so at $2/batch savings that's 50+ 5-gallon batches before it's cost effective.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

With malt, you've got 2 things to consider with bulk buying:1. Space. If it's going to be a huge hassle to store then it's probably not worth it.2. Mill. $100+ easy for a good mill, so at $2/batch savings that's 50+ 5-gallon batches before it's cost effective.

I think the savings is greater than that. As JK mentioned we got grain for $0.50/lb in our group buy.

[3rd party JKor]

With malt, you've got 2 things to consider with bulk buying:1. Space. If it's going to be a huge hassle to store then it's probably not worth it.2. Mill. $100+ easy for a good mill, so at $2/batch savings that's 50+ 5-gallon batches before it's cost effective.

I'd say on average I'm using 17lbs of base malt per batch. I paid between $0.50 and $0.75/lb in the last bulk buy, LHBS sells base malt for $1.25-$1.50/lb. $0.75*17 = $12.75/batch. My grain mill will be paid off pretty quick, and I got the fancy 3-roller mill.