49 replies to this topic

[djinkc]

I guess all of them except clones. I've only tried that a couple times. The last was a Pliny clone - for some reason the recipe kept being put in plain sight........Mostly whatever I feel like. Might be trying to nail a style or something that sounds like it might be interesting but really not a "style".

[Mya]

yeah about the same as dj, I brew whatever I want to, mostly to my own tastes, but use the bjcp as a loose guideline

[chuck_d]

All of the above is me too. Sometimes I try to brew a style, sometimes a clone (often at the request of a friend), sometimes I just make stuff up. I try to optimize my costs and streamline my processes in order to increase my savings, but I don't hesitate to improve my quality or ability over cost-savings.

For people that are trying to figure out the money savings with the cost of equipment - are you factoring in kegging? If I take that out of the picture I could probably start saving money in a couple years from now.

Heh, I factor in as much as I can. The categories I track are, in alphabetical order: artwork, books, bottles, chemicals, equipment, glassware, grains, hops, ingredients (non-grains, hops, yeast), memberships, shipping, yeast (the major missing category is tax, which I have sort of begun to track). As for actually calculating the per batch cost, I lost notebook in which I kept my batch notes for several years in one of my moves, so I don't know exactly how many batches I have brewed. I can kind of approximate it though and get close. I track my costs using my spreadsheet. Click the link below to see how it looks, the numbers are all made up for the web and not my actual financials, but it gets the point across as to the report at the top and the line items below.Diesel's Financial Sheet

[djinkc]

Todays brewBase malt $15Specialty malt $3Hops $11Misc (electricity, chemicals etc) $4Yeast - harvested from a previous batch, and somebody gave it to me $0. Buy usually $3 with harvestingSo 10 gallons of 1.051 for $36, yeah I'd say I'd say I'm saving money. I kept track for a while and amortized my equipment out over a couple years. It was about the same then since hops and grain were so much cheaper. Bulk grain buys, ordering hops in bulk and harvesting yeast really saves a bundle.But that's not really the point of it, is it?

[boo boo]

I try to brew to style some brews and have done clones. For the most part, I just brew what I imagineI would like given that I now have a feel for what each ingredient I add to the brew will contribute tothe taste and or look and or smell of the brew.Sometimes it will fall into a specific style, but most times it won't.

[toonces]

save money. you're funny.

[boo boo]

save money. you're funny.

Well you wouldn't say that if you were paying $13 a 6 pack like I would have to do if I were to buy a bud light or Molsons or Labbats etc. Brewing my own saves me a bundle.

[toonces]

don't forget the cost of equipment. don't forget the cost of utilities. don't forget the time you burn...

[boo boo]

don't forget the cost of equipment. don't forget the cost of utilities. don't forget the time you burn...

Can't count the time. My time brewing is a pleasure.. it's my hobby, and hobbies are supposed to cost.I don't have fancy equipment, a lot I have made myself. And even with the cost of propane, O2, andmsc things that we use, I figure I'm still way ahead.

[djinkc]

don't forget the cost of equipment. don't forget the cost of utilities. don't forget the time you burn...

Well, amortized equipment over the first couple years. I haven't bought anything major for a couple years. Utilities, I'm all electric - threw that in the misc category. Time, well, it's time well spent. Just thought I would throw that out there though. A keg of Bud Light around here is probably going to be $80 something. And if I was going to have commercial stuff on tap I would go with the 1/4 kegs for ease of moving.But again, that's beside the point. I like brewing........Yeah, can be really funny sometimes......... It does help if the people around me are toasted though.

Edited by dj in kc, 30 May 2009 - 04:53 PM.

[MolBasser]

I brew whatever I like.BrewBasser

[RommelMagic]

I'm kinda "all of the above" too. I brew to have good brew to drink and it is a plus to be able to do so at a cheaper price than I can get in the store. Sure, I may not have broke even just yet but I will. Styles are merely windows to aim at. Sometimes I hit the window and it doesn't break, others, well, you get the point.

[chefmiller]

Have you factored in how much more you've spent on commercial beer since you started brewing? I probably spent a few grand on craft beers the first couple of years.

I spend a huge amount less on craft beer now. I only taste commercial beers, not really drink them. I have plenty of my own beer for that.I will start a separate thread and itemize everything, if anyone wants to continue this debate. I have gone over the numbers many times, and I save a lot of money.

[kbhale]

When I first started I brewed to guide lines. Now I just put recipes together on the fly. My equipment is 4 years old and should out last my Liver. I bought 200 pound of grain today plus yeast. I'll make 100 gallon of beer out of it. Cost me about $250. With using some Home grown hops it should cost me about $3-4 per gallon for beer. It's cheeper than a good 6-pack.The only time I buy beer now is to get some ideas for new recipes.

[CarlosM]

I brew whatever I like.BrewBasser

Do you homebrew outside of work?Oh and I brew to brew and to drink. I loosley follow guide lines now .

[Salsgebom]

I brew a lot of to-style beers because they are just damn good the way they are, particularly when I brew European lagers. Where I experiment most is with the American styles. I love switching up the malt and hop varieties and dosages to see if I can improve on the popular American beers that are currently out there. I've had a lot of success and I've learned a lot about ingredients this way. Truly understanding your ingredients and the differences between brands is so crucial to making great beer IMO and can only be learned by building your own recipes.My motivation for brewing has changed recently. I brew commercially, so I'm changing my homebrewing process (downgrading in some ways even) to mock my process on the 16bbl Specific brewhouse. The goal is to build great recipes within my cost and process restrictions I would have when scaling up (adding a pound of hops and getting the wort chilled in 5 minutes just can't be scaled up, for example). I haven't convinced the owners to let me brew my own recipes yet, so I'm homebrewing every chance I get so I have an arsenal of great tasting beers. I think after they try them, they'll see the light. And if they don't, I learned a lot in the process.As for cost, I get to tinker around in a brewery and get paid well for it relative to standard brewers wages. Homebrewing ingredients are free and equipment is wholesale so I definitely save money, esp. compared to the $40 I spent on 4 beers yesterday.

[No Party JKor]

1, 2 and 8.Mostly 1 and 2, but since my buddies have started offering to "donate" to my brewery I think I'll be saving some money, too. Not that I care. It's hobby, I don't mind spending money on it.

[realbeerguy]

I voted for 1 & 2, but like to tweak the recipies to my liking. When I started, it was about being able to brew beers that were not available in my area. Now it's the experimenting into the diiferent styles, exploring the Belgians, making Meads. As for cost savings, you can make good beer with a minimal amount of equipment that will amoritize over a period of time, but as you progress into the hobby, you will get more "toys".

[ColdAssHonky]

I voted for the pants option because I do a bit of all three. I like the idea of trying to make the best example of a style that I can, brew up a clone of something I really enjoy or just start throwing random things in the pot to see what comes out the other end.