I am cheap! But can I do better?

[John Sand]

I don't like my beer better than many craft brews. (I'm working on it) But other people do, and that makes me feel really good. I'm sure I can make very good beer for 1/2 the price of craft beer, even the competitively priced. But it doesn't end there. Two years ago I was happily buying and drinking about a case a week of Miller 64. It cost around $24. Now, I am making two cases of much better beer for around the same. Saving money, right? Wrong. Because I'm drinking more beer, and better beer. So, when I buy at the store, it's Founder's or Sierra Nevada. Sometimes Green Flash or Stone. That stuff is costing enough that I would have to make my beer for free to break even.
I'll say it again: My name is John, and I am a Home-Brewer.

[Inkleg]

Oh , this hobby is supposed to save me money?

Yeah, what this guy said.

What I enjoy the most is....Instead of saying "Let me show you my stamp collection". I get to say "Here, try this, tell me what you think".

[Rebel_B]

Has anyone figured out what the entire cost of brewing their home brew is ?
It's going to be a different figure for everyone.
Just off the top of my head the total would have to include:
1. Ingredients
2. Propane or electricity
3. Shipping or gas to drive to the LHBS
4. Equipment
5.Tax
6. Storage bins and other misc. items
7. Energy to run mini fridge for temp control.
8. Beer storage cost .
9. Bottles and cost of cleaning.

When you add it all up and divide I'll bet the 10.00 that you have to spend for a 6 pack of good craft beer is about the same as homebrew.

Funny! I will probably keep brewing, regardless of costs, cause I'm enjoying it. I enjoy sharing my brews with other enthusiasts, as well as family & friends. I could save a bit more buying sacks of grain, but it's not significant enough of a difference to be a big deal.

[mashani]

Even I'm not OCD enough to try to figure out all the costs but, I like my beer as much or more than many of the craft beers I've tried. I'm not saying mine is better, but there's that special feeling about drinking a beer that you've made that you can't put a price on.
Now, I'm not saying I have a problem with making that same great beer for less!

Yeah, I like much of what I make as well or more then most any commercial beer, but that may have to do with that I cater what I make to my tastes, so this is subjective. But still valid in the grand scheme of things.

If you want to save money no matter what, brew Belgians and Saisons. Even an all extract homebrewed Belgian or Saison with purchased candi syrup is still 3x-4x less expensive then buying the same amount commercially. Your not spending a lot of money on hops like you would in an IPA, and it's really easy to re-use the yeast cake to step up bigger beers (IE patersbier, then blonde, then tripel) and get excellent results, so even if you don't wash yeast you can get 2-3 batches of beer out of a single yeast purchase if you so choose.

[Gymrat]

Beersmith tells me down to the penny how much each of my brews cost. Most of them are around $20. The IPAs go closer to $30, Then I add $5 for the propane. cost of sanitizer isn't worth adding. So after the purchase of equipment, brewing my beer is approximately 1/4 the price of buying it at the store.

[mtsoxfan]

While I am always looking to reuse/recycle etc. I enjoy the heck out of this hobby. yes, I try to find ways to stretch my dollar, as it allows me to do more (or save to make affordable), but if I compare this hobby to snowmobiling/atv, and many others, it pretty chep AND like Inkleg states, it provides an end product that won't bore people when you share...

[John Sand]

Good point Mt. I cannot spend as much on brewing as I do on sailing. Of course, I'm doing both...

[Beer-lord]

I agree. When I was in high school and the early years of college, I enjoyed photography and built a small blackroom in my garage (parents garage) it wasn't cheap at all and I stopped when I originally got into homebrewing.
Many hobbies are much more expensive and look at fishing.........boat, motor and trailer alone is a mini investment.
I like this hobby much more!

[Banjo-guy]

I don't brew to save money. I still can't make beer that's equal to the craft brewers but I love trying to get it right and eventually I'll get there.

I made a couple of guitars by buying high end parts and putting together a custom Stratocaster and Telecaster. I could buy the same guitar for less but I learned so much by the doing it that I didn't mind.
Its the same with beer. I can buy better beer in the supermarket for less or the same price. (I have a great selection in my Stop and Shop ) but Its a hobby… its not a rational decision.

[Beer-lord]

I could never build a guitar other than remove the pickguard and replace the pups. The list of things I can't do far outway the things I can. Nothing I've done has been as enjoyable as brewing. It's a new adventure with each batch even when I do the same recipes.

[DaYooper]

I look at it this way. Even if it comes out to being the same - or more - than commercial, in the end I still have something tangible. You can't say that about a whole lot of hobbies where at the end of the day you simply spent money and have nothing (but enjoyment) to show for it. I guess that is why I like thiings like brewing, hunting, and cooking. I enjoy the act of doing those things and the added bonus is the beer or grub.

[BigPapaG]

And let's not forget that maximizing value is not always about reducing costs...

If I can spend the same amount of money (and sometimes less money) than the cost of commercial craft brew that I really like, and make my own craft beer that I really like even more and enjoy the process along the way, well then I say, win win!

[Rebel_B]

Went to my LHBS after work Thursday to get some more supplies. I decided that I would get enough supplies so I could brew up a batch, or many, without planning. Bought a sack of Pale malt, 55lb for $39.95 (then discounted 5%, cause I'm a homebrew club member), dated June 18th, 2014 on the label. Freshly malted grain at $.69/lb works for me!

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[Beer-lord]

That's a great price. I pay about $42 for 50 lbs locally----they had an increase do to shipping costs.But they sell their loose grain at $1.09 a pound so I'm paying about $.84/lb. Not a huge savings but a savings nonetheless.

[John Sand]

I think I pay much more. I'll find out again soon.