Is home beer brewing worth the effort?
Barkley B asked:
I’m interested in becoming a home brewer. Is the cost of equipment and time spent brewing worth the cost savings in the long run?
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Filed Under Beer, Wine & Spirits |
Tagged With Home Beer Brewing, Home Brewer
Comments
5 Responses to “Is home beer brewing worth the effort?”
yes, yes and hummmmmmm YES. But if you like light beer go to a 7-11 and get your beer in the cold case. If you like a beer that tastes great go a head and brew. You will be very very happy with the effert. For ideas on how to go to and type in HOW TO BREW BEER and you will find a bunch of vids on how to. Enjoy…..
Honestly it’s just like any other hobby, it’s only going to be worth the effort and investment if you draw pleasure from it. I wouldn’t recommend that somebody get in to homebrewing just to save a few dollars on a 6-pack 20 or so batches down the line because they’ll probably find brewing tedious.
Personally I like brewing because it allows me to brew stuff you can’t generally buy or stuff that’s generally brewed for short periods of time. I don’t have to be restricted by my local beer selection.
I think it’s a great hobby but I wouldn’t say it’s a great way to save money. Most homebrewers I know are constantly dumping more money in to their brewing set ups and will likely never really see a return on their investment. I’ve probably got well over $2000 put in to my brewing set up currently which gives me roughly a 100+ batch projection before my brewing becomes cost effective without even considering the cost of ingredients.
Oh, yeah, if you appreciate good beer. You may wind up spending a whole day (in segments) on a batch of beer but the results are worth it. A basic set of equipment may set you back $100 or so, although you can get used kits for less. Each 5-gallon batch might cost $20 to $30 for supplies. These are rough estimates. You will start haunting flea markets for new equipment to add ∙∙∙ carboys, tubing for a wort chiller, brew-pots; you never have enough. If you do a lot of brewing, you might save by buying your liquid malt extract in jugs rather than cans. There is lots of variation. The real benefit, though, is tweaking a recipe until you get it exactly right and enjoying the results.
My setup cost me less than $80.
My pot was less than $20, my fermenter was $20, and then various tubes, hydrometer etc. I was lucky and got some equipment from a thrift store (hello $4 capper)
It’s paid for itself at this point.
To start, all I had was a bucket, a pot, some tubing for syphoning, and a hydrometer, and I”ve been adding since then. over time.
ABSO-BEER-GUZZLING-LUTELY!!!!!!!
If not for the cost savings, at least the quality is worthwhile.
And the satisfaction of a job well done.