Home Beer Brewing

Question: Is home beer brewing worth the effort?

(Posted by: Barkley B on 2008-08-21 01:49:10)

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?

Posted by: whoaeeh on 2008-08-21, 10:05:16

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.

Posted by: PHOENIXJMARK on 2008-08-21, 01:55:50

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 youtube.com and type in HOW TO BREW BEER and you will find a bunch of vids on how to. Enjoy.....

Posted by: granta on 2008-08-21, 02:01:22

Go ahead and try it it dude i have just started it will work out cheaper in the long run come Christmas time. And it will last or summer long my friend you wont have to spend any money on alcohol mmmmm beer. You can make some very nice drops to.

Posted by: AleSmith on 2008-08-21, 04:26:18

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.

Posted by: oikos on 2008-08-21, 08:42:24

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.

Posted by: mrbus36 on 2008-08-22, 11:33:44

ABSO-BEER-GUZZLING-LUTELY!!!!!!! If not for the cost savings, at least the quality is worthwhile. And the satisfaction of a job well done.