Cost of All Grain compared to kit brewing

[garwatts]

Brewing beer by any method dosent seem to ever work out as a cost cutting excercise.

I started out with a fermenting bucket and budget barrel which turned into 6 king kegs and a few fermenting vessels over time. Then came a place to brew which meant digging up the drive and supplying mains water and drainage to the outbuilding.

Last year all grain came along with an initial outlay for the H&G kit and a few other bits. Now, six months on I am replacing parts of the equipment. I can hear the sound of stainless in the distance.

I then decided to set the bar up that was left in the outbuilding by the last owners so along came beer taps and dispense chillers. Last week I parted with some of my hard earned and sent it Norms way for the first of many Cornies and a 3 x gas regulator.
I am already justifying my next 3 cornies with the cash I get from selling my king kegs. Who am I kidding ? Its not about saving money. The cost per pint is a consideration but the main reason for brewing is that its a hobby and has a rather pleasing end product.

Yes well there's amateurs and professionals in all manner of callings

I'm sticking to the cheapo plastic for now

[softlad]

I'm not suggesting that I am professional in any way, far from it . And plastic has been good to me over the years.

If I want to justify the cost savings of brewing then I will either ignore the equipment costs or write them off over 10 or 20 brews (works well when asking SWMBO for spending money for brewing stuff). Unfortunatly the reality is that for me there are the ongoing costs involved in what I see as a hobby rather than saving money.

Lets face it, if it was all about money saving we could save more by foregoing shop bought and home brewed beer.

[arturobandini]

The issue really should be "Taste of All Grain compaerd to kit brewing". There is only ever one reason to switch and it's that one. If extract kits gave a beer of the depth and quality that can be produced from grain and hop then there wouldn't be a forum for it as we'd all be brewing Tom Caxton. The taste differential is enormous and you go from drinking something you quite enjoy and a reasonably tasty alternative to pub beer to something that matches and surpasses it. Cost wise I wouldn't think there was a whole lot in it especially when you go cheap cheap cheap on the kits. I wouldn't factor equipment in personally as I don't count the cost of my transport/shoe leather when i'm heading to the local. Equipment can be made yourself using many of the guides on here and the help is free too.

If you're a fan of craft beer then the choice to go all grain depends on whether you have the time and space to do it. Not the money.

[delboy]

AG brewing can't be considered a cost cutting excercise for a moderate drinker when you factor in the cost of the equipment, at least not for the first couple of years anyway.

Here's a break down of a (my) typical brew and its cost buying from a shop rather in bulk

4kg Pale £5.52
0.2kg Wheat 0.36p
35g Challenger £1.30
40g Golding £1.50
Yeast (so4 packet) £1.89
Electric ~£1.85
Water (not on meter) 0.00

total £12.42

and if you factor in the average cost of getting started with AG brewing at £200, at 10 brews a year thats an additional £8.30 a brew over the next 2 years making the total £20.72 per brew or in other words it will take you 2 years before you start saving any money, assuming life doesn't get in the way of brewing. If you can't afford to spend an extra 5-8 hrs a month, every month on brewing beer then the pay off will take a lot longer. (that's without any cock-ups or infected batches)

AG brewing should be undertaken as a pass time and a way to improve the quality and variety of the beer you drink rather than an excercise in economics.

10 batches a year = 400 pints, over two years 800 pints = shop bought price for bottles of real ale say about 1.50 a bottle (thats what im paying anyway) = A grand total of £1200 pound.

Cost to make (from your example) 20 X £20.72 = £414.40

A grand saving of 1200 - 414.40 = £785.60 or have i missed something

[arturobandini]

Hey Delboy, it's AG vs Kits in a fight to finish so no Real Ales allowed. It's TTL Clone vs Wherry, it's Jim vs Ditch it's it's ...you get the picture

[delboy]

That'll serve me right for replying to a message from the new posts section without bothering to read the title

I do think its a fair point though that all grain should really be compared with shop bought real ales and not kits since its a different animal to be honest (sorry to the kit brewers but thats the way I see it).

Also its worth bearing in mind that if we are taking into account people dropping out of AG and the kit sitting idle, that we should certainly take into account the equipment costs associated with kit brewing. While these costs might not be as high I would suggest that there is a far greater proportion of kit brewers who throw in the towel compared to AGers.

[adm]

Also its worth bearing in mind that if we are taking into account people dropping out of AG and the kit sitting idle, that we should certainly take into account the equipment costs associated with kit brewing. While these costs might not be as high I would suggest that there is a far greater proportion of kit brewers who throw in the towel compared to AGers.

Once you've moved to the Dark Side, there's no way back.....it has it's claws in your very soul....

On the plus side, it totally changes they way you look at (and drink) beer forever.

On the negative side, it keeps you awake at night thinking "what would it taste like if I changed the hops?" or "I wonder if my efficiency would improve if I built a new spinny sparger...."

[garwatts]

I look at it this way....

1. I like beer

2. How much does Gordon Brown get out of it?

3. I like beer

4. It's a nice hobby.

5. I like beer

6. It gets me out more (even though its only to the garage).

7. I like beer

8. I'm a tight B##st'#d

9. I like beer

10. I don't need any exercise.

11. I enjoy kit beer but like AG even more

[vacant]

This thread has meandered on. What it needs is some anally-retentive bod who keeps spreadsheets of their entire life. They'd be bound to have one detailing purchases of brewing equipment and ingredients. Of course each purchase would be dated so historical RPI could be applied to give a meaningful result. Anyone care to step forward?

[boingy]

[boingy]

OK. We need a volunteer to try out this theory.

All the volunteer needs to do is say to their better half something along the lines of: "Sorry pet, you can't get your hair done this month because I need the money to improve the quality of my beer"....

[floydmeddler]

Brewing for around 25p-30p a pit these days and all my brews are 5% or over. I built a very cheap boiler. Check my former posts to see instructions.

Go all grain... I dare you!

[softlad]

OK. We need a volunteer to try out this theory.

All the volunteer needs to do is say to their better half something along the lines of: "Sorry pet, you can't get your hair done this month because I need the money to improve the quality of my beer"....

I've just tried that one and it went better than expected.


Now does anyone know of an easy way to draw my testicles down from my adams apple back to their rightful location ?

[boingy]

Can't help you with the anatomy but hey, you're alive and you can still type, even if the typing is a little higher-pitched than it used to be...

[Dennis King]

Once you've moved to the Dark Side, there's no way back.....it has it's claws in your very soul....

On the plus side, it totally changes they way you look at (and drink) beer forever.

On the negative side, it keeps you awake at night thinking "what would it taste like if I changed the hops?" or "I wonder if my efficiency would improve if I built a new spinny sparger...."[/quote]


Well put. I have never brewed kits. Startred with extract but soon joined the dark side and found such a big difference. Can still remember the first taste of AG and thinking DID I MAKE THAT!
Thirty odd years later I still think how can I improve each barrel I brew even though it is as good as most pub beers. Definitely addictive.