How much!!!

[mattrickl06]

Wow thirty odd quid for extract? I never realised it was that expensive?

My ingredients thus far for AG's were.

TT Landlord £14
Pendal Witch £13
Paulaner Hefewiezen £18

then add on gas & stuff maybe £3 a go

 

[artyb]

HOW MUCH ...!!!
i thought is was gonna be a rant by our barnsley brewer... :rofl:

 

[winelight]

Kits are easier but definitely not cheaper. You may be able to get a cheap kit+sugar for not much more than AG but the quality will be very different.

Yes, if I added up what I spent on LME, yeast, hops and so on, it's not quite so cheap as it appears.

But I buy the kits when they're on special offer and I got the LME half price, and for many kits the supplied yeast produces good results, so even taking everything into account I'm still only spending £18-20 max per 23 litres.

 

[Jimmy321]

My cost for 21L of AG is about £8-£14 EXCLUDING equipment which I've spent about £600 on.

I've just taken delivery of another 25KG sack of malt which brings the price down a bit.

 

[rpt]

But I buy the kits when they're on special offer and I got the LME half price, and for many kits the supplied yeast produces good results, so even taking everything into account I'm still only spending £18-20 max per 23 litres.

So getting on for double the price of AG.

 

[winelight]

Yes I know... but I don't see myself ever going to AG. Maybe one day. So all I can really compare is kits against extract.

I think I'd want to actually watch someone do an AG brew so I knew what was involved. Reading about it is one thing, but seeing it happen and being able to ask questions is another.

 

[winelight]

EXCLUDING equipment which I've spent about £600 on.

Does it have to be that much or are there cheaper shortcuts? Because even if you make 100 brews with that stuff, that's an extra £6 per batch. Seems expensive to me. Although, I appreciate you also get better quality and more control.

 

[rpt]

BIAB is the way to do it. I probably spent a bit over £100 for a boiler plus bag, ball valve, hop stopper, tubing etc. I also use a no-chill cube so no need for a chiller either.

 

[Jimmy321]

EXCLUDING equipment which I've spent about £600 on.

Does it have to be that much or are there cheaper shortcuts? Because even if you make 100 brews with that stuff, that's an extra £6 per batch. Seems expensive to me. Although, I appreciate you also get better quality and more control.

That's total cost and all can be bought cheaper.

When I started AG I just had a boiler which I also used as a mash tun. I think the boiler was £100 second hand inc tap, hop strainer and plastic false bottom 13 years ago! Bought 3 KK's in the same year I think they were £40 each but could have been less.

I now have an igloo mash tun with SS false bottom £99 from the home brew shop and own 8 corny kegs which I paid about £50 each inc del.

Add in 3 FV's, hydrometers, thermometers, 2nd hand fridge (£40) and STC1000 controller, dalex taps, brushes and other stuff I can't remember.

I'm currently keeping an eye on gumtree for another fridge so I can brew in the summer.

It adds up to quite a lot but it's worth it IMO.

 

[rpt]

It's a hobby. Spend as much or as little as you want. I was going to stick with kits because it all seemed too complicated to do AG, then I read here and on the Australian BIAB forum and ended up picking up a cheap Buffalo boiler and started BIAB. The cost per brew is now much lower than before.

 

[boozy_shoes]

Seeing as you do the kits anyway I can assume you have the FV's, bottling or kegging equipment and other bits you could switch onto grain brewing in some form for around £30 (new FV to convert (£8), tesco kettle to strip element out of (£6?), tap and tank connector (£14), mash and sparge bag(£7)) Obviously it depends on how confident you are with DIY and comfortable you are with doing your own electric tinkering with something that will hold liquid.

I went for the option of buying one of the electrim boilers with everything ready to go (included was the mash and sparge bag) that are around £75 quid now. That was all for overheads and mine now has done 30 odd brews and is still going strong. Every so often I will see a kit that looks good or positive discussion about one and will get tempted, until I see the price and remember that I could make any beer I want for the same price THAT I KNOW WILL BE BETTER AND MORE FUN TO MAKE and then it doesn't seem so tempting anymore.

 

[artyb]

BIAB is the way to do it. I probably spent a bit over £100 for a boiler plus bag, ball valve, hop stopper, tubing etc. I also use a no-chill cube so no need for a chiller either.

+1

:party:

 

[winelight]

Seeing as you do the kits anyway I can assume you have the FV's, bottling or kegging equipment and other bits you could switch onto grain brewing in some form for around £30 (new FV to convert (£8), tesco kettle to strip element out of (£6?), tap and tank connector (£14), mash and sparge bag(£7)) Obviously it depends on how confident you are with DIY and comfortable you are with doing your own electric tinkering with something that will hold liquid.

Can you boil in an FV? Doesn't the plastic melt / deform?

 

[bobsbeer]

Can you boil in an FV? Doesn't the plastic melt / deform?

That depends on the plastic. The newer Youngs/wilko type buckets are NOT suitable. But if you check around you can get a suitable 30+lt FV bucket that could be converted to a boiler.

 

[boozy_shoes]

Can you boil in an FV? Doesn't the plastic melt / deform?

That depends on the plastic. The newer Youngs/wilko type buckets are NOT suitable. But if you check around you can get a suitable 30+lt FV bucket that could be converted to a boiler.

The guy I brew with sometimes has converted this type of FV ( http://www.thebrewmart.com/tall-bucket- ... 02638.html ) to amashtun / boiler with one Tesco element and is 10+ brews down the line with no problems whatsoever infact he probably gets a more vigourous boil than I do in my bought for purpose boiler.

 

[winelight]

And a single element's enough too? Much simpler than I thought. Thanks.

 

[rpt]

And a single element's enough too? Much simpler than I thought. Thanks.

My 40L Buffalo only has a single element and it gets a nice rolling boil going on 35L of wort.

 

[bunkerbrewer]

And a single element's enough too? Much simpler than I thought. Thanks.

Even if one's enough, I think many people fit two elements while they're at it. It gives you a backup in case one fails during a boil, and you can get up to temperature quicker with two elements, turning one off once you've reached a boil.

 

[rpt]

Even if one's enough, I think many people fit two elements while they're at it. It gives you a backup in case one fails during a boil, and you can get up to temperature quicker with two elements, turning one off once you've reached a boil.

I wouldn't bother with two elements unless I was brewing more than 23L in the fermenter. You need to plug the elements in to two separate circuits so I don't think it's worth the hassle (based on my experience with just one element).