I thought home brewing was a much cheaper option.

[dennisking]

I was chatting to the bloke at LoveBrewing the other day, I spotted he had big whole grain kits for sale of Old Peculiar (one of my faves) amongst others. He said that he wouldn't bother, they're really hard work and he thinks that buying the malt in a kit is easier and stinks the place out less.

But you'd recommend it? What extra kit would I need to buy?

I would not describe it as hard work. Yes it takes more time and is more involved but not hard work. I am allergic to hard work and I've been brewing AG for years. Where do you live. You might find a member near you who would be happy to let you attend a brewday to observe for yourself. Start a thread " any brewers near ..........." and see if anyone responds

 

[BIGJIM72]

quote
I am curious what equipment one might need to make really high quality beer for 25p a pint.

any all grain brew will produce beer in this price range. Quality wise its up to the brewer and thats the fun bit.

I was chatting to the bloke at LoveBrewing the other day, I spotted he had big whole grain kits for sale of Old Peculiar (one of my faves) amongst others. He said that he wouldn't bother, they're really hard work and he thinks that buying the malt in a kit is easier and stinks the place out less.

But you'd recommend it? What extra kit would I need to buy?

Mate- if he can charge you £20 odd for a 2 can kit that will make 40 pints,or £30ish for a sack of marris otter malt that would be the base for 200+ pints of course he doesn't want you to bother with AG

 

[dennisking]

quote
I am curious what equipment one might need to make really high quality beer for 25p a pint.

any all grain brew will produce beer in this price range. Quality wise its up to the brewer and thats the fun bit.

I was chatting to the bloke at LoveBrewing the other day, I spotted he had big whole grain kits for sale of Old Peculiar (one of my faves) amongst others. He said that he wouldn't bother, they're really hard work and he thinks that buying the malt in a kit is easier and stinks the place out less.

But you'd recommend it? What extra kit would I need to buy?

Mate- if he can charge you £20 odd for a 2 can kit that will make 40 pints,or £30ish for a sack of marris otter malt that would be the base for 200+ pints of course he doesn't want you to bother with AG

Exactly.

 

[dangerman]

Sounds like it's the future - I imagine bottling day to be a right old pain in the ass though.

Once I get my garage I'll check it all out in more detail. Thanks for the tips fellers.

 

[PD]

Learn to love bottling...................... :party: :party:

 

[Richard_D]

As a very new newbie to Homebrewing.
I too was surprised at the cost of equipment on the initial startup.
My main reason was to remove the glut of rhubarb i have on my allotment
So went the way of buying an all in one kit,
Thinking id be setup and learn from the all-in-one ready for the main event
But i also looked at it for more of a long term hobby.

This was a conversation i had with my wife when she would see me bringing an airlock home here or a bottle there

When you join any club, you have to pay subscription fees, pay out for equipment, equipment is always cheaper second hand so have a look at the ebays, gumtrees, preloved, our local recycling centre had demijons (there are more).

Ingredients are going to cost, even down to the water from the tap.. over time your prices will come down, and the larger volumes of brews if done will save you even more

Its a hobby and reading on this forum i can tell to some its turned into a passion.
I've also found it useful in showing my kids how wine and brewing works (Science geek)

Bottled - Beaverdale Chablis Blush
Fermenting - Rhubarb, Strawberry

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I too was surprised at the cost of equipment on the initial startup.

I started out with a couple of DJ's, bungs, airlocks and a hydrometer donated by my uncle who has been making home-brew for years, i started with a 6 bottle Solomon Grundy kit then tried a few more all were drinkable but nothing special and cost £12 and much more if you want to spend more.

I then discovered Wurzels Orange Wine (WOW) and having splashed out for a few tubs of ingredients i am now making my own wines at approximately 70p per bottle, i now occasionally make a 23 litre kit to get a few bottles into storage but prefer the end product of my WOW variant production line. :

 

[Megaross]

It can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be.

I started out with one demijohn, a bit of syphon hose, an airlock/ bung and a wine kit. Those 6 bottles were frigging glorious I tell ye.

If you're buying small amounts of anything over the internet it's more expensive, postage costs money unfortunately, I'll only buy online if I can't get it local and if I do I'll buy a load of other stuff so postage isn't really a problem.

 

[Robbo]

For DJ's, go and buy 5 litres of water at Asda for £1.10 and use the bottles as Demi's. Drill a 13mm hole in the cap and fit a rubber grommet and bubbler. One fully workable DJ...cost £3.00 in total.

I agree with what has been said, homebrewing becomes a lot more cheaper once you have basic a set up and then you will start to recoup the initial overheads.

 

[narmour]

Perhaps if cost really is a deciding factor for you, you should get involved with country wine making. There are numerous crops throughout the year which can be foraged for free, all of which make beautiful wine.

For me, the country winemaking season starts with birch sap, dandelion or gorseflower wine in spring, then elderflower champagne in early summer, blackberry wine in late summer, elderberry wine/ port in autumn, and rosehip wine and sloe wine/ gin in late autumn/ early winter. I'm sure there is plenty of others in there I have missed. You are only limited by your imagination. If something has sugars (and isn't poisonous) it can be fermented. And all you have to pay for is the various chemicals and yeasts to brew with. If you are unsure of wild plant ID, get yourself a foraging handbook. The River Cottage one is very good. It has a whole section on poisonous things to be avoided.

:hat: