So how much is an AG brew costing?

[BeerisGOD]

27 quid???? Your beer must be very different to mine, but each to their own. But I wouldn't bother making it at half that!

You must be the homebrewer who can have the big 25kg and the 500g bags of hops lying about the place, next to the costco own brand beans.
When you think about it, if the yeast (like chuffer mentions) is the liquid form, along with the gas or electric I think this ain't a bad assessment after delivery

 

[Gunge]

You must be the homebrewer who can have the big 25kg and the 500g bags of hops lying about the place, next to the costco own brand beans.
When you think about it, if the yeast (like chuffer mentions) is the liquid form, along with the gas or electric I think this ain't a bad assessment after delivery

25Kg malt £18.95. Simple hops like Northern Brewer, Pilgrim,Target etc, rarely any costing more than £3 for 100g. Bit of crystal, cara, flaked barley or whatever and super cheap but super good Crossmyloof yeast. Get 7 brews out of a 25Kg sack of grain. With postage at about £7 that's a pound per brew. Electricity costs £1.60 a pop. I wasn't disputing chuffer's maths, just saying that if a brew cost me so much, I'm not sure I'd bother. But that's just me, and you are right - our drum is full of own brand stuff, it's usually as good as stuff with a name on costing four times as much!

 

[marlon]

I've been brewing AG for about 7 months now and I've spent between ��£10 for a sessionable pale ale and ��£23 for an Albino Squid Assassin clone (big, very heavily hopped rye IPA). These prices don't include yeast - if you go with dry yeast add ��£2-3 per brew, around ��£7 if you go with liquid.

It CAN be a lot cheaper if you go for less hoppy ales that favour dry yeast (simple pale ales & stouts have been cheapest in my experience), but the quality of your end product is almost incomparable in terms of quality. I was quite happy with kits until I tried extract brewing and realised the difference in quality. Then I was happy with extract until I tried AG brewing and now I couldn't go back...

+1. It CAN be cheaper, or about the same as a kit. Depends on many factors, like if you brew enough to invest in a 25kg bag of base malt, or grow your own hops (which can be a significant cost factor) or not. Ready weighed & boxed AG 'kits' can be almost as expensive as similar quality kits but, you don't end up with weird assortments of leftovers.
The big difference is the quality of your beer, which for me is the most important thing. :thumb:

I've got a couple of kits on my brew shelf that have been there ages, ever since I invested in AG. Can't seem to get the urge to make them up...!?

 

[Cwrw666]

I seem to be paying more than others for 25Kg of pale malt (I use BrewUK). I get 6 brews out of it though and order everything I'll need for those 6 brews so I only pay one delivery charge. Comes out at about £85 in total, so about £14 per brew on average. Or 35p per pint.

So it is a bit cheaper than brewing kits, but the beer produced is so, so much better than kit or even extract brewing.

 

[Gunge]

Just checked my last order...

25Kg Pale
1Kg Crystal
500g Special X
500g Amber
500g Roast Barley
5 x 100g hops
Pack protafloc.

Total £41.63 inc vat and postage. Yeast bought elsewhere - £5.75 for five packs with free p+p.

 

[chuffer]

Just checked my last order...

25Kg Pale
1Kg Crystal
500g Special X
500g Amber
500g Roast Barley
5 x 100g hops
Pack protafloc.

Total £41.63 inc vat and postage. Yeast bought elsewhere - £5.75 for five packs with free p+p.

I need to start buying in bulk!

 

[Gunge]

And for you Guinness lovers - don't get flaked barley with the rest of your order, it's cheaper at Holland and Barrett, especially if they're running a bogof offer or buy one get another for a penny etc! Could also save you from tipping into the next postage band too. Only trouble is, their stuff is labelled barley flakes and some folk might get a little upset by that and insist that they're not the same. Same with flaked maize - buy el cheapo cornflakes. I've heard all the guff about additives in cereals making them unsuitable but I know from experience that the results are absolutely,totally identical. But yer pays yer money etc...

 

[TheQuokka]

Just be aware that regular cornflakes are loaded with salt. I use cheap rolled oats for flaked oats, and have experimented with cereals in the past.

 

[Gunge]

Just be aware that regular cornflakes are loaded with salt.

Probably true, depending on your definition of 'loaded' in the context of a five-gallon brew. But I still maintain that the levels of anything is utterly undetectable and of no detriment whatsoever to the chemistry and processes of the brew. Just avoid the honey nut ones etc☺!

 

[Pawlo7671]

And for you Guinness lovers - don't get flaked barley with the rest of your order, it's cheaper at Holland and Barrett, especially if they're running a bogof offer or buy one get another for a penny etc! Could also save you from tipping into the next postage band too. Only trouble is, their stuff is labelled barley flakes and some folk might get a little upset by that and insist that they're not the same. Same with flaked maize - buy el cheapo cornflakes. I've heard all the guff about additives in cereals making them unsuitable but I know from experience that the results are absolutely,totally identical. But yer pays yer money etc...

Could you chuck a few weetabix's in to a mash ?

 

[Gunge]

Could you chuck a few weetabix's in to a mash ?

Yes and no... I tried that a couple of years ago and got the most horrendous stuck mash known to all of humanity. But the beer itself did,eventually, turn out alright.

 

[MyQul]

Could you chuck a few weetabix's in to a mash ?

Yes. It acts like fortified wheat

 

[Zephyr259]

For those who buy in bulk, are you buying whole grains and milling yourself? Or does crushed grain keep ok for the time it takes to brew 5 - 7 batches? I'm buying enough for about 2 batches at a go currently but would love to cut down on shipping further.

 

[MickDundee]

Just checked my last order...

25Kg Pale
1Kg Crystal
500g Special X
500g Amber
500g Roast Barley
5 x 100g hops
Pack protafloc.

Total £41.63 inc vat and postage. Yeast bought elsewhere - £5.75 for five packs with free p+p.

Jeez! I only paid about £5 less than that for my last order and I only got enough for 2 brews! One of them is a NEIPA with 325g of hops, but still...

I only brew once a month (if that often) though so I worry about how long it would keep!

 

[MickDundee]

Yes. It acts like fortified wheat

Would shredded wheat do the same? I have an odd one kicking about (they are packaged in pairs in the box) because my 3 year old wanted to try one and, unsurprisingly, didn't like it!

 

[mickthetrick]

never really worked the cost out but im brewing very cheaply. get a bag of pale malt from a local brewery for just over £16 and get 7 batches out of that. hops i buy when i see a deal on the forums plus my pal buys in bulk and gives me plenty to get by for free. yeast i use one from a brewery that i crop and have done for 2+ years now so my beer cost very little and im happy with what im making. be less than £5 id say for a 20 litre batch.

 

[Zephyr259]

Just checked my last order...

25Kg Pale
1Kg Crystal
500g Special X
500g Amber
500g Roast Barley
5 x 100g hops
Pack protafloc.

Total �£41.63 inc vat and postage. Yeast bought elsewhere - �£5.75 for five packs with free p+p.

Where do you buy from Grunge? Just did an experiment and I could get similar prices on geterbrewed but only with the cheapest hops.

 

[Gunge]

Where do you buy from Grunge? Just did an experiment and I could get similar prices on geterbrewed but only with the cheapest hops.

The Homebrew Company. £18.95 for Hook Head malt (v.good). Nothing fancy hop wise - never pay over £3 for 100g and I don't hammer them anyway cos I'm not a hophead and my beers never use more than 3.5Kg base malt so I get 7 brews per sack plus a tad left over. For the guy who asked about crushed or not, I buy crushed and reseal the sack with tightly-knotted string. No storage issues.

 

[MyQul]

Would shredded wheat do the same? I have an odd one kicking about (they are packaged in pairs in the box) because my 3 year old wanted to try one and, unsurprisingly, didn't like it!

Yes, I'm pretty sure I've read both shredded wheat and wheatabix act the same as torrified wheat to aid head retention

 

[Zephyr259]

The Homebrew Company. �£18.95 for Hook Head malt (v.good). Nothing fancy hop wise - never pay over �£3 for 100g and I don't hammer them anyway cos I'm not a hophead and my beers never use more than 3.5Kg base malt so I get 7 brews per sack plus a tad left over. For the guy who asked about crushed or not, I buy crushed and reseal the sack with tightly-knotted string. No storage issues.

Thanks, I've been wondering if the Hook Head Irish malt from HBC is basically the same stuff GEB sell. Postage is a bit cheaper from HBC too. I'm also not a massive hop head, I like my bitters, stouts and Belgians so never have a big cost from hops.