The true £ cost of home brewing

[midnight rider]

Some people brew because they enjoy the hobby, but there are some who brew their own because it's cheaper.

According to my energy supplier, it costs up to £20/month to run a fridge, so if I keep a brew in a fridge in my garage for two months it's 40 sheets right there! You add on the cost of the kit, maybe sugar, sterilising solution, pro rata for the FV/syphon/hydrometer/keg/bottles etc and suddenly home brewing may not be as cheap as you once thought.
Has anyone ever itemised the total cost of brewing a batch?

I don't wish to turn anyone off brewing their own as it gives you so much satisfaction, I just wish to understand all the latent costs.

 

[pms67]

It's £10.99 for a kit,£3 for spraymalt and £1 for dextrose. £15 for 40 pints will do for me.,brew in house ,condition in shed and chill in house fridge :party:
Although,like anything else in life, the further you take it the better it gets but also more expensive.
Find your level and weigh it up brother.
Still cheaper and better than commercial p*** water
cheers 17

 

[aamcle]

The running cost of that fridge is well off, try £20-30 per year!

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...ity-bills-wasted-appliances-left-standby.html

And

https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20131008022512AA1M16f

It should be at the low end for a brew fridge the door is probably going to be opened only once or twice a day.

Atb. Aamcle

 

[Duxuk]

I don't use a fridge. I spend about £16 for 36 500ml bottles. That's less than ten bob for beer you'd be happy to pay well over 2 quid a bottle for. The only problem I'd have is, if I didn't brew my own, then the quality of the beer I drank would not be nearly as good.:drink:
Of course if I include 5 and a half hours labour at £20 an hour it becomes rather expensive. Just as well I'm a work shy loafer with plenty of time on my hands.

 

[Derek1]

4 cornys at £70 a pop, extra fridge and running costs, co2 regulator, co2 cylinders and refills, bottles for extra pints that won't fit in the cornys etc etc..... I'm doing it for the fun of messing with the equipment as much as brewing and supping the beer - money well spent!

 

[Jeff Brewjubbly]

I do it all wrong. 3 fridges, inefficient equipment and expensive recipes.


Looooooooove it :)

 

[Joeyriles]

Shhhh! Don't give the game away; my other half still thinks this is a money-saver rather than a self-indulgent, geeky hobby.

If she rumbles me, I'm dead!

 

[Will12283]

I have just bought a 50L SS boiler with sight glass tap and hop stopper, plus the element that's £130 alone.

It's not a cheap hobby but it keeps me happy and SWMBO likes drinking my lagers. Plus beer on tap when I want it no need to visit the shops is worth it.

 

[DethApostle]

Even though i'm sure the cost for running the electric boilers i have, and the two beer fridges I will soon have is pretty minimal over the year... i'm still considering solar panels to reduce the electicity cost to nil!

DA

 

[cheshirehomebrew]

The more the equipment is used, barrels carboys etc the cheaper it will become, after that its just ingredients.

I have managed to collect about 44 clear beer bottles to put my brew in, the majority I got from morrisons at £1.25 complete with beer in (mostly golden hen which is my current fave) so double whammy for me, I drink the beer and get the bottles too!!

 

[proost]

Also factor in the cost of water. Our bill just came in and it was £250 for seven months. Were on a water meter here.

 

[Will12283]

Also factor in the cost of water. Our bill just came in and it was £250 for seven months. Were on a water meter here.

That's one reason I never brewed when I was In our flat. When we moved to the house we had no water meter :)

 

[airymary]

Yeah, metered water would be a killer, for running an IC or CFC particularly. To do a meticulous accounting exercise, you'd need to factor-in depreciation of equipment, mileage to visit the HBS, rent/mortgage/council tax per sq m x sq metres devoted to bar and brewery, lalala...

Should I do that, or should I just make some beer :hmm:

 

[Will12283]

As tempting as working all that out sounds I think a brew might be more fun

 

[Craven Brewer]

Even though i'm sure the cost for running the electric boilers i have, and the two beer fridges I will soon have is pretty minimal over the year... i'm still considering solar panels to reduce the electicity cost to nil!

But only if you brew when the Sun is out :hmm:

 

[JamesMcS]

I'm not sure home brewing saves you any money - I spent about 500 quid getting my brew shed going, and probably 300 on kits and accessories - but sharing something I've made makes it totally worthwhile

 

[midnight rider]

I would like to thank everyone for the responses, but no-one actually answered the question!

 

[pms67]

Sorry mate but who cares ! We all enjoy brewing so much the cost is secondary.
Not dismissing your question but it is undoubtably cheaper than buying crap beer. maybe you should ask your energy provider for a clamp meter if it is eating away at you, I for one know it is the best and most rewarding hobby I have undertaken,and,as a bonus I also think it's cheaper by a country mile !
Anyway,happy brewing brother and God bless.

 

[Monte Cristo]

Perhaps you could answer it yourself Midnight as you have invested in the hobby :hat:

 

[prolix]

break down for 80 pints

electricity 15kwh
£2

Grain 7kg
£8

hops grown in garden free otherwise
£3

water 200l
£0.40

yeast if not reusing then free
£3

sundries max (water treatment, etc.)
£1

total under £16

20p a pint (can be as little as 15p) no labour costs or equipment factored in

That said my brewery had cost me the better part of 2 and a half grand over the years and I have brewed about 400 gallon so

75p a pint set up cost this will obviously reduce the more beer I brew

so every beer I brewed so far is about

95p a pint

so saved £6500 compared with going to the pub