Cost of Home Brewing

[Kronos]

I have not made a brew for nearly 12 months and have just been online to order some all grain ingredients, hops and yeast etc and was astonished at the price increases since I last bought anything. To make 20 litres of an IPA it would have cost me between £40.00 and £50.00 for everything. I bit the bullet and emptied my basket and bought a Beerworks Craft Series Kit and a Festival Premium Beer Kit for the same price which will make a total of 46 litres. I have not tried these before but if they are any good I think the 20L Braumeister will be up for sale. From what I have read the all grain ingredient prices are only set to get even higher.

I need a beer now to calm down.

 

[Rodcx500z]

So 40 - 50 quid for 20L say 38 pints, how much would it cost in the pub at 4 pound a pint it is 152 pounds

 

[Nottsbeer]

You could look at the AG kits that are available...CML do some very good ones at a reasonable price. I notice you are in Leicestershire, there is a very reasonable company in Nottingham where you can buy a sack of grain from (would have do dig out their name if you're interested). I haven't managed to get one yet but it's on my new years jobs list (which is never ending).

 

[Cheshire Cat]

For that price you’ll make 4-5 batches at 20 litre, you’ve got to prime the pipe.

 

[Agentgonzo]

To make 20 litres of an IPA it would have cost me between £40.00 and £50.00

Where are you getting your stuff?

I buy a 25kg sack of base malt, which makes it cheaper, but even buying just what you want, malt is £2-3/kg. So £10, maybe £15 for the malt. Expensive hops are £7 for 100g, which is loads. £3 for dried yeast or £7 for liquid. So even with lots/expensive ingredients, your looking at £30 for a 20l batch and more like £20 if you use untrademarked hops and dried yeast.

As I said, I buy in bulk, so grain is a bit above a pound per kilo. So £5 for grain (£6 if it's a strong one). Probably most of a pack of regular hops, so say £5 tops. And £3 for a sachet of dried yeast. So £10-15 for 20l.

 

[Bernie]

kit brews I'm buying work out at 26-28 euros per 23 litres

 

[Kronos]

So 40 - 50 quid for 20L say 38 pints, how much would it cost in the pub at 4 pound a pint it is 152 pounds

Or you look get 38 pints for £19.00 in a supermarket if you want to go down that road.

 

[Agentgonzo]

Or you look get 38 pints for £19.00 in a supermarket if you want to go down that road.

Not in any of the supermarkets I go to! Most of them are 4 bottles for £5 or £6.

 

[Kronos]

Where are you getting your stuff?

I buy a 25kg sack of base malt, which makes it cheaper, but even buying just what you want, malt is £2-3/kg. So £10, maybe £15 for the malt. Expensive hops are £7 for 100g, which is loads. £3 for dried yeast or £7 for liquid. So even with lots/expensive ingredients, your looking at £30 for a 20l batch and more like £20 if you use untrademarked hops and dried yeast.

As I said, I buy in bulk, so grain is a bit above a pound per kilo. So £5 for grain (£6 if it's a strong one). Probably most of a pack of regular hops, so say £5 tops. And £3 for a sachet of dried yeast. So £10-15 for 20l.

I tried three popular online shops in the UK. The liquid yeast was nearer £9, 8kg of malt £18, the hops (3 types) £12, then £6 delivery.

 

[Druncan]

CML TT Landlord £19.95 23L posted! (2 x =£39.9) -They do give us discount as well!!!!

But it is even cheaper as @Agentgonzo said to buy in bulk.

(Still got most of 250kg Crushed planet malt in the loft as my winter playtime materiel )

 

[Kronos]

Not in any of the supermarkets I go to! Most of them are 4 bottles for £5 or £6.

Sorry I am talking lager, in the supermarkets.

 

[Kronos]

CML TT Landlord £19.95 23L posted! (2 x =£39.9) -They do give us discount as well!!!!

But it is even cheaper as @Agentgonzo said to buy in bulk.

(Still got most of 250kg Crushed planet malt in the loft as my winter playtime materiel )

Who are CML?

 

[MickDundee]

Or you look get 38 pints for £19.00 in a supermarket if you want to go down that road.

38 pints of what? Carling?

Seriously though, what kind of IPA was it and where were you trying to buy it? I’ve just shoved the ingredients for a NEIPA (6kg grain, 350g hops and a Verdant yeast) into my basket on GEB and it was £38. I could probably do a West Coast or English IPA for less than the price of one of the kits you bought.

 

[MickDundee]

Who are CML?

Crossmyloof

 

[Kronos]

38 pints of what? Carling?

Seriously though, what kind of IPA was it and where were you trying to buy it? I’ve just shoved the ingredients for a NEIPA (6kg grain, 350g hops and a Verdant yeast) into my basket on GEB and it was £38. I could probably do a West Coast or English IPA for less than the price of one of the kits you bought.

It was the 'Oldy Wordly English IPA' from the book Brew James Morton.

 

[Kronos]

Crossmyloof

I have never heard of these, they look ok.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I tried three popular online shops in the UK. The liquid yeast was nearer £9, 8kg of malt £18, the hops (3 types) £12, then £6 delivery.

Sounds like you're brewing a big strong IPA, either with some hops leftover, or using a lot of hops. You'll not get 300g of hops in a kit, and probably not liquid yeast. Neither of those are cheap. The kits will likely have less malt too. You get what you pay for.

300g of hops is NEIPA territory, so it's not valid to compare the cost of hops with a premium bitter. Neipas aren't cheap to brew because of the vast quantities of expensive hops (but there are plenty of other IPAs that don't use lots of expensive hops)

 

[stuarts]

As prices for homebrew ingredients go up so will Pubs and Supermarkets it's all relative in the end. CML kits are very Good English Tropical is one thats particularly Good.

 

[Agentgonzo]

Try shopping around for malt. I normally buy enough for 6 months of brewing in one go. You can save on postage and also grain prices of you get a 25kg sack.

Crossmyloof are good for yeast/hops, t expensive for malt to make up for "free" postage.
Thehomebrewcompany, geterbrewed, themaltmiller and brewuk can be cheap for malt, or can be expensive depending on which malt you get (I always shop around with these ones to try to get the best deal). Most places are expensive for postage which is why I only order twice a year so it's less of a hit. When ingredients are about £25, but £6-8 for delivery, then it's a large percentage of the total cost.

 

[Big_Eight]

I can see where the OP is coming from if brewing an 8% IPA with something like Centennial, Citra, and Mosaic Hops. That can run up to whereabouts he is talking about. Otherwise a normal 5-6% brew shouldn't cost that much especially if you buy your grain in bulk.