Increasing Cost Efficiency

A good friend made a great point the other day. He said, brewing beer is a hobby and hobbies can be expensive. This is mostly true, but not entirely. When you consider my situation, yes it was indeed expensive to build my system and to add even further, my the tap water around here is no good for brewing. My house is 55 years old, so let's just some of the pipes are rusted. I don't drink the water, therefore I won't put it in my beer. When I brew a 10 gallon batch of beer, I typically use 20 gallons of storebought water. Poland springs is $1 a gallon, so you do the math. 10 gallons yields 4 cases so at $20 extra dollars for water, you can see how the cost does add up.

Here's the typical cost breakdown for a recipe. We'll do the math together.

10 gallon batch

20 gallons of water: $1 x 20 = $20
20 pounds of pale malt: $2.20 x 20 = $44
1 pound vienna malt: $2.25 x 1 = $2.25
4 pounds flaked wheat: $1.75 x 4 = $7

2 ounces of Cascades Hops: $2.50 x 2 = $5

1 vial American Ale yeast: $6.75

Total = $85.00

$85 / 4 = $21.25 per case.

Keep in mind this is a very rough, fictitious recipe for illustrative purposes. 25 pounds of grain for a 10 gallon batch would create a 5.5 - 7.5% beer, so not BMC (Bud, Miller, Coors). When you consider the cost of $21.25 per case of beer for a Pale Ale it sounds pretty good, right? Sure, it definately does. But guess what, that cost could easily be improved. I see 3 ways for this to happen: 1 that is easily achievable, and 2 that aren't.

Let's look at what isn't feasible first. $20 of the total cost comes from water. My solution is to move somewhere else that has a better water profile. This could be municipal water or tested well water. Municipal water is used in many breweries across the world and produces great beers alike. Until I move, I am stuck with rusty water at $20 per 10 gallon batch. Even though salts and minerals are available to homebrewers, I don't believe any will get rid of rust.

The second cost factor that sticks out is the yeast. The yeast is $6.75 per vial. Usually the equivalent of 2 vials is required for a 10 gallon batch. I have a yeast starter (stir plate) that can step up 1 vial into the equivalent of 2 vials. Sometimes, my poor planning or desire to brew something now doesn't afford me the opportunity to step up 1 vial of yeast, thus forcing me to purchase 2 vials of yeast.

Yeast can actually be cultured from previous batches or even from slurry at the bottom of certain beers. The process is called 'yeast washing' and requires much work. Not only is work involved but there are limitations on how long yeast remains viable. So we'll scratch this potential cost saver for now.

The biggest cost saver available to me is in the grain bill. $53.25 of the $85 comes from the grain itself. My sweetheart got me a barley crusher for my birthday, so I no longer have to go to the homebrew store to purchase grain at approximately $2.25 per pound. I can now buy bulk and store it for long periods. What's even better is that with my barley crusher I can crush the grain to my liking. In the past, what was given to me was what I got. Not anymore.

So numerous users on Homebrewtalk.com organize these group buys where they order grain in bulk from the commercial brewery suppliers. The cost savings are enormous. Literally, 30 local homebrewers order up as much grain as they can hold at home and get it delivered to a valid commercial loading dock. Everyone then meets up and takes their cut. The last Philly order brought in 4620 pounds of grain amongst 27 buyers. They ordered from North Country Malt Supply. You can check out their sales prospectus here at a discounted rate (see prices by weight): http://www.countrymaltgroup.com/downloads/NC%20Malt%20Supply%202010%20Sales%20Book%2009-27-10.pdf

Hopefully you checked out the above link and saw that they carry virtually every grain available along with hops and sanitizers, etc at very affordable prices. Needless to say, I am purchasing grain on the next shipment (which is real soon). Let's take a look at what that same recipe would cost now.


10 gallon batch

20 gallons water: $1 x 20 = $20
20 pounds pale malt: $0.67 x 20 = $13.40
1 pound vienna malt: $0.71 x 1 = $0.71
4 pounds flaked wheat: $0.50 x 4 = $2.00

2 ounces Cascades Hops: $.050 x 2 = $1.00

1 vial American Ale Yeast: $6.75

Total = $43.86

There you have it! The recipe that has been costing me $85 is now costing me $43.86, a savings of $41.14. That makes the same case of beer now cost $10.97. Now that's cheap. Keep in mind that some recipes cost more (ie. Belgian Dubbels/Trippels and IPA's) and some cost less (wheat beers and session beers in general). I am now at a point were I could feasibly brew $5 cases, granted I will have to store 55 pounds of each grain I purchase, or any split, third, or quarter bags I buy.

Just think, when we eventually move to a residence that has a better water profile, I'll be brewing up $3 cases. If I ever get into selling beer, it could be profitable at a rate like that.

Hope you enjoyed another blog by Halbe.