Looking to get into homebrewing? When I first started homebrewing I started small but quickly grew out of that phase. I wasted money doing it too. Hopefully my mistakes and tips can help you avoid paying more than you have too.
The number one way to brew cheap beer is to consider how much you want to invest into a hobby. There are many kits available for different levels of experience and dedication to buy. You could start small, but if you homebrew with a friend you can get a good idea of how in depth you want to get.
If you are really interested in every way you could possibly save money while brewing beer, I’ve put together an extensive list of ideas below. Maybe they spark some ideas of your own.
Decide if You Want Quality Over Quantity
probably the easiest way to brew cheap beer is to start small. This could start simply by buying a 1 gallon homebrew kit. This is still cheaper than buying a beer in the store after you brew a few times.
It is also better if you are brewing for yourself or just a few friends. You can homebrew in small quantities, hone your ability, and make delicious beers cheaper than you could buy in the store.
Buy a System to Fit Your needs
If you plan on brewing for a lot of friends, or become the best brewer in your area, a lot of people will want to try your homebrew. Make sure you buy a system, that will fit you needs.
It doesn’t make sense to buy a homebrew system, then scrap it just to buy another one when you have outgrown the old one. You are wasting money on the upgrade. Decide what system you want and how large of a system you need. The larger the system, the less each individual beer may cost to make.
As a side note if you don’t have a lot of space this could influence the size of system that you can efficiently maintain.
Switch from Extract to All Grain
This seems like a big step, extract brewing is takes less time and you don’t have to buy all grain gear. But brewing all grain, saves an absolute ton of money in the long run.
It didn’t take long for me and my buddy to realize all grain brewing was the way to go. We would have spent way more money if we kept using extract.
The additional cost of setting up your all grain system will be a bit steep but depending on how much you brew you will make it back quick.
| All Grain Ingredients | Price |
| White Wheat 5 lbs | $5.55 |
| Pilsner Malt 5 lbs | $5.99 |
| 1 oz Hops | $1.39 |
| Yeast (liquid) | $7.99 |
| Total Cost | $20.92 |
In contrast buying a kit from one of the brewing sites would cost $22.99. While it seems like small savings, the all grain list above is based on buying exact ingredient quantities. See next section about buying in bulk.
Buy Grain in Bulk
I actually never thought about this one when I first started out. I would just go to the homebrew supply store and stock up on the grains that I needed for that brew day.
Little did I know many of the beers I like to brew actually have the same base malt. Base malt makes up the majority of the grain bill in all grain brewing.
The best way to buy grain in bulk is to find the cheapest supplier online. Once you find the supplier you can buy grain from, buy a whole bag. This will last you for a few brew day rounds. Grain can makeup a lot of the overall cost of the beer depending on how much you use. Many IPA’s use a a lot of grain.
Reuse Yeast
You can reuse technically yeast indefinitely if you wanted too, but around 6 uses is typically the max. By this time the yeast begins to deteriorate in quality and may not produce great beer.
You can reuse yeast by washing it after brewing beer and taking it directly from the carboy. Alternatively you could just make a starter so you don’t have to buy as much yeast.
Some beers like a Belgian Tripel needs two packages of yeast, but by creating a yeast starter you can grow your own yeast!
Brew Less Expensive Beers
Some beers just cost more to make than others. For example you will need way more grains to create an imperial IPA than you would to create a simple lager recipe.
If you decide to brew beers that are less intensive on grain or hops then you could save some cash. Not only that but there are some beers that are far more expensive in the supermarket than they are to homebrew. Sour beers tend to command a premium, but its not because of the ingredients, but rather the time it takes for them to ferment.
Depending on the time of the year there are certain fruits that are available at cheaper prices, so if you are making a fruit beer be sure to pay attention to what fruits are selling cheap.
Try Brewing Mead
Mead has a simple ingredient list. You ready for it? Water, honey, and yeast. That’s all you need. Its super simple to make too, you just have to mix all three of the ingredients and you are ready to go.
Mead, takes a while until it’s ready so when it comes to time and space it may not be the best fit, but if you got nothing but time and space its perfect. Just dedicate one of your carboys to it and see it in a year.
You could speed up the mead fermentation process by using an ale yeast. That will get it to where it needs to be faster so that you can turnover your carboy for another beer.
Make your Own Recipe
Plan out your own recipe ahead of time. By doing this you can take a look at the available ingredients and see which ones are cheaper. You don’t have to use the most popular ingredients to get the job done.
You might even end up with a better beer by using closely related ingredients. For example why do you need to use pilsner malt, when you can use pilsen or even the standard 2 row.
The same goes for hops. You can shop around to see what suppliers have the cheapest hops. Not only that but you can create your recipe based on which hops are lower in price during the time of year.
Check out one of my recipe builder creation articles for more information.
Crush the Malt on Your Own
If you are buying online you will be charged extra for getting the grain pre milled. This can add up over time. You may want to invest in a barley crusher in order to reduce these costs. Depending on how much you brew it could be worth your while.
Pro Tip: If you are getting your grain pre-milled make sure to use it within a week. Milled grain will not last long, so you can’t buy in bulk.
Homebrewing Friend
If you are buying a barley crusher they cost around $100. This is a one time cost, whereas you will be paying about a dollar for every ten pound bag of grain at morebeer.com to be milled. If you are needing to get roughly 5 grains milled per brew it could take up to 20 brew days to break even.
Buy Hops in Bulk
Hops can be stored in the freezer to keep them from going bad. So you can often buy hops in bulk to use on brew day. This works well if you consistently use the same hops when brewing beer.
If you like to experiment with different hop types, check to see which online sellers have the best prices and different bulk quantities. For example Morebeer.com sells everything in between 1 ounce and a pound of hops, while Northern Brewer does not. This means you will likely spend more getting to that mid range quantity.
Buy Dry Yeast
Dry yeast sells for cheaper than liquid yeast does. It also doesn’t need to be stored in the cold to keep the yeast from dying. This makes it easy to store for longer periods of time and keeping it in bulk.
When using dry yeast you will need to make sure to create a starter to maximize the dry yeast you have. This is a great way to save money, without keeping around living yeast and constantly having to store it in cool temperatures.
Don’t use Ice
Ice is expensive, (relatively speaking of course) you likely won’t have enough of it for the larger brews. You could actually end up saving money in the long run by just buying a plate chiller or wort chiller. Some kits even come with one. Check this Clawhammer set up to learn more.
If you are in a particularly cold climate you could even take it outside and bury it in the snow.
For us Californians I suppose we will just have to make do with dropping it in the pool (I joke, Don’t do this!).
Keg the Beer
Kegs are reusable and you don’t need to purchase bottle caps every time you have to bottle a beer. You also don’t need to spend money on sugar to carbonate the beer.
Instead you just use CO2. It may just be trading one cost for another, but if you don’t have any extra bottles, then kegging is the way to go. As a bonus you won’t have to wait for your beer to carbonate.
Never Buy Bottles
Never, ever buy bottles for your homebrew. Always reuse bottles you get from friends or your own drinking. This will save a lot of cost in the creation of new bottles and recycling those bottles.
The only cost you will incur is bottlecaps. You can buy these in bulk so you don’t even have to think about buying more for a while. Don’t forget to save your bottlecaps for recycling though, if you get enough it can turn into a ton of cash.
Grow your Own Fruit
Depending on your climate there are a variety of fruits that you can grow and brew with. It’s amazing how easy it is to grow berries, these are sometimes even invasive. Yet millions of people buy them ever year. Instead grow your own and add them to your beer for a delicious fruit infusion.
I’ve dabbled with the idea of growing my own hops too, however I live in California and hops need tons of water.
Get Free Equipment
Maybe you have a homebrew buddy who is upgrading their setup. You can try and snag the old one for free, or at least at a much lower cost than you would have paid to buy a brand new kit.
Homebrewers are very clean because they don’t want to ruin their beer, so you know that the equipment is well cared for and sanitized.
Brew in a Bag Vs Sparging
Brew in a bag is sweeping through homebrewing circles. For a long time homebrewers have utilized the sparging method to increase the gravity of their beers. This is often more costly because of the equipment that is required.
Large breweries tend to utilize and advanced brew in the bag method rather than sparging, so if they are doing it, then it must be cheaper. Brew in a bag may reduce your overall efficiency but the time commitment, and equipment cannot be understated. You may even get better consistency.
There is also the space cost issue. If you have a small space requirement brew in a bag will save on space, and you won’t need a larger brew area.
Brew Electric
Electric brewing is picking up in popularity. Especially as everyone is becoming more environmentally conscious. The thing is, it actually takes less energy to brew a beer electrically, which leads to savings! With the advent of induction heating it becomes even easier to brew with less waste energy.
There are a number of ways that you can brew electric, google electric brew systems and you will find a few. Depending on where you live electric brewing could be more costly though. If you are willing to make the investment you could get some panels and make sure your electric brewing pays of sooner.
Also I recommend getting the Clawhammer system, since its easy and not to bad on the wallet.
Use the Cheapest Water You can Find
Don’t waste your money on anything other than tap water. This is all you need to brew delicious beer. Though, there are some impurities in it that can make your homebrew not as great as it can be, but that is easily remedied.
City water often comes with chlorine or fluoride in it. This needs to be treated out. luckily you can buy a simple tablet to throw into your water before every brew. Cheap easy and simple.
Fermentation Storage and Room Temperature
If you have a room that sustains a very even temperature around 70F then you really don’t need to invest in any type of storage for your beer. You can simply let it sit in a dark spot in your carboy and call it a day.
Buying carboys is another story, these can be expensive, so depending on how many beers you want to brew you will need more or less of them. If you decide to brew more than one beer at a time,this will likely be a sliding scale, so invest accordingly.
For those of you that want more control of the temperature of your beer, its best to invest in a chest fridge. Buy one that suits your needs and nothing more, typically two spots for carboys is enough space. It might even save you from worrying constantly if your beer is fermenting at the right temperature.
