Category : The Beer Hacker
The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: Revising estimates
February 11th, 2010Returning to the series of articles about the economic impact of homebrewing, we re-examine previous cost estimates based on new information.
When I started this series, hops at the local Brew Shop were selling for $5 to $6.50 per two-ounces of whole flowers, and that was what the various estimates were based on. Since then, the price of whole hops has dropped to $3.25 to $3.95 per two-ounce package, so here I present some updated figures.
(Note: the online prices of hops are still averaging around $5-6 per two ounces, so it’s possible that hop prices in your area—if you have a local homebrew shop—are still similarly priced as well. But there is currently a hop surplus (a reaction to the hop shortage several years back), so I would expect to start seeing those prices go down sooner rather than later.)
Without further ado, here’s our updated pricing chart:
| Ingredient | Price | Price (online) |
|---|---|---|
| Malt extract syrup – 7 lbs. | $18.00 | $16.50 |
| Malt extract – dried – 3 lbs. | $11.00 | $11.25 |
| Malt extract – dried – 1 lb. | $4.25 | $4.40 |
| Grains – per pound | $1.90 | $1.45 |
| Specialty grains – per pound | $2.25 | ~$2.00 |
| Hops (whole leaf) | $3.25 – 3.95 | $5.50+ |
| Liquid yeast | $6.50 | $6.00 – 10.00 |
| Yeast – dry | $1.25 – 3.95 | $1.20 – 4.00 |
| Corn sugar – 1 lb. | $1.25 | $1.00 – 2.00 |
And, here’s an updated table of costs by style:
| Style | Price |
|---|---|
| American Pale Ale | $31.15 |
| English Bitter | $34.77 |
| India Pale Ale | $43.35 |
| Double/Imperial IPA | $54.92 |
| Brown Ale | $31.07 |
| Porter | $37.09 |
| Stout (basic) | $34.40 |
| Imperial Stout | $71.17 |
| Hefeweizen (basic) | $29.95 |
| Cream Ale | $29.15 |
| Belgian Witbier | $35.93 |
| Barleywine | ~$70 |
Not a huge difference from the original estimates, but every little bit adds up.
The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: Costs by style
July 18th, 2009This is the second part in a series of articles about the economic impact of brewing your own beer at home.
In the last (introductory) article, I set out baseline prices for ingredients and established a base price for an American Pale Ale. In this article let’s expand on that and figure out some base prices for a variety of other styles.
Bear in mind there are always ways to shave costs off the estimates I’m giving here. Switching from liquid to dry yeast, for example, can save you $5 or so. Different varieties of hops vary in price, and you may save money buying hop pellets rather than whole flowers. If you only use one ounce of hops from a two-ounce package, you can use the other ounce in another recipe and split the cost of the hops between two batches. And so on.
Also keep in mind these are all estimates, both in price and approximate recipe for the style. Your mileage may vary. Read the rest of this entry »
The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap
July 9th, 2009This is the first part in a series of articles about the economic impact of brewing your own beer at home. This first article is an introduction and sets up our assumptions and base numbers to work with; later articles are going to look at the relative costs of brewing different styles of beer, extract versus all-grain, and exploring if it’s possible to brew quality beer for $20 or less.
It’s no secret that beer prices have been rising in recent years: unless you’re drinking macrobrewed lager or have a local, large-ish microbrewery, you’re likely paying in the neighborhood of $7 to $12 for a six-pack of beer, maybe more if the beer is harder to get or exclusive somehow. (Dogfish Head, for instance, sells four-packs for $11 to $12.)
Enter homebrewing. The prospect of brewing your own quality beer for far less than what you’ve been paying retail has huge appeal, particularly these days. But is it true? There’s been some debate lately over whether brewing your own beer is truly cheaper (in the long run).
Personally, I think homebrewing is the cheaper alternative—but I’ve never taken the time to fully explore that assertion. I want to definitively answer the question, “Is homebrewing really a more economical way of keeping you supplied with beer?” Read the rest of this entry »
The Beer Hacker: Web-based beer brewing software
February 7th, 2008One year ago I wrote about Beer Brewing Software, reviewing five Windows programs and ultimately picking BeerSmith as the overall best brewing software available. (It still is, by the way.) At the time, I wrote:
I only looked at programs that run on a single computer—even though in this wired-internet-"web 2.0" world it seems like a no-brainer that there should be web-based brewing sites that do all the same things, only online and shareable with other users out there. Perhaps there are, but that’s a subject for a future article.
Well, that future article is finally here, and in surveying the field of online, web-based beer brewing software, I’ve found three sites that aim to fit that niche, but my overall conclusion is that the field is wide open.
Now, my criteria might be a bit limiting: like many of the "next generation" websites out there, I want a "Web 2.0", free-and-unlimited-access web application. (It could be ad-supported, or offer pay-for-premium access somehow; but generally, I want to be able to create, save, and share as many recipes as I want without being charged. I’m greedy, I know.) Essentially, I want to be able to access and manage my brewing recipes and notes from anywhere online.
Let’s take a detailed look at those three sites, and then cover just what it is that should go into such a website.
The Beer Hacker: Writing a Beer Blog: Part 2: Finding Stuff to Write About
August 17th, 2007Back in Part 1 of this mini-series I covered how to start a blog. The question that often arises after starting one is, what do I write about? In the case of a beer-themed weblog, you’ll want to stay on topic, but there are a bunch of options: news, other beer blogs, beer tastings, brewery reviews, and more.
Of course, the reality is, the sky’s the limit—but to keep things simple I’ll cover a few of the broader categories.
The Beer Hacker: Writing a Beer Blog: Part 1: Setting Up
July 12th, 2007A few years ago there were only a handful of beer-related blogs, but that number has been steadily growing, thanks in large part to the availability of free weblog-hosting services such as Blogger and WordPress.com and the low barrier to entry these services have introduced
In fact, today it’s easier than ever to start a beer-themed blog, and over the next several Beer Hacker articles, I’m going to cover just that. The focus will primarily be on the free online services that have sprung up around blogging to get you accomplishing this goal—writing about beer.
Part 1 of this series will focus on setting up a new blog with two of the most popular and easy-to-use blog hosting services, the ones I already mentioned: Blogger and WordPress.
The Beer Hacker: Finding inexpensive beer
April 19th, 2007It’s the ongoing dilemma: you want to drink well, but are on a budget. Sure, you could always bite the (silver) bullet and go with the always-cheap "American macro lager" a là Budweiser or Coors. But notice the headline says "inexpensive" beer and not "cheap" beer—the distinction is important because all too often, "cheap beer" means those very same American macros I’m hoping to avoid—and of course when I write "drink well," I mean not drinking those industrial pilsners.
Seeking out those inexpensive "step up" beers can be a bit of an adventure—often you’ll come across beers you’ve never heard of before, some of which will just barely be a step up from MGD and some which will be jewels in the rough. Sometimes you’ll find some excellent, well-known microbrew for a really good deal, too.
But be warned: if you have to have that really good bottle of Rogue or Dogfish Head, most of the time you’ll just have to suck it up and pay the premium price for it.
The Beer Hacker: Beer brewing software
February 2nd, 2007Wonder of wonders, I’ve finally written another Beer Hacker article! To anyone not familiar with "The Beer Hacker," check out the introduction here.
A few years ago I posted on my other blog on the subject of brewing software, and had laid out a set of criteria for what I’d like to see in such a package. It’s been a long time since I’ve looked at brewing programs, and figured revisiting and reviewing a bunch of them would make a good topic for the Beer Hacker.
I only looked at programs that run on a single computer—even though in this wired-internet-"web 2.0" world it seems like a no-brainer that there should be web-based brewing sites that do all the same things, only online and shareable with other users out there. Perhaps there are, but that’s a subject for a future article.
Since I use Windows XP, I’m unable to test any software that runs on Mac or Linux, so if there’s a fantastic non-Windows brewing program out there, let me know. The programs I found and tested are shareware—there is a trial period which you can use the software, then you must buy it at the end of that period for the full-featured version to continue using it.
The Beer Hacker: 5 Tips for Extract Brewing
March 3rd, 2006Having brewed extract-based beer for years (I still haven’t made the jump to all grain), I thought I’d share some hacker-ish tips to help improve your extract brewing. These are tips that are aimed more for the beginning homebrewer, though hopefully more advanced brewers will appreciate them too.
The Beer Hacker: Beer and brewery maps
February 18th, 2006
I’ve blogged about the Beer Mapping Project before, but I thought it deserved an in-depth look and would make an ideal topic for this Beer Hacker column.
For the uninitiated, the Beer Mapping Project is a great resource that combines the power of Google Maps with one of the most complete listings of breweries, brewpubs, beer bars and even beer stores that I’ve ever seen. They have larger-scale US Brewery Maps, organized by region, that show brewpubs and breweries; and a growing selection of city beer maps that include the beer bars and stores, focusing on much more detail for that particular city.
The Beer Hacker: Best of the cheap beers?
February 11th, 2006At the risk of using an inflammatory headline, "cheap beers" seemed easier to convey than what I really mean: American macrobrewed light lagers. Yes, the Millers, the Buds, the Coors… if you have to drink them (say you find yourself at a party with only the cheap stuff), which one(s) should you choose?
I thought this would be an amusing topic to write about for my first "Beer Hacker" column, though I kind of wish I’d written it to be timely with the Super Bowl. Ah, well, better late than never.
The Beer Hacker
February 10th, 2006No, "The Beer Hacker" doesn’t refer to a new blog or site (that I know of), but rather the name of a new "column" I’ll be writing here semi-regularly (once a week or so). They will be longer articles covering all sorts of beer-related topics, with (I’m thinking) the underlying theme of getting the most out of beer in various ways (homebrewing, relating to the internet, etc.).
Why am I doing this? I think it’ll be a fun addition to the site; it forces me into a more regular writing schedule (I keep telling myself I want to be a writer); I’m inspired in part by sites like Lifehacker and it would be fun to do a beer version.
And yes, "The Beer Hacker" is a riff on "The Beer Hunter", which is the nom-de-plume of beer writer Michael Jackson. You can’t take yourself too seriously. 
So keep an eye out. First one should be up today or tomorrow.
