The Brew Site » The Beer Hacker http://www.thebrewsite.com It's all about the beer. Wed, 23 May 2012 19:30:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: The $20 beer challenge http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-20-beer-challenge/ http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-20-beer-challenge/#comments Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:00:45 +0000 Jon http://www.thebrewsite.com/?p=2758 This is the latest in a series of articles about the economic impact of brewing your own beer at home.

One of the things that inspired this series was a sort of challenge I had in mind: Would it be possible to walk into the Brew Shop with only a $20 bill and walk out with all the necessary ingredients to brew a five-gallon batch of beer?

Why $20? Well, at one point when there was a bit of belt-tightening going on, it seemed like a reasonable price point to support my beer habit: the equivalent of a case of beer for $10, cheaper even than the alternative—canned macro lagers which run around $13-15 per case. Could I really produce beer cheaper than on-sale PBR? The more I thought about it, the more I decided I had to explore it.

Of course, you can brew some pretty awful stuff for pretty cheap, so of course one of the requirements is that it has to be good beer—flavorful and enjoyable. So, for less than the retail cost of any beer on the shelves, can it be done?

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: The $20 beer challenge” »

]]> This is the latest in a series of articles about the economic impact of brewing your own beer at home.

One of the things that inspired this series was a sort of challenge I had in mind: Would it be possible to walk into the Brew Shop with only a $20 bill and walk out with all the necessary ingredients to brew a five-gallon batch of beer?

Why $20? Well, at one point when there was a bit of belt-tightening going on, it seemed like a reasonable price point to support my beer habit: the equivalent of a case of beer for $10, cheaper even than the alternative—canned macro lagers which run around $13-15 per case. Could I really produce beer cheaper than on-sale PBR? The more I thought about it, the more I decided I had to explore it.

Of course, you can brew some pretty awful stuff for pretty cheap, so of course one of the requirements is that it has to be good beer—flavorful and enjoyable. So, for less than the retail cost of any beer on the shelves, can it be done?

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: The $20 beer challenge” »

]]> http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-20-beer-challenge/feed/ 0 The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: All-grain vs. extract brewing http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-all-grain-vs-extract-brewing/ http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-all-grain-vs-extract-brewing/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:00:33 +0000 Jon http://www.thebrewsite.com/?p=2652 This is the latest in a series of articles about the economic impact of brewing your own beer at home.

One of the comments from the last “Brewing on the cheap” post mentioned all-grain brewing as “far cheaper” since you’re buying grain in bulk, and in fact an examination of all-grain brewing as compared to extract brewing is something I had been planning in this series. How economical is brewing all-grain? Let’s take a look at some assumptions and work up some costs by style, and contrast with the extract costs. Also, there are some other economics considerations I’ll touch on at the end that you should consider when making the decision as to what type of economical brewer you are going to be.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: All-grain vs. extract brewing” »

]]> This is the latest in a series of articles about the economic impact of brewing your own beer at home.

One of the comments from the last “Brewing on the cheap” post mentioned all-grain brewing as “far cheaper” since you’re buying grain in bulk, and in fact an examination of all-grain brewing as compared to extract brewing is something I had been planning in this series. How economical is brewing all-grain? Let’s take a look at some assumptions and work up some costs by style, and contrast with the extract costs. Also, there are some other economics considerations I’ll touch on at the end that you should consider when making the decision as to what type of economical brewer you are going to be.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: All-grain vs. extract brewing” »

]]> http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-all-grain-vs-extract-brewing/feed/ 2 The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: Revising estimates http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-brewing-on-the-cheap-revising-estimates/ http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-brewing-on-the-cheap-revising-estimates/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:34:27 +0000 Jon http://www.thebrewsite.com/?p=2631 Returning 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.

]]> Returning 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.

]]> http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-brewing-on-the-cheap-revising-estimates/feed/ 5 The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: Costs by style http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-costs-by-style/ http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-costs-by-style/#comments Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:43:03 +0000 Jon http://www.thebrewsite.com/?p=1775 This 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. Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: Costs by style” »

]]> This 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. Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap: Costs by style” »

]]> http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-costs-by-style/feed/ 3 The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-brewing-on-the-cheap/ http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-brewing-on-the-cheap/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:40:51 +0000 Jon http://www.thebrewsite.com/?p=1664 This 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?” Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap” »

]]> This 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?” Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Brewing on the cheap” »

]]> http://www.thebrewsite.com/the-beer-hacker-brewing-on-the-cheap/feed/ 10 The Beer Hacker: Web-based beer brewing software http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer-hacker-web-based-software/ http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer-hacker-web-based-software/#comments Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:42:49 +0000 Jon http://www.thebrewsite.com/2008/02/07/beer-hacker-web-based-software.php One 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.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Web-based beer brewing software” »

]]> One 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.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Web-based beer brewing software” »

]]> http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer-hacker-web-based-software/feed/ 6 The Beer Hacker: Writing a Beer Blog: Part 2: Finding Stuff to Write About http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer-hacker-writing-a-beer-blog-part-2/ http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer-hacker-writing-a-beer-blog-part-2/#comments Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:16:39 +0000 Jon http://www.thebrewsite.com/2007/08/17/beer-hacker-writing-a-beer-blog-part-2.php Back 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.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Writing a Beer Blog: Part 2: Finding Stuff to Write About” »

]]> Back 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.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Writing a Beer Blog: Part 2: Finding Stuff to Write About” »

]]> http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer-hacker-writing-a-beer-blog-part-2/feed/ 3 The Beer Hacker: Writing a Beer Blog: Part 1: Setting Up http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer-hacker-writing-a-beer-blog-part-1/ http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer-hacker-writing-a-beer-blog-part-1/#comments Fri, 13 Jul 2007 06:44:15 +0000 Jon http://www.thebrewsite.com/2007/07/12/beer-hacker-writing-a-beer-blog-part-1.php A 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.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Writing a Beer Blog: Part 1: Setting Up” »

]]> A 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.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Writing a Beer Blog: Part 1: Setting Up” »

]]> http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer-hacker-writing-a-beer-blog-part-1/feed/ 1 The Beer Hacker: Finding inexpensive beer http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer_hacker_finding_inexpensive_beer/ http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer_hacker_finding_inexpensive_beer/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2007 07:09:36 +0000 Jon http://www.thebrewsite.com/2007/04/19/beer_hacker_finding_inexpensive_beer.php It’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.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Finding inexpensive beer” »

]]> It’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.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Finding inexpensive beer” »

]]> http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer_hacker_finding_inexpensive_beer/feed/ 4 The Beer Hacker: Beer brewing software http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer_hacker_brewing_software/ http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer_hacker_brewing_software/#comments Fri, 02 Feb 2007 22:13:44 +0000 Jon http://www.thebrewsite.com/2007/02/02/beer_hacker_brewing_software.php Wonder 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.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Beer brewing software” »

]]> Wonder 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.

Continue reading “The Beer Hacker: Beer brewing software” »

]]> http://www.thebrewsite.com/beer_hacker_brewing_software/feed/ 6