Raw or Kit

Grains, malts, hops, yeast, water and other ingredients used to brew. Recipe reviews and suggestions.

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slimsparty
Light Lager
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Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 3:07 pm

Raw or Kit

Post by slimsparty »

Here is a general question that hopefully isn't too redundant...

Which is cheaper for a minimash brewer? mailorder kits like from AHS or getting all your own incredients.

I think the later has to be since I'm willing to Overbuy most of my grains. Now I have enough grain for the next two batchs.

Everything is pretty relative. I just seem some of their high end kits over $50 and wonder if I'm doing it on my own cheaper.

The IPA I made with BeerTools had my batch cost at like $31/5 gallons. I'd say that maybe low.

Just a quandry. Sometimes "Bundling" is cheaper. ie. you couldn't make an automobile from parts cheaper than the whole unless you are Johnny Cash :mrgreen:

I'm doing it myself anyway now that I have a maltmill
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brewmeisterintng
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Somtimes it's not what you buy but where you buy

Post by brewmeisterintng »

My LHBS charges a small fortune because they are the only ones in town. With that said, I do a lot of on-line mail ordering. I am an All Grainer and have found places that have flat rate shipping or FREE shipping. You just have to know what is a fair price is for grains, hops and yeast. I also have purchased several kits from Northern Brewer that were reasonably priced and made some really wonderful beers. The bottom line is this is a hobby. Don't short the ingredients of a great recipe to save a buck. You won't be satisfied with the results. There are things you can do like reclaim your yeast for future batches, grow some hops and work on efficiency to reduce your grain bill. Ensure you proof your recipe before brewing it with a software package like BT. Bottom line is have fun...
slimsparty
Light Lager
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Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 3:07 pm

kit vs raw

Post by slimsparty »

True! I told myself early on that I am out to have fun, learn, and enjoy. Almost any homebrew batch is still cheaper than the 8 sixpacks of topshelf brew from a liquor store.

I maybe changing lhbs because the 3rd one I tried gave great advice, and seemed willing to make some bulk discounts.

I admit that I may have to spin a kit into the mix once in awhile. Some of the clone kits are just so good. AHS Lagunitas IPA was amazing in all ways.
chils
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Re: Somtimes it's not what you buy but where you buy

Post by chils »

brewmeisterintng wrote:My LHBS charges a small fortune because they are the only ones in town. With that said, I do a lot of on-line mail ordering. I am an All Grainer and have found places that have flat rate shipping or FREE shipping. You just have to know what is a fair price is for grains, hops and yeast.
That is so true. My LHBS is also high as hell,and I have almost 10% sales tax.So I buy from Morebeer any order over $59 is free shipping.I drive to Tulsa to buy my grain for $40/50lbs. and brew all-grain batches for $17/5gal.
Man, if your'e doing mini-mashes then just go all-grain and save some money.Look at" Dennybrew" for a cheap mash-tun idea and buy a turkey friar to do full volume boils.You already have a mill so the most expensive part is over.You can do the rest for around $50 :)
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