Brewing on a Budget

Money is a concern for just about everybody. While making beer is cheap, buying the initial equipment is not necessarily the cheapest part. This can run under $100, to over $500. That is a big chunk of money when you live on a budget.

Here are some tips I have learned over time to help save money. These can be used by anybody to save money. You will find these especially useful if you don't have any equipment yet, and want to get it very affordable.

- Check craigslist or even post a message asking for equipment.

Buckets, carboys, airlocks, bottles, anything. Some brewers are getting out of the hobby and want to ditch their stuff at a fraction of the price.

- Look at pawn shops, second hand stores, garage sales, and other places for things. I have seen old water jugs (carboys) sold for less than half retail price. I bought a used carboy at an auction for $7, and it already had a thermometer on it!

- Plastic buckets are much cheaper than glass. You only need 5 gallons. Ask your local bakery or deli if they have any buckets. They just throw them out! You need the lid though. DON'T USE PICKLE BUCKETS! The smell is just about impossible to remove. Another great resource for new buckets is Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, paint stores, and so on. Flip the bucket over and look for HDPE 2 on it. That is almost always food grade plastic. You will need to have a 1" round hole cut in the top for an airlock or tube later. These buckets generally only cost $5.

- Check dollar stores for extra equipment. Stir spoons, thermometers, measuring cups, or anything else that might be useful to your brewing.

- Stainless steel is pretty hard to find second hand. Look for enamel coated aluminum pots though. I have found many in used stores. I bought a 5 gallon aluminum pot for $5!

- Reuse your yeast! Dry or liquid. You will need glass jars for storage, some dry malt extract (DME), and your scavenged yeast from the fermenter. You can reuse yeast many times. This will cut down on the cost and give you healthier yeast. Also, unless you know what was in glass jars, buy them new. Someone could have put chemicals or motor oil in those second hand jars.

- Look for light weight scales at Walmart and other discount stores.

My first 1 pound scale cost me $4, and my homebrew shop wanted $7 for it.

Here is an example chart for getting basic equipment cheap, assuming you already have a brew pot for cooking and some basic kitchen utensils.

All prices are approximate:

Plastic bucket with lid - Free from bakery up to $5 Bottling bucket with spigot - $12 (Note: if you can get an extra free bucket, spigots only cost about $3, much cheaper!) Airlock - $1

4 feet of 3/8" plastic tubing to siphon - $2 Bottle capper - $12 Bottle caps - $4 Stick on thermometer for bucket - $3 Hydrometer - $7 Bottles - get some from your friends, that's what I did Bottle brush - $5 Basic ounce measuring scale - $5

These items can cost over $50, but again, if you use the trick with the bottling bucket, that saves you about $10.

I assume you have measuring cups, a regular thermometer, a long handled spoon, and basic cleaning supplies. This list is for single stage fermentation. The purpose of this list is to show you can get basic supplies very cheap. A $100 kit is not necessary. I recommend getting a full 2 stage kit, but is money is tight, or you simply aren't sure if you will be staying with this hobby, brewing on a budget is definitely the way to go.