I’m not a fan of most email forwards but this one was good enough to share. It also has a ring of truth to it so while you were wringing your hands over failed investments there might have been other better things you could have been doing drinking.
If you had purchased $1000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you will have $49.00 today.
If you had purchased $1000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you will have $33.00 today.
If you had purchased $1000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you will have $0.00 today.
But—- if you had purchased $1000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund…
you will have received $214.00.
Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle. It’s called the 401-Keg.
Too bad I don’t drink that many cans and end up saving most my bottles. However, this makes me ponder the true cost effectiveness of brewing at home. I know it has been covered before, but since each persons brewing and drinking habits vary, I wonder what the numbers could tell me?
If you brew at home and have crunched the numbers, let us know what you found out in the comments.
It’s a hobby, and is therefore impossible for it to be cheaper. Even if per 5gal batch it was less expensive than buying 5gals worth of beer (it was slightly before the shortages, now it’s not really, depending on what you’re drinking), you’re still going to geek out on some gadget that’s going to blow the costing model out of the water.
Anyone who claims they brew at home to save money lies. Thats not why we brew. We brew because we like good beer… And we like using our hands… And because we like good beer too!!
Even if it cost twice as much to brew 5 gallons than it did to buy 5 gallons, I would still brew. Probably not 3 times a month, but I would still brew at home.
Cloning 5 gallons of tecate? Not saving any money.
Cloning 5 gallons of 90 Minute IPA? Maybe.
Solution: Brew more than 5 gallons at a time. :)
My 2 cents.
Yeah, and switching over to all-grain, then buying in bulk is supposed to cut down on the per batch (especially over 5 gal), but again, it’s the gadgets & setup costs that’ll get you. Plus, you’re probably adding at least 50% more time to your brew day, and as they say, time is money. Point is, it’s just more fun and satisfying to brew & drink your own stuff – even the bad batches (though that does suck, because even as a learning experience, you’ve just blown all that cash & time).
The cost of ingredients is cheaper, but once you factor in equipment (brew kettle, keezer, etc) it is at best breaking even after many batches.
Oh well, being “cheaper” is just a good way to trick SWMBO into letting you start brewing anyway!