How much ya in for?

[The Beer Philosopher]

On a monthly basis, how much $$$ do you think you spend on brewing?

[Deege]

Not really sure. I usually make most of my beer from April to October, and wine is usually August to October. Maybe $500 total last year on beer and wine. I'll probably make much more beer and wine this year, but I don't expect the cost to dramatically rise. I plan to buy in bulk this year to offset the rise in production. So maybe ~$70 per month?

[Rob DeNunzio]

Actually, that's surprisingly easy for me to calculate, considering I've done all my buying online over the past year, so... It apparently came out to $48.75 per month during the 2007 calendar year. That includes the occasional replacement part due to wear n' tear, not to mention some bottling and cleaning materials that add to the overall cost of doing business. Not bad, considering!

[Chipper Dave]

Last year I spent $0 on brewing as I bought all of my beer. This year, I plan to return to homebrewing and buy all new equipment and perhaps make some of my own. It's only going to get more expensive the longer I wait so I may as well buy a nice brewpot, some carboys and go from there.

[Deege]

Get as big as you can afford on the pot. I have a 10 gal pot, and I ended up getting a 25 gal pot later. I'm hoping I won't want more than 25 gal. :)

[Chipper Dave]

Perhaps I'll wait until I get a few batches done and tasted before decided to brew in that big of a quantity. 5 gallon batches are typically all I want to invest in unless I knew I'd have a recipe I'd drink a whole lot of. Still, with a 25 gallon pot you'd probably avoid boil overs.

[Deege]

That's what I am hoping. That and I hope 25 gallons means zero dry weekend parties this summer. My neighborhood kept drinking me dry last year.

[Virgil G]

If i wanted to brew right now, I couldn't support my local homebrew place as they have $0 worth of hops (or at least they had none on friday).

Does anyone have any favorite online places for supplies?

[Deege]

Northern Brewer is usually very good. I've had great luck with them. Last I looked, they had some hops in stock. You may have to be flexible in your recipe though.

This year I'm planting hops all over the house. Hopefully next year I can be a Hops-Czar! :)

[Virgil G]

NO HOPS FOR YOU!!!

[Jeremy]

I really like Seven bridges Brewing (breworganic.com) in Santa Cruz. They store hops properly and all the hops are organic. They also have pretty good prices.

[Rob DeNunzio]

Agreed - I used them to help me stock up this year in preparation of what I thought could turn into a real shortage (go figure). Got some nice stuff, too. Mittelfruh, anyone?

[Jeremy]

I think the New Zealand Hallertaur are awsome! In fact I made a beer with one pound of them. Wonderful aroma and flavor.