How many times a year do you brew

my LHBS has extract recipies and the prices for extract are almost as cheap as his all grain recipes. $20 - $50 depending on what is in it. Average is about $20 - $22 per kit.

 

PBW is much cheaper in bulk. I buy the big tubs and they last a couple of years. I brew around 25 to 30 batches per year. I also reuse it when I can by saving it in a bucket. Oh I also use oxyclean for some stuff, its much cheaper.

 

I've brewed about one batch a month since I started last August, and the price has generally been around $50 for a 5 gallon batch. Unfortunately, a lot of the cost-saving measures recommended here require up-front equipment purchases: a mill for the bulk grain and a vacuum sealer for bulk hops. I'll probably get those eventually if I stick with the hobby (and signs point to yes), but for now I'm stuck buying crushed grains and hops by the ounce. I try to coordinate my brewing to not waste ingredients, and I'm starting to reuse yeast, but that doesn't have a huge impact on the overall price compared to what I'd save buying bulk hops and grain.

 

Probably 5-6 times/year. Now that my wife isn't drinking it's taking longer to get through 5 gal of beer on my own. Not that that's a bad problem to have! I tend to watch my stash of homebrews, and when it's getting low (half case or so) I'll get another recipe in the works.

 

There are ways to get around the convenience of your own stuff. I buy lbs of hops. When I open them for first use I just put them in plastic bags and roll them like your old stash. Then put them in a second bag and freeze. They have so far kept for 1yr+ with no discernible loss. A lot of people in my brew club own mills. Some live close so when they brew I bounce over and mill some grain. I have some nice airtight plastic buckets so usually mill 2 batches at a time.

 

12 times a year. Cost about $100 for a 20 gallon batch. Haven't used PBW in a long time, oxyclean is cheaper, I only use it for bottles.

 

I brew anywhere from 10 - 30 times a year.

Obvious ways to save money
1) Oxyclean vs. PBW
2) Starsan mixed in gallon jug of distilled water then into a spray bottle. I have used about 10 oz of Starsan in the last 6 years.
3) Bulk hops, get used to using 1 or 2 hops in a recipe, don't be afraid to bitter with an "expensive" hop, it is not expensive if an oz is ~$1.
4) reuse your yeast, pitch on yeast cakes, dry yeast if possible
5) all grain and buy 55# sacks of grain, when there is a sale, buy a couple sacks

With a little bit of planning, you don't have to worry about yeast, and bulk hops disappear quickly.

For example, 1st brew an APA (Cascade and Citra) then 2nd use some of the yeast and brew a IPA (Citra and Mosaic). 3rd beer how about a saison with a ton of Cascade, then maybe another saison with Mosaic. There are 4 beers with 2 yeasts and a couple hops, if you use US05, then the first yeast was ~$4 and the 2nd was $7 and you still have yeast left over, save some in a container in the fridge then revive with a starter sometime in the next couple of months. Your hops will be fine in the freezer for a couple of months if you want to open a different variety.