Brewing Beer
1 bbl = 31 gal = 6 homebrew batches = 310 bottles = 52 6-packs
Retail Cost [2006-12]
| $ 77.50 | Cheap US beer | ($6/case24) |
|---|---|---|
| 155.00 | US standard beer | ($12/case24, major national brand) |
| 310.00+ | Craft beer | ($6+/6-pack) |
Homebrew Fixed Costs
| Ingredients | (purchased in small bulk quantities) | |
|---|---|---|
| $ 33 | Malt | (30 lb, $44/40lb, $1.1/lb) |
| 4 | Hops | (6 oz, $9.50/lb, $.50/oz) |
| 8 | Yeast | (6 packs dry, $1.30/pk) |
| (priming sugar optional) | ||
| $ 45 |
Supplies are consumed in the process, also.
| Supplies | ||
|---|---|---|
| $ 18 | Bottles | (310@ $14/24, $.60/ea, reused 10x) |
| 5 | Caps | (310@ $15/900) |
| Fuel | ||
| Electricity | ||
| $ 23 |
Note bottling supplies and labor can be nearly eliminated by using 5-gal kegs. ($2 for 6 kegs @$35/ea, reused 100x, +CO2, +additional equipment)
| Equipment | ($3000/300 batches, 50 batches/yr for 6 years) |
|---|---|
| $ 10 | Maintenance, Depreciation, Interest |
| 0 | Property Rental |
| $ 78 | Total Fixed Cost per Batch |
|---|
Homebrew Variable Costs
| Labor | total: 10 hr/batch |
|---|---|
| 1 hr | Admin |
| 1 | Setup |
| 1 | Mash |
| 1 | Boil |
| 1 | Chill, Cleanup, Pitch |
| 1 | Prep Bottles |
| 2 | Bottle |
| 8 hr | Labor/batch |
|---|
| $ 80 | for 8 hr @$10/hr |
|---|
Homebrew Total Cost
| $158 | Total Cost |
|---|
Opportunity Costs
| Opportunity Cost Equivalent | ||
|---|---|---|
| for a 6-pack of craft beer per week for 1 year (1 bbl/yr) | ||
| $232 | $29/hr*8hr | |
| 78 | fixed | |
| $310 | Craft beer ($6+/6-pack, 52 6-pack) | |
Notes
| Equipment | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| qty | $ea | ||
| $ 200 | 2 | $100 | Propane Burner - 10” High Output |
| Grain Grinder | |||
| Mash/Lauter Tun | |||
| 400 | 2 | 200 | Brew Pot, 100 qt (25 gal) |
| 400 | 2 | 200 | Plate Chiller |
| 1400 | 2 | 700 | Stainless Conical Fermenter (27 gal) |
| 2 | Secondaries (if necessary) | ||
| 2 | Cooler (if necessary) | ||
| $2400 |
|---|
Note these equipment costs are approximated for 40-50 gal batches (two 20-25 in parallel), if sized for a 31-gal batch, the total should be around $1800-$2000.
RDA (M:2/day, F:1.5/day) → Household: 3.5 bottles/day = 1280 bottles/yr = 120 gal/yr. US Legal Homebrew Limit: 1-adult household: 100 gal/yr; ≥2-adult household: 200 gal/yr.
http://www.ibrewbeer.com/ http://www.ibrewbeer.com/faq.html
3bbl Brewery: $15,500 Used; $34,000 New.
$85/15.5gal = $27/5gal = $110/20gal src
Fuel costs: ≈ [7.35 kWhr/gal * $0.10/kWhr]
”…the average specific energy consumption was more than 350 MJ/hL. It should be noted that the production levels of the larger breweries affect the averages. Smaller breweries can lack the efficiency and economy of scale of their larger counterparts and can therefore use up to twice the amount of energy relative to output. ”—Green Beer, PART ONE: ENERGY AND BEER, October 14, 2004, RateBeer LLC.
700 MJ/hL = 194kWhr/26.4galbeer = 7.35 kWhr/galbeer
700 MJ/hL = (663,500 BTU)(1 lbpropane/21548 BTU)($0.65/lbpropane) / (26.4galbeer)= $20/26.4galbeer = $0.76/galbeer
Propane Properties (1galpropane/91,500 Btu)
US Median Individual Income (2005): ≈$13-15/hr ($15/hr= $30000/yr)1) 2) [pre-tax; perhaps $26k after 15% on 25K taxable]. $28,000 per person after taxes3).
Long-term average US inflation: 3.4%4)[CPI-based]
Very good microbrewery installer, with prices (UK).
CO2: 5lb/10keg = 5lb/155gal = 0.032lb/gal = 6.5 lb/200gal5)
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