$ How much have you spent on your brewing equipment?

Question

I am gaging how much I want to or need to spend.

Answer 1

A good starter kit will cost you under a 100 dollars.  Over the last nine years, I spent well over a thousand dollars, including the purchase of three (used) refrigerators.

You shouldn't go by what everyone else has.  That starter kit I mentioned could have everything you'll ever use.

Answer 2

Want and need to spend are two totally different things.

You only NEED to spend about $60, but I recommend spending at least $80.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/...

You will also need non-twist off bottles... they tend to average around $11 a case and ingredients... those vary greatly in cost and it all depends on what you want to make....

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/...

But generally speaking... you can be up and running for under $130 easily and you'll have a decent kit that you can use for years to come.

                               -OR-

You can do down to Home Depot and Frankenstien together a bucket fermenter and some hoses for around $60... Me, I prefer to have someone else do that. I'll brew the beer.

Now want...

I'd like to spend $1200 on that double boiler preasure cooker and sparger thing on wheels that they advertise in BYO magazine every month... Or $2000+ on that all-in-one... brewer, fermenter and bottler I read about on gizmodo a few months back... But I don't NEED to.

Answer 3

Wow, a series of questions. lol

I have spent far too much on my beer & brewing supplies. It started with a homebrew kit I bought from an magazine add I seen in the Dentist's waitingroom. {I sure could have used a few beers then.} It included a plastic fermentation tub, bottle caps and capper, and a can of hopped malt extract. As I progressed into all-grain brewing I bought picnic coolers and copper pipe to make a mash, lauter , and liquor tuns. From there it was kegs, filters, fillers, more, more, and more.

I will estimate I have spent in excess $3,500 and want now to purchase a RIMS system to which I will customize for my purposes. (another $5,000+) I also will upgrade my fermentors to SS cylindoconical temperature controlled units in the next year or two. Do not say I am crazy. Just compared this to what others may pay for a sky boat & skies and now the gasoline to operate it. License-permits-penalties for all the other hobbies. {I felt I must make my case.} Beer is more than a beverage it is-the love of my life.

So you can just start out with a kit and spend approximately $100. But consider what yopu really think of beer and brewing. If it feels like a passion you make want to start with a more advanced system. Check with your local supplier and see if they offer free classes so you can get a feel for it.

http://www.beertown.org/homebrewing/

Answer 4

Not a heck of a lot. I got my basic kit as a gift They sell for as little as $50 US on eBay (plus shipping). I've made my own bottle tree from scrap wood and the only part of my wort chiller that I bought was a length of copper tubing at a flea market for a couple of dollars. My best flea market buy was a 10-gallon brew pot (stainless and with a false bottom and spigot) for $10. I also haunt book sales, thrift shops, and craig's list, also good sources. Some scrap wood winds up being turned into cases, after the pattern given in the book Brew Ware. Reusable bottles come mostly from a local beer distributor, where I pick them up for $1.50 per case, the amount of deposit.