TOPIC:

I think the main point to be made is that it can be a hobby that is inexpensive and rewarding, while warning against the perils of trying to do it too cheaply with rubbish kits, i.e. the ol' programmers adage of garbage in, garbage out. This is the traditional image problem of homebrew: the student crowd making cheap muck in the bath.

I think that it's unlikely that many people will jump in feet first with a big outlay for equipment and I'd reckon that the most common curve that people are on is one where the first brew is in kit form and various pieces of equipment are added over time. Hopefully resulting in the improvements in each brew, which in itself is a rewarding aspect of the endeavor.

I was away all day so have missed this good discussion.

I'd second the point that DIY equipment is fun to make, and saves a bundle. The wort chiller we made cost only about €34. Plus, you can recycle loads of stuff that can be used for equipment. We use water cooler bottles for fermenting in, and by scrounging on places like jumbletown and dublin waste I got loads of demijohns, and a 50 litre glass carboy, plus things like spoons, bungs, airlocks, you name it. The only equipment we bought after a few brews was a 15 litre stock pot. By doing a partial boil we didn;t need a chiller as we cooled it in the sink, and poured it onto a top up of cold water.

Once we really got into it we made a chiller, and then bought a large boiler, which made life alot easier!

I'd avoid getting too technical with them (there probably won;t be many beer anoraks watching <!-- s;) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s;) -->). An average cost per bottle for a kit, extract and all grain beer would be good to present, alongside a price for equipment for a starter, intermediate and advanced setup.

Unfortuntely I doubt I can make it along <!-- s:( --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_sad.gif" alt="" title="Sad" /><!-- s:( -->

Mayebe bring some samples for them to taste. GOOD EXAMPLES! <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

Just as an FYI, I worked out how much our 1783 Revolution Ale cost to make. We made it for 21 litres, but after leaving behind stuff, and loss from blow off, we ended up with 17 litres. Ingredients were as follows for the 21 litres:

[size=84:xrnoowoi]2500 g Dry Extra Light[/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]450 g Crystal Malt 60°L[/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]18 g Chinook (13.0%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 60 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]15 g Cascade (5.5%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 15 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]1 tsp Irish Moss - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 15 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]15 g Cascade (5.5%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 3 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]1 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05[/size:xrnoowoi]

Total cost of these, with DME coming from Browland and the hops coming from Hop and Grape was €21.44. Electricity cost for the boil was about 65c bringing it to €22.09/ We got 17 litres in the end, making it €0.65 per 500ml bottle.

When delivery from browland is taken into account for the amount we ship in at a time, (€2 per kilo of extract approximately as we buy 25kg at a time and it's €50 for delivery, but we do get other stuff too) the cost of that brew goes up to €26.44 + €0.65 = 27.09. So about [b:xrnoowoi]€0.80 per bottle[/b:xrnoowoi] including leccy and delivery costs. Still not too shabby. Gonna work out our Big Chief Amarillo now, as the hops alone will make it the most expensive brew we've done I'd say (as well as one of the most delicious <!-- s;) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s;) -->)

If we could avoid that 1 litre loss to blow-off it'd come down a tad, so I think we'll be switching to buckets for fermenting <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->

<edit>
Big Chief Amarliio worked out at [b:xrnoowoi]€1.05 per bottle[/b:xrnoowoi], including delivery costs for ingredients. For a 5.9% taste sensation, that's not too bad <!-- s;) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s;) -->
[size=84:xrnoowoi]3.1 kg Dry Light Extract[/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]0.42 kg Caramunich® TYPE I[/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]0.42 kg Vienna Malt[/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]15.0 g Chinook (12.0%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 60 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]15.0 g Amarillo (8.9%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 20 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]15.0 g Amarillo (8.9%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 15 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]0.5 tsp Irish Moss - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 15 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]15.0 g Amarillo (8.9%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 10 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]15.0 g Amarillo (8.9%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 5 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]15.0 g Chinook (12.0%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 5 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]15.0 g Amarillo (8.9%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added during boil, boiled 0 min[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]15.0 g Amarillo (8.9%) - [i:xrnoowoi]added dry to secondary fermenter[/i:xrnoowoi][/size:xrnoowoi]
[size=84:xrnoowoi]1.1 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05[/size:xrnoowoi]

&amp;quot;sbillings&amp;quot;:56hh22qe wrote: [b:56hh22qe]Comments?[/b:56hh22qe][/quote:56hh22qe]

I think you've covered it nicely there, As Adeptus said, there's no harm in mentioning the rough price of these high-end kits, and how you can make low-cost relatively good quality beer, if this is the main thrust of the program.

[quote:1sle66fd]Comments?[/quote:1sle66fd]
Looks good <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) --> I don’t suppose you know how long you will get to talk? What about this below --- a comparison I occasionally use when trying to explain brewing is Baking.

i.e. You can buy a pre-mixed thing and bung it in the oven it is not bad. With a little extra effort brown soda bread is easy to make. If you go the whole hog you can make any number of different breads form all over the world. Plus it is all much more healthy than the white processed pan from Gala

Séan, any word on what happened last night with this show? Did you get to fulfill BeerNuts wildest dream? <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->