> My costs are higher, I dont use tap water (chlorine), and I buy the
> best beer style specific yeast I can get my hands on and dont re-use
> it. There are also incidentals: malt sugar to make a yeast starter +
> hops for that, cleaning and sterilizing supplies, propane, ice for
> chilling the wort down (double exchange), etc.
>
Sure... It's not too difficult to get nickel-and-dime'd to make it
more expensive. I'm somewhat of a cheap bastard, so I've tried to find
the cheapest way to go without affecting quality. For instance:
- Potassium metabisulfite to treat the chlorine/chloramine. Buying water
sucks.
- I reuse the yeast a few times (3-6 times per) to get the per-batch cost
down (I also buy high-quality liquid yeast appropriate for the style).
- Minimal malt sugar for starters (doesn't take much to get a *huge*
population). I've had the same 5 lb bag for 9 months. Reusing the yeast
cake helps there too.
- I've been on the same liter of idophor for 1.5 years.
- I just switched to propane, but my estimate is 4 batches per $14 fill?
- Ice for chilling wort? Mustn't have cool enough tap water?
Anyway, to each their own... I might cut a few corners, but I've
never noticed any difference in quality. A new, fresh yeast is definately
a big percentage of the expense of an all-grain batch so reusing helps.
Or maybe I don't want to explain to myself the *true* cost of a batch...
:)
-Cory
--
*************************************************************************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
*************************************************************************
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