On the economics of homebrewing - Seeing as we are seeing a lot of cost of living posts, I thought I'd add a little post on considering homebrewing as a cost saving measure and share my own experiences.

I took up making my own hard cider as a hobby during lockdown and have kept it up because I actually prefer my homemade gear to most commercial products out there, which tend to be a bit too sweet for my palate. It's also super easy, without the need to go through boils and hopping as is the case with beer. Each batch takes under an hour of labour all up to sterilize the gear, pitch yeast, and then keg a few weeks later after fermentation. My keg takes 18L which then lasts me a few months.

The initial outlay was about $1000 all up for a fermentation vessel, keg, gas regulator and connectors, sterilization products, and a second hand fridge to keep the keg in. I use Sodastream gas cylinders to carbonate and it's pretty easy to find an adaptor to attach them to your regulator on eBay. I think you could do it much cheaper with glass demijohns and bottling yourself, but the convenience of a kegerator is really worth it, is less work all up, and doesn't risk bottle bombs from bottle carbonation.

With that all purchased, each batch of 18L costs me around $80 in consumables, being preservative free apple juice, yeast and the occasional Sodastream cylinder.

Be interested to hear how that compares to beer homebrewers too. Let me know if you have any questions.