Happy Thanksgiving!

As I recover from too much beer and far too much turkey, I will be pondering the question: Why homebrew? It's so much work. It costs so much in equipment. You have to wait so long to get the finished product. And so on and so on. On the other hand it's cheaper than buying commercial beer.

Let's dispense with the last thing first. I purchased a 6-pack of Abita Turbo Dog last night for consumption on Thanksgiving Day. It cost $5.98 at my local liquor store. That's about a buck a bottle. An extract beer kit costs about $34. While most homebrewing books will tell you a five gallon batch with get you two cases of beer. In my experience, it's not that good. (Although I am willing to entertain the suggestion that my experience might be the problem!) I usually get 44-46 bottles. Almost 2 cases to be sure. That's about $.75 a bottle. Not a huge savings, but not too shabby. But if i want cheap beer, I can by a 30 pack of Miller High Life for around $18, which yeilds $.60 a can. And if I want till it's on sale. . .

I don't brew to save money. Never have. If I was concerned about price, I wouldn't have spent $300 on a kettle. That made my first batch about $7 a bottle!

I brew for the taste. Every once in a while, I enjoy a Bud. Or a Lone Star. Mostly, Shiner Bock, though. But sometimes, a nice Guinness is appropriate. Or a brown ale. Or an IPA. And what about sour mash beers? Bourbon stouts? For those, I gotta home brew.