Finances and homebrew

[headmaster]

Not surprising, and many beers from Thailand and Vietnam are pretty clean and tasty, putting to shame a lot of local megaswill 

The reason why it's so cheap? One is that it's brewed OS, but two, this is almost the cheapest style to brew in the world, the only thing cheaper being light beer. The international lager style, pretty much invented by the Americans, has the least hops and very cheap malt bill, often with even cheaper adjuncts like rice and corn. 

I made an asahi clone at home including the use of rice and I remember it worked out at about 11c/330ml. 

[alexhenderson]

I started brewing in the 60's, in those days we sourced our malt from the Chemist, had to be careful not to get the one with cod liver oil in it, yeast was bakers and the final product was very ordinary. Coopers came to the rescue in the 70's with the cardboard packs to which you just added the yeast, proper brewing yeast by now and fermented in the cardboard box, big improvement. Today we are spoiled and have a wonderful choice of product and a supplier who takes an interest in us. I threw out all my glass bottles when a friend lost an eye due to an exploding bottle, I have had a lot of problems with the Pet bottles leaking and not sealing, of late I am using 500ml water bottles from Coles and they are proving to be a great success, seal well and are perfect for the 600ml pint glass. 

[DonPolo]

1 minute ago, alexhenderson said:

I am using 500ml water bottles from Coles

Well now THAT is a new development!

[headmaster]

I was actually quoting the figure of $26.80 from a presentation I sat through late last year from someone in the industry.

 

Running the numbers myself, the amount is less. The applicable rate for that lager is 1.10 here: 

From here https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Excise-and-excise-equivalent-goods/Alcohol-excise/Excise-rates-for-alcohol/

Table 1: Alcohol rates – Beer (Excise duty on beer is payable on the alcohol content above 1.15% by volume in your finished product)

Tariff item	Description	Unit	From 1/8/2018	From 4/2/2019
1.10	Alcohol volume exceeding 3.5%, individual container up to and including 48 litres	$ per litre of alcohol	49.90	50.40

 

So for the aldi lager 24X330ml = 7920ml

4.6% by volume is 364.32 mls of alcohol. 0.36432 X $50.40 = $18.36. 

5% will be around $20. 

Both the new rate as of a month ago. 

 

[headmaster]

54 minutes ago, alexhenderson said:

 a friend lost an eye due to an exploding bottle

That's my worst nightmare... How did that happen Alex? I guess was a while back but sorry to hear about this. 

[alexhenderson]

54 minutes ago, DonPolo said:

Well now THAT is a new development!

I have been buying the Sparkling water for some years and throwing the bottles away, after a spate of non sealed or leaking Pet bottles I decided to try one of the water bottles and I now have many dozens filled with my various brews, and I have never had one not seal correctly, the Irish Stout I have down now will go straight into these bottles. 

[alexhenderson]

4 minutes ago, headmaster said:

That's my worst nightmare... How did that happen Alex? I guess was a while back but sorry to hear about this. 

The problem with glass bottles is us, we are not perfect and mistakes can be made, I have had bottles explode myself due to perhaps bottling too soon or adding too much sugar, this did happen to my friend several years ago, he is coping well with his one eye, as you get older you are more prone to these type of happenings.

[porschemad911]

2 hours ago, headmaster said:

Not surprising, and many beers from Thailand and Vietnam are pretty clean and tasty, putting to shame a lot of local megaswill 

I had a really nice IPA from a Vietnamese brewery Heart of Darkness yesterday. 7.9% ABV, but well balanced with lovely floral hops. Unfortunately it cost me $20 for a schooner here in Singapore. The local beers, Tiger variants, ABC stout etc are much cheaper at the supermarket, but some are pretty ordinary. Avoid anything that boasts about its high strength on the can. Fortunately Guinness FES is really popular here so you can find it everywhere.

I'm the breadwinner for a single income family with a mortgage and good beer is definitely too expensive for me to buy regularly. Being able to brew the same thing at a third of the cost is great. Being able to taste it all the way through the process and then drink it fresh out age it is a big plus as well. Being able to make styles that are very difficult to find is another plus.

I do want to support local business but just don't have much spare money. But I still find that some commercial beers are exceptional enough to be worth buying as an occasional treat. Particularly those that have been barrel-aged or have special yeast and fermentation character.

Thinking about the taxation side of things, I wonder how it could be better targeted, to discourage people from drinking a case a week, but not really penalise someone who wants to drink a 6-pack over a weekend. I guess government policy assumes that the different total costs will do the trick and it mostly works.

Cheers, 

John

[Ronnie Dale]

I think? above 48 liter containers are taxed at a lower rate? Brewers, not sure if it is all or just small brewers get back either 30,000 or 50,000 in taxes at the end of the year.  In some cases that may be their salary for the year.

Alcohol would cost less if the tax was paid by the consumer not the producer.  If CUB pays 20 up front, they want more than the 20 back.

And yes, do away with the wine equalization tax. Make all alcohol taxes the same.  Pickers and pruners come in from SE Asia, by the time they pay the boss for transport and such, they make 9 bucks an hour.  Had a crew working friday, at 11 AM they hadn't had a break.  Already in the mid 30's.  Their boss said they never take a break.  I'm like no mofo, you aren't going to treat foreign labor any different than Australian labour.

[Detroit D]

6 hours ago, alexhenderson said:

I have been buying the Sparkling water for some years and throwing the bottles away, after a spate of non sealed or leaking Pet bottles I decided to try one of the water bottles and I now have many dozens filled with my various brews, and I have never had one not seal correctly, the Irish Stout I have down now will go straight into these bottles. 

I do the same with the soda water bottles, I get the 1.25 litre bottles for less than dollar from the supermarket. I like to do one with each brew at least as I use 750ml glass normally. you can feel it carb up ,see the colour change and you can give them away to mates without worrying about getting the bottle back. plus they are handy to take away camping etc. never had one leak either.

[DonPolo]

Do you think the still water equivalent bottles would be OK? My family's not particularly partial to the sparkling variety. 

Not that I need more bottles at the moment. Have about three dozen 740ml bottles to spare ATM plus 10 swing tops and that's quite a few craft fermenters worth.

[alexhenderson]

6 hours ago, DonPolo said:

Do you think the still water equivalent bottles would be OK? My family's not particularly partial to the sparkling variety. 

Not that I need more bottles at the moment. Have about three dozen 740ml bottles to spare ATM plus 10 swing tops and that's quite a few craft fermenters worth.

I will be shopping today and will buy some of the still water and give them a try, I cannot see why they would be any different.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Depends if they're pressure rated or not. 

I have sparkling water on tap. Love it with cordials.

[Hairy]

Still water bottles tend to be pretty flimsy. You could test it out but I wouldn’t go with something that is highly carbed.

[headmaster]

Yeah I would stick to the soda bottles. PET can actually handle heap of pressure before it ruptures, and the soda is carbed sky high, must be close to 4 volumes or more. I think the PET is rated at around 80psi and will blow way over 120psi , where average glass say 200 to 220g glass 330ml bottles will blow at around 4 volumes or approx 60psi 

[alexhenderson]

12 hours ago, DonPolo said:

Do you think the still water equivalent bottles would be OK? My family's not particularly partial to the sparkling variety. 

Not that I need more bottles at the moment. Have about three dozen 740ml bottles to spare ATM plus 10 swing tops and that's quite a few craft fermenters worth.

Checked out the still water bottles, no good paper thin compared to the Sparkling water

[muzzag]

Hi guys

I started brewing originally because of the logistics of getting cartons of beer across to the island I live on. With the free delivery (even to my door) I not only save all that hard work, but now save money and am enjoying my new hobby. One day I might even progress to AG.

Cheers muzzag

 

 

[Beerlust]

On 3/5/2019 at 2:42 PM, alexhenderson said:

I started brewing in the 60's, in those days we sourced our malt from the Chemist, had to be careful not to get the one with cod liver oil in it,...

It may no longer be the 1960's but even in the modern world some people still throw fish guts (isinglass) into their beer don't they Kelsey?! 

On 3/5/2019 at 4:07 PM, porschemad911 said:

...I'm the breadwinner for a single income family with a mortgage and good beer is definitely too expensive for me to buy regularly....I do want to support local business but just don't have much spare money. But I still find that some commercial beers are exceptional enough to be worth buying as an occasional treat. Particularly those that have been barrel-aged or have special yeast and fermentation character.

That would be due to your love of fine red wines & expensive high-end Scotch whiskies John! 

Two for the price of one. Love it! 

Cheers,

Lusty.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Isinglass is hardly the same as cod liver oil

[Marty_G]

On 3/5/2019 at 12:50 PM, headmaster said:

I made an asahi clone at home including the use of rice and I remember it worked out at about 11c/330ml. 

Would mind sharing the recipe would you ... 

[headmaster]

1 hour ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

Would mind sharing the recipe would you ... 

I used this back when I made it, recipe from the Clonebrews book. I think my version was closer to 5%ABV however. 

 

Asahi Dry Draft Beer

ASAHI BREWERIES, TOKYO, JAPAN

Asahi is a light, straw-colored lager with a small, beaded white head, light body, and a delicate bitterness. It has a light, clean-tasting malt

flavor and nose. The Asahi brewery is one of the world’s most technologically advanced breweries. In the brewery, as in all Japanese breweries, there

is a shrine. Once a month a new beer is left for the god of the brewery. This is just another example of the close links of beer and religion. Asahi Dry is a

refreshing beer that can be consumed anytime, but it is delicious with sushi.

Brewer’s Specs Style: STANDARD AMERICAN LAGER

Original Gravity: 1.040-1.041

IBU: 14

SRM: 3

ABV: 4.1%

Yield: 5 GALLONS (18.9 L)

Final Gravity: 1.008-1.009

2.6kg Pils Malted Barley

800g Rice

227g German light crystal (Carahell)

28g Saaz 60 mins

7g Saaz 15 mins

All-Grain Method: Grind 1.75 lb. (0.8 kg)

rice, then cook it for 20 minutes until soft. Mash 5.8 lb. (2.6 kg) American 6-row pale malt, the rice, 1 lb. (0.45 kg) rice hulls, and

the specialty grain at 122°F (50°C) for 30 minutes and at 150°F (65.5°C) for 60 minutes. Add bittering hops for 60 minutes of the boil.

Add the flavor hops and Irish moss for the last 15 minutes of the boil. Ferment with Wyeast 2007 Pilsen Lager or 2035 American lager or W34/70 dry yeast at 11c. Lager for a month at end of fermentation

 

Serving Notes

The beer is ready to drink as soon as it is carbonated. It will peak at 1 to 3 months and will keep at cellar temperatures for 5 months. Serve in

a Pilsner glass at 40°F (4°C).

[PaulW31]

On 3/5/2019 at 3:12 PM, alexhenderson said:

I started brewing in the 60's, in those days we sourced our malt from the Chemist, had to be careful not to get the one with cod liver oil in it, yeast was bakers and the final product was very ordinary. Coopers came to the rescue in the 70's with the cardboard packs to which you just added the yeast, proper brewing yeast by now and fermented in the cardboard box, big improvement. Today we are spoiled and have a wonderful choice of product and a supplier who takes an interest in us. I threw out all my glass bottles when a friend lost an eye due to an exploding bottle, I have had a lot of problems with the Pet bottles leaking and not sealing, of late I am using 500ml water bottles from Coles and they are proving to be a great success, seal well and are perfect for the 600ml pint glass. 

I keep my bottled beer in the garage , where it can reach 47 degrees C in January. Don't have the luxury of things like cellars and basements but I've got lagering fridges which probably make things worse for those not in them.. When it does get that hot, I tend to lose a few. I keep them either covered with sheets or in cardboard boxes, and I've never had one break explosively like you say. Coopers tallies tend to crack just above the base. You know when it has happened because you can smell the beer.

[alexhenderson]

28 minutes ago, PaulW31 said:

I keep my bottled beer in the garage , where it can reach 47 degrees C in January. Don't have the luxury of things like cellars and basements but I've got lagering fridges which probably make things worse for those not in them.. When it does get that hot, I tend to lose a few. I keep them either covered with sheets or in cardboard boxes, and I've never had one break explosively like you say. Coopers tallies tend to crack just above the base. You know when it has happened because you can smell the beer.

I have just discovered an ALDI 500ml bottle of sparkling water, twelve for six dollars, the bottle is a much simpler design than the Coles so I bought dozen and will be giving them a try, I have never been into putting my beer into kegs, and like you I keep all my many bottles in the garage where it does get hot in summer, as I write I am enjoying a six month old Coopers Stout which is excellent, 500ml bottle of course!

[Mark D Pirate]

Cost never really factored into it,  it is a massive bonus though to be able to produce commercial quality beer at a fraction of the cost .

It's also great having complete control over what I have available,  I've got my core range I brew regularly and try to keep on tap. 

The more invested you get with equipment the cheaper it can become to brew,  Coopers pale is popular with my friends and I can produce it for around $0.75 a litre,  helps me be a lot more generous with random visitors when it costs 0.35¢ a pint and even hop bombs come in at $1.20-40 a pint compared to $12-14 over the bar  

[Norris!]

2 hours ago, Mark D Pirate said:

The more invested you get with equipment the cheaper it can become to brew,  Coopers pale is popular with my friends and I can produce it for around $0.75 a litre,  helps me be a lot more generous with random visitors when it costs 0.35¢ a pint and even hop bombs come in at $1.20-40 a pint compared to $12-14 over the bar  

Totally agree. One question how many hops are you putting in these hop bombs? Are there 2 pints in a liter? So that works out to be like $100+ dollars a batch? What are you tossing in bales? Hahaha!