[email]jdjjordahl@sbcglobal.net[/email] wrote:[color=blue]
> On Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:16:04 -0400, jason <me@invalid.address.com>
> wrote:
>[color=green]
>> DragonTail wrote:[color=darkred]
>>> [email]jdjordahl@sbcglobal.net[/email] wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've been brewing for about 8 years, not too adventuresome, and still
>>>> using the partial-grain method. My last batch of ingredients, for a
>>>> Sam Adams "clone," came to $44. (Hops and yeast have gone up
>>>> considerably, and I can buy SA for about $40 a case). My supply store
>>>> had kits (Brewer's Best and a British one) for $25 to $35 for other
>>>> beers I like, so can someone talk me out of going that route?
>>>> Thanks.
>>>> Dave J
>>> I get ~2 cases out of a 5 gal batch. That would only be $22 a case,
>>> much better than the $40 for the "real thing". If your clone tastes
>>> close to what you are trying to clone, I'd stick with it.
>>>[/color]
>>
>>
>> 2 cases out of a 5 gallon batch? What are you doing? I average for the
>> price on one case I get 5. That's one full corny per batch.[/color]
>
> I made an error in the original post--meant to say $20 a case, not
> $40. I can't make it as good as Sam does. Anyway, do the kits make
> sense, or are the ingredients "stale?" Buying in bulk makes sense,
> though it seems like for every batch I use different malts.
> Thanks again.
> DJ[/color]
Depends on what you mean by "kits" and where you get them, DJ. When I
don't make one of my own "recipes", I either pick up a "recipe" from the
LHBS or order from an online shop. They aren't a prepackaged "box" like
Coopers, John Bull, or Brewers Best. They are ingredient kits put
together in house to make a certain style. When I get the ingredients
from the LHBS, they are from bulk containers, for the grain and extract,
that they measure out the specific amounts of a said ingredient. The
hops and yeast come out a fridge. One shop buys bulk hops and then
breask them down to 1oz bags, another has them prepackaged. I usually
use liquid yeast. Again this depends on where I get my "kits" from but
I usually use White Labs and if I can't get that I try to get a
comparable strain from WYeast. I haven't tried any of the prepackaged
kits, but if you trust your shop keep, check for an "expiration" or "use
by" date, and buy fresh yeast, you should be fine. About the only
ingredient I buy in bulk is DME for making starters.
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
--
Michael Herrenbruck
Herrenbruck Brewery