Empty Carboy

Like starting any new hobby, there are some costs involved.  My goal is to always keep my homebrew around the same price as a craft beer.  So I keep track of how much I spend on each batch (possible future blog posts…)  But here’s the break down of my first homebrew investment:

• Starter kit: Free!  This I actually borrowed from a family friend.  He was traveling for a year and I reaped the benefits of him being gone.
• Gypsum: $1.05. In case you were wondering, gypsum is used for adding hardness to water used while homebrewing.
• Irish Moss: $1.55.  Irish Moss is used to help clarify homebrew.  This fining agent works by making the smaller molecules aggregate into larger particles so they settle out of the solution.
• A-1 Sanitizer: $5.10.  Sanitization is key in homebrewing.
• Hop bags: $2.60.  This makes it super easy to remove hops from the wort during the cooking process.
• Clip Thermometer: $9.99.  Key for keeping track of wort temperatures.
• 7 Gallon Pot: $49.99.  Super easy to make 5 gallons of beer in.

Initial Investment: $70.28.  Not that bad for getting a hobby off the ground.  I also took a free class at Above the Rest Homebrewing to make sure I had a good understanding of what exactly I was supposed to do.  Since I’m a visual learner that was key.

What’s your hobby?  Do you keep track of the costs?