One of the more substantial cost for brewers from batch to batch is hops, especially if you want to brew lots of American styles, IPA and Double IPA in particular (as well as India Session Ales, Black IPAs, Red IPAs, etc.). The other large cost is yeast, but with some effort, you can always purchase this once and repitch the yeast to keep costs down. Finding a way to keep costs down on hops isn't as simple. Though some brewers have supposedly dry hopped a beer and then put those hops into the kettle for bittering another brew, I wouldn't ever do this as you don't know what kind of bittering you will get out of it, and what do you do with the hops between brews to ensure they don't spoil?
There are other, more effective ways to save money on hops. One way that I have enjoyed is to get some hops in bulk when they are around at a great price. I was able to get in on a group buy last year for Simcoe and Mosaic, 1# each, $10/#. I also got a pound of CTZ for around $12. These prices are great for the varietals, but there is still a much cheaper way to get great hops. Grow them. I am not going to tell you how to grow them here; there are many good resources both online and in print on how to grow them in your yard. This post is what to do with them once you have grown them and established they are ready to pick (another topic I am not going to discuss here). This is how to build a Hop Oast for drying them, then a secondary post on how to package them for storage and future use.
HOP OAST
Parts Needed: (around $30)
- 7 @ 2X4X8' Kiln Dried Fir
- 48" X 7' Aluminum Screen Material roll
- 3" Wood Screws (56)
- Staple Gun
- Box Knife
- Cordless Drill
