Using a beer-making kit can enhance your homebrewing experience by saving you time and money while still producing awesome-tasting beer. In this blog, we’ll take a look at the factors that impact how much a brewing kit costs. We’ll also introduce some great options to start with, whether you’re looking for equipment starter kits, ingredient kits, or both!

How Much Does a Brewing Kit Cost for Beer?

The cost of a beer brewing kit can vary greatly depending on several factors, such as the kit’s:

• Purpose
• Contents
• Quality

For example, the best beer-making kits for beginners are often homebrew starter kits because they come with the essential beer brewing equipment for getting started. In contrast, beer ingredient kits come with the necessary malts and hops for your first or hundredth batch! Because each type of beer brewing kit has a different purpose with different contents, the prices aren’t comparable. Instead, compare kits within the same category. To start your research, explore options at different price points for:

• Homebrew starter kits, like the Basic Brewing Starter Kit, the Ultimate Brewing Starter Kit for Boiling, or the Electric Brewing Homebrew Starter Kit.   
• Beer ingredient kits, like Tha CommUNITY American Lager Beer Kit, the Hello There West Coast IPA Beer Kit, or the Dark Inception Imperial Porter Beer Kit.

The good news is that you have options to fit your budget, whether you’re just starting to build your setup or you’re looking for new recipes to test out!  

How Many Bottles of Beer Does a Beer Kit Make?

On average, a five-gallon beer kit will make 48 12 oz bottles of beer. If you use a one-gallon beer kit, you’ll get about 10 12 oz bottles of beer. Either way, you’ll have enough for you with some left to share!

Check out some of these sweet beer ingredient kit options:

• Five-gallon kits: All Saints Irish Red Ale Beer Kit, Magic Dragon West Coast IPA Beer Kit, Anita Porter Beer Kit  
• One-gallon kits: Brewer’s Best One Gallon Pale Ale Beer Kit, Brewer’s Best One Gallon IPA Beer Kit, Brewer’s Best One Gallon Blackberry Tart Sour Ale Beer Kit   

How Much Does It Cost To Brew 5 Gallons of Beer?

The average cost to brew 5 gallons of beer depends on a combination of factors like:

• How much you invested in your equipment
• Which ingredient kits you use
• Which beer brewing supplies you use

When you have all your numbers, plug them into this equation:

• Total Cost = (Cost of ingredients) + (Cost of one-use supplies) + (Allocated cost of reusable supplies) + (Allocated cost of equipment)

Some of your investments, like cleaning supplies and equipment, won’t get entirely consumed when making a single five-gallon batch. That’s why their costs get spread over several or many batches instead.

How Much Does It Cost To Produce a Sixpack of Beer?

Typically, you’ll produce a six-pack of beer as a portion of a five or one-gallon batch, so you can calculate the cost as a portion of that batch. Here’s how the numbers work out:

• A six-pack has six 12 oz bottles in it

• A five-gallon batch has 48 12 oz bottles in it
• A five-gallon batch produces eight six packs
• A six-pack costs 0.125 times the cost of a five-gallon batch

• A one-gallon batch has 10 12 oz bottles in it
• A one-gallon batch produces 1.67 six packs
• A six-pack costs 0.6 times the cost of a one-gallon batch

That’s how to calculate the cost of getting a six-pack—no situps required!

How Much Do You Save Brewing Your Own Beer?

To figure out how much money you can save brewing your own beer, compare how much you’d spend at a store, restaurant, or bar with your average cost per batch. Ready for another formula? Here it is:

• Savings = (How much you would’ve spent at a store/bar for beer) – (Cost of ingredients) – (Cost of one-use supplies) – (Allocated cost of reusable supplies) – (Allocated cost of equipment)

If your goal is to save money by brewing your own great beer at home, track your expenses to see how effective you are.

Are Beer Brewing Kits Worth It to Brew Beer at Home?

For both financially- and convenience-minded brewers, beer brewing kits can definitely be worth it. That’s because beer brewing kits save you time and money; that goes for both homebrew starter kits and beer ingredient kits. 

First, you can save money by brewing your own beer at home. Take this American Homebrewers Association case study, for example, that reported the average cost per homebrewed bottle as $0.96.

Beer brewing kits also save you time because they combine the brewing process essentials—whether it’s equipment or pre-portioned ingredients—in a single package.   

Start Your Adventure into Brewing Beer with Great Fermentations!

The best beer brewing kit helps you achieve your goals with this awesome hobby. Whether you’re looking to try something new, save time, or save money, there’s a beer-making kit for you. No matter the beer style you love, or whether it’s your first batch or 100th batch, you can find the right beer brewing kit.

At Great Fermentations, we’ve got a wide selection so you can find a home brewing kit that will help you check all of these boxes! You can brew your own craft beer, or follow along with a recipe from one of our many beer brewing starter kits. Come on by, explore our online store, or give us a call to find what you need for your homebrewing adventure!