Comment on Why is homebrewing so middle-class, straight, white, male?

gedaliyah@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• Drathro@dormi.zone ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  As someone who makes meads/wines in a closet and has done so while renting, I don’t particularly see the relevance as long as your batches are small and contained… Typically, the tools and ingredients aren’t wildly expensive either if you’re keeping things simple (in the US, anyways). Honestly, I don’t see how more demographics don’t get into the basics of homebrewing. It’s dead simple to make something “passable” and with time and effort you can even make something good/great!

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  • whoreticulture@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    How much does it cost?

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    • Drathro@dormi.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      A gallon glass carboy is $20-25 and that’s going to be your biggest up front expense. That’s reusable, however so once you’ve got that you’re not going to need another for simple small batches. Champagne yeast is like $10-20 for 10-20 packs (figure a dollar per pack) and each pack can easily make 2 gallons if you’re smart enough to split it in half. 3lbs of raw honey from Costco will run $12-15 and a gallon of boiled water rounds out your list. Yeast nutrient is probably a good idea since it almost guarantees good results (1lb is like $10-15 and you only use 1/4 tsp or so per gallon batch). One-way air locks for brewing with stoppers are $2-10 depending on how many you buy (also reusable). So your first batch is your most expensive at $85 absolute worst case with today’s prices. From there on out subsequent batches cost only the honey, water, and any fruit or spices you want to try adding. As far as hobbies go, that’s not bad considering how much variety there is in it. I can’t comment on beer, but mead is dead simple as long as you keep everything sanitized before and after brewing.

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