Coopers Pale at Aldi! Oh Happy Day!

BBQNinja said :

knuckles said :

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Australian-Standard-Carbon-Dioxide-CO2-Gas-Bottle-Cylinder-9-1Litres-6kg-FULL-/290828866924?pt=AU_Barware&hash=item43b6c0556c

2 x kegs – $60.00 http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=898

4 disconnects – $52.00 http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=731

CO2 regulator – $42.00 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Brand-New-Dorado-Dual-Guage-Co2-Regulator-Home-Brew-Beer-Keg-Aquarium-/271107545663?pt=AU_Breweriana&hash=item3f1f44da3f

Quality beer line – $1.90 per meter http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=750

About half the cost of what you’re saying

-CO2 cylinder you can sometimes find cheap like that. I’ve been looking, and that guy sometimes has them and sometimes doesn’t. When he doesn’t, even ebay prices rise up to $300. So I’m happy if you subtract $130 from my price

-Read reviews on the regulator you chose. It leaks after a few months, and isn’t accurate. You can maybe get away for $80. The one you chose is $55 with shipping anyways.

-the price you quoted for disconnects is $2 more than what I quoted anyways, PLUS shipping

-the kegs you posted were $60 each, not $60 for two, and they require cleaning and replacing the seals (which is usually an $8-10 kit). That also isn’t priced shipped! Ebay sellers charge $20-30 per keg to ship, so if we assume $20 to ship, and a $10 seal kit to fix it up, you’re back up at $90 a keg.

-beer line is $1.90 a meter, yes. You’ll need 2-3 meters per keg. You’ll also need 4 clamps per keg at $2-5 each.

-You’ll also need a manifold if you want both kegs “on tap”, call that $20-30 (I forgot that price too!)

-How are you going to dispense said beer without taps? Picnic taps are

So you found a co2 cylinder for markedly cheaper (when he has them available), but the rest isn’t really any cheaper.

Your total came to ~$600, mine to $750. Even at $600 that’s 30 KEGS to get through to equate to 50 cents a bottle in cleaning.

Double that to a dollar per bottle in cleaning trouble and that’s 15+ kegs.

Again, do it if you hate bottling or you are going to build an awesome keezer/kegerator, but it is in no way cheap.

I got started on a system similar to this, the additional kegs were quite cheap as I recall, and all shipped for the same price.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/XPERT-TESUCO-KEGGING-KIT-BREW-BEER-KEG-SYSTEM-CORNELIUS-/290830295225?pt=AU_Barware&hash=item43b6d620b9

the regulator seems to work really well, threw a bit of thread tape on there and no leaks.

If I could find my spreadsheet of costs I could give some more detail, but it’s been a few years so prices probably out of date. Which is why I gave my cost recovery threshold in beers rather than dollars.

knuckles said :

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Australian-Standard-Carbon-Dioxide-CO2-Gas-Bottle-Cylinder-9-1Litres-6kg-FULL-/290828866924?pt=AU_Barware&hash=item43b6c0556c

2 x kegs – $60.00 http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=898

4 disconnects – $52.00 http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=731

CO2 regulator – $42.00 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Brand-New-Dorado-Dual-Guage-Co2-Regulator-Home-Brew-Beer-Keg-Aquarium-/271107545663?pt=AU_Breweriana&hash=item3f1f44da3f

Quality beer line – $1.90 per meter http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=750

About half the cost of what you’re saying

-CO2 cylinder you can sometimes find cheap like that. I’ve been looking, and that guy sometimes has them and sometimes doesn’t. When he doesn’t, even ebay prices rise up to $300. So I’m happy if you subtract $130 from my price

-Read reviews on the regulator you chose. It leaks after a few months, and isn’t accurate. You can maybe get away for $80. The one you chose is $55 with shipping anyways.

-the price you quoted for disconnects is $2 more than what I quoted anyways, PLUS shipping

-the kegs you posted were $60 each, not $60 for two, and they require cleaning and replacing the seals (which is usually an $8-10 kit). That also isn’t priced shipped! Ebay sellers charge $20-30 per keg to ship, so if we assume $20 to ship, and a $10 seal kit to fix it up, you’re back up at $90 a keg.

-beer line is $1.90 a meter, yes. You’ll need 2-3 meters per keg. You’ll also need 4 clamps per keg at $2-5 each.

-You’ll also need a manifold if you want both kegs “on tap”, call that $20-30 (I forgot that price too!)

-How are you going to dispense said beer without taps? Picnic taps are

So you found a co2 cylinder for markedly cheaper (when he has them available), but the rest isn’t really any cheaper.

Your total came to ~$600, mine to $750. Even at $600 that’s 30 KEGS to get through to equate to 50 cents a bottle in cleaning. Double that to a dollar per bottle in cleaning trouble and that’s 15+ kegs.

Again, do it if you hate bottling or you are going to build an awesome keezer/kegerator, but it is in no way cheap.

Mothy said :

Is the Rekorderlig cheap there?

I got Rekorderlig at Erindale the other day for $4.95 a bottle. Which is about $1 to $2 less than Woolies or Coles.

poetix said :

Diggety said :

Cleanskin bear…

They’re usually really dirty, with the berries and salmon and all.

swish

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Australian-Standard-Carbon-Dioxide-CO2-Gas-Bottle-Cylinder-9-1Litres-6kg-FULL-/290828866924?pt=AU_Barware&hash=item43b6c0556c

2 x kegs – $60.00 http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=898

4 disconnects – $52.00 http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=731

CO2 regulator – $42.00 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Brand-New-Dorado-Dual-Guage-Co2-Regulator-Home-Brew-Beer-Keg-Aquarium-/271107545663?pt=AU_Breweriana&hash=item3f1f44da3f

Quality beer line – $1.90 per meter http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=750

About half the cost of what you’re saying

devils_advocate said :

Mess said :

Alid have some great beer from time to time. Their Aldi brand stuff is not great, however they get specials in all the time. Got a case of Singha there a couple of weeks back for $40. Mothy, they have Rekorderlig from time to time as well, usually about $5 per bottle. BWS is only slightly more at 3 for $18.

Singha beer is pure filth. I can’t even drink it in 35 deg heat and massive humidity, the taste is so bad. In singapore it is as cheap as anything (I think it’s made across the bridge in malaysia) but i’d take a Tiger for the same price over a singha any day.

Singha is made in Thailand, which is probably why it is so cheap in Singapore. Aldi also do 12 packs of Tiger for $20. I like Singha, but each to their own.

Mess said :

Alid have some great beer from time to time. Their Aldi brand stuff is not great, however they get specials in all the time. Got a case of Singha there a couple of weeks back for $40. Mothy, they have Rekorderlig from time to time as well, usually about $5 per bottle. BWS is only slightly more at 3 for $18.

Singha beer is pure filth. I can’t even drink it in 35 deg heat and massive humidity, the taste is so bad. In singapore it is as cheap as anything (I think it’s made across the bridge in malaysia) but i’d take a Tiger for the same price over a singha any day.

devils_advocate said :

johnboy said :

switch said :

Or brew your own, using Coopers kits, for less than 50c per longneck bottle…

Yes and when I want to spend my Sundays washing bottles I’ll do just that again.

Hopefully in 2013 I’ll get a keg rig running.

Pays for itself after about 387 or so beers. Which if you’re anything like me, is not very long at all.
Also much more environmentally conscious, just refilling your schooner glass, rather than having all that packaging and beer miles.

In summary, homebrewing in kegs is something you can’t afford not to do.

Cheapest you can really get into kegging is for $750 (2 keg system, picnic taps, already have a suitable fridge), and you really want at least 4 kegs (2 on tap, 2 conditioning). Kegging in Australia is hilariously expensive.

$350 co2 bottle
$200 for 2 kegs
$50 for 4 disconnects (2 gas 2 liquid)
$100 for a regulator
$50 in beer line/clamps/etc

I’d have done it ages ago, but that means you price the annoyance of cleaning a bottle at $2 per bottle, or $48 per case!

I bottle a batch as 24 stubbies, and then 18-20 longnecks. Round it to 42 bottles per batch.

For me, at those costs, I’d need to go through 35 kegs for it be worth it financially (if I consider it worth 50 cents a bottle to clean and then cap). This is obviously ignoring the “badass” factor, which is why I EVENTUALLY will anyways (I have plans to build a 6 tap keezer)

Diggety said :

Cleanskin bear…

They’re usually really dirty, with the berries and salmon and all.

Cleanskin bear. $30/case from a tight-arse local, summer of George is here.