Beer cost per liter on a Brewery

Mastoras007

Mastoras007

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Hello everyone.
I'm wondering how much will cost to produce beer in large quantities.
I make some calculations and the results was about 0.63€ per liter, for a batch of 245 liters -20% for losses so final beer 196 liters.
The price i used is the real price i get from local providers.
Example:
Base grain: 1,5€ per kilo
Special grain: 2 per kilo
Hoops:0,02€ per gram
Yeast:0,12€ per gram
This prices is for large quantities buys, but any way this is not the point here.
So i put water cost, co2 for carbonating, electricity cost for boil and mash,
Total cost for those liters (196) is 122€
Do you think is this numbers are real close to the reality?
I'm just saying just the beer cost, not the rent, employee etc
 
Depends on the company and what they use. We have some cheap beers here (natty light) that is about $11 for a 30 pack (30 12oz cans). Other companies are $12 for a 6 pack
 
Mastoras007 said:
Hello everyone.
I'm wondering how much will cost to produce beer in large quantities.
I make some calculations and the results was about 0.63€ per liter, for a batch of 245 liters -20% for losses so final beer 196 liters.
The price i used is the real price i get from local providers.
Example:
Base grain: 1,5€ per kilo
Special grain: 2 per kilo
Hoops:0,02€ per gram
Yeast:0,12€ per gram
This prices is for large quantities buys, but any way this is not the point here.
So i put water cost, co2 for carbonating, electricity cost for boil and mash,
Total cost for those liters (196) is 122€
Do you think is this numbers are real close to the reality?
I'm just saying just the beer cost, not the rent, employee etc
Click to expand...
You're missing about a million factors.
Other than that, ... Oh nevermind,
Cheers,
Brian
 
Minbari said:
Depends on the company and what they use. We have some cheap beers here (natty light) that is about $11 for a 30 pack (30 12oz cans). Other companies are $12 for a 6 pack
Click to expand...
No i mean the cost of production
 
Mastoras007 said:
Tell me
Click to expand...
Well. Rent, insurance, employees, workman's comp, taxes, interest on that loan you took out to open your "dream" brewery, product loss outside of normal brewing, electric bill, gas bill, maintenance on equipment, maintenance on the building if you own it, loss of kegs, etc.

I got involved with a brewery and realized how many costs were hidden from an average consumer. Yeah, you can make a pint of beer for 50 cents or so, maybe even less if you only include ingredients. But it takes a lot of other things to make it happen. I haven't even looked at the cost of brewing beer at home, but I know if I count only ingredients I can get the cost down to @ $10 for a case of 24. But if you include my labor and the equipment tied up in it, I would be better off going to the liquor store and pay full price.

I'm sure Brian knows better than me the hidden cost, I know I missed some.

Edit: I forgot to mention if you own everything outright, you have a lot of capitol tied up that could be used better elsewhere to make money.
 
HighVoltageMan! said:
Well. Rent, insurance, employees, workman's comp, taxes, interest on that loan you took out to open your "dream" brewery, product loss outside of normal brewing, electric bill, gas bill, maintenance on equipment, maintenance on the building if you own it, loss of kegs, etc.

I got involved with a brewery and realized how many costs were hidden from an average consumer. Yeah, you can make a pint of beer for 50 cents or so, maybe even less if you only include ingredients. But it takes a lot of other things to make it happen. I haven't even looked at the cost of brewing beer at home, but I know if I count only ingredients I can get the cost down to @ $10 for a case of 24. But if you include my labor and the equipment tied up in it, I would be better off going to the liquor store and pay full price.

I'm sure Brian knows better than me the hidden cost, I know I missed some.
Click to expand...
Theanks for your detail reply,
Thats what i ask, the beer cost, not all the other facts, i know there are to many and more hiden cost, but now i just want to know if my numbers is close to reality.
 
I'm not sure how the cost of the raw material translates into the total end cost?
OK, for shit's and giggles, give me a style of beer with the ABV, IBU's and type of yeast and I'll run some numbers.
Am I figuring out Bud light, or a New England IIPA ?
Brian
 
Mastoras007 said:
No i mean the cost of production
Click to expand...
costs of production is reflected in the cost of the product. cant sell it cheaply if it costs alot to make.

so production scale, complexity, and product quality will effect it. in addition to everything @HighVoltageMan! said.
 
The Brew Mentor said:
I'm not sure how the cost of the raw material translates into the total end cost?
OK, for shit's and giggles, give me a style of beer with the ABV, IBU's and type of yeast and I'll run some numbers.
Am I figuring out Bud light, or a New England IIPA ?
Brian
Click to expand...
Is not,
I had a argument past days with a guy and make me thing about it, he claims that the cost per liter is 3,3$ with commercial prices of ingredients and I was surprised,
my calgulation says 0,5€ with NO commercial prices of ingredients, this is a way to big diffrend,
Any way may there are to many factors, in this case i just want to know about the cost just of the beer
 
Pure production cost based on just the cost of ingredients is about half a Euro, but that is only about a quarter (or less) of the real cost. Fixed costs are still costs, and if a business ignored them, they will lose money and go bankrupt.

So, both your friend and you are correct!

Total cost per liter can be 3.30, and ingredients might cost .50 per liter.

Does that make sense?
 
Mastoras007 said:
Is not,
I had a argument past days with a guy and make me thing about it, he claims that the cost per liter is 3,3$ with commercial prices of ingredients and I was surprised,
my calgulation says 0,5€ with NO commercial prices of ingredients, this is a way to big diffrend,
Any way may there are to many factors, in this case i just want to know about the cost just of the beer
Click to expand...
The Brew Mentor could tell you better than anyone here as he operates a brewery.
 
I brew 2 bbl batches about 2-3 times per week.

depending on the recipe, I am right around $.50/14oz pour with all in. BUT that varies greatly on my recipe. My cost of materials for a 5% golden lager is roughly $140 for 4 full half bbls. We sell 14oz pours for $7 each.

Big IPAs(>8% ~50ibu) cost closer to $500 for 4 kegs. We sell those in 10oz pours for $8.

Happy to answer any specifics.
 
Brewer #438621 said:
Your estimate of €0.63 per liter seems reasonable, given the cost breakdown you've provided. For large-scale production, the grain, hops, yeast, and additional inputs like water, CO2, and electricity align with typical brewery expenses. However, keep in mind that losses during brewing can vary based on equipment efficiency, and other costs like maintenance or cleaning agents might add a slight increase. If your local provider prices are accurate and you're only factoring in consumables, you're likely close to the actual production cost. Just ensure you account for any hidden operational variables.
Click to expand...
I would assume closer to $1/liter depending on overhead.
 
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1427656

The majority of the ingredients in this beer cost about $115, not included is yeast(250g Apex Munich yeast at a cost of about $25/pitch). Rice hulls, salts/acid, keg collars, caps, etc all probably add up to about $3/batch. Water, power, chemicals(glass washer/CIP/Cleaning),0 rent, labor etc. add up to about $.35/pour. This number can vary depending on a lot of factors and is just a rough number that i use. My salary plus the bartender/s to serve the beer all add up quickly. Washing the kegs has a cost as well. Crowlers cost about $2 each.

I also generally brew double batches of this beer. so that splits the yeast cost in half/batch.

There are a lot of variables here and these are just my numbers for my tiny brewery on Tybee Island.

All of the above being what they are, there is still a healthy profit built into the beer price. (which gets eaten up by the kitchen lol)
 
I was reminded tonight about one of the reasons why I brew my own beer....
20240930_183207.jpg
 
discover a new supplier here, providing locally grown grains and (some) hops

the price of grain if he buys large quantities can reach €0.8 per kilo (including vat). This can bring my cost down to €0.30 per litre, but my calculations are to use the same yeast 4 times, so I divided the yeast cost by 4. Aso i have calgulate the power i need to boil + co2, water, and 10% losses (or more?)
i'm speaking for a simple Ale smash recipe 4,5-5% ABV 20 Ibu

Of course I haven't included any costs as rent, chemicals etc but just thinking anyway
I wanted to see how profitable a business like that could be


a business like this with low rent,(300-400€) no employees with low production lets say 100 kegs per month controlled by 1 person could turn a profit not much but wil be profitabe
@The Brew Mentor what's your opinion is this llegit numbers?

​

 
@Mastoras007,
You seem to be passionate about pursuing this and I cheer you on to follow your dreams!
My suggestion would be to create a business plan and then schedule time with a consultant to discuss things in detail.
Make sure this contains equipment, rental space, licensing information, insurance, build out costs, raw material costs, refrigeration, labor, etc.
From there you can truly assess the cost of doing business.
Also, whatever time you had planned to commit to this should be at least doubled. I'm not kidding.
Here's a good question. What is the draw? Is your beer better or cheaper or different than what's locally available?
Just brewing beer is the easy part.
Good luck,
Brian
 
The Brew Mentor said:
@Mastoras007,
You seem to be passionate about pursuing this and I cheer you on to follow your dreams!
My suggestion would be to create a business plan and then schedule time with a consultant to discuss things in detail.
Make sure this contains equipment, rental space, licensing information, insurance, build out costs, raw material costs, refrigeration, labor, etc.
From there you can truly assess the cost of doing business.
Also, whatever time you had planned to commit to this should be at least doubled. I'm not kidding.
Here's a good question. What is the draw? Is your beer better or cheaper or different than what's locally available?
Just brewing beer is the easy part.
Good luck,
Brian
Click to expand...
To add to what Brian said.

You need to take the money that you think you need and double it. I have personally seen several breweries start up and fail in thier first year or even before they made a drop of beer because they did not have sufficient cash on hand for things that happen.

Also as was said above, you need to assess the demand for this project. I'm In a small beach town with a pretty heavy tourist crowd for 2/3rds of the year. We did the math and even during the slow winter months our locals and low overhead allow us to stay open. Plus a really good rep for food brings more locals.
 
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