I am a big fan of cutting costs. I also welcome Google as my overlord. Not all of us are to the point where we are buying ingredients in bulk. Typically when I sit down to design a recipe I will start with a little research. Blah Blah...let me just make a basic list of the beginning or my process:
- Decide what kind of flavors I am after any apply it to a style
- Search out clone recipes for commercial beers that hit the notes that I want
- Don't limit to one or two beer. This step is about comparison.
- Study the clone recipes that I found and pick out what they have in common.
- Design my beer in BeerSmith
Screenshot from BeerSmith |
This is where Google becomes my friend. I see 2-row, Crystal 10, and Centennial so I search for "12lbs two row 1 lb crystal 10 centennial." The 8th result is a Bell's Two Hearted Clone Kit from AIH. For sake of simplicity I only linked the search that hit for me. I tried a "12lbs two row 1 lb crystal 10 ipa" first and then "12lbs two row 1 lb crystal 10 centennial amarillo" second. I got the linked result on my third search.
When I compare AIH's Two Hearted clone kit I see that my recipe and theirs is almost the same. I can purchase this kit and add my other ingredients to my cart. Kit prices are usually at least 15% less expensive than their individual ingredients combined. Kits are also on sale often or subject to free shipping deals. After adding the kit to my cart I just need to add an ounce of Amarillo hops, a pound of flaked oats, and some US-05 yeast. The total before shipping is $31.26.
Now let's put this same recipe together by selecting individual ingredients. The total comes to $37.20 before shipping. I will save 16% by choosing the kit that I found that works perfectly by spending 5 minutes searching on Google.
Sometimes this doesn't work out but it is certainly worth a shot to save some money. I got lucky that this kit matches my recipe closely. Sometimes you will find kits that need a few more additions or some ingredient substitution and subtraction. To confirm your savings use multiple browsers to build multiple carts. example: build one cart in Chrome and another in Firefox
Cheers and happy savings!
*Screenshots were taken on the evening 11-14-2016. Prices may change.
*Screenshots were taken on the evening 11-14-2016. Prices may change.