# How to make really cheap beer. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2000, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969 "2000-09-21T06:04:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/1 "2000-09-21T06:04:09Z")
I’ve been through dozens of brewery tours, and I’ve done some home brewing, so I can tell you what a long complicated process it is to make beer, even cheap beer. Is there possibly another way? Could someone come up with a beer flavored syrup, not unlike syrup used for soda. Then instead of the time spent brewing and aging, all they would have to do is add carbonated water, foaming agent, and grain alcohol for kick. Soda is a non-complicated mixture of artificial everything in water, why not beer? This would save time and money, thus a much, much cheaper product for us hopp heads. can/has this been done? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/2 "2000-09-21T06:17:42Z")
mmmmmmmmmm…beeeeer syyyyrup. Drooooooool. You’d still have to spend time fermenting stuff to make the syrup. I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/3 "2000-09-21T06:36:05Z")
Tell me this - does artificial orange juice taste just like freshly squeezed orange juice? Oh. I forgot. We don’t care about _taste_. We just wanna get boozed. ---
**Author:** ![Lazarus7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lazarus7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazarus7)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/4 "2000-09-21T09:40:53Z")
as foul a concept as instant coffee … and sadly probably equally as marketable … ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/5 "2000-09-21T10:16:15Z")
> [@](#): > > all they would have to do is add carbonated water, foaming agent, and grain alcohol for kick. And how would you make the grain alcohol? ---
**Author:** ![Pergau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7c8e57/32.png) [@Pergau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pergau)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/6 "2000-09-21T11:29:16Z")
You can get brew in the bag beer kits, that you fill with water and hang from the back of a door in a warm place and in 2-3 weeks you have ok tasting beer. But this stuff actually has a flavour, unlike Bud etc. I will try to find a link for you Boots Chemists in England/Ireland used to do them ---
**Author:** ![Pergau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7c8e57/32.png) [@Pergau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pergau)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/7 "2000-09-21T11:40:02Z")
There are a lot of companies selling brew in the bag kits. They’re called “Brewsacks” Try [http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/](http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/) ---
**Author:** ![Lazarus7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lazarus7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazarus7)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/8 "2000-09-21T11:40:48Z")
That reminds me … time to build a mashton and make my own damn beer! … none of this big asses brewery sheite … a tasty microbrewery beer for me … or my own damn beer! … ---
**Author:** ![Pergau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7c8e57/32.png) [@Pergau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pergau)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/9 "2000-09-21T12:10:17Z")
Mash ton! thanks Lazarus7 I’ve been trying to remember that word for ages ---
**Author:** ![Lazarus7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lazarus7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazarus7)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/10 "2000-09-21T12:18:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pergau \* > \*\*Mash ton! thanks Lazarus7 I’ve been trying to remember that word for ages \*\* no worries … any time. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/11 "2000-09-21T15:40:58Z")
PKBites - whatever your recipe would produce, I don’t think it would really be beer. Anyway, although I haven’t done it for a while, making beer only takes 2 -3 weeks, and organised peole (not me) could always try to have a couple of brews going simultaneously (at different stages of readiness) so the time investment wouldn’t be a big deal after the first batch. I only ever made beer from the canned beer kits available in home-brew shops, simply because the results were good and the process was simple, so I would recommend that method really. In fact, as those kits are basically a sort of beer syrup, you COULD use one to try your plan. Do let us know the results! Incidentally, re. the “mash ton” word mentioned by other people, I’d say it is actually “tun” (tho’ perhaps not in the U.S. for all I know.) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/12 "2000-09-21T16:15:01Z")
I brew beer all the time from cans of ‘Beer Syrup’, and the results are almost always excellent. You can get anything from a Lager to a heavy bitter ale. Whatever you like. And it’s not much work at all. Fill your 5-gallon plastic jug with water, add syrup, let sit for a couple of weeks, pour into bottles. The most difficult part of the whole process is sanitizing everything. Here in Canada, the syrup usually costs about $15, and it makes five gallons of beer. That’s about 1/5 the cost of beer from the store. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/13 "2000-09-21T16:51:00Z")
I’m more or less talking about a commercial brew. A beer flavored soda if you will. Instead of fermenting it for the alcohol, grain alcohol could simply be added to the soda. Straight grain alcohol is incredibly cheap to make. I’m talking about a commercial brew that would cost consumers, say, 4 bucks a case (same as soda.). ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/14 "2000-09-21T16:56:57Z")
Out of curiousity, is grain alcohol actually legal to make in the States? Wow. ---
**Author:** ![muppetsoup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aca169/32.png) [@muppetsoup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muppetsoup)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/15 "2000-09-21T16:57:57Z")
doesn’t get better than this… [http://www.exaflop.org/docs/x86still/](http://www.exaflop.org/docs/x86still/) ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Don](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e95f7d/32.png) [@Engineer\_Don](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Don)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/16 "2000-09-21T20:32:40Z")
A friend of mine once showed me a “backpackers beer” kit, which was two small plastic tubes that you were supposed to dump into a canteen full of water to make beer. One tube was just alcohol, and the other was an amber/brown concentrate that gave it color and flavor. Sort of beer concentrate. He said it wasn’t very good tasting. As far as cheap beer goes, you get what you pay for. Can’t you still get Lucky Lager? It can’t be more than 5 bucks a case. I certainly isn’t worth more than that. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Don](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e95f7d/32.png) [@Engineer\_Don](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Don)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/17 "2000-09-21T20:37:42Z")
Oh, and last I heard grain alcohol was illegal in most states, but still legal in some (Oregon?) It is sold under trade names like “Ever Clear”. It is 190 proof, or 95% pure alcohol. Above that percentage I think you need to use acids in the distillation process, and there is always some residual ether, so it is kind of bad to drink. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/18 "2000-09-21T21:16:53Z")
I saw Eidelweiss (sp?) beer on sale for $2.99 a case at a store near Lake Tawakoni in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/19 "2000-09-21T21:18:27Z")
Everclear is legal in Texas. It has all kinds of warnings on it. I used to buy a half-pint of it and mix it in a 1 liter bottle of Mountain Dew, drink it all and get a helluva buzz. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969/20 "2000-09-21T21:57:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Engineer Don \* > \*\*Oh, and last I heard grain alcohol was illegal in most states, but still legal in some (Oregon?) It is sold under trade names like “Ever Clear”. It is 190 proof, or 95% pure alcohol. Above that percentage I think you need to use acids in the distillation process, and there is always some residual ether, so it is kind of bad to drink. \*\* Everclear is legal in KS and MO too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-really-cheap-beer/33969.md?page=2)