Getting Ready for the New Year

First things first.

I am restarting my beer brewing venture.  Going even more minimalist than before. 

I am also decreasing the batch size to make it easier to work with.  Ideally, I will get yields around 2 to 2.5 gallons or around enough for a single case of beer.

All grain is the requirement.   When you buy even the cheapest extract or powder, the cost goes to the moon. 

Yeast will be passaged ruthlessly.  Careful work will allow a single $6.00 packet to yield up to ten passages, maybe more.  All you need is sterile mason jars and a bit of care.  Additional yeast research will also require stability studies as to the amount of time a stored lot can be kept in the refrigerator.

Hops are getting to be quite the cost center.  Luckily I have not fallen into the current fad here in Portland where you dump so many hops in the wort that you cannot taste anything else.  I am thinking about a IPU of around 35 which is the low end of the IPA scale.  So, a two-gallon batch should take a lot less than an ounce.

So, the point of all this is that I should be able to get microbrew quality beer (I am pretty good at this) for right around $1.50 a six pack.