Pams Home Brew Spirits from $4 Per Bottle (Makes 6 Bottles) @ PAK'n SAVE (Excludes Cost for Equipment)

Ltoocheap on 29/01/2024 - 14:07
Last edited 29/01/2024 - 14:22 by 1 other user

Moved to Forum: Original Link

(I’m not quite sure whether this is an acceptable but didn’t seem to violate the posting guidelines)

Not everyone is aware that in NZ it is legal to produce spirits for your own use, and that it is way cheaper than buying spirits in a store. Its also a fun hobby.

The ingredients for 1L of 37% spirits can cost from $4. You can also buy rum and whisky flavour additives.

The ingredients from packnsave for 6 bottles of spirits are roughly:

5kg Pams white sugar $12.69
1kg Pams raw sugar $2.35
half of 150g Pams All purpose yeast $1.85
two 170g Pams Tomato paste $1.90
27 litres tap water $0.01
electricity for still (approx) $5.00
Total $23.80

This makes a “Birdwatchers” or TPW brew. Plenty of guides for this are available (eg youtube )

You then run this through a still. If you share the equipment with a couple of mates then its around $200 per person for an entry level setup (eg T500 still plus fermenter). The break even point is then approx 4.5 bottles (1L@37%) per person.

General Discussion

Related Stores

PAK'n SAVE
PAK'n SAVE

Comments

  • Wakrak on 29/01/2024 - 14:16
    +2

    Not really $4 per bottle if you have to spend $200 on equipment assuming you have mates that are keen to partake.

    • toocheap on 29/01/2024 - 14:23

      No you are right, I've used the standard marketing tactic of saying "from". The real cost is more like:

      4 +600/(nm) where n = # bottles and m= number of people sharing.

  • etcode on 29/01/2024 - 14:17

    Seemed interesting up until the requirement of an upfront $750 investment for the equipment. Think that should probably be added in the main post since there feels like there was an effort to avoid mentioning it (even downplaying it by only giving an approximate cost if you split it with a few mates - how many mates?).

    • toocheap on 29/01/2024 - 14:25

      If the post doesn't get removed I can add some details. (Just didn't want to put too much time into if it was going to be removed.)

      • etcode on 29/01/2024 - 14:59

        That's fair. I just think it takes a bit more effort to calculate an ambiguous per person cost rather than just stating the total cost as though you weren't splitting.

        A lot of things could be considered cheaper if you split something so it seems a little disingenuous and not really a deal imo.

        • treestump on 29/01/2024 - 15:52

          Tune in for next week's post when we learn it's cheaper to bake your own muffins compared to buying them individually from a café

          • etcode on 29/01/2024 - 15:56
            +1

            @treestump: It's cheaper to buy your muffins from PAK'n Save and then sell them in your café

        • toocheap on 29/01/2024 - 18:25

          I didn’t give a good description of the equipment cost. Its difficult because there are many options. Some build their own from scrap copper, others buy second hand etc There’s also various types and sizes.

          But lets take the example of a brand new T500 because they are pretty common (I’ve never used one, but have a friend who has one and is happy with it.) Costs for the basic equipment then

          T500 $520

          Fermentor $40

          heatpad $40

          Hydrometer $13

          Total $613

          The break even point is about 14 bottles, so after about a year (depending on usage), you could be making your own from $4 per bottle

          Cost of making 14 bottles (incl equipment) = 614 + 55.52 ingredients = $668.52

          verse 14 store bottles at say $50 = $700

  • null000llun on 29/01/2024 - 15:02

    I highly recommend checking trademe for a used T500 to save some on the equipment. There is one set of everything you need for $475 at the moment.

    For a slightly more advanced, but IMO tastier, option check out Deathwish wheat germ recipe.

    Also a shout out to https://distiller.co.nz/ for his stills. With those things you can throw anything in them and get flavourless pure 97% ABV with no skill required.

    And if vodka isn't your thing, look up how to make high ABV spirit in into limoncello.

  • wowbigdeal on 29/01/2024 - 15:18
    +2

    Last night I made a batch of home brew ginger beer. The batch simply ferments in 2.25 litre plastic bottles over a few days. 200g ginger root, yeast, sugar, water, lemon juice & zest. Makes about 6 litres at about 7% alcohol. No equipment, really simple and really tasty. Can be watered down with soda water to add to the carbonation.

    • LupinS on 29/01/2024 - 16:16
      +1

      Lol. Several hours cleaning the roof of my bathroom tells me to warn people that yes, it is possible to burst a soft drink bottle via the lid through the pressure of carbon (though not the bottle itself, that takes mega pressure).

      Luckily, it wasn't 100% unexpected - they were in the bath for this exact reason. Worth looking out for.

      • wowbigdeal on 29/01/2024 - 16:54

        With the soda water only add it to the ginger beer mix in a glass once it's ready to go, not into the brewing bottle itself. Also with the amount of pressure that the fermentation process produces there is the potential for a blow out, for that very reason the brewing bottles are stored in a chilly bin. You can also help to reduce the pressure by (very) slowly untwisting the lid slightly, not all the way off.

  • treestump on 29/01/2024 - 15:39

    Are any of these actually a deal though?

    5kg Pams white sugar $12.69
    1kg Pams raw sugar $2.35
    half of 150g Pams All purpose yeast $1.85
    two 170g Pams Tomato paste $1.90

    • toocheap on 29/01/2024 - 17:52

      No. If anyone has a cheap supplier of sugar I'd like to know please.

      I guess what I was trying to say is that NZ is one of the few countries where you can buy ingredients in a supermarkets and legally make your own spirits.

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