there are easy ways to cut down on the expense...goodwill, craigslist, yard sales for brewing vessels, and glass carboys...grocery stores/donus shops for plastic fermenters...save your bottles after you drink beer...then you have the investments you can't avoid, capper, hydrometer etc, but those can be found for cheap....the raw ingredients can get pricey, but that's when you have to break it down on a per case basis, figure one batch = 60(?) bottles, 2.5 cases. Homebrew club members are also great resources for unused dust cluttering equipment