After the last two LHBSs in town closed several years ago, the two located in two different towns 85 miles and 90 miles away also closed. I resigned myself to mostly shopping online, when I discovered that Montana Craft Malting, located 75 miles away, sold directly to homebrewers. They even sell 5 and 10 pound quantities.
Yesterday I visited their plant and bought 3 sacks: Bavarian pils, British pale, and Vienna. Great prices. None of the other 4 maltsters in Montana that I am aware of sell directly to homebrewers. I am curious if anyone else is buying malt directly from malting facilities. The prices were reasonable, and other shopping I conducted in the area plus a couple of hikes made this a well worthwhile trip, even given the current price of gas.
Decades ago I met William Crisp at a Real Ale Festival he gave me a rep’s number which I used for several years but then a new person took over and I was out of luck
Thomas Fawcett used to sell to home brewers wholesale but that changed.
I’ve been buying 90% of my malt directly from Deer Creek Malthouse in PA. They are a small, “craft” malthouse so I might be paying a bit more per pound but it’s malt and that’s negligible.
That’s awesome. I don’t mind paying a bit more either. I bought 2 sacks last from them last year, the office manager delivered them to me in a box store parking lot, and after brewing several batches I was sold on the quality. The helles I have on tap had that slight honey flavor that I am used to in imported beer.
My local maltster, Great Lakes Malting just started selling to homebrewers. I’ll be buying full sacks from them since my LHBS closed and it’s not cost effective to buy online.
I have 2 small local maltsters very close by. One, Thrall Malting only sells by the full sack and takes a phone call or message to arrange pickup. The other, Valley Malting has an an online store and sells in smaller quantities. They ship or you can order ahead and pickup at there loading dock. They also mill whole grain local baking flours. I have been happy with all there products, but like anything grown on the land, they do have there own subtle distinct flavors due to terroir and process.
good suggestions here, and good luck - but you might also try saying “i represent (town) homebrew club we are looking to buy a sack” or something, or if you own a business at all just say its for your business even if its unrelated to homebrewing
My brother says that Double Eagle Malt sells to homebrewers, but they prefer to sell full sacks with local pick-up. If you’re in NE Philly it’s a good option.
sounds like Montana Craft is still at that size where they’re willing to work direct with homebrewers. Both Midcountry and Crisp ended up dropping it once they scaled up. Probably worth building a regular relationship with them while you can
My 2 go-to brew shops closed recently here in BC Canada so when out in Alberta visiting family I stop in the town of Penhold at Red Shed Malting, a farm setting, during regular business hours for 25kg sacks of base malts. The money saved offsets my truck gas for the trip.