Doing some research and there are literally 100s of websites online you can buy your grains in bulk from. Does anybody have a good reccomendation.
My LHBS didn’t want to sell 55 pound sacks of base malt so I’m gonna go a different route.
I would shop around because shipping is a pain. Makes it not worth the cost. I buy from a local brewery but they are pretty good about supporting brewers… as it was founded by a Homebrewing family.
So the best I can recommend is MoreBeer, they sell 10lb bags of grain and if you get above $60 it ships free. The same 50lb sack of grain ran $40 shipping to my place as they don’t qualify for the free freight. I’m sure other places are like that as well but I haven’t looked beyond that.
That’s kind of what I’m seeing. So if I run to the LHBS and pick up 3 grain bills. (It’s an hour away so I stock up). I didn’t have a mill so I would mill it then cram 2-3 brews into a week of different sizes. That would run me about 100 dollars between fuel and the grains, yeast and hops.
It’s significantly cheaper if I can find a place that doesn’t have heinous shipping costs
There’s a hydroponics place in NY that sells 50/55 lb sacks of grain with free shipping. Grains – Sunset Hydroponics and Home Brewing
Same for me as what allenhuerta said. The best deal I’ve found is through more beer buying the 10 pound bags also. I buy 6 bags of each base malt I use at a time and it qualifies for free shipping.
Thanks for the info y’all
The LHBS nearest me does a bulk grain sale once or twice a year. The customers get their economies of scale, and the owner gets to not mess with 55lb sacks the rest of the year. I don’t know how open they’d be, but you could pitch that idea to your LHBS.
That’s a good idea
Do you have a local malster? I have a good one, Valley Malt in Hadley, MA. They have a sort of malt CSA that I have used a couple times where you choose the 50# sack of base malt (pilsner or pale) and you also get a bunch of specialty malts and a couple smaller (5-10#?) sacks of base malt such as munich, vienna, and rye. I am pretty sure you can just get a big sack of base malt too.
Some local breweries will do bulk buys for homebrewers. You may have to drive for it. 15 or so years ago a friend of mine used to order a pallet or two of grain through a local brewery about twice a year in Nashville. I had to drive 90 minutes to pick up my part of the order but 2 it was worth it and I’d order bulk sacks of grain to last months (I homebrewed a LOT back then lol). Wholesale malt that breweries buy is CHEAP compared to what homebrewers pay.
I’ll have to look to see if there are any maltsters here in PA. I didn’t even think of looking for one or contacting a brewery. That’s why I love this forum!
I purchase Weyermanns Floor Malted Pilsner from NB for $95 and that included “free” shipping. On some other websites it was less per pound but with added shipping. Total per pound was $1.72 so it actually was a fair price.
My brother’s company, Double Eagle Malt, is in Philly, but I don’t know if he has an outlet for retail homebrewers. Check the web site https://www.doubleeaglemalt.com/
I use Deer Creek malts, also from down near Philly. https://www.deercreekmalt.com/
They are available from Keystone Homebrew or direct from their website. KH will give you a better deal on shipping though.
I would like to try Double Eagle Malt as well.
I talked to my LHBS again today when the owner was in. I ussually BS with him when I’m in store and he said if I buy two sacks at a time he’d sell em to me 72 bucks out the door. Just give him a weeks notice
But I will still investigate all avenues
Pretty good deal. When possible support you LHBS.
I guess his partner who is a “silent partner” was filling in for the holidays.
They are cool hard working people a lot of knowledge and he’ll tell you how it is and are super helpful
That’s a great deal. I wish I lived near there.
I am fortunate that my LHBS is MoreBeer! I live close to their Los Altos “showroom” and can buy there. These days I send them an order by email and they let me know when it is ready for curbside pickup, which is generally the next day. If there is something that they don’t have in the store they call me on the phone and ask if it is OK to order it from the warehouse and have it with their weekly shipment (usually Friday morning). My wife and I bicycled over there today and picked up 12 pounds of grain, various hops and some yeast. Got some fresh air and exercise and the ingredients for a nice brew. You can’t beat that!