What does your LHBS charge?

At the Midwest retail store that recipe would cost you $35.01. $31.51 if you are in a brew club or AHA.

In store only of course; shipping would add some.

Here's an update to my purchases. I bought grain for a German Lager. Nothing special. 9# 2 row, 2.5# munich malt, .5# carapils, 2 oz hallertauer, bohemian lager yeast (and 8 dollars of misc stuff). Does anybody want to venture a guess as to what I spent? If you take away the 8 bucks for my misc, I hit 53 dollars for this stuff.

This is the absolute last time I shop there. Unfortunate, but I can't spend that kind of money brewing my own beer. That was part of the reason I got into this hobby. I thought it was going to save me money in the long run.

WOW!! I did a rough calculation...the same ingredients at my LHBS would have been right around 36 dollars. I am all for supporting a LHBS but...not at those prices. What do they charge per lb for base and specialty grains, hops, and liquid yeast?

SteveHeff said:

Here's an update to my purchases. I bought grain for a German Lager. Nothing special. 9# 2 row, 2.5# munich malt, .5# carapils, 2 oz hallertauer, bohemian lager yeast (and 8 dollars of misc stuff). Does anybody want to venture a guess as to what I spent? If you take away the 8 bucks for my misc, I hit 53 dollars for this stuff.

This is the absolute last time I shop there. Unfortunate, but I can't spend that kind of money brewing my own beer. That was part of the reason I got into this hobby. I thought it was going to save me money in the long run.

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Man that's sky high...I average between 20 and 30 for any of the recipes I brew from my LHBS. Something this simple probably would have been around 25.

All the grain I purchased was $2.25 lb. Trying not to be a jerk, I asked him about the price, thinking he meant it was 2.25 for the munich malt. Nope. All his base grain is that price and it goes up.

Because my receipt wasn't itemized, nor where any of the products priced, I was left calculating what the cost of yeast and hops were. I was left with around 23 dollars on my receipt that accounted for the yeast and hops. No matter how you do the math, it's too high.

So I now know that my 30 minute drive to the next closest LHBS is worth it. I'm going to make a trip there today and price out the same grains, yeast and hops. I'll report back when I have my information. Cheers, fellas.

SteveHeff said:

All the grain I purchased was $2.25 lb. Trying not to be a jerk, I asked him about the price, thinking he meant it was 2.25 for the munich malt. Nope. All his base grain is that price and it goes up.

Because my receipt wasn't itemized, nor where any of the products priced, I was left calculating what the cost of yeast and hops were. I was left with around 23 dollars on my receipt that accounted for the yeast and hops. No matter how you do the math, it's too high.

So I now know that my 30 minute drive to the next closest LHBS is worth it. I'm going to make a trip there today and price out the same grains, yeast and hops. I'll report back when I have my information. Cheers, fellas.

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At those prices I would have no issue buying from one of the big internet suppliers. Morebeer gives you free shipping and the prices are half what u are currently paying.

SteveHeff said:

All the grain I purchased was $2.25 lb. Trying not to be a jerk, I asked him about the price, thinking he meant it was 2.25 for the munich malt. Nope. All his base grain is that price and it goes up.

Because my receipt wasn't itemized, nor where any of the products priced, I was left calculating what the cost of yeast and hops were. I was left with around 23 dollars on my receipt that accounted for the yeast and hops. No matter how you do the math, it's too high.

So I now know that my 30 minute drive to the next closest LHBS is worth it. I'm going to make a trip there today and price out the same grains, yeast and hops. I'll report back when I have my information. Cheers, fellas.

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If I saw that total I would have said nevermind and walked away. How can you know the 8 dollars of misc. was really only 8 bucks? No matter what, paying more than two dollars for base 2-row is ridiculous.

That recipe would have cost you $55 to order from morebeer. You would have to pay for shipping or buy more stuff and you would have to weigh out the fractions of a pound and end up with leftovers.

Just sayin'

It would have cost me:
$9 2-row in bulk
$5.70 for specialty grain
$2.95 for hops
Maybe $8 for yeast.
$25.65 or $31 if I didn't buy my 2-row in bulk.
I'm going to keep supporting my LHBS.

I went to the other LHBS near by this afternoon. I'm happy to report back with good news. I priced out my grains with these guys and the overall total was $34 and change. I was a bit surprised to find out the yeast was 8.99 for a smack pack. 2 row was 10.99 for a 10# bag. Specialty grains were 2.49-2.99 depending on what you needed.

I'm happy with the results of this trip. It is a little further out than the other place but it's certainly worth the drive. The owners/employees were incredibly helpful. Very knowledgable. I'm glad I made the trip. I think the case is closed on this one.

Thanks for all of the helpful responses. They were very good and pointed me in the right direction. I can now take my savings and apply them towards my kegging system (which SWMBO has already approved!!).

Support your local LHBS, if not, LHBS goes out of business, and you are stuck buying online, sending your hard earned money out of your community. And who doesn't like going to the brew shop?
Hobby store owners in general don't make much money, They might have to charge that much to stay afloat, I doubt he's considering buying a new boat from the grain profits.
So you get burned 10 bucks every time you brew, most people brew what, twice a month? 20 bucks a month is a small price to pay to enjoy the perks of having a relationship with a brew shop.

That being said...2.25 for 2-row! Sh** better be organic, fair traded and hand harvested.

Totes said:

Support your local LHBS, if not, LHBS goes out of business, and you are stuck buying online, sending your hard earned money out of your community. And who doesn't like going to the brew shop?
Hobby store owners in general don't make much money, They might have to charge that much to stay afloat, I doubt he's considering buying a new boat from the grain profits.
So you get burned 10 bucks every time you brew, most people brew what, twice a month? 20 bucks a month is a small price to pay to enjoy the perks of having a relationship with a brew shop.

That being said...2.25 for 2-row! Sh** better be organic, fair traded and hand harvested.

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This mentality leads to mediocrity IMO. I buy local because they are competitive with online when you factor in shipping and time wasted waiting. If they charged me 55 bucks for a simple all grain recipe then I would walk out. Not having prices posted or itemized receipts is pure lazyness. If you want the locals to support you then you have to earn their support. If any business is relying on people to just shop locally then they will fail. I earn my money and I won't give it to any business that doesn't earn it.

Just to clarify, I'm still shopping local. But I'm choosing to drive across a few towns to go to the other LHBS. When it's your money being spent, spend it where you want to. That's why I'm CHOOSING to spend my money elsewhere. 20 bucks a month, over the course of a year, is 240 bucks. Plenty of money for me to start kegging with.

most of hops here are about 3.50 oz , specialty grains about 2.50 a pound I think , smack packs 7.50 each , marris otter ??

My LHBS is 1.99 per ounce for all hops and 1.99 per pound of all grain. If you buy bulk base malts, they are 1.29 per pound. And the customer service is above and beyond.

My LHBS's is Midwest Supplies.. their in-store pricing are the same as the website. Around 1.70 - 1.90 per lb of base malt and less for the specialty grains. Hop pellets are $1 - 2.50 per oz depending on type. They've just renovated the grain room to make space for more bins of different grains... plus AHA members get 10% discount at the register.

I have been involved in the model train hobby for 25 years. Same story over there: all the local hobby shops are ripped for being overpriced gougers. Then when a guy needs a $2 part and there is no local store he cries about that. Does your Internet source pay local taxes or support little league in your area? How would all of the "I can find it five cents lower somewhere else" crowd feel if their boss cut their pay because the Internet ate his profits?

There's two sides of every coin guys. Brew on, enjoy your beers and member it is a hobby.

Dutchbier said:

I have been involved in the model train hobby for 25 years. Same story over there: all the local hobby shops are ripped for being overpriced gougers. Then when a guy needs a $2 part and there is no local store he cries about that. Does your Internet source pay local taxes or support little league in your area? How would all of the "I can find it five cents lower somewhere else" crowd feel if their boss cut their pay because the Internet ate his profits?

There's two sides of every coin guys. Brew on, enjoy your beers and member it is a hobby.

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My LHBS is competitive with the online retailers on lots of things. One thing they are not competitive on is yeast. I always buy my yeast there though. Not because they are local, but because they take care of it and it stays nice and cold the whole time. From the time it leaves white labs to the time it hits my starter it is kept at close to ideal temps. This is what local business needs to do. It CAN excel at certain things and to say it shouldn't have to because its the local place is silly.

Over the course of the last year I have spent approx 900 dollars there. They know me and know I expect a certain level of cordiality from them. They answer my questions without makinge feel dumb and the answers are always spot on when I do my research. If your LHBS doesn't take care of you in a professional and courteous manner then why support them? Maybe they will go out of business and someone else who is better will take their place.

kaconga said:

If your LHBS doesn't take care of you in a professional and courteous manner then why support them? Maybe they will go out of business and someone else who is better will take their place.

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Can't argue with that. I won't support any business that doesn't respect me or appreciate my patronage, local or not. However, I don't feel it's fair to expect the LHBS to always keep there prices on par with the big online retailers. The LHBS service and homebrew camaraderie should make up for the increased price, in theory.

Seems expensive to me? But I buy all my Ing in bulk.

Totes said:

Can't argue with that. I won't support any business that doesn't respect me or appreciate my patronage, local or not. However, I don't feel it's fair to expect the LHBS to always keep there prices on par with the big online retailers. The LHBS service and homebrew camaraderie should make up for the increased price, in theory.

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Honestly, for me, It's the quality of the ingredients. I can munch on some grains and see what the hops are stored like before I purchase. Might be some new hops in I have never heard of and they can point to a recipe that uses them. When you buy online you hope that they are doing the right thing with the ingredients. But when you can actually see and taste things then you KNOW they have done the right thing.

And I intend to treat them as awesome as they have treated me. They had someone new working the register last time I went and she rang up my 7 lbs of LME as just 1 lb. Next time I am in I will rectify the mistake because they are doing things right there. They aren't the cheapest but they are certainly the best value.

formula2fast said:

My LHBS is 1.99 per ounce for all hops and 1.99 per pound of all grain. If you buy bulk base malts, they are 1.29 per pound. And the customer service is above and beyond.

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So how much is a bus ticket to your town and where can I rent a house .
not really complaining about my LHBS as this is Wichita , ks and we are not real big even though the biggest city in KS . So there is not the volume of business here to support a big store that can buy more and sell for less . I still choose to buy almost all of my supplies from What's Brewin' . How ever if I had to pay 2.25 for a pound of 2 row I would buy it on line instead .

kaconga said:

Honestly, for me, It's the quality of the ingredients. I can munch on some grains and see what the hops are stored like before I purchase. Might be some new hops in I have never heard of and they can point to a recipe that uses them. When you buy online you hope that they are doing the right thing with the ingredients. But when you can actually see and taste things then you KNOW they have done the right thing.

And I intend to treat them as awesome as they have treated me. They had someone new working the register last time I went and she rang up my 7 lbs of LME as just 1 lb. Next time I am in I will rectify the mistake because they are doing things right there. They aren't the cheapest but they are certainly the best value.

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You are a good honest man indeed and I agree with everything you said .

As a former small business owner the only thing I'd say is you really should let him know that you won't be shopping there and why, you can even do it anonymously.

It can be really difficult in a small business to see the wood for the trees, you might be losing customers but not know why, and the more customers you lose the harder it can be to try and work out why. Speaking from experience, you then spend so much time fighting the fires of losing money and trying to meet increasing bills that you really don't have time to drill down and work out where you are going wrong.

It may be that he is covering costs and doesn't mind losing one customer if he has plenty that don't shop around, but it may be that he doesn't have time to price check against his competition and has no idea why he can't retain customers and stop the decline.

My lhbs sells me crushed grains for 1.25/lbs and 1lbs for none crushed. Usually sells me hops for 10-15/lbs. since i started brewing this past winter, he sales have really gone up.

So he cuts me pretty good deals

kaconga said:

Honestly, for me, It's the quality of the ingredients. I can munch on some grains and see what the hops are stored like before I purchase. Might be some new hops in I have never heard of and they can point to a recipe that uses them. When you buy online you hope that they are doing the right thing with the ingredients. But when you can actually see and taste things then you KNOW they have done the right thing.

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To me it's a bit like buying lumber. I could call the yard and have them drop-ship a load of 2x4s and hope that there are enough serviceable boards to suit my needs. Or I can walk in and eyeball the goods, be selective and pass up the warped and split boards.

Same deal with brewing supplies. For perishables like yeast, hops, etc., I will always buy local. I don't want to risk having it go bad in a 1000-mile journey by UPS. I want to see that mfg. date and the conditions in which they are stored. It goes from their fridge or freezer to mine in 20-30 minutes. But then, I'm lucky to live in a town that has 2 major brewing supply companies: Midwest and Northern.

As for hardware and gadgets, I can go local or go Internet, depending on what is most convenient for me at the time.

At my LHBS, they also charge about $1.75-$2.50 for grains (most base are $2, MO is probably $2.25), about $2.50/oz for hops, about $7 for Wyeast and $9 for White Labs, and about $3 for dry yeast. Grains are about $1.50/lb if you buy in 10-pound bags.

Of course, the local homebrew club does group buys and also stocks a "club store". That stuff is under $1/lb.

You can also consider, as others have suggested, ordering a few brews' worth of supplies at once online. That should get you cheap shipping (either free shipping by volume, or "cheap enough" shipping by amortization).

I bought wyeat over internet . came in 3 days but sat on my front porch in 103 degrees for x amount of hours till I got home . the ice pack of course was hot and I suspect that may have killed off a few yeast cells . Never again . I buy local .

I agree with everybody on the yeast and hops. There is no reason to ship these ingredients to your home. I will most definitely buy those local...or have my brother in law overnight vacuum packaged hops to my house!

Hops are way more resilient than yeast. I buy most of my everyday stock hops by the pound online and rarely less than 3 pounds per shipment at a time.

As long as you can buy or order the (liquid) yeast you want from your LHBS, you are in very good shape. Even if they price them a bit higher than online it is worth every penny. If I think of it, I bring a small cooler with an ice pack in it, but usually when I browse the yeasts and I see something I want, I buy it right then and there. Just keep it cool in the car.

I pay $1.75 for specialty grains and $1.09 for basic like pale 2 row etc etc. Usually $24-28 to get grain for imperial beers.

Starting this thread up...again. In October 2014, my wife and I moved back to NH after being away for the last 8 years. I'm happy to report that I pay substantially lower prices here than any where else. The original recipe, listed on the first post, cost is around $26. This includes yeast, hops, crushed grain...everything I need. I'm quite happy with this. The LHBS owner takes very good care of me, and any body else in the store. Good to be back in NH.

Congrats on getting cheaper ingredients haha. It's always cool to see a followup on a thread. Just for kicks I decided to price out your recipe for my LHBS (HomebrewUSA)

8# 12 oz maris otter - $2.38/lb - $20.83
1# 12 oz flaked oats - $2.79/lb - $4.88
1# C60 - $2.38/lb - $2.38
1# carapils - $2.39/lb - 2.39
1# Chocolate malt - $2.49/lb - $2.49
6 oz Roasted barley - $2.49/lb - $0.93
1 oz fuggles - $2.29/oz - $2.29
1 oz EKG - $2.49/oz - $2.49
1 wyeast 1084 smack pack (WLP004 because they don't carry Wyeast) - $8.75/vial - $8.75
-----------------
$47.43 before tax
(really it would cost more because they don't sell specialty grain by the ounce, but I parted out the cost because I could always use the leftover grain in another batch)

Actually, HBUSA will sell you the specialty grain by the ounce...at least over here in the Hampton store they will...I've had them actually open a 1# bag to give me 4oz for a recipe...plus, they offer 10% off for AHA membership. I priced this up, and with the discount it came to just under 38 bucks before tax.

Nice price got me wondering so here is my LHBS pricing

8# 12 oz maris otter - 1.95/lb - 17.06
1# 12 oz flaked oats - 2.75/lb - 4.82
1# C60 - 2.35/lb - 2.35
1# Carapils- 2.40/lb 2.40
1# Chocolate malt - 2.35/lb 2.35
6 oz. Roasted barley - 2.15/lb .80
1 oz Fuggles - 2.35/ oz 2.35
1 oz EKG- 2.50/oz 2.50
1 WLP004 ( substitute) 6.95


Total 41.58
Tax 2.50
Discount -4.16
Grand Total 39.92

My LHBS charges $1.75 a pound for most grains including crystal, two row, Pilsner, Marris Otter, Munich, etc.... out of the bins. I just bought a 55 pound bag of Munich for $1 per pound, so it pays to buy bulk!! I just bought a 50 lb bag of American two row for $23.50 from my local micro brewer....... His cost delivered to him. I was paying $20 last year but this year was a poor barley year.... too wet.

H.W.

I had to compare as well. Phoenix LHBS as follows:
Maris Otter - $1.69/lb
11¢/oz
8lbs 12oz = $14.84

Flaked Wheat - $1.59/lb
1lb = $1.59

C60 - $1.69/lb 1lb = $1.69

Carapils - $1.69/lb 1lb = $1.69

Chocolate malt - $1.89/lb
1lb = $1.89

Roasted Barley - 12¢/oz
6oz = 72¢

Fuggles - $2.29/oz 1oz = $2.29

EKG - 2.49/oz 1oz = $2.49

WLP004 $7.99

Total $32.70

SteveHeff said:

Starting this thread up...again. In October 2014, my wife and I moved back to NH after being away for the last 8 years. I'm happy to report that I pay substantially lower prices here than any where else. The original recipe, listed on the first post, cost is around $26. This includes yeast, hops, crushed grain...everything I need. I'm quite happy with this. The LHBS owner takes very good care of me, and any body else in the store. Good to be back in NH.

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Welcome back to NH!

SteveHeff, you never did mention which two shops in NJ you were going to. We get $1.50 for Maris and $1.10 for American 2row.

Bobby_M said:

SteveHeff, you never did mention which two shops in NJ you were going to. We get $1.50 for Maris and $1.10 for American 2row.

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I'm not going to bash any particular LHBS...I figure customers can figure out the good from the bad. However I ended up going to the Keg and Barrel in Berlin. I always found the staff incredibly eager to help.

That is double what I would pay. Check out The Home Brewery Ozark MO.