Going Bulk....anyone have tips or tricks?

After a year and a half of AG and getting my process down, I'm going to 10 Gal batches. Got a couple keggles built, and I just got my grain mill(MM2) today.
I'll be buying the grain at the LHBS, but the hops I'll probably order on line. Do any of you have any good tips for buying bulk, or just any advice/ things to be aware of when going bigger?

Thanks for any help you can give

If you don't already have it, get a vacuum sealer. That way you can buy hops in bigger bulk buys, which will save a fair amount over the long run.

I actually have one, wasn't bought specifically for brewing ( one of the few things ), but does come in handy. I sometimes get a couple grain bills at a time, and will seal them up if I'm not brewing in a week or so. Good advice though!

Buy your grain by the sack and get a tote to store it in.

I would agree, buy grain by the sack. Get into a group buy from a malting company and buy whatever base malt you prefer.

My LHBS has 50 lb bags of 6 different base malts , so that's where I'll get that. I know there is a local guy that posts on here that gets a bulk hop buy together. I'll have to pick up some bins for the grain.

I use the big rubber maid totes form wally world

bwarbiany said:

If you don't already have it, get a vacuum sealer. That way you can buy hops in bigger bulk buys, which will save a fair amount over the long run.

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I actually prefer storing my hops in vacuum sealed mason jars. Just dump them in and seal them.

Don't over do it. I bought enough ingredients for like 20 recipes even though all my kegs and bottles were full. I was tripping over kegs and cases in the house because the garage freezes over the winter, the ingredients sat for 2 years while I whittled down the already made stuff (170 gallons).

An extra freezer is neat for storing hops. Can also start a frozen yeast bank there. Look for hops packaged in 4oz or smaller bags, otherwise look for a vacuum sealer.

Get some software to help track inventory so putting recipes together is easy.

Watch your boil off if your kettle size has changed.

Check out the local bakery or grocery store for frosting buckets to store grains. I picked up several buckets and lids with rubber gaskets for $.50 apiece. Home depot's homer buckets with lids are great too at >$5. 2 5 gallon stackable buckets hold 50# of grain.