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Rudeboy

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Joined
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Location
Edmonton, Alberta
My LBS is great and very helpful but it's beer supplies are pretty limited. I searched for online sites and couldn't find any Canadian ones with much better selection than my LBS. I asked here and Canadians said they used American sites with no problem.(Especially with a 97 cent dollar)

I liked Alternative Beverage in NC so I placed an order for two recipe kits, some DME and a couple of pounds of Choclate Malt. Shipping by Mail was $22 which seemed like more than I thought but ok. Then AB phoned me today and said that US Postal Service changed there rules and the $22 box now couldn't fit one recipe kit far less my order. And that to ship it surface mail was going to be $44.00 which is pretty steep on a $60.00 order so I said thanks but no thanks.

So my question is where do my Canuckelhead compatriots source they're ingredients?

Thanks

Rudeboy
 
Splastik, you should put your location in your options like JimC. (He's from Ottawa.) We need to know where YOU are. I'm just outside Winnipeg and there is a good HBS there. You nearby?
 
rod said:
i use paddock wood for items my lhbs doesn't have
Click to expand...

Ya, I've seen Paddock Wood but I'm not ready for All Grain yet and unless I've mis-read their site they have no extracts. Well one, Rice Extract.

Nobody in Canada sources out of the US?

I've been looking at Austin Brewing Supplies and their clone recipes really appeal to me.

Thanks

Rudeboy
 
I find the US market too expensive for shipping those types of supplies. Good for taps, shanks, other hardware though.
 
shipping is the killer on heavy items(extracts or bulk grains)
i only get yeast and small quantities of specilty grains shipped from paddock.
i used my lhbs when i was doing extract since they are also an on site brewing store and their extract was fresh and they would sell in bulk if you brought your own container
 
JimC said:
Shipping inside Canada is a bit stupid on the big stuff. I try to source my grains locally. But, here are the Canadian mail order sites that I have found.

http://www.skinaneybrewing.com/index.htm
http://www.paddockwood.com/index.php
http://www.wineandbeerfactory.com
Click to expand...

Thanks JimC.

Paddockwood I mentioned above.

I hadn't seen the other two. Skinaney has lots of grains but again I'm not ready for AG yet.

Wine & Beer is good but for Extract it only really has what my LHBS has. Light and Dark DME. No unhopped LME. No Amber DME.

Hmm... I wanted to move beyond kit brewing and I thought Extract/Grain was a good middle ground but it looks like I might have to bite the bullet and step up to AG if I want the brews I'm thinking of.

Thanks

Rudeboy
 
Rudeboy, go to 'Search Members' and enter in Edmonton as your search criteria. There are a couple of members from your neck of the woods. Why don't you PM them and see what they do? That's how I found my HBS in Winnipeg.
 
Light DME is really all you need for extract brewing. Use your specialty grains to get the colour and flavour instead. It gives you far more control of your beer.

Paddockwood used to list quite a few extracts but you're right I only see rice. They're going downhill the last few months though, I'm quite disappointed in them lately.
 
I think we're all interested in that, Mr X. I bought my first three from Alternative Beverage in the States but it was a real hassle getting them across the border. I got two more locally but that's still not enough for my greedy black heart. If TX gets the social networking part of the site going we can share resources like that to support Canadian businesses.
 
I just bought two kegs from the states on Ebay. Total delivered was less than 100CAD. PM me and I'll try and dig up the vendor for you.
 
I picked up a nice new aluminum 20lb co2 tank from Atlanta. Good guy to deal with. He had cornies as well, but the shipping was still prohibitive (just) - USPS can only ship 2 per package. His only other option was UPS (which is no option at all). I may look at what DHL is doing for shipping charges, I think they may be better than the rest.
 
Yep, UPS no problem. About 5 days door-to-door. The second guy's shipping is twice what I paid.
 
Did you get hit with brokerage fees? I have found most standard UPS services are going to cost 50-70 extra to handle customs.
 
I thought that I was going to be, but I paid directly with paypal, and the parcel showed up without further charges.
 
Fingers said:
Splastik, you should put your location in your options like JimC. (He's from Ottawa.) We need to know where YOU are. I'm just outside Winnipeg and there is a good HBS there. You nearby?
Click to expand...
Nearer than Miami, Florida :D

I did live in Vancouver for a few years though, miss it.
 
Rudeboy said:
Ya, I've seen Paddock Wood but I'm not ready for All Grain yet and unless I've mis-read their site they have no extracts. Well one, Rice Extract.

Nobody in Canada sources out of the US?

I've been looking at Austin Brewing Supplies and their clone recipes really appeal to me.

Thanks

Rudeboy
Click to expand...
Hey Rudeboy -- Paddock Wood *used* to carry extract and extract kits, but they are starting to focus on the microbrewery side of their operation. They continue to sell homebrew supplies, but only for AG brewing (presumably only the items that cross-over with their microbrewery, like grains, hops, etc.). Unfortunately, they were about the only place to go to in Canada.

Bummer about the high shipping costs from Alternative Beverage. I have bought quite a bit of stuff from them in the past, and they were fast becoming my 'go to' LHBS now that Paddock Wood has tanked.

My suggestion to you is go to Southside BrewCrew in Edmonton. Their prices are a bit high, but if you join the Edmonton Homebrewer's Guild, you get 10% off all your purchases at that store (Southside location only). Their shop is OK, and I know they stock DME, grains, yeast, and hops.

Honestly, though, in Canada you have one of two homebrewing choices: no-boil, pre-hopped kits (which are OK), or all grain brewing. There isn't anyone really supporting extract brewing in Canada. But I have some great success with those BrewHouse no-boil, pre-hopped kits in the past. And my brother in law has had incredible success, winning lots of medals from kits he hacked (he even went 2nd round NHC this year for his American Brown Ale).

Anyways, you are probably going to have to pay through the nose for extract brewing in Canada. Think about modifying those BrewHouse kits instead, or do what many of us do, and consider going all grain.
 
Go all grain, that's my plan - no extract, no PM - all grain till I die. The only way to beat the prices.
 
Rudeboy, I also highly recommend that you consider joining the Edmonton Homebrewer's Guild. They are probably the biggest and best club in Canada, and they are right in your backyard!

http://www.ehg.ca/

There is a lot of experience there to help you with all sorts of questions, particularly if you think you might want to go all grain.

They meet the first Monday of every month at the Alley Kat brewery.
 
FlyGuy said:
Hey Rudeboy -- Paddock Wood *used* to carry extract and extract kits, but they are starting to focus on the microbrewery side of their operation. They continue to sell homebrew supplies, but only for AG brewing (presumably only the items that cross-over with their microbrewery, like grains, hops, etc.). Unfortunately, they were about the only place to go to in Canada.

Bummer about the high shipping costs from Alternative Beverage. I have bought quite a bit of stuff from them in the past, and they were fast becoming my 'go to' LHBS now that Paddock Wood has tanked.

My suggestion to you is go to Southside BrewCrew in Edmonton. Their prices are a bit high, but if you join the Edmonton Homebrewer's Guild, you get 10% off all your purchases at that store (Southside location only). Their shop is OK, and I know they stock DME, grains, yeast, and hops.

Honestly, though, in Canada you have one of two homebrewing choices: no-boil, pre-hopped kits (which are OK), or all grain brewing. There isn't anyone really supporting extract brewing in Canada. But I have some great success with those BrewHouse no-boil, pre-hopped kits in the past. And my brother in law has had incredible success, winning lots of medals from kits he hacked (he even went 2nd round NHC this year for his American Brown Ale).

Anyways, you are probably going to have to pay through the nose for extract brewing in Canada. Think about modifying those BrewHouse kits instead, or do what many of us do, and consider going all grain.
Click to expand...

Thanks again FlyGuy. Southside Brew Crew is where I go. I went there yesterday and got more or less everything I needed. Now, after looking around their selection doesn't seem that bad, but the prices are a bit steep. $15.00 for a Kilo of Munton's Amber DME.

I have been using Brew House kits for 4 of my first 5 Brews (the 5th was a disaster of a Coopers no boil kit and a kilo of Dextrose) and they have been very good. Although all 4 threw a chill haze. Because I went on vacation I was able to keep my grubby paws off the IPA for upwards of a month and it seemed to clear with 4 weeks of cold conditioning. I just wanted to try something a little more challenging and was getting excited about Anchor Steam or Scottish Heavy Clones, etc.

I've been thinking about joining Edmonton Homebrewers Guild but I wasn't sure I had the time. Sort of the issue for AG as well. Guess it's kits until then.

Thanks
Rudeboy
 
I'd get away from those Brewhouse kits ASAP if you can. I started with those and thought they tasted watery and I couldn't get a head off them if you shook em up first. All grain is definitely the way to go. Get a cooler, corona mill, and turkey fryer and find a 55lb bag of base malt. It's crazy cheap from there. The extract I could get fermented about 50%(yuck), and tasted like...well, extract.
 
I've had good results with the Barrons kits. My current brew is a modified kit. They're sort of a hybrid between a full wort and extract. I don't taste any "extract" like, or scorched flavours, and the kits are no-boil. I used to be a member of EHG, but had to leave because of job demands. I highly recommend the group. You can get lots of experience, and they actively promote group/buddy brewing. They have a yearly hops order, and will often buy grain in bulk. The brewers consistently perform well at national and international competitions as well.
 
grnich said:
I'd get away from those Brewhouse kits ASAP if you can. I started with those and thought they tasted watery and I couldn't get a head off them if you shook em up first. All grain is definitely the way to go. Get a cooler, corona mill, and turkey fryer and find a 55lb bag of base malt. It's crazy cheap from there.
Click to expand...

'Kay I'll do it. :rockin:

I'll get the Turkey fryer with pot for the boils. Then I need a 5 gallon Igloo cooler? Don't I need a false bottom or something? Is the ordinary spigot good enough or do I need to drill any other holes. A termometer? Anything else?

I'll give the EHG a shout I've been on their website but there isn't a lot of resources there.

Thanks

Rudeboy
 
Rudeboy said:
'Kay I'll do it. :rockin:

I'll get the Turkey fryer with pot for the boils. Then I need a 5 gallon Igloo cooler? Don't I need a false bottom or something? Is the ordinary spigot good enough or do I need to drill any other holes. A termometer? Anything else?

I'll give the EHG a shout I've been on their website but there isn't a lot of resources there.

Thanks

Rudeboy
Click to expand...
Check out FlyGuy's signature for instructions on building a cheap mash tun. You will also want a wort chiller of some sort if you do not have one already. An immersion chiller is the easiest/cheapest way to go about that. A good thermometer is definitely a must.

Also depending upon your LHBS you may or may not need some way to crush your grains. If your LHBS can do this for you, no worries. Otherwise a cheap corona-style mill is the best option.
 
Rudeboy said:
So do I need a MLT and an HLT?
Click to expand...
You only need an HLT if you're planning to fly sparge. I would suggest when you first start out that batch sparging would be the best bet (indeed you never need to move from that if you don't want to).
 
try dans in vancouver i had a $85 order shipping was $13 and i got it in 3 days has liquid yeast , whole hops really great place his website is www.beermaking.ca
try http://www.askims.com/ in victoria the only place i know to get white labs in western canada they also have alot more.

i personaly find dme is verry expensive in canada i go to my local uvin shop and buy lme for $5.40 a littre or $1.85 a pound thats the only thing i buy locally because it a great deal and fresh
 
crown_cres said:
try dans in vancouver i had a $85 order shipping was $13 and i got it in 3 days has liquid yeast , whole hops really great place his website is www.beermaking.ca
Click to expand...


Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner. That's exactly what I was looking for.

I built a little spreadsheet so I could figure out what the cost of DME in Canadian Dollars, delivered to me. Cheapest I could get was $4.43 per pound from morebeer.com if I got a 44 lbs. sack. I'm paying $6.80 per pound at my LHBS.

Dan's Homebrewing $1.85 per pound (still to add shipping)

Now extract brewing makes economic sense.

I suspect I'll go AG eventually but at least now I have a middle ground.

Thanks Crown Cres

Rudeboy
 
ModlrMike said:
I've had good results with the Barrons kits. My current brew is a modified kit. They're sort of a hybrid between a full wort and extract. I don't taste any "extract" like, or scorched flavours, and the kits are no-boil. I used to be a member of EHG, but had to leave because of job demands. I highly recommend the group. You can get lots of experience, and they actively promote group/buddy brewing. They have a yearly hops order, and will often buy grain in bulk. The brewers consistently perform well at national and international competitions as well.
Click to expand...

Although you seem to have your problem solved, you'll eventually
make your way to the Dark side, lol.

I had good results from the Barrons kits also. Never had any luck with the
Brew House kits.
But all grain is the way to go. Cheap, and I find it makes a better brew
than I was used to making with extract. Sucks sometimes living on this
side of the country with shipping and not a selection of ingredients
that anyone could call resonably priced. But I am able to find everything
I need from all the various HB shops here in Canada, without resorting
to much cross border shopping.
 
I've been going to Dan's in Vancouver since I got back into homebrewing, and have found just about everything I've needed. He doesn't carry DME though, so I have to go elsewhere for that.

He DOES carry corny kegs as well, at $45 ea. I've got 8 now, and plan on a few more. Luckily I'm a short drive away, so I don't know what his shipping is like.
 
Rudeboy said:
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner. That's exactly what I was looking for.

I built a little spreadsheet so I could figure out what the cost of DME in Canadian Dollars, delivered to me. Cheapest I could get was $4.43 per pound from morebeer.com if I got a 44 lbs. sack. I'm paying $6.80 per pound at my LHBS.
Click to expand...

Just a warning Rudeboy, unless you've already called Dan. He doesn't carry DME, it's all LME.
 
hnefatafl said:
Just a warning Rudeboy, unless you've already called Dan. He doesn't carry DME, it's all LME.
Click to expand...

Ya I eventually got that. Still cheap comparatively. What is it with Canada and DME?

Still I should be able to convert any recipe. I remember a thread that had a conversion ratio for DME to LME to Grain. Now where was that...

As to an other part of the fray I contacted EHG and will be attending their first meeting on September 7th. Which I suspect will push me further down the AG route.

On a side note I was wanting to start an other thread, but now I have all the Canadians listening....

Does anyone have clone recipes for Big Rock beers? What I really want is their Magpie Rye Ale which for some reason they seem to have stopped brewing. But I'd also like their Traditional Ale (which Micheal Jackson once rated as one of the 13 best beers in the world). As I was typing this I also thought their Grasshopper Wheat Ale would be good for next summer....

So to sum, any recipe, for any of their beers would be good.

Thanks

Rudeboy
 
Rudeboy said:
Ya I eventually got that. Still cheap comparatively. What is it with Canada and DME?

Still I should be able to convert any recipe. I remember a thread that had a conversion ratio for DME to LME to Grain. Now where was that...
Click to expand...
Use about 80% of the DME that you would for LME.

It's funny you mention about DME availability. ALL I can get is DME. All the LME I ever see is in a pre-hopped kit. Not that I really care since switching to all grain, all I use DME for is starters now.
 

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