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findlaym

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Messages
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Location
peterborough
Both northern brewer and midwest supplies won't ship to canada. I also don't really want to deal with the freight forwarders if I don't have to. there are a few online stores (canadian home brew supplies etc) but they are like double the price on a lot of things because of the high Canadian dollar. I have 2 questions:

1) where is the best/cheapest canadian home brew supplier?
2) are there any large US shops that will ship across the border?

Right now I am just getting going. I got a bunch of used stuff off kijiji and I need things like carboy brushes, stoppers, sanitizer etc.

thanks
 
Austin Homebrew will ship up here....

I refuse to deal with anyone who wants me to use a forwarder.

Its really silly they wont ship to Canada....its not hard.
 
I have to be honest, I love Canadian homebrew supplies, and the selection that they have. Unfortunately the shipping kind of kills me, so I try to stock up on the heavy stuff like 2-row when I go to the big city (only like once a year). What things specifically do you find too expensive?
 
I guess I don't find anything "too expensive". I just find that things are cheaper in the states. I'm not ragging on canadian retailers for gouging or anything, it's just that we have a high CAD right now and I would take advantage if I could.

even if shipping is slightly more from the sates, we should have an increased buying power with the dollar right now. I could drive down to Canadian Homebrew supplies but by the time you buy gas and drive on the 401 you might as well just order from the web....
 
Oh man, I wish I could drive there. I have to drive 5 hours one way to get to Winnipeg so that I can buy a sack of 2 row for $65 in the same province where its made. Canadian homebrew supplies sells that same sack for $55 half way across the country. Trust me, a little 401 time groovin to the oldies (or whatever you listen to) is well worth it.

Speaking of which, I think its just about time for me to put together another order. :)
 
Canadian Homebrew Supplies is the only one I've ordered from so far. He does not have a storefront yet, so you have to place your order online ahead of time so he can pull your order for pickup. He does accept cash payments as well.

Otherwise I have no idea who else is in the GTA; homebrewersretail.com is in Whitby but I don't know what they are like.

You would think based on how much Canadians love their beer we would have no shortage of competitive home brew suppliers in a province with 13 million people. :confused:
 
Here in Calgary, we have a couple decent local retailers (The Vinyard, Home Vintner). Their prices are reasonable, and if you give them a call, they'll probably ship an order out. Not sure, but certainly worth a quick phone call. At least then you're only paying domestic shipping.

But yeah, the whole CAN-US exchange is a bummer, especially now that the dollar is regularly within 5% of parity. Also, if you do purchase from the US online, ensure they don't use UPS. UPS infamously charges absolutely insane brokerage fees (typically around 30-50%). USPS and Fedex are usually around 5%.
 
I find their prices for extract to be a little high (just started shopping for my first batch).

I also stumbled upon this: http://www.homebrewgearcanada.com/ Anyone use them before?

Extract is expensive no matter where you go. I made the switch to All-Grain recently only after just starting, and not only are my beers much better, I can do a 5 gallon batch for about 12 bucks with bulk grains, hops and re-used yeast. Extract was costing me between 20 and 30 dollars for the same batch, and the beer wasn't near as good.

I can totally vouch for Spencer at homebrewgearcanada. His stock isn't as large as some of the others, but his customer service is second to none. I placed an order after lunch on a wed. and had it in my hands Thurs. morning. Shipping was reasonable as the more you ship, the sweeter the deal.

If you don't mind driving to Fergus, Ontario which is near Guelph you can go to Gilbertson and Page which is a wholesaler of grains, but they do sell to homebrewers. Way cheaper than you will get retail, for example I just picked up 3 - 55 pound bags of 2-row. They charge $35 for a 55 pound bag, and $40 for any other malts, like Maris Otter, Crystal malts, etc. They have a really good selection. Keep in mind they only sell 55 pound bags, and you have to call ahead. Rumor has it they are opening a homebrew storefront, but they have yet to do that. There are no taxes on grains/extract in Ontario as it's considered foodstuff.

For bulk hops I recommend Bob Latimer at www.beerandwinefilter. Great prices, and customer service. Bob gets his hops from hopsdirect, and they are always fresh. Average price for a pound of hop pellets is $10. Beats the hell out of paying 2-3 dollars for an ounce retail. Email him for price/availablility.

Your other option is Randy at Canadian Homebrew Supplies. He has the biggest selection, and you can pick up the stuff at his place in Brampton. Sometimes hard to get a hold of, but he is a busy guy and does a brisk business. You live in Peterborough so you could make a road trip out of Fergus/Brampton and save some shipping costs. He is apparantly opening a storefront in the spring.

If you need anymore help/advice let me know, as I've researched this exhaustively. We really need to continue to support the homebrew shops in Ontario as they are few and far between.
 
i've ordered from homebrewcanada and though they were great. Fantastic email support and communication.
 
I totally agree about supporting Canadian retailers. After spending some time comparing the prices and weighing the ethical issues, I think that buy Canadian outweighs the price advantage. I have also been hosed by UPS before and it's not a fun experience.

I looked at home brew gear Canada and they are clearly geared towards all grain operations. at this point I am just getting going and I will be starting with extracts so that makes Canadian home brew supplies the best option at this point. While I'm sure I could get someone to ship an order out, or for that matter find someone local who can order direct, if I'm going to support local and buy online then I should support the people set up for that.

I spent 4 years in T-bay so I know how silly it sounds to complain about an hour drive, but an hour drive down here is not nearly as nice as t-bay to winnipeg..... have you looked into shipping greyhound? they are usually cheap if you can arrange dropoff/ pickup.


fin
 
In Peterborough . You can buy both grain an d extract from these guys.
http://www.unitedcanadianmalt.ca/index.html
Also if you join The MoB,
http://barleyment.wort.ca/
https://secure.neap.net/mailman/listinfo/brewers

Ottawa (primarily) area virtual brewers group,
there is a lot of info available and great group buys that go on.
Same for the SoB's.
https://groups.google.com/group/are-you-an-SOB?hl=en&pli=1

Thanks for the tips on the groups...

I had also found united Canada malt but I wasn't sure if they sold to the public.

I'm going to start simple with the canned kit but you can be sure that I'll be down at their place once I get my confidence up...
 
Extract is expensive no matter where you go. I made the switch to All-Grain recently only after just starting, and not only are my beers much better, I can do a 5 gallon batch for about 12 bucks with bulk grains, hops and re-used yeast. Extract was costing me between 20 and 30 dollars for the same batch, and the beer wasn't near as good.

Looks like I need to accelerate my efforts on getting to All-Grain!
 
Another option is Brewtime out here in Hamilton. Not as huge a selection as some places, but generally well stocked, and always nice to talk to a homebrew retailer in the store rather then online.
 
Extract is expensive no matter where you go. I made the switch to All-Grain recently only after just starting, and not only are my beers much better, I can do a 5 gallon batch for about 12 bucks with bulk grains, hops and re-used yeast. Extract was costing me between 20 and 30 dollars for the same batch, and the beer wasn't near as good.

Now that is some great value beer! Where are you located elproducto?

Are you a member of the SOB group?
 
ARGGGGGG Canadian home brew supplies doesn't take credit cards... most business take credit cards.... especially business without a storefront...

Fin
 
correction: they do take credit card via paypal. paypal is a giant hassle but the vendor was awesome about it.
 
Extract is expensive no matter where you go. I made the switch to All-Grain recently only after just starting, and not only are my beers much better, I can do a 5 gallon batch for about 12 bucks with bulk grains, hops and re-used yeast. Extract was costing me between 20 and 30 dollars for the same batch, and the beer wasn't near as good.

Now that is some great value beer! Where are you located elproducto?

Are you a member of the SOB group?

I live in Parry Sound, 2.5 hours north of Toronto.

For a basic pale ale which uses 10 pounds of 2-row = $6
1 pound of carapils = $2
Safale US-05 reused from previous batch - free
6 ounces of bulk hops - $4 approx.

$12

The key is buying bulk if you can. I bought 110 pounds of 2-row for $70 which will last me over a year.

The only piece of equipment I needed to go all grain was a mashtun which I made for about $50 using a coleman cooler from walmart, and various parts from home depot.
 
I'd like to order from online places as well, but having a hell of a time finding a place that stocks the Tap-a-draft kits in Canada. x.x
 
Hi Verroa - I'm doing some festa''s as well, just bottled the pale ale. How is the double oatmeal stout? How do you find them generally?
 
I haven't tried the DOS yet. The MoB guys seem to like them and there was a recent discussion about the DOS with a lot of people comparing it to the St Ambroise Oatmeal Stout once it was finished. I am currently fermenting the Bock which so far seems to be going well.
 
Has anyone here ordered hops through them?

I'm still cutting my teeth with some festa kits, but I'm definitely going to look into this for when I start going extract and partial mash.

I have not ordered from them yet...maybe on my next batch I'll place an order and see how it goes.
 
Hi Verroa - I'm doing some festa''s as well, just bottled the pale ale. How is the double oatmeal stout? How do you find them generally?

I've made the Festa Double Oatmeal Stout a couple of times and it's excellent. The only recommendation I would make is to condition it as long as you can hold out. After 4 weeks in the bottle, it's very good, after 6 weeks it's even better.

If you can get it, the West Coast IPA is also very good. They did a limited run of that beer this Summer.
 
I'd like to order from online places as well, but having a hell of a time finding a place that stocks the Tap-a-draft kits in Canada. x.x

I ordered mine through Morebeer out of the US. Shipping was via USPS, and was pretty quick and inexpensive.

For folks out west, there is a new operation out of Vernon, BC, called Hop Dawgs. Decent selection and pricing.
 
+1 vote for homebrewgearcanada. I live about 3 hour drive from where they ship, and shipment arrives the next business day.

My only complaint is I wish they sold more hops in bulk.

I am lucky enough to live within driving distance of Gilbertson and Paige, so I go there for my bulk malts, and get my specialty malts/hops/yeast from HBGC.
 
Any extract brewers in the Markham/Richmond Hill area? Yesterday I had a visit with these guys: http://barleyandgrapes.com/

Andy (the owner I believe) was very helpful. He's willing to sell some of his Pale Extract Syrup for $6 / Litre. We measured the weight of that -- 1420g or 3 lbs. 2 oz. per Litre. From what I've seen so far that's not too bad of a deal. They also have a bunch of specialty grains (crystal, wheat, muncih, etc) and hops (10 cents per gram).

Just thought I would mention it. It's the most convenient location for me (near work) so I'm planning on supplying my first recipe from here.
 
I'm all for supporting Canadian businesses first but I was unable to find a wort chiller through the Canadian companies so I looked at the American ones. I found that Learntobrew.com does $7.99 shipping to Canada without any brokerage fees. I may have to pay some duty when it arrives but that is no big deal.

Worth checking out.
 
I'm all for supporting Canadian businesses first but I was unable to find a wort chiller through the Canadian companies so I looked at the American ones. I found that Learntobrew.com does $7.99 shipping to Canada without any brokerage fees. I may have to pay some duty when it arrives but that is no big deal.

Worth checking out.

Good to know. :)

Have you considered making your own wort chiller? I have yet to look into one but a simple immersion wort chiller looks pretty easy to make, and probably a lot cheaper than one from a homebrew store.

Here's a link I found:
http://www.olderascal.com/brewing/wortchiller/index.html
 
I'm all for supporting Canadian businesses first but I was unable to find a wort chiller through the Canadian companies so I looked at the American ones. I found that Learntobrew.com does $7.99 shipping to Canada without any brokerage fees. I may have to pay some duty when it arrives but that is no big deal.

Worth checking out.

Canadian Homebrew Supplies carries both the Brewer's Best copper wort chiller (which I just received) and the Blichmann plate chiller.
 
Wow, here in Calgary I have to goto 3 different wine making stores just to get everything I need. And most of the time I can't find what I really want and have to settle for what they have. To be honest I don't think there is a dedicated LHBS here, and if there is they suck at advertising because I haven't found them yet. Maybe I should open one :)
 
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