Does your LHBS sell grain at a bulk discount?

If so how does it work? Do you have a min order? what are the prices? is there a special bulk program / club? How does it work?

The reason I ask is I'd like to set up bulk grain buys but I also want to support my local homebrew shop.

My LHBS does do bulk grain, but they don't carry everything. I can only get base malts like 2-row, 6-row, marris otter, belgian pils, and german pils in bulk. The owner sells them in 55lb increments. The savings are good, but I wish they'd carry more options. Like, maybe 10lb bags of specialty malts. The minimum order for him is 1 bag. As for prices, I haven't bought anything bulk in a few months, so I'd have to check when I stop in there tomorrow. I believe it was 55 or 60 for a bag of 2-row.

My local brew club also does group buys once a year. They buy anything you need and it's nice because you can buy a 50lb bag of specialty malts and split it amongst the other members.

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

I believe it was 55 or 60 for a bag of 2-row.

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I was hoping to get a lower price than that. There is a brewery about an hour away that will sell me a sack of 2-row for under 50.00. I can go there but I was hoping my LHBS could work out something similar.

Its a tough one really. You say you want to support your LHBS but you are considering driving an hour one way to save $10?

My LHBS sells 55# sacks for $55. He stocks the basics and will special order anything. I guess I could try to get in on one of these bulk buys, and maybe that is an option for you. The prices are pretty darned low.

But in the end, you either support your LHBS or you don't .

I don't mean to come off all high and mighty. I am not. I do buy some ingredients online, hops for example. Money is tight all around, and we all have to make choices about where we spend our greenbacks.

Alan

My LHBS Sells 50lbs sacks of Briess 2 row for about $60.00 and Maris Otter varieties for a little more. I get a sack and use it for the bulk of my base grain and just buy the specialty grains from them as I need them. I like experimenting with different types of beers so I don't want to store a lot of grain varieties. Usually it costs about $10.00 to $20.00 to get all the other stuff. The yeast is usually the most expensive part (~$7.00) but they carry Liquid White Labs Yeast in quite a few styles and it's always fresh. Of course I'm really lucky because they are less than a Mile away.

Kazi

Mine does not so I buy my base malt in bulk and then purchase specialty grains from the LHBS. I guess my urge to save $73 on a 55# bag of 2-Row outweighs my guilt for not supporting my LHBS.

Gilbey said:

Its a tough one really. You say you want to support your LHBS but you are considering driving an hour one way to save $10?

Alan

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It's more like 25.00 per sack and the drive is only 30 min more then to the LHBS.

My LHBS already sells ala-carte 2-row at $0.69/lb and I can get a bag for a bit less, like $34/bag I think. So not much savings buying in bulk from them, but it's kind of a moot point.

weirdboy said:

My LHBS already sells ala-carte 2-row at $0.69/lb and I can get a bag for a bit less, like $34/bag I think. So not much savings buying in bulk from them, but it's kind of a moot point.

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You have a very good LHBS :fro:

Yes. Bulk is always cheaper than ala-carte. And stocks are usually pretty solid. Otherwise it takes a acouple weeks.

"Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere!"

My LHBS has 50# sacks of base malts for $48-$51. They actually have pretty much any specialty malt you can think of in a 50# sack for $50-$75. They even have flaked grains in 25# bags. I can't complain about the selection, just the price is a little high. I know NB has 50# base malts that start at about $35. I usually take a trip to Milwaukee for a ball game or something a couple of times a year, so I usually buy from them. Hey, $15 is $15.

But, back to the OP. It sounds like the OP wants to do a group buy. I've never done one, but some of the guys on here have done it, and they usually go directly to a maltster like Mid-Country, and buy grain by the pallet.

Mine sells in bulk, but only gives a discount on 2-row. Prices for 2-row drop with the more you buy. a 55lb sack is .65 per pound. Plus they let you buy a bulk amount at once, but only take what you need and keep a tab of how much you have left. Very convenient.

JJL said:

But, back to the OP. It sounds like the OP wants to do a group buy. I've never done one, but some of the guys on here have done it, and they usually go directly to a maltster like Mid-Country, and buy grain by the pallet.

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The idea of a group buy has been brought up at our club. The response was that the LHBS (owned by a club member) could arrange the group buy and this way we get a deal on grain and support the shop at the same time.

However, it has not materialized. I guess there is just not enough interest in doing a group purchase. It's kinda frustrating. I guess I'm looking to see if anybody has a unique idea for how to get cheap grain and support your LHBS.

If I take the LHBS out of the equation I guess we could drive an hour to get it cheap at the local brewery OR do a group buy from North Country. How much is the minimum order at North Country?

Gilbey said:

Its a tough one really. You say you want to support your LHBS but you are considering driving an hour one way to save $10?

My LHBS sells 55# sacks for $55. He stocks the basics and will special order anything. I guess I could try to get in on one of these bulk buys, and maybe that is an option for you. The prices are pretty darned low.

But in the end, you either support your LHBS or you don't .

I don't mean to come off all high and mighty. I am not. I do buy some ingredients online, hops for example. Money is tight all around, and we all have to make choices about where we spend our greenbacks.

Alan

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This is the truth of the matter, and IMHO it's going to get worse before it gets better. I'm not facing this decision, because we don't really have an LHBS in our area, so I get most of my stuff online. If we had a decent local store, I'd buy what I could afford there.

My LHBS will sell me sacks of just about any base malts assuming they have enough reserve to last them the month between shipments... If I ask in advance, I will be able to get a full sack of specialty grains. I picked up sacks of 2-row Pale, Pilsner, and Wheat malts last week at $39, $39, and $43 respectively.

rico567 said:

This is the truth of the matter, and IMHO it's going to get worse before it gets better. I'm not facing this decision, because we don't really have an LHBS in our area, so I get most of my stuff online. If we had a decent local store, I'd buy what I could afford there.

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like I said, it's more then 10.00 per sack and the drive is not drastically longer then just going to the LHBS. It's more like 20.00 per sack. I'm now making 10 gallon batches and can go thru a sack a month. Saving 20.00 per sack is significant.

maida7 said:

The idea of a group buy has been brought up at our club. The response was that the LHBS (owned by a club member) could arrange the group buy and this way we get a deal on grain and support the shop at the same time.

However, it has not materialized. I guess there is just not enough interest in doing a group purchase. It's kinda frustrating. I guess I'm looking to see if anybody has a unique idea for how to get cheap grain and support your LHBS.

If I take the LHBS out of the equation I guess we could drive an hour to get it cheap at the local brewery OR do a group buy from North Country. How much is the minimum order at North Country?

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Your other option is to post here that you want to do a group buy in your area. There are usually at least a few guys that are basically in your situation that would be willing to go in with you. I've seen this done before on here. Depends on your comfort level dealing with people you've never met.

As for North Country, I don't know what their pricing looks like. You have to call to get that info, but I've read on here that they're really easy to deal with. I believe that they will ship you as little as 1 sack, but I would guess that you won't get a price break unless you order a pallet. Plus, shipping is usually a better value with a larger order.

Man I feel screwed. My LHBS is 65-70 for a 50 lb bag of 2 row

I suggest, seriously, talking to your local home brew shop and simply tell him to please match the price or you are going to go to the other place. Seriously. I'd almost bet money that unless he or she is a terrible buyer, they will match the price and win a customer for life. Fingers crossed, good luck. Should be a no brainer for your shop.

GAME ON! The LHBS is giving our club a chance to do a group buy. The prices are good. Not crazy north country good but it averages to .80 to 1.00 per lb. I just need to find enough people to put together a 20 sack order. This is too much work.

Really depends on what you are wanting...

http://morebeer.com/search/102161/beerwinecoffee/coffeewinebeer/Bulk_Pricing

MBasile said:

Really depends on what you are wanting...

http://morebeer.com/search/102161/beerwinecoffee/coffeewinebeer/Bulk_Pricing

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The shipping to NC kinda kills those prices.

maida7 said:

The shipping to NC kinda kills those prices.

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But the point remains the same. I would hope LHBS aren't selling every grain for the same $/#.

MBasile said:

But the point remains the same. I would hope LHBS aren't selling every grain for the same $/#.

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I thought that was a given.

If you are an All-Grain brewer and really want to save $, I can only recommend a club or independent group purchase from Country Malt Group. The minimum is a pallet ( about 40 or so 50 lb. sacks) for the best prices.
Check out the All Grain section on the forum, and look for the group buy threads to get an idea of how it's done.

My recent experience in getting in on a group purchase for the Allentown/ Reading/ Lancaster PA was nothing but positive. After everyone committed to their orders and payed via Paypal, the delivery location was confirmed, pick ups were made. The fellow who set it up, Tom, was a spot on individual.

My part of the order was 4x55lb. 2-row pale malted grain. With shipping came to $26.95 per 55lb. sack. At $0.50/lb. a good deal. Yes we did have to drive about an hour or so to the pick up spot, but it was part of a planned trip to a nearby Cabela's.

I pick up specialty grain, and other sundries at the LHBS.

I also highly recommend Hops Direct to save money. The LHBS charges $3.00/oz for prepackaged hops. I did an analysis of the 5lbs of assorted hops I ordered from Hops Direct, and with shipping they averaged out to $0.60/ oz.

I have been washing my yeast with great success, sure beats $8.00 for a smack pack. My son and I have 4-5 different strains that we use regularly.
I refresh with a new smack pack from the LHBS from time to time.

I view the LHBS as a convenience store, nice to have and will support, but if I can save a few or many bucks I will.

I was going to add a side by side comparison of ingedient costs on batch of brew using costs of ingredients from the LHBS vs my actual costs for igredients, but I think you get the picture.

If you are an All-Grain brewer and really want to save $, I can only recommend a club or independent group purchase from Country Malt Group. The minimum is a pallet ( about 40 or so 50 lb. sacks) for the best prices.
Check out the All Grain section on the forum, and look for the group buy threads to get an idea of how it's done.

My recent experience in getting in on a group purchase for the Allentown/ Reading/ Lancaster PA was nothing but positive. After everyone committed to their orders and payed via Paypal, the delivery location was confirmed, pick ups were made. The fellow who set it up, Tom, was a spot on individual.

My part of the order was 4x55lb. 2-row pale malted grain. With shipping came to $26.95 per 55lb. sack. At $0.50/lb. a good deal. Yes we did have to drive about an hour or so to the pick up spot, but it was part of a planned trip to a nearby Cabela's.

I pick up specialty grain, and other sundries at the LHBS.

I also highly recommend Hops Direct to save money. The LHBS charges $3.00/oz for prepackaged hops. I did an analysis of the 5lbs of assorted hops I ordered from Hops Direct, and with shipping they averaged out to $0.60/ oz.

I have been washing my yeast with great success, sure beats $8.00 for a smack pack. My son and I have 4-5 different strains that we use regularly.
I refresh with a new smack pack from the LHBS from time to time.

I view the LHBS as a convenience store, nice to have and will support, but if I can save a few or many bucks I will.

I was going to add a side by side comparison of ingedient costs on batch of brew using costs of ingredients from the LHBS vs my actual costs for igredients, but I think you get the picture.

What is easily forgotten in these price comparisons is that our LHBS has to pay to have its inventory shipped to them, so they include their shipping costs in their prices. When you add up the shipping costs for grain purchased on the internet, and also consider that you don't have to wait for your grain, the prices at the LHBS are usually very comparable.

I just bought a 50# sack of Briess 2 Row for $45 at my LHBS, My Old Kentucky Homebrew, which I can't recommend enough. I would have paid a little more just to support the local guy, having something like that locally is an invaluable resource, but fortunately his prices are always competitive anyway.

The only thing I order online these days are hops by the pound and the occasional recipe kit or gear I can't buy locally, and I always order from AHS (which I also love).

I support my local HBS because I want him to stay in business and he is always there with almost everything I need and advice. Once a year I might go in on a group buy for a sack of base ale but he gives discounts for grain buys anyway. A grain book where you can purchase a bag of malt and pick up any grain type you want and pay the price per lbs of that of a full sack. Works out great.

Great Western here is $40 a bag (give or take a couple bucks), Weyerman is around $60, and Maris Otter I can't find cheaper than ~$80 a bag. I think those are fair prices, since the stores are probably paying around $30, maybe $25 for the Great Western.

I asked the woman at my local hbs if they sold grains and she had to ask someone in the back. Yea, one of those so called hbs's who only sell dusty, five year old cans of malt extract kits. Absolutely pathetic.

marc06 said:

Man I feel screwed. My LHBS is 65-70 for a 50 lb bag of 2 row

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I feel your pain - I asked the owner of my local shop a couple years ago and was quoted "about $95" for a sack of 2-row!

As I've said many times before, I would love to support my local shops, but the prices are so high I just can't afford to. I do buy yeast there on occasion - if they have what I want and it's not outdated.

My lhbs is FANTASTIC on some items on other things not so much. It has a big store with alot of selection and they do keep things stocked well.

As for grains in bulk they do have "specials" of random grains for $0.79 a lbs. as much as you want and the most expensive is near $2.00 a lbs. The specials you can not plan on they are what they are so to speak. You can buy as much as you like at the posted price. I decided since I am no longer am paying $4.00 an oz for hops that they can keep the dime per pound they are making, if it keeps the lights on. I basically buy my grain and yeast there because buying a 50# bag and paying the shipping negates the savings + the comedy listed below...

Almost every single item in the store other than grains IS overpriced. The best part is the horrible advice they give people or the things you overhear them say in the store, it is pretty funny. I have heard things like "6 row grain does not need a protein rest," + "Just follow the directions in the kit." + "G.D. it! I told **** not to leave the bags of hops on the counter because they will get skunky if the sun hits them."

Needless to say, I really do not ask employee's for opinions or for advice anymore. Unless I am the only one in the store and I am grinding grains, then I instigate, just to hear the responses. good times.

Both brew stores near me have upped the quality of what they carry, and are usually competitive with many online stores (not on everything, but most). However, one of the stores sells Nottingham dry yeast for $4 a pack. Try wrapping your head around that (morebeer sells them for less than a buck I think).

Mine sells at a discount for anything above 10lbs. I think it's around $.80/lb for base malts. I pick up a 50lb sack when I'm running out.