Why no group buys?

Why are there never any grain group buys for us here in Washington? I have no idea how to go about starting one and I always see plenty for the east coast. Anyone have an idea how to start it up?

Not a clue but what part of Washington are you in? If you're close enough i would be interested when you do figure it out. I am in the southeast corner

Tacoma here

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I'm in the opposite corner.... about six hours southeast.....

I think it is a great idea but I do not have anytime to brew for a long time so I guess this is just a bump to the thread.

I think you see more of them on the East coast, just due to population density. But you start the process by posting that you are interested and where you are located.

Best of luck!

I've not done one but it seems somewhat straightforward if not a fair bit of work. You have to find your supplier, whether that is a lhbs that can cut you a deal, a brewery that will pad an extra pallet to their next order, or a wholesaler. I believe a pallet is your minimum purchase to get any substantial cost savings. After you get your specs; price per sack of which grains, number of sacks per pallet, etc you advertise it to your local audience. You will need a place to do the distribution. Will it all be full sacks or will you allow splitting of sacks on site? You will need a large accurate scale if so. The purchase will likely be going on your credit card and then you collect from everybody by PayPal beforehand or cash/check at delivery. It's your group buy. You make the rules. Just look at some of the other group buy threads and go from there.

Ya I need to look around and get some info for sure. lhbs quoted me $49.00 for a sack of Briess 2row and with some of the prices online that seems like a good deal especially with no shipping. Maybe I'll talk with them and see what they can do. What I really need to do is join a home brew club and get some info that way as well.

I thought there was a guy in Olympia that would drive down to Great Western and pick a couple pallets of stuff for a group buy..... I guess I will do the searching and post the link...



ok here you go https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f174/olympia-wa-group-buy-228667/ talk to these folks.

Have you tried Larry's Brewing Supply in Kent?: http://www.larrysbrewsupply.com/

I buy bulk grain from them and their prices are good. They supply many breweries and brewpubs in the area so have a large warehouse of grain.

Im in Renton and I'm down for a GB, especially for 2 row to stock up

I do all my shopping at http://thebeeressentials.com/ and I'll ask them here real soon when I go shopping for more grains if they would do a group buy. I have been to http://www.larrysbrewsupply.com/ in the past to buy a few things but that's a 45 minute drive compared to 15 for the beer essentials but I'll still call and see what they could do. Is everyone pretty much looking for 2row pale?

I'd be interested in a group buy if the price is significantly lower than buying bulk from Larry's. I'm brewing a lot just to get practice so I'm up for 50lbs or more of almost any malt... 2-row, 2-row pale, Maris Otter, Munich, Belgian pale, crystal, chocolate, roasted barley, or almost whatever anyone else wants. I'm flexible.

I'd be down for a GB I'm a little out of the way down in Aberdeen.

that Olympia thread is old and locked. ANyone know if he still does it?

We usually drive to mainstreet brew in oregon to pick up grain 30$ for a 50lb bag of northwest pale malt there maris otter and golden promise anywhere for 50-70$ next year I hope it doesnt climb for the northwest malt

I live just down the street from Country Malt, and GWM. I should go see what's up.

vmaxinid said:

I live just down the street from Country Malt, and GWM. I should go see what's up.

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Wow, sweet, yeah thatd be cool to see some pics also

Went to the beer essentials today and talked with a guy that works there about a group buy but he must of been bored of my voice or something because he wasn't very interested about getting some numbers for me. They sell 50lb sacks of 2 row for $40.00 and said in order to get a deal I would have to buy a whole pallet but couldn't tell me how many sacks were on a pallet. I gave up talking to him after he said the savings would only be about $3.00 each sack.

how much is a 50 lb sack from Larry's in Kent?

mendozer said:

how much is a 50 lb sack from Larry's in Kent?

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Depends on the grain. I paid about $50 on the low end and about $75 for the most expensive stuff. You basically just eliminate shipping costs compared to online.

$1/lb for 2 row? When i lived in Edmonds i'd drive down to Bob's in the U district. Their domestic 2-row is .89c/lb. i figured a big bag would be at least 70c/lb. that's a shocker

mendozer said:

$1/lb for 2 row? When i lived in Edmonds i'd drive down to Bob's in the U district. Their domestic 2-row is .89c/lb. i figured a big bag would be at least 70c/lb. that's a shocker

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Was this 10 years ago? I live 5 minutes from Bob's Homebrew and it's closer to $2/lb for much of anything. That's if they even have it -- they're usually out of stock or very low, in my experience. I don't know exact prices off the top of my head but when I did the math I was saving almost 50% overall by driving to Kent. Does Bob even sell 50lb bags?

Larry's has the prices on their web site and they seem to have more stuff in stock in the warehouse (the place is huge!): http://www.larrysbrewsupply.com/catalog_c290104.html

Mountain Homebrew in Kirkland sells US 2-row for $55 for 50lbs (http://www.mountainhomebrew.com/grains.aspx?page=3).

Cellar Homebrew in north Seattle sells US 2-row for $1.34/lb: http://www.cellar-homebrew.com/store/catalog/US-2-Row-Pale-Malt-19-21-L-p-72.html

Sound Homebrew in Georgetown sells it for $1/lb: http://www.soundhomebrew.com/2-row-brewers-malt-50-lb/

I doubt Bob is 10-30% cheaper than every other Seattle homebrew shop. If he is, he's doing a good job keeping it a secret because his web site doesn't show anything about his inventory.

hmm. i made a batch last month and i swear the local malt was .89. the others like crystal were i think 1.80-1.90ish. i could be wrong, i just know it's cheap compared to my hometown LHBS

its 44.50 for $50 at Larry's. That comes out to .89 before tax. Maybe that's what i'm thinking of?

Just Talk to a a brewery here in Kennewick.(he has an add on Craigs list) I Live in Kennewick and work in Anacortes. If we make a bulk buy it would be $35.00 for a 50LBS bag. Now i make the trip from Tri Cities to Anacortes twice a month and I could do the pick up . That price is for a half pallet, 20 bags. He said he can get other grains as well Crystal, Otter ect. with the order just let him know in advance. I would be willing to make the haul if there was enough intrestIi can also stop at Hops Direct too on the way through in Yakama
OH! by the way im new to the site Iv just been Lurcking LOL
Darrell

i'd take a bag of pale for sure. I'd also split some crystal 40/60/80 with someone.

I'm down for a couple of bags. hit me up if there is one

Same here at least one bag for sure of 2row

I found a guy on CL from Tacoma I think? Little over a year ago that was tired of over paying for grains at homebrew stores so he was setting up a direct buy from the malter or whoever. Anyways it was $30 for a 50 lb bag of two row. Paid in advance along with a bunch of other people. A few weeks went by an he said the local homebrew stores in the area caught wind of it and complained to the malters or something and got the guys license pulled? Anyways we all got our money back as a result. I built a grain mill and everything. Now that I'm out of an apartment and in a house with a garage I am very interested in buying in bulk and brewing whenever I feel like.

I'm down in the Southwest in Raymond.
I drive all the way to Longview just find a home brew store all.
I would love to get in on a group buy for some grain, but the drive to wherever I had to pick it up would cost me more than the difference in having it shipped to me.

It's a no win situation for me.
My younger brother lives about a mile up the road from me and he brews also, but he extract brews only.

I did meet a guy about a week ago his dad brews so there's a chance of going out on some grain there.

I would even be happy if I could split some bags of some of the grains you don't use much between three guys.
50 pounds is a lot of rye!