Going to the Store

Ok, this may not be the smartest question asked, but I still haven't gone to the store yet and bought "real" ingredients. I've often just gone and picked up the brewers best kits. So, my question is this, can I walk into the store with recipe in hand and expect to get help to get the proper measurements and such. I look at the online catalogues and see that stuff comes in many different sizes than don't always quite match the recipes. It's kind of like buying my first drink, not quite sure how to order (I got really confused when I bought a cigar and I was asked if I wanted it plugged ).

Also, liquid malt vs powder malt? Pros? Cons?

Thanks,
popscube

Well, when you go buy grains, they're gonna sell you a pre-set quantity. Like, you can only buy specialty grains in 1lb bags, some are crushed, some aren't.
your base malt, they should be able to weigh out for you, maybe to the nearest half pound, surely to the nearest pound. They can hopefully mill that for you too.

Hops seem to come in 1oz or larger packages.

Its for these reasons that you'll see posts here stating "I threw together a beer with what I had on-hand..." basically all the left over ingredients from the last several batches of beer that person made (since hops and grains can go stale over time).

I prefer dry malt cuz its easier to weigh out and you don't have to worry as much about freshness as you do liquid extract.

*edited to add*
I have only ever been two one 'real' brew store (my local Kirk's Brew) and a weak start-up called the Tangled Web back in my hometown, which was when I was 17-18.

It also depends on each store. I have a place I love to go to, but it's about 200 miles away so I don't get there often. All the grains are in buckets along the wall, and you just measure out what you need, crush it, bag it, and write on the amount. So, say, Vienna malt 5 pounds. I weigh out what I want, crush it, and put it with my other stuff. Sometimes I only buy 4 ounces of somethings. Then he just rings me up. If I need anything, or have any questions, he's always helpful and will give me recipes if I'm looking for a style.

When you order online, you CAN order the quanitities you want, usually. I often buy from AustinHomeBrew, and I order stuff like 4 ounces of this, 7 ounces of that, 15 pounds of that, all crushed. They make your order when you place it, so it's fresh, too. Hops, though, always come in 1 ounce, 2 ounce, or 8 ounce packages.

Of the places I use, one has pre-packaged grains and the other three have bins. LME vs DME is an ongoing discussion. If you have specific questions, we can address them.

I'm fortunate to be just a few minutes from DeFalco's, so I just go over there. All grains are in bins, so they are measured to order, and they have a great mill for crushing.

An advantage of LME is that you can fairly easily get the amount you want. Either you know what the cans hold (usually 3.3 lbs.), or you can get it measured from bulk. The disadvatage of LME is that it tends to go stale (or a little funky) at times and darken, if the store does not sell it quickly enough.

An advantage of DME is that it keeps very well over time and tends to taste cleaner in your beer. A disadvantage is that it comes prepackaged, so you must weigh it out according to your recipe. It's pretty finely textured stuff, too, so you can make a bit of a sticky mess when weighing.


TL

Yeah, my local store has 55 gallon trash cans with base malts (Amer 2-row, MO, Munich, and something I forgot), and about 10-15 bins of specialty malts that are available by the oz. Pellet hops come in 1 oz and whole leaf come in 2 - 4 oz vacuum sealed packages.

I walk in with my Beersmith printout and the owner snaps it outta my hand and gets to work! I've sung the praises many times, but they're an awesome, awesome store.

Like others have said already, it all depends. I have 2 local HBS stores. 1 has DME available in any quantity (will bag whatever exact weight you request), but LME only in the 3.3# cans.

Another has DME only in 1, 2, or 5# bags, but will usually break it up to a specific weight if you need it, but honestly it's just as easy to buy a bunch of it and measure it out when you need it.

All of the LHBS stores I've been to sell grain to the ounce you want it, and will crush it for you (sometimes for a fee).

Hops come typically in 1oz bags.

popscube said:

Also, liquid malt vs powder malt? Pros? Cons?

Thanks,
popscube

Click to expand...

I can't think of any reason to prefer liquid malt to dry malt. I'm sure there must be some reason to use liquid, but I do not know what it is.

Dry malt is easier to work with, and I think it tastes better too.

Generally I just use liquid or dry depending on what the recipe calls for and whats available at the store, you can substitute one for the other.

A couple of times I bought liquid malt in a kit, and I wasn't all that happy with the results. I would probably avoid liquid malt unless it comes in a can, like one of those pastuerized beer kits.

I really like my brew store Valley Vintner & Brew in Eugene OR.,buy pretty much any amount of grains or malts, the more you buy, , the cheaper it is. They have a good inventory to browse through, I always find something else to try. Everything is itemized on the computer so I just save my reciepts so I can replicate recipes from them. Cool store!