Buying in bulk for Partial Mashes

Just wondering what everyone thought about this. I want to buy in bulk because I know that I'm going to be doing this as much as possible (maybe two to three times a month). So buying in bulk sounds great, but I haven't figured out how I'm going to do my AG setup yet. I've done 9 extract and PM batches and I want to do my research thoroughly before I make that AG plunge!

In the meantime, I'm still PM-ing it and have no idea about storing the ingredients or who to get them from online (or LHBS) or what all to get. Making this move would get me to make that crazy jump from clone kits to making my own recipes!! Or at least copying some online and tweaking small bits and pieces till I get the hang of it all!

I'm excited about this, but still unsure. Maybe it wouldn't be that beneficial economically at all. So, I'll anxiously wait to hear what you guys think!

And thanks again!

When I started, I ordered a 50# box of DME, a bunch of different crystal malts, some roasted barley, some aromatic and special B, etc. I made a list of possible recipes and started adding up the grain bills. Instead of ordering the 3 oz portion the recipe called for, I ordered two pounds of each grain.

Look around for flat rate shipping deals. If you're going to be getting 50# of grain, it's nice not to pay $$ to ship it. Also, don't alienate your LHBS. They'll be there in a pinch when your smack pack doesn't swell and you need to grab another on a Saturday morning.

I just keep the opened bags of grain in ziplocks. All of them go in a large rubbermaid tub.

B

bad coffee said:

When I started, I ordered a 50# box of DME, a bunch of different crystal malts, some roasted barley, some aromatic and special B, etc. I made a list of possible recipes and started adding up the grain bills. Instead of ordering the 3 oz portion the recipe called for, I ordered two pounds of each grain.

Look around for flat rate shipping deals. If you're going to be getting 50# of grain, it's nice not to pay $$ to ship it. Also, don't alienate your LHBS. They'll be there in a pinch when your smack pack doesn't swell and you need to grab another on a Saturday morning.

I just keep the opened bags of grain in ziplocks. All of them go in a large rubbermaid tub.

B

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Cool this sounds easy enough. This will get me into doing my own recipes and also might save me a little dough! I will check my LHBS for prices and I'll get what I can from them for sure, but does anyone know if anyone of the online stores have way better quality supplies and prices than most others? I usually go through Austin Homebrew and they do have flat rate but I'm just wondering if there's anybody else. Especially when you consider 50# of DME and several other grains at one time.

I do PM's and plan on buying my malt in bulk once we get moved into the house and I can set up a grain mill. I tend to do big partial mashes though. As much malt as I can boil the wort for, so I basically end up doing a small AG batch and then adding LME at the end of the boil so I can top up to a larger batch after chilling. Some of my recipes only end up with a few lbs of LME and the rest being from my mash. I use a 5-gallon igloo cooler for my mash tun.

ChshreCat said:

I do PM's and plan on buying my malt in bulk once we get moved into the house and I can set up a grain mill. I tend to do big partial mashes though. As much malt as I can boil the wort for, so I basically end up doing a small AG batch and then adding LME at the end of the boil so I can top up to a larger batch after chilling. Some of my recipes only end up with a few lbs of LME and the rest being from my mash. I use a 5-gallon igloo cooler for my mash tun.

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Well, I don't have a grain mill yet but do I need one to buy in bulk? I didn't know if you could order it all pre-milled

You wouldn't want to order bulk grain pre-milled. Once it's cracked, it doesn't last as long. That husk is there to protect the innards of the grain. If you brew twice a week... then sure, you could order a few weeks worth in "bulk", but you wouldn't want a 6 month supply of milled grain. DME on the other hand, you could order in bulk and save a bit of cash.

If you're looking to eventually go AG, get a mill now. I got the $30 grizzly on Amazon.com. I used it until I got my real mill.

B

bad coffee said:

If you're looking to eventually go AG, get a mill now. I got the $30 grizzly on Amazon.com. I used it until I got my real mill.

B

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Cool. It's probably time to get some of this stuff anyway! I don't know much about the grizzly or other mills but I'll check into it and see what I find. How much should I expect to pay for a "real mill"?

Ok where's the place to get this stuff at? I looked up other posts and the best deals I found were from last year (homebrew outpost - was $120 last year and is now $180 before shipping for a 50# sack). So, there's gotta be something better out there, right?

Just looking at this makes me want to go AG, and do it Soon!

I purchased my 55# boxes of DME from midwestsupplies.com.

I have a dedicated dolly for wheeling the 3-4 boxes (150-200#) from the supply room to my kitchen and back again. I think they're rated for at least 300#. They're usually $14.95 (on sale) at Menard's...a VERY cheap investment if you are concerned about your back.

I use the same wheels and made a 2"X4" (by 2'X4') dolly for my keezer and it has 8 kegs in it. Works great.

I also have a couple of the flower pot dolly's from Wal*Mart, I think they're rated at 60# or so so they're great for putting primaries and carboys (in milk crates) on if you need to move them around.

My grain I get from a local HBS (if you can call 50 miles away local)...I usually buy 1 50# bag of pale malt as a base then 10# for others and still 1# for special grains.

Any "excess" (anything over the 1# bags that's not used/opened) goes into those blue plastic Maxwell House coffee containers. I cut the label from the (used) bag and tape it inside the handle side of the container. I can stack them, read the contents, and grab it easily.

I have 2 bottling buckets so one of them has grain in it now.

If you use plastic primaries and think they are no longer useful for fermenting in (scratches, too stained and such) you can buy new ones and use the old ones for storing grain.

I bought my last batch from mid country malts.