Bulk Malt, Group Buys in Connecticut

Hello All,

I recently moved to CT, and I'm a little bummed about the HBS situation here. The closest to me is Maltose express (which is great, don't get me wrong, but it's still 45 minutes each way), and at $2/lb for 2-row and pilsner malt it's cheaper to buy online and pay for shipping than the gas it takes to get there plus the steep malt prices.

I've looked into clubs, but there are non close enough and my schedule is too unpredictable to commit to one.

Other than buying online - it looks like the shipping costs outweigh the discount on 50# sacks - is there a good way for a homebrewer to get bulk (50-55# sacks) malt in CT? Are there clubs that would let a non-member in on group buys? I'm really only looking to stock up on Pilsner, wheat, and Munich/vienna malts.

Thanks.

Bump.

Any info on good options for HBS's in CT would be greatly appreciated. I live in New Haven if that helps.

There's Stomp n Crush in Clinton, which is only about 30 minutes from you instead of 45. I don't know about bulk grain buys, but it seems the going rate for a 50# sack of 2-row is in the mid-60s around here. I know that's not what you're looking for, but that's all I know for sure. The malts you're looking for are probably going to be in the 70s and 80s I'd say. I've never been there, so I couldn't tell you what their exact price is. You'd probably get about the same price from online, maybe a couple dollars more, if you factor in shipping. There's also a club called MASH (Maniacal Association of Shoreline Homebrewers) that has their meetings at Stomp n Crush, so you may be able to get a discount if you join. Hope this helps.

Thank you! Very much appreciated. I'll stomp and crush some weekend in the future.

I guess you haven't been by Maltose for a long while.

A 50# to #55 sack of grain will run you $50 to $65 depending of the maltster (Fawcett, Rahr, Weyermann, Breiss, Dingeman's, Crisp, Munton's)

Specialty grains split into 1lb bags are $2/lb, but if you go into to the shop (or online) for a grain mix, the cost is $1.60/lb . . . and they will crush your grains at no charge. I believe they used to charge for crushing because they had to mill everything by hand. Now they have a motorized mill that will crush 20 pounds of grain in about 2 minutes. The only time they charge ($5) for crushing grains is if your grain bill is 45# or more, or if you're getting a full sack of grain crushed.

Certainly worth it to me from having to crush that much grain on my hand mill - both in time and effort.