Buying in Bulk

[Eric Stephenson]

Hello All,

Got a question about buying in bulk to lower the cost per batch.

Are there certain grains, hops, DME or other things that you will purchase in bulk (say 1 lb instead of 2 ounces at a time) to lower the cost?

Are there any "base" ingredients that you use in alot/most of your batches that you purchase this way? Light DME or Cascade Hop Pellets for examples.

Thanks in advance.

 

[drengel]

where i buy, austin homebrew supply, averythings pro-rated, so you get the same relative cost no matter how much grain/extract you buy. if you buy hops in bulk, then make sure they can be stored for a while. i do buy extra light dme in large quantity to make starters with though. i know some people that will buy 50 lb. bags of 2-row from the brewery here, which will sell it to you at cost. i dont have anywhere to put that much grain though.

 

[El Pistolero]

Are there certain grains, hops, DME or other things that you will purchase in bulk (say 1 lb instead of 2 ounces at a time) to lower the cost?

For whole hops, you can order from Hops Direct in quantities of 1 lb. or greater. They're about $7.50 a pound.

 

[homebrewer_99]

If you do DME then I would recommend lots of Extra-light. It's a good base for almost EVERYTHING.

I buy mine in 55 lb boxes from Midwestsupplies.com. I get 2 boxes sometimes and the price comes down to under $2.50/lb vs the $4.00+ from the local HBS.

I also buy my hops by the pound. I weigh (digital scale) and seperate it into 1.1 oz packages. Anything not 1.1 goes into a .55 bag. I have a seal-a-meal vacuum/sealer machine that's great to have.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I also buy my hops by the pound. I weigh (digital scale) and seperate it into 1.1 oz packages. Anything not 1.1 goes into a .55 bag. I have a seal-a-meal vacuum/sealer machine that's great to have.

That's a good idea...no idea why my brain can't function like that. I've been leaving them in their original bag, but this method would cut down a lot on exposure to oxygen even though I don't have a seal-a-meal.

 

[homebrewer_99]

The seal-a-meal thing was a present so I didn't buy it for the hops...just lucked into it.

 

[Eric Stephenson]

If I can figure out which products to purchase in bulk it's looking like I'm going to save close to 50%.

How's this list:

Hop (Pellets) - Kent Goldings (1 lb)
Hop (Pellets) - Cascade (1 lb)
Hop (Pellets) - Chinook (1 lb)
Hop Pellets - Fuggles (1 lb)
Hop (Pellets) - Hallertauer (1 lb)
Hop (Pellets) - Mt Hood (1 lb)
Hop (Pellets) - Tettnanger (1 lb)
DME - Light (Powder) 44 lb Box
Malt - Chocolate (5 lb)
Malt - Black Roasted Barley (5 lb)
Malt - Black Patent (5 lb)
Malt - Munich (5 lb)
Malt - Crystal 40L (5 lb)
Malt - Crystal 60L (5 lb)

Anything I should change/add?

The grains won't be cracked yet, how should I store them? It's probably gonna take me 6 to 9 months to use them up.

I do have a vacuum sealer, so I will split up the hops into 1 oz packages and seal them.

Can I seal the DME into 3 lb packages?

How about the grains?

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

My Mom has an ancient seal-a-meal I could probably steal, but it's not a vacuum. Still, might cut down on some oxygen permeation. I've been meaning to steal her meat slicer and deep freeze for a while, maybe I can round up everything in one go.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

The grains won't be cracked yet, how should I store them? It's probably gonna take me 6 to 9 months to use them up.

Can I seal the DME into 3 lb packages?

How about the grains?

Buying grains in 5lb increments won't save you a lot over buying them a lb at a time, but it might be nice having them on hand. Cool, dry, and airtight is how I would store them. Same with the DME. Especially with the DME which will have a strong tendency to try to absorb moisture from the air.

 

[homebrewer_99]

That's a long list. Are you planning on buying any yeast?

Be sure to include a couple dry packets for under a buck just in case.

My DME is double bagged and I have NEVER had a problem with clumping, etc. You need to close the bags up when you are done using the contents.

 

[El Pistolero]

I do have a vacuum sealer, so I will split up the hops into 1 oz packages and seal them.

Why pellet hops instead of whole?

 

[Walker]

i think pellets last longer on the shelf (or freezer or wherever.)

-walker

 

[homebrewer_99]

i think pellets last longer on the shelf (or freezer or wherever.)-walker

They also do not take up as much room in the freezer, but they do leave a lot of residue to remove from your fermenter.

Try a batch or 2 of whole hops before you buy all of those pellets. Just a recommendation.

 

[Janx]

Well, my LHBS closed, so I really have to think ahead and I do a lot of bulk buying.

I get grains and yeast from morebeer.com. I usually buy base grains (2-row, pale ale malt, etc) in quantities of 200 pounds to get the 4 bag discount. Adjunct grains I'll get 5-50 pounds apiece depending on how much I tend to use it. I store grains in plastic tubs of varying sizes with sealable lids. The 2-row goes in sealable trash cans in the brew shed.

I get hops about 10 pounds at a time (whole hops only - pellets are evil rabbit droppings ), and my current favorite place is freshops.com. I have a keg fridge, so I keep them in the freezer of that (except my wife usurped it for a bunch of food or some nonsense ). I've been buying pretty exclusively Columbus, Centennial and Amarillo lately. I find I just don't have need for much else. I have some Saaz and some Cascades that have been sitting around forever.

Cheers!

 

[Eric Stephenson]

I hadn't thought of buying dry yeast...

Any thoughts/suggestions on which kinds to buy?

Would I be correct in assuming that using the dry packets over time would require using a starter?

thanks for all the comments/suggestions.