How do you buy grain?

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sweets17

sweets17

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Do you buy in bulk and build as you go, or do you build a recipe and have it delivered?

Debating buying a bunch of popular grain and grain from recipes I enjoy, or only buying the grain I need for a recipe less base grain.

I did a bit of the former and now I have a collection of what I would call, coin purses of grain. Not sure if savings are worth the storage and hassle of bulk buying specialty.

What works for you?
 
I buy my specialties in "bulk" to get discount pricing because I am frugal about my brewing. RiteBrew (now my LHBS) gives $0.20 off per lb if you order at least 10lb quantities of specialty grains. So I stock up on one's that I use the most, or am rotating through due to yeast on hand.

My old reliables include:
Pale Chocolate
Light Roast barley
Midnight wheat
C120
C60
Special roast
Special X

I'm just finishing up the remnants of Honey Malt and Copper Carapils.

In addition to being cheap, I also brew on a whim more than pre-planning, so having everything on hand is super useful to me.
 
Agent said:
I buy my specialties in "bulk" to get discount pricing because I am frugal about my brewing. RiteBrew (now my LHBS) gives $0.20 off per lb if you order at least 10lb quantities of specialty grains. So I stock up on one's that I use the most, or am rotating through due to yeast on hand.

My old reliables include:
Pale Chocolate
Light Roast barley
Midnight wheat
C120
C60
Special roast
Special X

I'm just finishing up the remnants of Honey Malt and Copper Carapils.

In addition to being cheap, I also brew on a whim more than pre-planning, so having everything on hand is super useful to me.
Click to expand...
Yeah I've been brewing as the kegs thin.

Dumping a bag of pre weighed/proportioned grain into the crusher seems appealing, but having bulk variety offers foresight ease.
 
I buy six sacks of base malt right about this time of year (this year's order is in), and buy specialty malts at the lhbs as needed to keep a couple batches of my favorite recipes worth on hand...

Cheers!
 
I buy as I go, weighed to order and crushed, because I do not brew often enough to do bulk.
 
I no longer have a LHBS, so online ordering is it. My recipes jump all over the road, so it's not practical for me to buy sacks of grain. I buy a lot from Ritebrew, and Morebeer. For specialty grains I buy a pound or two of some commonly used grains, like chocolate, biscuit malts, etc.

A little hack if you want to order sacks of grain, but don't want to pay the shipping, you can get malt in 10 lb bags from Morebeer and it's included in their free shipping for orders >$59. Buy 5 of those and you have a sack.
 
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MaxStout said:
I no longer have a LHBS, so online ordering is it. My recipes jump all over the road, so it's not practical for me to buy sacks of grain. I buy a lot from Ritebrew, and Morebeer. For specialty grains I buy a pound or two of some commonly used grains, like chocolate, biscuit malts, etc.
Click to expand...

Basically identical here. Funny.
 
Once you start buying bulk, the next thing you know you have 500 pounds of base malt and twenty-some different kinds of specialty. The car has permanently been moved out of the garage, and you have to turn sideways to walk through the garage to the driveway.

Hypothetically speaking.

On the other hand, I can wake up on the weekend and say "what do I want to brew today?" and have essentially no limits on whatever recipe I come up with.
 
AlexKay said:
On the other hand, I can wake up on the weekend and say "what do I want to brew today?" and have essentially no limits on whatever recipe I come up with.
Click to expand...

Lucky! I have to plan a week in advance, at least.

On topic, I guess the answer will partly depend on time available for one to brew!
 
I buy just enough for the next recipe as shelf space is at a premium in my house. I have pretty much given up on my LHBS for buying grains after they messed up three of my last four orders. My go-to online shops are MoreBeer and Williams. Both are here in California, so shipping is typically only a couple days at most.
 
day_trippr said:
I buy six sacks of base malt right about this time of year (this year's order is in), and buy specialty malts at the lhbs as needed to keep a couple batches of my favorite recipes worth on hand...

Cheers!
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The LHBS will special order things along with a great price. I feel like im bothering them if I ask for too much variety as it's essentially a dusty corner in a large liquor store.

I've got 2row brewers malt in bulk, have another recommendation?
 
day_trippr said:
fwiw, near the end of each year I typically buy two sacks each of Simpsons Golden Promise, Weyermann Pilsner, and Briess Brewers Malt. A combination of malts with character and malts for utility...

Cheers!
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Thanks, have been thinking about picking golden promise up. Although I was unaware it was irradiated. Tbh I was unaware any plants were. I thought gmo plants were brought to life with bacteria DNA insertion. I'm hardly knowledgeable of the matter tho.
 
sweets17 said:
Thanks, have been thinking about picking golden promise up. Although I was unaware it was irradiated. Tbh I was unaware any plants were. I thought gmo plants were brought to life with bacteria DNA insertion. I'm hardly knowledgeable of the matter tho.
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If you're thinking irradiation is a genetic modification method, I'm pretty darn sure you're mistaken. It's done to kill germs and pests, and to suppress sprouting and ripening, sez Wikipedia.

I haven't heard that it is used on malt.
 
I keep 3 types of base malt in large plastic bins, 25 kg sacks worth of: Simpson Golden Promise, Crisp Vienna(mild malt) and Crisp Chevalier.
And usually buy the specialty malts I use in 2kg bags, crystal from light to dark, brown, amber, choc and black malt, all uncrushed, probably something I forgot.

I brew almost exclusively Brittish ales though and keep stock only on malts for those types.
 
Rite Brew is just down the road from me, so I try to buy what I need when I need it. With the 10-pound discount I do capture that, but I brew 10-gallon batches so that's easy. I try not to have too many leftovers, but I always do. I'll only buy bags of grain when I have several recipes coming up that use the same.
 
We probably all know that guy who started drinking a particular beer when he was young, that’s what he always drinks, and always will. I’m not that guy, but I have a favorite stout that I don’t like to run out of. I buy a whole sack of pale maris otter, and the accompanying ingredients to make 9 5gallon batches. I have blonde beer recipe that I will make a couple runs of to go with my stout through the summer. I buy enough in the spring for 2-3 runs of this.
I do experiment with a seasonal recipe or kit from time to time just to keep things interesting.
My grain storage capacity has been limited, but I just scored a Craigslist buy on 10 kegs for cheap that I am going to try out for grain storage. Kegs will be moisture proof, rodent proof, bug proof, and I can purge with CO2 to keep the weevils at bay.
 
Closet Fermenter said:
We probably all know that guy who started drinking a particular beer when he was young, that’s what he always drinks, and always will. I’m not that guy, but I have a favorite stout that I don’t like to run out of. I buy a whole sack of pale maris otter, and the accompanying ingredients to make 9 5gallon batches. I have blonde beer recipe that I will make a couple runs of to go with my stout through the summer. I buy enough in the spring for 2-3 runs of this.
I do experiment with a seasonal recipe or kit from time to time just to keep things interesting.
My grain storage capacity has been limited, but I just scored a Craigslist buy on 10 kegs for cheap that I am going to try out for grain storage. Kegs will be moisture proof, rodent proof, bug proof, and I can purge with CO2 to keep the weevils at bay.
Click to expand...
The keg idea for grain storage is a great idea. I have a dozen pails with Gamma seal lids that I use for leftovers and open bags. All of my grain is stored in them.
 
There is a malt house somewhat nearby to where I live. I go a couple of times a year and buy a 25K sack of their 2-row and pilsner malts, and it lasts me 6 months or more. The best thing is that it is excellent craft malt.

I buy my special malts and incidentals at my LHBS.
 
AlexKay said:
Once you start buying bulk, the next thing you know you have 500 pounds of base malt and twenty-some different kinds of specialty. The car has permanently been moved out of the garage, and you have to turn sideways to walk through the garage to the driveway.

Hypothetically speaking.

On the other hand, I can wake up on the weekend and say "what do I want to brew today?" and have essentially no limits on whatever recipe I come up with.
Click to expand...
Man, I wish you lived next door to me!
 
OakIslandBrewery said:
The keg idea for grain storage is a great idea. I have a dozen pails with Gamma seal lids that I use for leftovers and open bags. All of my grain is stored in them.
Click to expand...

Same here! I keep bags of grain inside Gamma buckets. Adds another layer of freshness protection and keeps the critters out. I use a couple of the buckets as staging to hold bags of grain for upcoming brews. That way the grain is earmarked and I won't inadvertently grab it for something else.

I also have a bucket dedicated for storage of green coffee.
 
Franktalk said:
There is a malt house somewhat nearby to where I live. I go a couple of times a year…

I buy my special malts and incidentals at my LHBS.
Click to expand...
That’s kinda the situation I’m in. My “local” supplier is 60 miles away, but I like to do business there. Covid hit his business hard, and he has closed one satellite shop and downsized the main store. I do have a buddy that lives within 10 minutes of the place that I see every week or so that can pick up something for me if I get in a pinch.
 
"That’s kinda the situation I’m in. My “local” supplier is 60 miles away, but I like to do business there. Covid hit his business hard, and he has closed one satellite shop and downsized the main store. I do have a buddy that lives within 10 minutes of the place that I see every week or so that can pick up something for me if I get in a pinch."

Yeah, mine is 40 miles away, but since I only have to go a couple times of year it's worth it. Also, they have a taproom there so I can "rest" before driving back.
 
I have my recipes pretty well nailed down for what I brew.
I buy what grain I need for two 5-gallon batches (from Great Fermentations, no tax and free shipping).
I only brew a pair of batches 5 or 6 times a year, and I don't want bulk grains sitting around.
 
My LHBS is also an hour's drive away, but that's where I buy the bulk malt for my Euro pils and domestic 2-row bins. Specialty malts are purchased by the lb. as needed. First Thursday of the month is 10% discount for seniors, so that's when I time my trips. I order malts that they don't carry from a variety of sources depending on availability and price.
 
sweets17 said:
Do you buy in bulk and build as you go, or do you build a recipe and have it delivered?

Debating buying a bunch of popular grain and grain from recipes I enjoy, or only buying the grain I need for a recipe less base grain.

I did a bit of the former and now I have a collection of what I would call, coin purses of grain. Not sure if savings are worth the storage and hassle of bulk buying specialty.

What works for you?
Click to expand...
I buy kits because of problems with mice.
 
I think it depends on your situation. For me, I don't think it would make sense to buy in bulk. I only brew about 6 batches a year and they're all radically different styles of beer. I might not use the same specialty grain again for another couple years in some cases. On the other hand, if you're brewing 25+ times a year with recipes that use similar ingredients, then it makes sense to buy in bulk.
 
I buy base malts in sacks. Right now I have Breiss 2-row, Warminster Maris Otter and High Country Pilsen. Specialty grains 1 to 10 lbs at a time. Munich or Vienna 10 lbs at a time because I tend to use it alot. Crystal 40 and 60, chocolate malt - 5 lbs. Aromatic malt and stuff like that 1 lb at a time because I don’t use it much.

When you get to where you have all those little bags with a few ounces of this and a quarter pound of that, and some little bags you can’t identify - round it all up and throw it all into one beer and make a brown ale. I’ve made some of my best brown ales that way.
 
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kylewag said:
I think it depends on your situation. For me, I don't think it would make sense to buy in bulk. I only brew about 6 batches a year and they're all radically different styles of beer. I might not use the same specialty grain again for another couple years in some cases. On the other hand, if you're brewing 25+ times a year with recipes that use similar ingredients, then it makes sense to buy in bulk.
Click to expand...
I’m brewing 3 gallons at a time. But a trend I started in 2019 - I noticed I had brewed 19 batches in 2019. So I made a point to brew 20 for 2020, 21 for 2021, and 22 for 2022. I’m 20 in now to 2023. Its been fun but I’m obviously not going to be able to keep doing it.
 
sweets17 said:
What works for you?
Click to expand...
Background: When I brew 'all-grain', I BIAB 2.75 gal batches in a 3 gal fermenter.

For me, a recipe for a standard strength ale is roughly 5# base malt and .75# character malts.

I have the space for a basement LBHS with space for grains, yeast (fridge), and hops (freezer).

For base malts, I keep a "two row" malt and a "pale ale" malt in stock. Occasionally, I'll "special order" Maris Otter or Golden Promise.

For character malts, I have 1-2# each of Munich (10L), biscuit, a range of "American" and "British" crystal, Simpsons DRC (+1 to @AlexKay), chocolate malt (both 200L & 350L), and black malt. Over time, as I've been "chewing on a couple of kernels", I can start to suspect that the malt is getting old - and I'm willing to dump a 'suspect' malt.

Over time, I see that I'm ordering every 2 or 3 months to restock items (often malts or yeast). With the online stores and shipping services that I use, orders arrive by Thursday when I order on Sunday night or Monday morning.

Winter storms can add a day or two to the delivery time - so plan according.
 
Pre-crushed in kits or as a single grain bill per recipe. Usually get a couple of kits and refrigerate until brew day. I buy light DME by the pound and keep it around for starters and beefing up the OG if I miss low. Milling is dusty and I don't have the dedicated brewing space for stuff like that. Mama is already testy about the smell. I try and keep my hobbies from generating any more stink-eye than necessary.
 

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