It's official........

[burntchef]

So 8 months into my brewing odyssey the LHBS is closing. No other stores closer than 2 hours away from my location. Looking online to buy grains for 11 gallon batches, shipping seems to be the deal breaker for cost. How do others handle this?
Eric

 

[jschein]

Where are you located?

 

[cubalz]

If I were you I would sit down and come up with a list of ingredients for your next 5 brew days and drive 2 hours to the next nearest LHBS. It is not uncommon for me to drive almost that far to get a certain strain of liquid yeast...

 

[jschein]

Northern brewer has free shipping

 

[kh54s10]

When did that happen? Last time I tried them for a full sack it cost about half again for shipping so that one would have cost about $78.......

 

[ccous]

F NB. Drive or find another shop with a decent flat rate shipping cost. For example, I’m in Detroit but still use a shop I really like in Grand Rapids (the ONLY good thing about GR is the beer scene). They have $10 flat rate shipping anywhere that I’m glad to pay and an excellent selection. I’m not a big fan of AIH but a lot of people like them.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

When did that happen? Last time I tried them for a full sack it cost about half again for shipping so that one would have cost about $78.......

That's my thought as well and I just went to grab that 50lb sack of 2 row and I cant even find it on the web site even using the search bar it looks like the only sell 1lb at a time

 

[jschein]

Click on the grain option

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

I see now, scored they wont let you use the 20% off discount code but I am still a winner on this very much thanks to you @ jschein

 

[IslandLizard]

First, stock up with what you can from that brew store before they shut the door.

Any group grain buys in your area? I drive an hour each way to our "local" grain buy, and stock up for a year.

 

[Dland]

Morebeer and northern are both good and have great selection, fast shipping. Usually the former is a little cheaper for what I buy. Free shipping with fairly small order, there is not free shipping on 50# bags, but extra paid for 10# bags and free shipping not bad. Choice of milled or un milled, lots of other ingredients and equipment. No local store near here, so I do not have to feel bad for not supporting it.

 

[AkTom]

I drive 150 miles to my “local” hbs. I get 3-5 recipes worth of yeast and specialty grains. It sometimes sucks when I brew more than I can get up to (shout out) Arctic Brewing. I also make mead and county wine wine, so time is more of a limiting factor for me.
Oh yeah, $85 for a 50# sack of 2 row.

 

[passedpawn]

So 8 months into my brewing odyssey the LHBS is closing. No other stores closer than 2 hours away from my location. Looking online to buy grains for 11 gallon batches, shipping seems to be the deal breaker for cost. How do others handle this?
Eric

I have a little brewery stone's throw from my house. The owner will put sacks of grain on his list for me when he gets a pallet.

 

[Tim Schmidt]

I have a little brewery stone's throw from my house. The owner will put sacks of grain on his list for me when he gets a pallet.

This is what i do also.

 

[ehk089]

^ this....I buy most of my base malts from NB since they made the shipping free a couple months ago, but more beer is only a little bit more when shipping is factored in. more beer is a little faster for delivery since im 3 hours away, but Northern shipped a 55lb sack to me on tuesday, and it arrives today (friday) so thats pretty fast. Id go with one of those two...theyre ridiculously cheaper than my LHBS too so thats one reason I buy base malts from them.

 

[burntchef]

Thanx for all the replies. That NB free shipping changes everything!
Eric

 

[IslandLizard]

Thanx for all the replies. That NB free shipping changes everything!
Eric

The only problem left: NB is owned by big beer. Big as in InBev.
Same for MidWest Supplies.

So that 55# sack of oat malt I was eying up would now run me $87 shipped.
I'm quite sure I can get that from my LHBS, 40 minutes away, for the same or less.
Because I have that option, I'll keep it local.

 

[burntchef]

I am all about keeping it local, but I can not drive further than a hour in any direction without having a beverage. lol that is a limiting factor.
Eric

 

[madscientist451]

Get a mill and a scale and buy grain in bulk. Most on line sellers won't give you free shipping on a whole sack but they will ship free if you pay the slightly higher 10 lb price. Get a sack of cheap malt when you can score a group buy. Its great to have an inventory on hand and brew whatever you want without running out to the store.

 

[mongoose33]

Something like this may work for you. It depends on buying in bulk and having the storage capacity to keep it.

I buy a lot of stuff from RiteBrew.Com. I'm fortunate in that they are about 3 hours away, so their basic shipping isn't bad. They're not normally on the way to anyplace I go, but I do get by there a couple times per year. When I do, I stock up and save all the shipping costs.

I also have a friend who goes past there a few times a year. Sometimes he picks up a load for me. Saves shipping and I provide him with a six-pack or two of my homebrew as a thank you.

*********

So....is there a good place to buy in bulk relatively nearby that you get to from time to time? Or a place you know a friend travels to regularly?

*********

I was just up to Ritebrew a couple weeks ago. Went to a Packer game and it's on the way. Ritebrew also allows pickup on weekends, which is beyond customer-focused, if you ask me. So I came home with a 55# sack of Maris Otter, a 50# sack of Munich, 10# each of Crystal 20L, Crystal 40L, and Rye Malt. Ritebrew gives a 20c/lb discount for a 10-pound or greater amount. Also bought some Oetiker clamps, shanks, tailpieces, and a couple other odds and ends.

It would have been something like $35 to have it shipped, but no cost for pickup. And since ritebrew has 2-row for about 70 cents a pound in sacks, and Maris Otter or Munich for about a buck a pound or less....well, it's the cheapest ingredients I can get.

Perhaps the other store can sell you malt in bags at a discount.

 

[Soulshine2]

I would also make it a point to drive to the closing store and buy up everything you might think of needing for at least 3 brew days.
I drove 600 miles for a job back up where I used to live in Illinois and stopped in my old LHBS , bought 1 bagged kit, built one recipe from Pinterest and enough bulk "orphan bags" of grain to combine and build another recipe, plus hops .All un-milled. Plus I had bought an entire grain kit on Amazon for another kit. So with 4 brews waiting , I'm good for a while.
I start a long term overtime job Monday so it'll be a while before I use them all up.

 

[IslandLizard]

I would also make it a point to drive to the closing store and buy up everything you might think of needing for at least 3 brew days.

That^, except make it 10, or at least a year's worth. You would need cool and dry storage for them.

 

[GnenieGone]

Don't get a full sack from NB. I've gotten 50lbs of various grains for either free shipping or $7 shipping price. It came in 2 boxes. Seems breaking it all up works fine cost wise.

 

[NeoBrew]

It's a bummer that your LHBS is closing. It's such an amazing thing to have that place you can go if you need that last minute thing or want to brew on short notice.

I've gone through this over the last couple years. I live in Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota. My LHBS was Northern Brewer. They didn't have much for advanced equipment, but you could always count on a full shelf and that the ingredients had been churned through quickly and what was on the shelf was fresh. It wasn't long before I started brewing that some investor bought both Northern Brewer, and the other big store around here, Midwest Supplies. When AbInbev bought that investor out, they wiped out 90% of the LHBS around here. (I don't consider anything AbInbev owns to be "local".)

Fortunately there is one other LHBS around here. Brew & Grow. I'm lucky that they are in my corner of the cities. They are a good store and I can't complain since I have access locally. I've experienced a few quality control issues there, but I'm happy to be able to get what I need near by.

 

[Beer-lord]

Wait, Northern Brewer ships 50 lb sacks free?

 

[BobBailey]

So 8 months into my brewing odyssey the LHBS is closing. No other stores closer than 2 hours away from my location. Looking online to buy grains for 11 gallon batches, shipping seems to be the deal breaker for cost. How do others handle this?
Eric

MoreBeer has free shipping for most orders over $59. Sacks of grain don't qualify, but there price by the pound is reasonable for 10 lb. bags. Their ingredients are about as fresh as can be and prices competitive.

 

[Dland]

Agreed^^^The small extra price per pound on the 10# bags with free shipping vs the 50#s with paid shipping, it is less expensive to buy 10# bags. The small bags are easier to handle, less worries of spilling grain, less or no time with open bags in storage.

Anyone who keeps less than a few months worth of ingredients on hand has more faith in supply chain than I do.

 

[IslandLizard]

We're witnessing the "Global Disruptive Growth Unit" of Anheuser-Busch InBev at work. The monkey wrench in the Local HomeBrew Store business. And that's only one little twig in the dense forest of the macro beer industry. You should see how deep their lobby reaches... not just in the U.S., globally!

Brulosophy published a good view on the NB/MW acquisition a few years ago.

 

[burntchef]

Being new to the game I had no idea about the AB attempt to control the game. Have seen this tried in my day job, it causes problems but eventually it always fails. Trip to lhbs today was a sad trip. Staff was bummed out, store appeared to have been ransacked, they were sold out of almost all base malts. Cobbled together enough for a black lager for next weekend, but I need to be buying a grain mill this week to move forward past batch 10.
Eric

 

[Soulshine2]

That^, except make it 10, or at least a year's worth. You would need cool and dry storage for them.

or however many ...i dont brew every month ,depends on his personal rate of brewing . Just buy up a quantity making sure to buy something of a recipe ...have a plan. I keep my bags of grain (packaged in heat sealed vapor proof bags)in a large plastic cooler so any vermin cant easily chew through the bags. Should last quite a while. Hops is in sealed bags and in the fridge. All I need to buy is yeast

 

[Soulshine2]

Being new to the game I had no idea about the AB attempt to control the game. Have seen this tried in my day job, it causes problems but eventually it always fails. Trip to lhbs today was a sad trip. Staff was bummed out, store appeared to have been ransacked, they were sold out of almost all base malts. Cobbled together enough for a black lager for next weekend, but I need to be buying a grain mill this week to move forward past batch 10.
Eric

absolutely, buy a mill. great investment and have more control of your crush.

 

[eric19312]

Free shipping on 50lb sacks is a game changer! So much for not doing business with companies owned by evil overlords...

 

[IslandLizard]

Hops is in sealed bags and in the fridge.

OK for a few months. Better off in freezer if stored for longer times, e.g., hops bought per pound.

 

[NeoBrew]

Free shipping on 50lb sacks is a game changer! So much for not doing business with companies owned by evil overlords...

Is that sarcasm or did you just sell your soul to the devil?

 

[bracconiere]

you can always do what i did...find a local supply of whole barley at a feed store and start malting your own!

 

[harrydrez]

Free shipping on 50lb sacks is a game changer! So much for not doing business with companies owned by evil overlords...

It's cheaper than my lhbs too, not bad.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Our club buys through a local brewery. Base malts are about 50 cents/lb.

 

[RevFrank]

Several suppliers offer flat rate, if not free, shipping. I use Atlantic Brewing Supply out of Raleigh,
NC and MidWest Supply in addition to an LBS about an hour away.

 

[dpinette2]

love 2 brew has free shipping on orders over $75...i have used them a half dozen times and always get shipment in two days....NB always takes a week in my opinion

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

love 2 brew has free shipping on orders over $75...i have used them a half dozen times and always get shipment in two days....NB always takes a week in my opinion

I have been waiting over a week for my last order from them thank god I did not order any liquid yeast