Shipping wowzers

[Cider123]

Well I've learned to shop around a lot in this hobby. Each new recipe comes with its problems and needs to search around for best pricing.

My LHBS is just lame. Forget about prices which BTW are rarely competitive. They don't have anything. Unless you're planning on brewing with 2 row and nothing else, they ain't got it in stock. So forget them. On to the online suppliers:

So this recipe is an Alt. To keep it basic:
4 lbs munich
3.5 lbs german pilsner
2 lbs munich
.5 lbs caramunich 2
2 oz pearl pellet hops
1 vial dusseldorf alt yeast (I wash and save my yeast, but I don't have this one yet)

I find myself spending a couple hours researching costs for each recipe. My first place is Austin lately.

Austin: usually good prices and shipping costs but they are out of some grains until mid October. You try to substitute but eventually it becomes a completely different recipe. Their kits are reasonably prices with free shipping, but you can't find out specifically what is in each kit until you get it in the mail.

Northern Brewer: They have everything but at $15 for shipping. It becomes a $45 recipe. Not for me. A shame because I have come to really like their recipes. I often copy down the ingredients and look somewhere else to buy them. The kits don't have free shipping like Austin's.

Midwest: Basically the same as Northern. A shame because they have the best selection. I am also afraid to give them my credit card number.

Morebeer: A good selection and they have everything but they split the ingredients between their two supply houses. They expect me to pay around $6 from one supply house and $17 from the other in order to get the whole recipe, totaling a $65 recipe because you can only buy in full pound amounts. Ouch

Brewmaster's Warehouse: They claim to have everything, good price , good shipping price, a total cost of $34. Now the wait game to see if they really have everything and how many weeks I will need to wait. I used to use them a lot until recently. I ended up ordering from them this time and have my fingers crossed.

I wish there was a better way. Suggestions?

 

[beaksnbeer]

Buy in bulk and have your grain whenever you need it?

 

[Yooper]

Buy in bulk and have your grain whenever you need it?

While that may sound harsh, that's what I was going to suggest.

That's exactly what I do. Aside from the perle hops and the yeast strain, I have everything listed in my basement. And if I don't, I can usually get the specialty grains quickly and cheaply.

It's not easy to do bulk grain, though! You have to have a mill, of course and a place to store grain like a garage or a basement. I have about 6 big rubbermaid bins to store grains.

Otherwise, if I'm out of something, I do exactly what the OP does. Shop around for the best price and a reasonable shipping period. I use all of the "major" homebrew stores online, and some minor ones too! I just bought some hops from farmhousebrewingsupply, but I didn't need yeast or grains so that's all I bought.

 

[unionrdr]

I usually get my stuff from Midwest or Northern Brewer. Some of it from the lhbs,depending on what it is. Grains def from midwest or NB,since they have the brands & styles I want. And the crystall/color/specialty grains in 1/2lb amounts.

 

[Teromous]

Have any of you run into the "mystical sales tax" that appears in your total after you entered your payment information? I don't think I've run into this on homebrew websites, but I recently went to buy some presents online and viola, sales tax appeared.

 

[Cider123]

Wow, yes...that would be a big move for me. To start stocking grains. I am pretty small scale, making maybe 2 five gallon batches a month. I also seem to change up my brews according to the seasons. I love siasons, but don't see me making one until the weather gets warmer. I'm thinking pale ales and browns right now.

If stored in a cool basement in plastic tubs, what is a reasonable shelf life for whole grains?

 

[Yooper]

If stored in a cool basement in plastic tubs, what is a reasonable shelf life for whole grains?

I don't know for sure. Maybe 2 years in a clean dry place? None of mine have ever been around long enough to get stale.

I buy US two-row in 50 pound sacks, and marris otter in 55 pound sacks (the way they come). I sometimes buy sacks other grains, when I'm planning a lot of other beers but not that often. I buy maybe one sack of Vienna malt a year, and maybe one of pilsner malt and one of Munich malt. The rest are all either US two-row or UK two-row.

If you're making pale ales and brown ales, you most likely use either UK or US two-row for all of them.

 

[beaksnbeer]

It's roughly 5-7 five gallon batches per sack(depending on recipe, style, and efficiency) I use 2-row, Pilsen,Marris Otter base grains. I keep a sack of 6-row for when I use corn or rice recipes. I keep 6 types of dual purpose hops, I bulk buy in 1lb. blocks.
Sounds like you predetermine what you will be brewing by season so you shouldn't have to much trouble going through your recipes to figure out what you will use. I buy with the plan to brew 200 gallons (I have for the last 14 years) I just buy special grains and hops for other recipes. It sounds pretty daunting at first but if you break down the cost you'll actually see that you save money vs. small buys Look to group buys in your area. I have family that come down from WI. where malt is a lot cheaper (10 sacks came down this year@ $29.00 bulk price)

 

[jro238]

Grain mill is in the mail right now so I'll probably start buying more in bulk from here on out, but up to this point I just plan ahead a few batches (whatever gets me to a $60 price tag) and order from morebeer so I get the free shipping.

 

[BamaProud]

Midwest always has a 10% off coupon code(just google it) that offsets shipping prices. Also buying more than one kit at a time helps offset shipping prices over the long run.

 

[broadbill]

Spending two hours of your time to save a 2-3 bucks on a ingredient order is penny-wise, pound foolish in my opinion.

If getting the absolute lowest price is your goal, you can't beat bulk. On the other hand, you could rationalize the additional cost buying on a per-recipe basis by not having to carry "inventory".

Choice is yours, I just wanted to point out there is a cost to your penny-pinching (unless you enjoy doing that sort of thing).

 

[hillbillyjones]

Grain mill is in the mail right now so I'll probably start buying more in bulk from here on out, but up to this point I just plan ahead a few batches (whatever gets me to a $60 price tag) and order from morebeer so I get the free shipping.

I'm in the same boat as you. No LHBS, no club, just mailorder. Shipping on Bulk grains is pretty high. It seemed like it'd take a lot of batches to make the grain mill pay for itself. I also want to experiment with different base grains to see which one I like the best. So at this time I chose not to invest in the bulk grain method.

I like Austin Homebrew a lot. But I also like RiteBrew.com Their prices are really low, but their shipping is high. It's reflective of what shipping actually costs though. I'll setup my next 2-3 recipes and then build shopping carts on both sites and see which one works out for me. And yes, I'll spend a couple hours to save a few bucks, so I might build a cart in another online homebrew store too.

 

[kh54s10]

I get full sacks of grain from my LHBS's because of no shipping charges. I have been getting grain and hops from Farmhouse Brewing supply and hops in bulk from Hops Shack. I have recently been brewing only about once a month and have grains over a year old stored in buckets and lock and lock containers. They still seem fresh. The hops are in vacuum bags in the freezer.

I look at what is on sale and if I think I will use it I buy in bulk. I figure my average brew costs about $25. Kits cost $30 to $45 plus shipping. It is a no brainer for me.

I freeze yeast samples, so if I use them for several generations I don't need to buy yeast unless it is a new strain. I also keep dry yeast on hand, so with the grain and hops on hand I can brew whenever I want to.

 

[srtce142]

i usually order 2-3 recipes worth from morebeer and get the free shipping due to the order being more than $59

 

[jleiii]

Try love2brew.com. Most stuff ships free over $75.
Not far from my work. Good prices and great selection.
John

 

[Cider123]

Well, I need to try something else. I just got an email from Brewmaster's saying that one item is out of stock and not due in for 5-10 days. I asked to cancel the entire order. I'm not interested in playing the stupid wait game that others have complained about.

 

[unionrdr]

Mines def slow from midwest this time. 5 days in,& still processing after I was told it should go out last night. Never used to be this slow.

 

[Cider123]

I just ordered from Northern Brewer. A bit more money, but they usually have stuff in stock Even if I buy some grains in bulk, I'll always need some specialty malt that I'll have to order and still fall prey to the same issue.

 

[unionrdr]

Interesting in light of the fact that NB & Midwest merged insomuch as having a common warehouse. I think it really slowed Midwest down.

 

[Cider123]

Just called around the LHBS's around Maine. Their prices are not competitive. If I buy 50 lb sacks, I maybe save 20 cents per pound but then need to pay tax and then gas to travel over there. I'm better off just ordering online and having it dropped at my doorstep. I need to find some group buys or a microbrewer that will through my order in with his.