long drive to LHBS

so i really want to use my LHBS but its 75 miles away. i plan on going all grain and was wondering how you fellas deal with all grain having your lhbs that far away. i understand you can store grain but seems like there are a ton of variances in grain unless you try and stick to the same lane of beer so to speak.

 

I can't give you anything from experience as I live 15 minutes from mine but it seems like you would need to plan ahead and buy what you need for a few batches.

If I were you I would buy online. I love buying local but 75 miles is a bit much. That is at least 2.5 hours of driving, if it is all highway. I would order online and buy 2 or 3 batch worth of stuff.

 

I'm really lucky in having 2 LHBS's within 20 minutes of my house and another within 5 minutes of my office. It really is nice being able to walk in, look over the stock, ask questions of the people there, etc., and I really do want to support them. However, in your case I think I'd just have to order online. The gas alone for a 150 mile round trip will pay for a lot of shipping. 75 miles is not "local" in my book.

 

If you are going to travel that far, then it pays to pick up the staples when you go to the LHBS. Basically, get a few pounds of the stuff you use in small quanities, and stock up on your base malts, then you only have to worry about real specialty stuff when you brew.

Stored properly, uncrushed grains keep for a long time.

For example, I keep the following in stock, labeled, dated, and vacuum sealed in 2-5lb quantity:
Chocolate, Pale Chocolate
Black Patent, Roast Barley, Debittered Black
Vienna, Munich, Aromatic
Crystal 20,40,60,80,120
CaraPils, Honey malt
Biscuit, Victory, CaraRed
etc...

About 10-20lbs of
Wheat, Rye

Then try to keep a sack or two of my favorite base malts
2-row, Pilsner, English Pale, Munich

 

Mine is 1000 miles away...

So I brew cider....

 

See if there is a brewpub nearby willing to let you piggyback orders onto his malt and hops orders. If so, offer to pay him his cost plus 10% so his boss won't complain-it'll still be a much better deal than at a LHBS.
Always buy in as big a quantity as you can store and use within a few months. This is where I screw up with liquid yeast because my LHBS is almost 300 miles away and I invariably buy more liquid yeast than I can use in a reasonable time frame. i still use almost all of it eventually but i have to make bigger starters(more step-ups).

 

I have a co-worker that lives 5 mins from my LHBS so it saves me almost two hours driving. See if u know someone who knows someone who lives near there...


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If you're having distance problems I feel bad for ya son, 'cuz I've got 99 problems but an LHBS aint one!

Mine is a 10 minute walk from my house xD. But seriously, I'd order online like many have suggested. Maybe the LHBS does shipping? I know there's one is Nashua, NH that does and their kits are killer. They make them on site, I love it.

 

My best LHBS is over an hour away. Northern Brewer brought back their $7.99 shipping. No contest, buy online.

 

Holy crap. Reading this thread makes me realize just how lucky I am. My closest LHBS is less than five miles from my house. I have four LHBS's within 20 miles, at least three of which sell 50-55lb sacks (haven't made it to the fourth store), and there are at least two others within an hour drive of me that I definitely know of, which brings the total to six stores within an hour drive of me... and I don't live in a large metropolitan area either.

Obviously, I don't have all that much to add to this thread, except that I have now got enough grain and hops to brew something on a whim if I need to. I keep about a hundred pounds+ of grain on hand and just started buying hops by the pound and keeping them in freezer. I also keep a few washed yeasts in mason jars and a few packs of dry yeast in the fridge. I keep mainly domestic 2-row and Maris Otter, and then I also keep about a half dozen or so common specialty grains in smaller quantities. This gives me enough flexibility to design many recipes without having to buy anything. For me, I can very easily drive to one of my local LHBS's, but often I'll just modify a recipe to fit the grain I have.

 

i live in a small town called Poplarville, MS. the nearest brewpub is 50 miles one way so that's not really an option either. Im new to brewing in fact havent brewed yet due to my job being overseas so to know how much i will brew/need for grains and such wont be known till i get heavy into it. I always read people saying you're a dirtbag if you dont use your LHBS. but i guess that would be true if its only 5 miles away. might just deal with online unless im in nola for any reason.

 

Mine requires a 130 mile round trip wasting a good portion of my first off day. I try to buy 1-2 batches at a time to save the fuel money. They do mail orders, but typically, I have to wait to payday which is also the day before I usually brew. It's a chore, but it's nice to talk shop with the owner.

Happy Brewing.

 

I'd be inclined to make the trip once every few months to get the big orders. Get 2-3 bags of base malt, a good number of specialties while you're in there and a couple pounds of hops. When I first looked into bulk grain it was almost as expensive for shipping as the grain itself - effectively nullifying the benefit of bulk purchase. From that point go online getting the specialties and adjuncts that you need to brew.

Don't feel like crap if you don't support local. I'm all for supporting local businesses, the "Ma and Pa" deli and restaurants, and the farmer's market. Problem is when it costs me 50% - 200% more than just going to more mainstream places. Sorry heart, but the pockets just aren't deep enough.

 

If you don't have a store in a 30 mile radius, then you don't have a Local HomeBrew Shop, and there's not a lot of reasons to feel bad. Also, shopping local doesn't mean taking abuse or putting up with bad service either.

I believe in supporting places that really want my business, sometimes that means going online.

 

Like max said I am extremely lucky. My LHBS store is 4 blocks away.

Although I have never ordered from them it looks like brewmasterswarehouse.com lets you buy in quantities as low as 1 oz so you can purchase your exact recipe with no leftover cost and has $6.99 flat rate shipping. I doubt they could ship 50lbs of grain for 7 bucks but maybe you could order two recipes at a time. Again no idea if this is feasible because I haven't done it but worth a shot and I think they sponsor this site which is an added bonus.

 

I did have to go about 120 mi round trip to my LHBS. Fortunately for me I would occasionally go to that town for work, shopping or eating out. So I stocked up on the basics when I was there. I also ordered a bunch from Northern Brewer when they had flat rate shipping.

 

I have to drive 45 miles to the brewpub I bought supplies from for years. Now they have a new brewer that I have never met so i don't buy there anymore. You're never a dirtbag for not buying from a LHBS-they have to earn your money and respect. I went to one just 200 miles from here and asked for Roselare blend or equivalent souring mix, the owner asked me why anybody would turn a beer sour on purpose. I never felt bad about not going there again.

 

Mine is 180 mile round trip away. I used to make the trip just to find that they are out of the yeast and hops I need. Now I order online from a Calif. HB Supply and have what I need the next day and shipping is cheaper than driving.

 

Wow, I will count my blessings from now on - we only have ONE LHBS but he's about 10 minutes from home, is VERY knowledgeable and very willing to share that knowledge, keeps a good stock for a small store and is open 6 days a week. We share "tastes" back and forth too, and he flat-out GAVE us a 750ml bottle of a "kit" wine he had brewed and thought we'd like.

We do buy a few things online but not malts, yeast, or hops. We love supporting this guy.

 

I live in Poplarville. There are a few us here that brew all grain, some more than others. Sometimes we make batch runs for supplies and/or split orders. I'm the smaller brewer - maybe sitting on 50 lbs of grain right now with three 5 gal batches scheduled. I've got friends that buy in much larger bulk - 10 to 20 gals each weekend. I'm pretty sure we could help you out. We each have mills and various other equip too that you could probably access to get started.

You're always welcome to come help brew too.