Where do you get your grain?

I am all about supporting the local HBS however I feel the economic pinch may be impacting my local guys prices a bit to much. His prices are almost making it out of reach for me to justify brewing.

Are there any websites that you know of that will sell and ship grain wholesale or have any of you had any experience with going to feed stores and having them order grain for you.

I am looking for any and all alternatives for all grain sources.

maybe I wil plant a field???

 

In my area a new brew/wine shop opened up about a month ago. I am very impressed with what they started with but also with what they told me they were going to do. They did add the grains area as they told me a month ago.

Today I stopped in and asked about the cost of a 50lb sack of domestic two row.

I was quoted $70.00. I noted that one place I shop sold it for $42.00 and I bought a sack last month from another for $31.00. The owner looked at me and said that is less than what she can buy it for.

My point? Let them know what the market plays for.

I want here to stay in business. And I do believe she will do the best she can do to find another supplier. She will be cheaper on some stuff and more expensive on others. I hope she is able to bring her price down somewhat but I also cannot expect this new business to compete with the well established on-line places.

Talk to the owner and let him know your concerns. Maybe something can be worked out.

 

more beer by the pound uncrushed... free shipping. I just did 30# pale plus a crap load of specialty grains no problems...

 

from where?

 

MoreBeer | Beer Making and Home Brewing Supplies IDK how much grain you need... I doubt you can put in like 400lbs with the per pound thing and expect free shipping.

 

Whats the price at your LHBS for grain? Mine is $2 # for grains. Bulk purchases are cheaper but except for 2-row I don't use enough grain to make it worth it to me.

 

Austin Homebrew Supply has just about the best price per pound on shipped bulk grain that I have seen lately, they just recently lowered the preices a bit.

That said, my LHBS rocks and it's only $0.98 per pound for 2-row 50lbs.

 

LHBS, and its cheaper than mail order.

 

Apparently not his LHBS.

 

I hadn't know how cheap my LHBS is. 2 row is $0.85/# for 50 pounds.

 

I think Mid Country Malt can FedEx grain to Texas for around $0.98/# if it is just under 200#. Over that and you have to negotiate bulk shipping.

I actually think this beats my LHBS who has sharply raised grain prices since last year.

 

i buy base 2-row from a semi-local brew pub for $28 for 55lbs. and any other grains i buy from one of two local shops for pretty average prices.

 

AHS is definitely the cheapest online source unless you buy a pallet from a malt supplier. It is important to note that their bags are 40# and not 55# like others, but the price/lbs is cheaper regardless.

Look around local though, even a long drive might end up saving you $ on shipping.

 

Without knowing where you are I could only echo what the others have said, AHS, MoreBeer, Mid-country. My LHBS marks up full sacks of bulk grain a lot less than the 1# bags.

Oh, other options you might have:

1. If there is an active homebrewing community you might get in on a group buy.

2. A local microbrewery might be willing to sell you grain. Take a sample of your homebrew and ask nicely

 

I don't see why not, as long as you are also expecting to pay per pound prices and not bulk prices. If they are happy to sell 50 lbs each to 8 people with free shipping they should be happier to sell 400 lbs to one person because their is marginally less cost associated with processing and packing 1 order vs 8 and there is no difference in invoice amount or shipping cost (well assuming all 9 of these hypothetical people live in the same zip code).

 

I get mine from a Friend who get's his from a brewpub when they order. I get Cargil American 2-row for $35.00 a 50lb bag. I usually order around 100 - 150 lbs at a time.

 

Where are you located? There is a group buy program in my area (St. Louis MO) and we can get 2-row pale malt for $23 for 55lbs. Top quality fresh Marris Otter for $38 for 55lbs. It's the only way to go if it's available in your area. Might even be worth a drive if you can pool resources with other brewers in your area.

 

I would consider AHS to have a high price out the door in comparison

Here is one example

50lbs of 2 row from morebeer is $32.25 + $15.98 + 2.25 tax (to 93611) shipping is $50.48 or $1/lb

40lbs of 2 row from AHS is $47.99 + $6.99 shipping is $54.98 or $1.37/lb

I will be driving by the store this weekend, so I may just pick as sack up for $32.25 which would be way cheaper taking off the $15.98 for shipping.

 

I'm going by my LHBS today and I'll check on his current price for 2-row. If it is outrageously marked up (as I expect it will be) he might just lose me as a customer. I think since his store is the only place in the city and the next closest place is Austin he gouges a little on certain things like hops, grain and extract.

I'd buy a pallet myself but fear a weevil infestation such as I experienced earlier this year. What a Nightmare! They got everywhere!

Anyway the infestation has prompted me to keep only one sack of base grain on hand. That way I use it up fairly quickly and the weevils have no place to multiply...

 

Depends on where you are...I've been using North Country Malt

My last order was a 55lb sack of 2 row which is 35.89 a bag with $15.56 shipping to Mass

about $0.94 per lb

 

My LHBS is Oak Barrel...competitive prices and quality products. can't beat it.

 

My LHBS sells Crisp Pale Ale malt for $50, for a 55lb sack.

I loves me some Crisp!

 

The reason you're being charged tax on that stuff from morebeer is because it's being shipped within your state. It's your LHBS.

It's $40 for me to ship a bag of grain from them, no thanks. If it's not shipping in-state, you're getting killed. Even shipping from minnesota to Iowa is $20-$30 for a bag.

 

i think it all depends on where you are. My lhbs is also a microbrewery, and they have sacks of nearly everything. I buy my 2-row for .65/lb. I typically don't use other grains in enough quantity to buy a full sack, but their by the lb price is on the low end of average for that.

 

You know, I use Rahr 2-row base malt, and I live like 10 minutes from the Rahr brewery, but I'm still paying retail, which is only $0.98, but that's still probably a lot more than they pay.

Perhaps now that I am getting a grain mill for Christmas (I hope), I could talk them into selling me a bag of 2-row cheap.

 

What is your LHBS? I am headed your direction this weekend and may want to stop in.

 

it's OAK BARREL like my post says, duh! j/k

check it out. here's a map:

[ame=http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Oak+Barrel+Winecraft,+Berkeley,+Ca&sll=37.903439,-122.287102&sspn=0.087771,0.153809&ie=UTF8&ll=37.878715,-122.294741&spn=0.0439,0.076904&z=14&iwloc=A]Oak Barrel Winecraft, Berkeley, Ca - Google Maps[/ame]

Tell them DeathBrewer sent you. srsly.

 

One of my best buddies is a brewer at the local brew pub and he gets me bags of 55# Muntons Pale Ale malt for $30.

 

I know, I remember seeing it, but I just wanted to give them another plug

 

MY LHBS charges $2.25 per pound

 

For 2-row?

Ouch.

Add tax to that and you're really getting boned.

 

Rahr malting co is based out of Shakopee, MN. I don't think they're affiliated with Rahr & Sons brewery.

 

I just called morebeer and a sack of two row domestic was 32.25 but the shipping to colorado was 28.97. Any one know of a place closer to co to cut down on shipping?

 

I just called both of the breweries in my city (Sequoia and BJs) and BJs doesn't even brew at this location and Sequoia wasn't willing to sell any of their grain.

Grain at my LHBS is 1.69/lb, but they have a very limited selection. They were missing 2 of my ingredients on EdWorts porter. Doesn't really make me want to shop there if I have to alter recipes all the time.

Looks like it is Internet work me.

 

They charge at least 40% more for grain than MoreBeer shipped. After the discounts. (Although it is still more than your LHBS.) My charges $1.80 per pound so $1.25 shipped from MoreBeer is a no-brainer.

 

Morebeer sells their domestic 2-row for $1.25, their price for Rahr 2-row (which is what AHS sells) is about the same as AHS.

Problem with morebeer is that they charge for milling, which ruins their prices for me. If you have a mill, you probably should just buy 2-row in bulk, in which case AHS is cheaper.