How many different grains do you keep "in stock"?

Since I recently got into all grain brewing and realized it was a lot cheaper to buy bulk grains and mill them myself, I've slowly started adding on to my bulk base malts with specialty grains when there are online sales. Started with a bag of Rahr 2-Row and Marris Otter and have since added 4-5 lb. here and there of caramels 10-60 , carapils, Vienna, etc.

My next goal is to start getting some Pilsner malt and different wheats and such.

1. My question is how many different grains do YOU keep on hand on average?

2. How much (weight) of those grains do you usually like to keep on hand at once?

3. Do you buy/store less common grains by the pound or by the bag? Or do you just buy them recipe to recipe?

As a newer all grain brewer who is brewing about once every 2 weeks at the least, this will give me some ideas on what is most efficient since I don't really know yet.

Fluctuates a little but I always have.
1. 2 row
2. Cara Pils
3. c 10
4 c 20
5. c 40
6. c 60
7. c 80
8. Rye
9. Wheat
10. Munich l
11. Vienna
12. Oats. ( Get them at Costco or the like
13. Victory
14. Cara Munich
All in Hd buckets. I usually buy 10lb at a time of caramel malts, Victory, Cara Munich and oats. Everything else I buy by 50lb
For my tastes I can get by with these pretty much and may have to buy something special every once in a while, but they are my staple grains.

Right now because of the seasons I also have
c 120
RBB
Chocolate
Patent
Midnight wheat
Acid Malt
Aromatic
Pilsner
Black Barley
Carafa III


These malts I buy in 1-5 lb increments and generally store them in a bag and then in a tub.

To me it really comes down to what you want to brew. I brew mostly american ales so my staple grains reflect that. I try to expand with the holidays and brew Porters, stouts, and Belgian beers, hence the smaller list.

A newer brewer in our circle basically had the same question. I asked him to pick out his next 15 recipes he wanted to brew.
We then catalogued all the grain Hops and Yeast. You'd be surprised how effective that was in determining what frequency of consumables he would use.

If you can make a similar list, it would really take the guesswork out of alot of it.

I make such small batches, I just let the LHBS store all the grains for me.

2-row or Pale (50#)
Munich light (domestic or Canadian when possible) (50# or 25 kg)
Special B...split a 25KG when I remember to do a group buy...lasts about 2 years
C20 or C40...same as special B
Some sort of debittered/huskless/wheat/Rye 300-500 Lov...2-5#
Chocolate...5-10#
Ashburn Mild 50#
Flaked Rye....10#
Melod#@$%^@$%T Malt (sic)...5#

So in the house I normally have between 8 and 12 homer buckets and 3-5 1-gallon tupperware full. I never have all of these at once in quantity but since I have four house beers that rotate seasonally. I use a lot of each.

Tarrytown Rusty Brown...melanoidin, mild, 2-row, tiny bit of debittered black and a little more chocolate and some special b
Redneck Pale Ale...equal parts 2-row and Munich, 5% C20
Lawnmower RyePA...Flaked Rye, 2-row, 2.5% Special B
Black and Mild Dark Mild or Sweet Stout, your call...Mild, Munich, 2-row, Chocolate, Debittered Black, Special B

I started out by purchasing a sack of 2row and 5lbs of c40. Soon after, I made a large purchase from someone that was moving and ended up with ~35 types of grain, anywhere from half a pound of melanoidin malt all the way up to 50lbs of 2row. I've since replaced what I've used up and augmented things with several different types of base malt. (Depending on things, I use 2row, pils, stout malt, white wheat, or maris otter) The non-basemalt things that turn over the most according to my inventory sheet are munich and golden naked oats.

If I was to purchase originally from the store, I would have done what njviking above recommended, though I don't dislike the fact that I can basically wake up on a random day and brew just about any style I want with what I have on hand.

I prefer to keep my as much cash in the bank as possible and the inventory on the shelves at the LHBS.

2 row - usually a sack
A few lbs of all the c's
Munich, Vienna, Pilsner - 5-10lbs each
1-2 lbs each of:
Carapils
Carafoam
Flaked oats, maize, rye, and barley
Chocolate
Black patent
Roasted barley

I live about 30 min from the LHBS so I try to keep everything on hand. I buy a lb extra of everything I need usually so I have it later if I want to brew on a whim.

I buy bulk base grains and 1,5,10 lb bags of other stuff.

I vacuum seal every thing except base grain which I store in homer buckets.

kaffeenjunkie said:

I prefer to keep my as much cash in the bank as possible and the inventory on the shelves at the LHBS.

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I understand the advantage of this but if you ignore the group buys, I have saved about 25% by buying sales, free shipping, stuff the LHBS over-ordered, etc. Sacked base malt is a no-brainer if you already own a mill and have the space (not much required).

arnobg said:

As a newer all grain brewer who is brewing about once every 2 weeks at the least, this will give me some ideas on what is most efficient since I don't really know yet.

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FYI, picking hops to bulk buy saves you a lot more...but you have to know what you like or plan to use. I order about 5#'s at a time. Verses LHBS (which carries basically no whole hops which I need) I save almost 65% off the per ounce price.

I have 28 different malts and flaked grains. It varies from 50 pound sacks to just one pound of specialty grains.

OMG!!! I need more.

Especially since I just received 5 pounds of hop in the mail today!

The only thing I buy in a sack (50 to 55#) is pale 2 row. I get other base grains in 10 pound bags (MO, wheat. Vienna, Pilsner, Golden Promise). This will do a batch or two depending on recipe. I keep other grains on hand but get them a pound or two at a time .. acid malt, carapils, munich light and dark, rye malt and flaked rye, C10, C60. Anything else I buy a few ounces at a time at the lhbs .. things like aromatic malt, special b, C120, chocolate malt, etc.

Good info seems to be a lot of common ground.

I purchased 3-4 1 lb. bags of some 2015 hops I knew I would use a lot a couple months ago as well as some various 4 and 8 oz hops.

I have some 5 gallon homer buckets with the screw top lids and some 2 gallon food grade icing buckets I got from local grocery stores that I put the specialty grains in.

I like the vacuum sealing smaller grains idea, will this help over just sealed buckets?

Right now I just buy what I need for a recipe. That works and saves me time. I don't necessarily want to invest time into milling.

I keep sacks of
2 row
Vienna
Munich
Pilsner

And I keep smaller amounts of 20-30 different grains at all times. Usually ranging from 2-20 pounds depending on what I use a lot of.

However many are left over.

I buy sacks of grain, generally US two-row for $37 or so for 50 pounds, and $45 for Maris Otter (55 pounds).

I also have on hand, in about 20 pounds:
Munich malt
Pilsner malt
Wheat malt

Various specialty grains, including:
Cara red
crystal 40L
crystal 80L
crystal 120L (or special b, rarely both)
melanoidin or aromatic malt
Victory malt
black malt
roasted barley
pale chocolate

And then, some things I use occasionally:
rye malt or flakes
flaked oat
flaked corn

I buy in bulk, both grain and hops, and reuse yeast, and I generally have enough on hand that I can brew just about anything.

One of my friends stopped over one day, and asked me about a recipe for a pale ale- so I told him, "Let's go shopping!" We went into my basement for grains, and into my hops freezer, and into my yeast fridge- and he got everything he needed for a 5 gallon batch.

If I didn't brew often or make 10 gallon batches, I'd buy far less stuff to keep on hand! But really, one sack of grain is two batches for me. So it's not like it's really stockpiled.

None, just what I buy and mill at the lhbs. I don't have a grain mill and don't see one anywhere in my future.

I have about 8 different specialty grains, a tub of base and other adjuncts,

I will grab things thinking this will make a good beer and then I do nothing with them but someday, ... I will probably just have more stuff

Since LHBS is 1 1/2 hour away I try to keep enough ingredients for 4 - 5 brews.

dstockwell said:

Since LHBS is 1 1/2 hour away I try to keep enough ingredients for 4 - 5 brews.

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Maybe that's part of it for me- I live 150 miles from the closest LHBS and they don't have a great stock. When I get to Milwaukee or Minneapolis, I stock up.

Right now I have a sack of Pilsner and a Sack of 2 row on hand. Then I have 2lbs ea of roasted barley, pale chocolate, c60... something else I cant remember. Then acidulated for pH purposes. Need to get some biscuit on hand.

With those you can brew quite a range. I still go to the LHBS too often...

I used to buy as I brewed, but since going electric I can brew whenever I get the urge, so now I keep a serious collection of grains on hand. Sacks of Vienna, 2-row, Marris Otter, plus 5 lb tubs of a couple dozen specialty grains.

The cost up front is significant to amass a big grain-store, but it has increased my brewing enjoyment because I don't have to plan so much to get a brew session going. Only pre-brew work I have to do it get a starter on the plate.

Having the ingredients on hand and a corona style mill means I can brew without planning on an online buy a week in advance or a trip the LHBS. It used to be a 45 minute trip, got a new LHBS about 2 years ago and now it is only 10 - 15 minutes, but usually in the opposite direction from where I want to go.

1. My question is how many different grains do YOU keep on hand on average?

I only stock four malts (Pale, Amber, Brown and Patent). I do have some leftover chocolate and wheat malt from days gone.

2. How much (weight) of those grains do you usually like to keep on hand at once?

Pale malts: 100# MO, 25# Belgian Pale Malt
#50 Brown Malt
#10 Amber Malt
#5 Patent Malt

3. Do you buy/store less common grains by the pound or by the bag? Or do you just buy them recipe to recipe?

I buy malts once a year. Pale malts in #55 sacks, the rest by the kilo.

Yooper said:

Maybe that's part of it for me- I live 150 miles from the closest LHBS and they don't have a great stock. When I get to Milwaukee or Minneapolis, I stock up.

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Prolly the same place I just went shopping too! Midwest has Rahr 2 row for $34 a bag, Rahr Pale malt is $39 a bag, its hard to pay $2.00 a pound online when it's $0.70 in bulk!

#50 of Rahr 2 row
#50 of Rahr Pale malt

A few pounds of each assorted grains, Oats, Rye etc for porters and Stouts.

I bought a sack of MO, 2-row and Belgian Pils in the past 12 months or so. Getting low on Pils. Lots of MO and 2-row left. Sorry I didn't get Vienna. I like Vienna.

If buying, I'll get Vienna and Munich in 10lb amounts. It will get used.

I buy specialty grains by the pound usually or if it's something I rarely use, just buy the amount I need. Some specialty malts like acid malt I buy a pound of every so often regardless as I know I'll use it.

Hops, I've started getting more in bulk. (5lbs recently from a fellow HBT member, a few pounds from LHBS)

Yeast I harvest for reuse from starters. 1 pack/vial can last a long time this way.

JKaranka said:

1. My question is how many different grains do YOU keep on hand on average?

Average is hard to tell. When I do a recipe that needs something I don't have, I buy at least twice that amount....

I only stock four malts (Pale, Amber, Brown and Patent). I do have some leftover chocolate and wheat malt from days gone.

As said, right now I have 28 different grains

2. How much (weight) of those grains do you usually like to keep on hand at once?

The weight changes by how much I buy and how much is left, what type of malt etc.

Pale malts: 100# MO, 25# Belgian Pale Malt
#50 Brown Malt
#10 Amber Malt
#5 Patent Malt

3. Do you buy/store less common grains by the pound or by the bag? Or do you just buy them recipe to recipe?

It depends, as I said I buy more than needed. Some dark malts I use in very small quantities so I don't keep too much of those.

I buy malts once a year. Pale malts in #55 sacks, the rest by the kilo.

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I buy at irregular intervals. Sometimes recipe driven, sometimes for restock and sometimes just on a whim.

I like Yooper's reference to going "shopping" - in the basement.

I have dozens of recipes started in Beersmith, when brew day comes I can look at what recipe looks good "today" then check my stock. Often I have everything, often it just takes some minor adjustments and sometimes it drives another grain order......

2 row + 4-5 recipe + rounding.

So i buy base malts by the 50 lb sack. Then I buy specialty malts by planning 4-5 recipes in advamced.Thebi have some spare odds and ends because I always round up a bit at the lhbs and weigh it out on brew day on my scale since it'll be more accurate.

A lot.

Stopped counting after 45 varieties and over 1,000 lbs. I brew a lot.

All of them

kh54s10 said:

I buy at irregular intervals. Sometimes recipe driven, sometimes for restock and sometimes just on a whim.

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I am becoming more and more of a buy what is on sale guy (supporting the LHBS) and then figuring out what to make based on what I have. Not fully converted to that yet because I still have those house varieties I like to have two of on tap at any one time but when I am doing a non-pipeline-maintenance brew session...it is grab-bag time.

Edit: My Oatmeal stout is a great example...I was low on base malt but still wanted to make 9 gallons of something and LHBS was closed. Grab a 48 oz drum of quick oats to flesh it out without stealing the Munich I planned to use the next weekend for my Redneck Pale Ale since Munich is a 5 day lead time for full sack.

i just started keeping many on hand. Not only is it cheaper, but you have more flexibility. Mabe tom. i get a bug to brew. I can walk out to my brew room and just make something up, or do something i have a recipe on.
I keep arount 10-12 on hand. Its everything i need for the 4 brews i prefer to do (brown, ipa, stout, and rye) and with that broad of a selection, it lets me make up a lot of diff. styles as well.
I usually will buy 4-5 lbs and when i run out of that kind, and go till i run out again.
I keep an open bag of 2-row in a bin, and an un opened bqg under the bin. When i open that bag, i will usually take stock of what specilty grains im out of and go re stock

Onkel_Udo said:

Edit: My Oatmeal stout is a great example...I was low on base malt but still wanted to make 9 gallons of something and LHBS was closed. Grab a 48 oz drum of quick oats to flesh it out without stealing the Munich I planned to use the next weekend for my Redneck Pale Ale since Munich is a 5 day lead time for full sack.

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I did something of the same... Shortly after I started buying grains instead of kits I ended up with and assortment of shorts. I worked up a recipe for a brown ale. Brown Eyed Girl. It turned out awesome. I later changed it up a bit. I did not like it as much as the first so I went closer to the original for the third go round. I need to work it into the schedule again!

I usually have on hand in varying quantities:

• Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter
• Thomas Fawcett Pale Chocolate
• Crisp 45L Crystal
• Crisp 77L Crystal
• Crisp Brown Malt
• Crisp Amber Malt
• Dingemans Munich
• Dingemans Biscuit
• Dingemans Special B
• Dingemans Cara 45
• Dingemans Aromatic
• Muntons 150L Crystal
• Muntons Roasted Barley
• Muntons Chocolate
• Muntons Black Malt
• Muntons Mild Malt
• Flaked Oats
• Flaked Wheat
• Flaked Barley
• Briess C40
• Briess C60
• Briess C120
• Briess Victory
• Briess Special Roast
• Briess Carapils
• Weyermann Caramunich II
• Weyermann Bohemian Pils
• Avangard Light Wheat
• Avangard Vienna

I buy Pale Ale Malt and Pils Malt by the sack.
I split a sack of Light Munich Malt 2 ways
I split a sack of Vienna and Dark Munich 3 ways.

Everything else I buy buy the pound or less as I need it.

Qhrumphf said:

I usually have on hand in varying quantities:

• Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter
• Thomas Fawcett Pale Chocolate
• Crisp 45L Crystal
• Crisp 77L Crystal
• Crisp Brown Malt
• Crisp Amber Malt
• Dingemans Munich
• Dingemans Biscuit
• Dingemans Special B
• Dingemans Cara 45
• Dingemans Aromatic
• Muntons 150L Crystal
• Muntons Roasted Barley
• Muntons Chocolate
• Muntons Black Malt
• Muntons Mild Malt
• Flaked Oats
• Flaked Wheat
• Flaked Barley
• Briess C40
• Briess C60
• Briess C120
• Briess Victory
• Briess Special Roast
• Briess Carapils
• Weyermann Caramunich II
• Weyermann Bohemian Pils
• Avangard Light Wheat
• Avangard Vienna

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Holy cow, and I thought my ingredient shelf (singular, not "shelves) was cluttered with:
Special B
Honey Malt
English Medium crystal
Midnight Wheat Malt
Pale Chocolate
Munich 10L
Red Wheat
Rye
Pale Ale Malt
Pilsner

I typically keep the important base malts around all the time (pale, german pils, vienna, munich) and buy the really small quantity things from the LHBS a little in advance.

Also keep everything in a spreadsheet so i know what i have at all times.

Malt Type Qty (lb) Purchase Date
Best Pilsner 30 11/14/2015
Cargill Special Pale 31 8/15/2015
Weyermann Pilsner 3.1 8/15/2015
Weyermann Munich II (9L) 4.75 8/15/2015
Weyermann Munich II (9L) 13.75 11/14/2015
Weyermann CaraMunich II (45L) 3.5 8/15/2015
Weyerman Vienna 13.75 9/5/2015
Special B (115L) 1 8/15/2015
Acid Malt 0.2 ?
C10 1? ?


Hop Type Qty AA Purchase Date
Saaz 7 (3x2,1x1) 3.6 12/26/2012
Belma 8oz(4x2) 11.3 11/24/2012
Cluster 1oz 8.1 2/24/2015
Hallertau Mittelfruh GR 3oz 3.5 11/14/2015
Magnum GR 1.5oz 10.5 9/5/2015
Citra (CY2015) 32oz 14.1 10/23/2015
Simcoe (CY2015) 16oz 13.3 10/23/2015
Tettnang GR 2oz 4.9 11/14/2015

I do partial extract brewing so I usually keep in stock:
Golden Light DME - 18+lb
Pilsner DME - 6+ lb
Wheat DME - 9+ lb

10L Caramel -4 lb
40L Caramel - 4 lb
Honey - 2 lb
Marris Otter - 6 lb
Vienna - 4 lb
Munich - 4 lb

These cover 80%+ of my typical grain bill and I buy the other specialities as needed.

I don't keep too much in stock due to having limited space in my house to store it all. I'm lucky enough though to have a supply store about 10 minutes driving from my house along with a few other LHBS locations within a 20-minute train ride.

I did just stock up for the holidays since most places will be closed or have heavily reduced hours. I've now got:
3kg Pilsner
3kg Pale Wheat
3kg Munich
2kg Vienna
1kg Melanoiden
300g Carapils (left over from previous brews)
2 packs of Mangrove Jack Bavarian Wheat Yeast
2 Packs S189 Lager Yeast
Various Hops

I keep a recipe or two in buckets w/ gamma lids.
My LHBS is only 6 miles away & rarely doesn't have what I need in stock. Great prices & unsurpassed grain mill if I need it, too!