California Any California brewers ordering from SoCal Brewing Supply?

[BongoYodeler]

Since MoreBeer has moved out of California, and my only LHBS in the area lately being very slow at restocking supplies, I've been looking for somewhere to get my brewing ingredients and other supplies. Williams Brewing is an option, but purchases seem to take up to 4 days for me when ordering online from them, and I want a quicker turnaround, especially when I order liquid yeast. So I saw SoCal Brewing Supplies, down near Carlsbad has an online presence and decent prices. As a test I ordered some grains from them yesterday at 10am. Late yesterday I received an email saying they've shipped. Checked this morning to find out they are already out for delivery even though their website said to expect a two day delivery. They are about 260 miles to my south, Williams is about the same distance to my north.

Prices? Here's what I ordered...
10# Weyermann Barke Pilsner $22.49 (Williams - $25.99)
4# Rahr 2-Row $8.96 (Williams - $10.76)

Shipping: SoCal Brewing - $8.96 (Williams - $8.99)
*Williams has free shipping on orders over $99.99. SoCal does not.

I'm glad I checked into SoCal Brewing and I think I'll continue to order from them if and until I have a reason not to.

**I am not affiliated with SoCal Brewing.**

 

[DonT]

I ordered from them a couple of times and got my stuff in just a few days, rivaling what MB used to do. I'm in the bay area... Also, they were unclear what I wanted for the grains (milled v. unmilled, bagged separate or not), so they emailed me on a Sunday to clarify, and I got my grains that Tues or Wed...
I will def use them again...

 

[simbabrew]

Being in Northern CA, I don't see the pricing from SoCal brewing making any sense to me

20 lbs. Weyermann Barke Pilsner $44.98
Shipping to my Bay area zip: $20.28

Williams and MoreBeer have $8.99 shipping on orders of this size, and Williams orders I usually get the next day. I do like the fact they have ounce pricing, but I usually buy 20+ lbs of grain per order plus other stuff.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Being in Northern CA, I don't see the pricing from SoCal brewing making any sense to me

20 lbs. Weyermann Barke Pilsner $44.98
Shipping to my Bay area zip: $20.28

Williams and MoreBeer have $8.99 shipping on orders of this size, and Williams orders I usually get the next day. I do like the fact they have ounce pricing, but I usually buy 20+ lbs of grain per order plus other stuff.

Yeah, shipping larger/heavier quantities seems to be the only caveat. Guessing they don't do enough business to get the better rates with the shipping companies. My main reason for checking them out is for quicker turnaround on specific items, liquid yeast in particular. My LHBS is getting out of the liquid yeast market so I have no choice but to mail order. I wasn't satisfied with the shipping times I was seeing with Williams Brewing.

*There does seem to be some confusion on their website re: shipping. At the checkout page click on the question mark next to "shipping." That opens a link that states purchases up to $149 ship for $7.99 and anything above $149 ships free. That may be old data since my order shipped for $8.96. Might be worth a call to them.

 

[Knightshade]

I'll admit that I haven't ordered from Williams in probably over a year, but there was a period of time when I was ordering from them a lot with and without the free shipping and they were always super speedy. I haven't tried SoCal yet, but looks like I might give them a go.

 

[sittingturbo]

Hi everyone, Travis here from SoCal Brewing Supply. First off, a huge thank you to those of you who’ve tried us out and shared kind words — it truly means a lot. We started SoCal Brewing Supply out of our own frustrations with inconsistent service and limited selections at other shops, and we’ve been committed since day one to giving homebrewers a better experience.

I wanted to quickly clarify a couple of things that came up in this thread:

Shipping:

We offer $8.99 flat rate shipping on most orders under 20 lbs, and we actually eat the extra shipping cost on those to stay competitive with the giants. For orders over 20 lbs or on large/bulky items, we charge actual shipping rates — and believe us, the cost jump for heavier boxes is significant. As carriers like UPS and USPS offer us rate cuts, we’ll absolutely pass those savings on to you. For the best value, we recommend ordering just what you need for your next brew day to keep shipping costs reasonable.

We also pride ourselves on same-day shipping. If your order makes it in before our carrier pickups, we’ll get it out that day. USPS usually picks up between 10:00 AM and noon, and UPS is typically 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM — though times can vary a bit depending on the driver.

Grain Orders:

We currently stock around 180 different grains, including offerings from craft maltsters like Admiral Maltings. All of our grain is sold by the ounce, so you can buy exactly what your recipe calls for — no rounding up to pounds required.

When adding grain to your cart, we encourage you to select the recipe number you’d like it added to (you can build up to three recipes per order). This lets us combine all grains for a recipe into a single milled and bagged batch — which we mill for free on our professional-grade Spike grain mill.

We do have a small surcharge (an extra $0.01 per ounce) for customers who choose the “keep my grains separate” option. This isn’t to penalize anyone — it’s just to help offset the cost of additional grain bags and labor. We also clear the mill between each grain, which adds time and effort. In many cases, the bag cost alone exceeds the price of the grain when people are ordering 1–6 oz quantities of a dozen varieties, all milled and bagged separately. You can avoid the surcharge by assigning each grain to its own recipe (e.g. grain 1 = recipe 1, grain 2 = recipe 2), and we’ll still bag them separately — without the extra charge.

Hops & Yeast:

We carry over 130 types of hops, all sold by the ounce, and a huge selection of fresh liquid and dry yeasts from top labs. We take ingredient quality and freshness seriously — storing hops in refrigerated, oxygen-barrier packaging and monitoring all our fridges 24/7.

Again, thank you to those who have supported us — and if you haven’t tried us yet, we’d love the opportunity to earn your trust on your next brew day. We’re always happy to answer questions or take feedback, and we’re continually improving based on what homebrewers like you need.

Cheers,
Travis @ SoCal Brewing Supply
https://socalbrewingsupply.com