Buying in bulk for IPA recipes

[RipeforYelp22]

Hey guys, I have a couple questions. My first batch is currently about 10 days away from bottling. Though I haven't tasted it, I know that IPAs are my true passion and will be spending the next 10 batches on perfecting the ultimate IPA recipe.

My LHBS has all the ingredients I'll need for a while, but was wondering if it is cheaper/safe to buy in bulk online. Does anyone know of a safe website, or have any ingredient suggestions? I came across the IPA hop thread which is awesome. I'll certainly be using a lot of suggestions from it.

For my first batch I followed a recipe provided by the shop, which called for 6.6lbs of light DME (not sure on the brand). Should I use anything different? Is there a benefit to using DME vs. liquid/syrup ME?

Thanks for your help!

 

[benbradford]

the best price i have found online are as follows.

brewmasterswarehouse for most anything... use the brew builder and use code bbbyo for a 10% discount. shipping is cheap. prices are better than lhbs

for hops ( which it sounds like you will be using a bunch for ipas) use hopsdirect.com

finally, recognize that most of your beers can be made with nottingham dry yeasts or safale american ale yeasts

if you prefer to use wyeast or white labs, start washing your yeasts and reusing them. I bought mason jars to do this, and love them.

 

[djfriesen]

As I understand it, DME doesn't caramelize during the boil as much as LME. So depending on the color you want, you'll have to decide what amount of Dry vs. Liquid ME you want. For an IPA, I would expect to use mostly DME.

 

[RipeforYelp22]

Awesome, thank you both! I'll probably play around with a few types of LME and DME from my LHBS before I buy in bulk, but that website looks great! Thanks again.

 

[megalomani]

Let me add Freshhops.com as a great way to buy bulk hops. They still have simcoe and amarillo in stock which if your making IPAs you may want to get at least a little of each of those.

They aren't exactly cheap (simcoe currently 2.30/oz), if you want to buy bulk hops would suggest waiting until next fall so you get them fresh and don't have to break the bank to get what you want.

You will also need a way to portion and store your bulk purchase. I bought a little over 2 pounds of hops in November. It took a few hours, a scale that weighs in grams, a vacuum sealer, 32 vacuum bags and some freezer space that SWMBO wont miss, to get it all packaged in 1oz portions and prevent spoilage.

Depending what your LHBS charges for hops you may be better off just buying from them or online as you need them.

 

[phenry]

I get most of my hops from hopsdirect.com. I've started trying some of their lesser known hop varieties, such as Bravo and Calypso, mainly because they're so darn cheap. And the craft breweries aren't exactly gobbling them up, so I won't have to start a "Where can I find x hop???" thread (cough, Simcoe, cough).