Hello,
I visited my LHB today and they were selling 1 KG of pale malt extract (DME) for $7.00, and about the same for DME that was only 500 grams.
What's the deal? I'm better off just buying a beer kit eh?
Briess, Muntons DME etc. is usually sold in 1# (~$5) and 3# (~$13) bags. In Canada those may be rounded to the nearest 1/2 kg.
That 1 kg of DME may have come from their own bulk stock or some (other) generic company, maybe not. There's probably no brand label on it, just the LHBS sticker. $7 for 1 kg sound like a decent price, as long as it is good and fresh.
When you look at most beer kits, the prices are usually in typical retail increments, like $35.99, $39.98 etc. rarely do you find $31.15, so there is some price shuffling and marketing going on. Many LHBS package their own kits from their bulk stock.
If you look at the kits' ingredients, and piece them together yourself you may save a few bucks. Buying larger quantities (50# sack of extra light DME in a bulk buy, hops by the pound etc.) will definitely end up saving more per batch. Plus you can customize the recipes to your setup and taste, and definitely brew recipes from HBT and other resources that are not available in kits.
The flip side is you may end up with some leftovers at some point, like 1.75oz of Cascade, .35# of Crystal 40 etc. I'm sure you can find a use for them in the next brew.