DC Area Group Grain Buy #25

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Hey Mike,
Sorry about your shop closing, and welcome to our little gig.

You may want to edit your previous post and remove that email. ;)
Thanks! FWIW, I was doing a bit of the Group Grain Buy before I started working in the shop. So it's more a welcome back to our little gig. :)

Can't seem to edit that previous post with my email - maybe there's a time frame after which it can't be edited.
 
What's the difference between melanodin and aromatic? I was thinking of getting a refill on melanodin but then I thought about it and realized I've never used aromatic at all.
As far as I know, they're pretty much the same thing. The only difference is Weyermann calls their version "Melanoidin," Briess and Dingeman call their versions "Aromatic."

Both are kilned to add more "maltiness" to the grain.

I've also heard that Melanoidin is a more "malty" Munich, and Aromatic is a more "malty" Vienna. Which kind of raises the question "what's the difference between Munich and Vienna?" The answer to which is, of course, about 400 kilometers. :)
 
I assume some of us are looking at brewing and vacation schedules. I'd like to get an order in soon and, as previously discussed, figure out a regular schedule going forward. Lots of open splits and unsure many of them will close, but I'll put the call out now to review and close if you want something. If they don't close this time then add them to the next buy, the Summer order will hopefully be large.
 
Was looking at possibly ordering this time around. Is there an estimate on the pickup? The site says 3/21 but was wondering if that is accurate. I am out of town a lot later this spring and do not want to order if I will not be around to pickup.

Also -- does anyone know the maltster on this?

1889C MALTED OATS 55 LB
 
Realistically, I'm shooting for some time in April if a weekend works for most brewers. We could try to squeeze in an order this month but it might prove difficult and splits are unlikely to close. May will be tough for me but I can organize the order and get everything ready for pickup if the order drags out (not that I want it to).
 
Realistically, I'm shooting for some time in April if a weekend works for most brewers. We could try to squeeze in an order this month but it might prove difficult and splits are unlikely to close. May will be tough for me but I can organize the order and get everything ready for pickup if the order drags out (not that I want it to).
April sounds good to me.
 
Unfortunately I think so, hopefully everyone is staying safe and have enough stock to brew a few batches
 
Losing my mind, but otherwise doing fine :D

Reached out to Harmony but didn't get a response, hope she's okay. 3 Stars are doing curb-side pickup and I thought maybe we could do some sort of socially responsible, social-distancing grain buy (sans splits and interaction with our fellow brewers). Will let everyone know if there are any updates, if you're in the area please consider supporting them by picking up a few packs.
 
I'm waiting for things to get less crazy, and my 20 gallon(brute hdpe) trash can is full of sake right now. But I'm looking forward to making my yearly lambic brew. So will need more grains some time in the next few months.
 
I've been working part time at Maryland Homebrew during the shutdown doing curbside delivery. We've been swamped and the manager is leaving. Full time and part time positions available. Email chrisanderson at mdhb dot com if you're interested.
 
Hi everyone, I have lived just a couple miles from 3 Star for about five years and had no idea any of this was going on. The highs and lows of learning about the brew shop and it’s subsequent closure within the window of a day is a bit of a heart attack. Anyhow, I’m definitely following/interested in this and any other local homebrew happenings I might be missing out on. When my kids were born I became a picobrewer out of necessity. Now that picobrew is all but dead and my kids are starting to grow up a bit, I intend to get back to more hands on brewing. Hope to see you guys around.
 
I reached out to 3 Stars before things went spiraling further down the crapper but haven't heard back. Hope everything is okay but DC locals may have more info than me out here in the boonies. I asked about whole-sack curb-side pickup since that would be the only safe option IMO. If anyone close to the brewery has news I'd love to hear how they're doing.

I'm also living the hermit life these days and have, unfortunately, only thought of the group buy when I see my grain bins getting emptier. If anyone would like to pick up the ordering mantle please let me or Peter know. I've had too many respiratory issues (the last one picked up in Munich) to venture far from home during this pandemic but understand we all want to brew.

Hope everyone is staying safe and sane, hope to see you all on the other side.
Sláinte
 
Heard back from 3 Stars and happy to report that everyone is safe and healthy. I'm open to discussing ideas on restarting the group buy if we have interest. The website is still active (thank you Peter!) but obviously splits complicate matters related to pickup. Thoughts, opinions, complaints?
 
Big picture/noob question -- what quantities of grain are we talking about to make this worth while? We talking 10 lbs or more like 55? Also, safe to assume this only makes sense if you have your own grain mill?
 
Forgot to say welcome aboard RampantOctopus! Good questions, unsure I can provide clear answers during these unprecedented times but will try (as an aside, I welcome a return of precedence and not hearing the word "unprecedented" for a very long time).

Past orders have ranged from 10-15 sacks total to a couple of pallets. You can order a small quantity of grain, such as 5# or 10#, as part of a split which is tracked through our ordering site. For example, few need a 55# sack of Blackprinz but you can start a split for 10#. If other people pick up the remaining 45# then we add it to the order, split it up onsite, and distribute. Since this involves opening bags, weighing, and repackaging there's a lot of hands-on and we would need to clear this with the team at 3 Stars. Ordering whole sacks and doing curb-side pickup might be possible, although I need to get approval from the brewery, but unsure how everyone in the group feels about that limitation. If you only need base malts then it would likely be acceptable but if you mostly get 5-10# splits then it might be best to support your LHBS.

I'll need base malt soon myself and the price at my LHBS are, unfortunately, double what we get from 3 Stars.
 
Check in occasionally or watch the thread, we may be able to swing an order at some point and pricing is attractive for larger quantities.
 
I am going to need 3 or so sacks of base malt within the next couple months, so I am open to participating without splits if we can get one going for the fall.
 
I only have enough base malt to last me about 3 months.

I wonder if we should consider full sacks only this buy, if it happens at all.
 
I’m going to need some base malt in the fall also, I’ve always had luck getting my grain cheap but with what’s going on this might need to be the way to get it. I also think it should be full sacks at this time.
 
Reached out to 3 Stars and will see if they're comfortable with resuming. I still believe whole-sack is the only reasonable option, for the time being, since on-site splits are too risky for brewers and staff. Health and safety are paramount, I can't drink beer when I'm dead. 👻
 
Can I get a headcount on brewers interested in whole sack orders and a rough number of sacks you would order? Discussing options with 3 Stars and we had eleven full sacks on the pre-pandemic order but no idea what brewers need now. Feel free to PM me if that's your preference, nothing firm yet but getting a count would be helpful.

Related, 3 Stars is no longer an LD Carlson customer (after closing the LHBS) so there will be fewer products available. Waiting on an updated product and price list which obviously may affect your participation.

:mug:
 
Can I get a headcount on brewers interested in whole sack orders
I'm still set from the last buy, so no order from me this time.

I still believe whole-sack is the only reasonable option,
Absolutely!

Now brewers can still split sacks among themselves, off the premises.
Just be safe!
 
I would be in for at least 3 whole sacks, depending on what the grain availability is moving forward.
 
Back
Top