Going bulk grain - need some advice

[DBhomebrew]

https://www.homebrewfinds.com/2022/01/35-off-grain-at-label-peelers.html
H/t homebrewfinds

 

[Spivey24]

I use MO for most of my IPAs, or sometimes a decent pale ale malt if that is what I have. It’s personal preference but I think the MO gives a little more depth to my clear IPAs. I also like a pound or 2 of Vienna for color. I don’t like malty IPAs, but I also don’t care for hop water, so MO gives a happy medium. It’s not just for English beers. JMO.

 

[Chuckbergman]

Agree with what most posters have said. I have almost completely switched to MO for my base malt. I usually buy a bag of MO and a bag of Munich. Due to price, this last purchase I went with a bag of Superior Pale Malt and a bag of Vienna. So far I like those, but prefer MO.

 

[RyPA]

Definitely going with buckets, as this will be the cheapest approach. The white food safe buckets are $9 and sealable screw lid is $9, so it's $18 per container. Wondering if I can get by with 2 - one filled to the brim with base, and the rest in the other, with my specialty grain in bags sitting on top of the base. Or 2 x 5 gallon for base, and get a smaller bucket for specialty grains.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

If you can wait I'll be measuring out 30lbs of 2row to crush for this weekends brew I'm doing... I can get you a pretty precise idea of 20lb 25lb and 30lb increments

 

[RyPA]

If you can, that'd be great, I am not making my purchase for a few weeks. Thanks

 

[PCABrewing]

Wondering if I can get by with 2 - one filled to the brim with base, and the rest in the other, with my specialty grain in bags sitting on top of the base. Or 2 x 5 gallon for base, and get a smaller bucket for specialty grains.

Depending on the grain, you'll get ~25# per 5 gal. pail. Finer kernels my allow more density.
If you use one for a variety of specialty grains in separate bags your total in that pail will be slightly less.
I have ten pails with Gamma lids. Three are dedicated to specialty malts, one for overflow of any given sack and the other six are base malts that I buy in sacks. Base malts I store loose in their pail and that maximizes the use of capacity.
Finally a 11th pail is labeled as a crush bucket and it holds ~18# of crushed grain. I use this one only when preparing to brew, so the night before (brewers eve ). That one just has a snap-on lid since it isn't intended for storage.
A real nice feature of the pails is stack-ability. I have them 4-high and that saves space, you could go higher.

Maybe you can split a sack of base malt with another local brewer and you can each have ~25# of base malt in inventory.
Then 2 pails is a reasonable choice as you elaborated.
I'd be inclined to buy all the same size pail.

But whatever you choose if it's right for you don't let anyone tell you that you are wrong.

 

[odie]

A visit to your neighborhood swimming pool might net you some nice large buckets that will hold a full sack

 

[RyPA]

At $9 bucks a bucket I'm not going to go through the trouble. I kind of like the idea of having fresh new food safe buckets that are all identical, that's just me me. thanks for the recommendation though

 

[TROY L REIMERS]

What are good places to but bulk grains online? The shipping makes it nearly impossible to get a reasonable deal.

 

[RyPA]

My initial plan was MoreBeer, not realizing that a 50-55 lb sack does not fall into their free shipping bucket when you spend X or more. You can save a few bucks by purchasing 5 x 10 lb bags with free shipping as this will be cheaper than buying a 50-55 sack + freight shipping.

I am going to go to a LHBS for my bulk grains, either Love2Brew or BrewHardware, as these are both around an hour away. Unfortunately, these are my closest LHBS, so I order online when possible. I figured to stock up on grain, the drive is worth it, and I like looking around in HBS's.

 

[PCABrewing]

Northern Brewer still offered free shipping on full sacks as long as the total order was over $49.
Not sure if that continues to be true but it was as recent as last month.

I would definitely ask your closest LHBS if they will sell at bulk pricing. You may have to put a deposit down but good to support local vendors when you can.

 

[RyPA]

Northern Brewer shipping is "free", but they get you by charging ~$25 more for a sack than a LHBS.

 

[AlexKay]

Northern Brewer shipping is "free", but they get you by charging ~$25 more for a sack than a LHBS.

Right. Many of their malts end up costing the same whether you get a large bag or order per pound. There are some sort-of bargains, though -- Warminster Floor Malted MO, for example, is $2.49 per pound, but $1.82 if you get a whole sack. (Of course, you can get it for $1.99 in pound quantities from Midwest Supplies.)

 

[RyPA]

Since I don't know what I want to stock up on, I think I'm just going to buy a 50-55lb sack of 2-row. When I am ready to do a batch, I'll place an order for specialty grains/adjuncts, hops, and yeast. I think this makes sense as buying a 50-55lb sack returns the most savings, while buying other grains at 10 lb clips doesn't really save you much. And when ordering other grains in smaller quantities, it'll reduce the shipping cost since it'll be a smaller/lighter order, from retailers that do not have free shipping, like farmhouse.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

To add to the bucket thread: get some self-adhesive label holders. They are a clear sleeve that you can put an index card into. Smaller sizes are out there too. Amazon has them as well as any office supply store. I have them on all of my grain storage buckets. When I fill the buckets, I write down the grain type, purchase date, price and where I got the grain from. As stated already by others, I too keep my base grains in the buckets and any smaller sized bagged grains (specialty grains) that you don't use go into a couple separate buckets. The outside label will note what's inside. Make sure the smaller bagged grains are labeled too. I had about twenty pounds of "mystery" grain, an unlabeled bag. It got used in small amounts in one off brews.

 

[IslandLizard]

To add to the bucket thread: get some self-adhesive label holders. They are a clear sleeve that you can put an index card into.

A strip or 2 of blue, orange, or green 1" painters tape and a sharpie will accomplish about the same.

+1 on good labeling though, so you know what you've got in the bucket or bag.

 

[AlexKay]

Make sure the smaller bagged grains are labeled too. I had about twenty pounds of "mystery" grain, an unlabeled bag. It got used in small amounts in one off brews.

Plus-plus. I dumped a few pounds of grain once because I couldn't figure out if it was Carafa III or Carafa III Special. Grain is cheap; brewing time is precious.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Plus-plus. I dumped a few pounds of grain once because I couldn't figure out if it was Carafa III or Carafa III Special. Grain is cheap; brewing time is precious.

Since it was a large amount, I guessed it was a base grain of some sort. It got used with no bad results. Everything gets labeled now.

 

[odie]

I put masking tape on my buckets and write the contents.

I also cut the labels off the bags and place them inside the buckets.

Also, check with your local brewpub/micro brewery/tap room. One of my local ones sells base grains by the pound very competitively...no discount for a whole sack but that's all I buy anyway...still a good deal and I'll have a beer or two while they load it.

 

[Spivey24]

Plus-plus. I dumped a few pounds of grain once because I couldn't figure out if it was Carafa III or Carafa III Special. Grain is cheap; brewing time is precious.

And label the buckets not the lids! I used to label the lids then one day had several open and got the lids all mixed up. Pretty sure I figured it out by taste and smell but still.

 

[E606]

Ezy Storage
75L/79.3Qt Waterproof Clear Latch Tote IP-67


I have a few of these, from Home Dept. I would not say that they are super rugged, but they seems to seal very well and are IP67 rated. Waterproof to a degree. So, just under 20 gallons capacity. (4 - 5 gallon buckets)

This Ezy Storage 79.3 Qt Clear Waterproof Tote is the perfect plastic storage product to protect your storage belongings. The high quality design creates an airtight/watertight seal using a silicone seal around the lid perimeter and offers wide-grip pressure clasps that keep the lid sealed shut to keep everything out. This product is IP-67 rated to be fully submergible underwater up to 1 meter deep without any leaking. Great for safe keeping of your personal belongings. This product has a clear transparent look that allows you to easily view your contents inside and also offers an etched design around the corners and across the lid for better overall appeal. These totes offer a modular design which makes them great for stacking on top of one other. BPA Free and UV Resistant.

 

[marc1]

Ezy Storage
75L/79.3Qt Waterproof Clear Latch Tote IP-67


I have a few of these, from Home Dept. I would not say that they are super rugged, but they seems to seal very well and are IP67 rated. Waterproof to a degree. So, just under 20 gallons capacity. (4 - 5 gallon buckets)

This Ezy Storage 79.3 Qt Clear Waterproof Tote is the perfect plastic storage product to protect your storage belongings. The high quality design creates an airtight/watertight seal using a silicone seal around the lid perimeter and offers wide-grip pressure clasps that keep the lid sealed shut to keep everything out. This product is IP-67 rated to be fully submergible underwater up to 1 meter deep without any leaking. Great for safe keeping of your personal belongings. This product has a clear transparent look that allows you to easily view your contents inside and also offers an etched design around the corners and across the lid for better overall appeal. These totes offer a modular design which makes them great for stacking on top of one other. BPA Free and UV Resistant.

It doesn't specify food grade plastic, so if using those, put your grain in the giant Ziploc bags. All the Ziplocs are food grade. It will also help give them an extra layer of sealing for freshness.

 

[RyPA]

@E606 thanks, those look nice. If I had the space I'd probably get those. Stacked buckets will help from a real estate perspective, though, and the buckets are food safe

 

[Bassman2003]

I am having a problem justifying sacks of malt with the pricing I am seeing. $70+ seems to be very standard pricing these days which just is not worth the risk of contamination or going stale etc... and buying containers. The per pound price is not very far away and the better option for me.

 

[RyPA]

Online yes, but you can score a 55 lb bag of 2 row for around $50 at a LHBS.. MO is closer to that price range

 

[Carolina_Matt]

It really depends. By me, a 50 pound sack of Briess is about $60 (plus 7.25% tax) and local grains are about $65.

On the other hand, I just got an email from Morebeer about 15% off kits and grains. I went to the site and was surprised to see that Rahr North Star Pils had free shipping on 55-lb sacks. I bought a sack for $54.39 shipped with code 'morebeer'.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/north-star-pils-rahr-malting.html?variant=GS313

 

[RyPA]

Oh wow, when I priced them out the other day they were tacking on a pretty high shipping charge. Going to take another look, maybe it varies based on the type of grain

 

[RyPA]

I'm thinking it's a mistake in their end, every other sack does not qualify for free shipping

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

To add to the bucket thread: get some self-adhesive label holders. They are a clear sleeve that you can put an index card into. Smaller sizes are out there too. Amazon has them as well as any office supply store. I have them on all of my grain storage buckets. When I fill the buckets, I write down the grain type, purchase date, price and where I got the grain from. As stated already by others, I too keep my base grains in the buckets and any smaller sized bagged grains (specialty grains) that you don't use go into a couple separate buckets. The outside label will note what's inside. Make sure the smaller bagged grains are labeled too. I had about twenty pounds of "mystery" grain, an unlabeled bag. It got used in small amounts in one off brews.

Too fancy for using a sharpie on the lid?