Group Buy in Chicago #5

[ylpaul2000]

My brew club also does a pumpkin beer every year (pumpkin porter). How ever we mash the purée pumpkin and it has always been one of the best beer we make. We just allow a lot of time for sparging because the pumpkin kind of stops everything up, even with rice hulls.

 

[starman]

What wagz said. By the way, has anyone had any success writing a database or program for the group buy? Just curious. Thanks

I'm back in the city so I've got plenty of Metra time to help beta something. Hopefully it's soon, I'm out of 2 row domestic.

Also, Neopol and I were discussing the possibility last pick up of a hop contract for 2013. The main advantage of this would be in order to secure some of the proprietary hops (Citra, Simcoe, Soriachi etc etc) in quantity at a competitive price. The minimum total contract is 88 lbs. Varieties can be mixed and matched in the 11lb or 44 lb boxes. In order to keep this from being a total zoo, people would have to go in for at least 4lbs for the year. As I understand it, we'd have to pay up front.

The deliveries could be spread out over the course of the year.

As of the last catalog everything but Amarillo was available for 2013. Thoughts/Interest?

 

[ghoti]

I can write a web application that will write to a Google document for tracking in lieu of a database. Might make it easier to track and report on.

 

[bmason1623]

I can write a web application that will write to a Google document for tracking in lieu of a database. Might make it easier to track and report on.

We would be interested in seeing in what you can come up with. Thanks

 

[RC0032]

I'm back in the city so I've got plenty of Metra time to help beta something. Hopefully it's soon, I'm out of 2 row domestic.

Also, Neopol and I were discussing the possibility last pick up of a hop contract for 2013. The main advantage of this would be in order to secure some of the proprietary hops (Citra, Simcoe, Soriachi etc etc) in quantity at a competitive price. The minimum total contract is 88 lbs. Varieties can be mixed and matched in the 11lb or 44 lb boxes. In order to keep this from being a total zoo, people would have to go in for at least 4lbs for the year. As I understand it, we'd have to pay up front.

The deliveries could be spread out over the course of the year.

As of the last catalog everything but Amarillo was available for 2013. Thoughts/Interest?

Im curios but need to know hop type and cost.

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

I would be interested depending on type, but last I saw Citra, Simcoe, and Amarillo were sold out for 2013. I would probably be interested in Centennial, Sorachi Ace, and Galaxy. I'm quickly running out of malt right now so nerdy/computer literate people get on making this ordering application to make Bills life easier. Does anybody have an idea of what the containers for the 2,200# quantities of malt are like and where I could find used merlot barrels to age sours? I have big plans...

 

[bmason1623]

I would be interested depending on type, but last I saw Citra, Simcoe, and Amarillo were sold out for 2013. I would probably be interested in Centennial, Sorachi Ace, and Galaxy. I'm quickly running out of malt right now so nerdy/computer literate people get on making this ordering application to make Bills life easier. Does anybody have an idea of what the containers for the 2,200# quantities of malt are like and where I could find used merlot barrels to age sours? I have big plans...

How would you pick up a ton of malt?

 

[starman]

How would you pick up a ton of malt?

With 108 homer buckets! I think its like a big rip stop bag on a skid. You see masons bring mix on site in something similar.

Dang, no Simcoe??? I guess I was looking at Bills googlized catalog. Can someone send me the password, I was overzealous in cleaning out the PMs.

 

[starman]

Never mind! Great not good...

 

[wegz15]

I might be interested I the hop contract. I've been thinking about this for a while

 

[allthingsgiant]

Again, this doesn't need to be a complex server / website creation deal. Survey Monkey. Simply go here http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S8C3ZTG and place your order. It gets no easier.

 

[starman]

Again, this doesn't need to be a complex server / website creation deal. Survey Monkey. Simply go here http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S8C3ZTG and place your order. It gets no easier.

I think the advantage of going to a database is the opportunity to format and streamline the data entry to reduce fatigue on Bill. Right now everyone sends Bill a PM and he has to compile it into one order. In a HBT PM I might type "3 bags of CMC-2 row" or "CMC-2row x 3" and he's got to add it line by line into the spreadsheet.

At the end he has to add it all up and send it off to get a quote and hope nothing gets transposed in the process. With some minor data base formatting people would just select off of combo boxes and enter the quantity.

Looking at the templates I don't see how Survey Monkey could compile a bulk order for the distributor and then split it back up for individual price totals once the quote is received. How would you format and automate the individual order process? The open text box in your example is pretty much the same as a HBT PM. I suppose you could add a survey question for every item in the catalog.

How many bags of CMC-2row do you want?
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, RANDAR (half a skid), TheBreweryUnderground (All of it in one big bag)

But how would we extract individual order totals from something like that?

 

[allthingsgiant]

I didn't realize you were going for full automation. But to K.I.S.(S.) and to your point, you could build grain options into the survey based on what options are available (I'm sure at least 50% of the order is 2-row). There will probably always be some manual process to this considering Bill doesn't have a POS system or a credit card machine. Or does he?!

I'd think a "Hey guys, survey is open until day X" group buy would compile all of the information in one spot for Bill to then send out invoices and place the order. Or even better, leave the survey open, and as the tallying weight demands an order, it can get placed. And all that being said, I have no problem swinging Bill a few extra bucks as a[n] [in]convenience charge.

 

[bmason1623]

I actually think it's better to add the order on the spreadsheet as people send them to me as opposed to having to enter a giant order on the sheet at once. The ideal way, as starman mentioned, is for people to enter their own orders (and not have access to modify anyone else's orders) then the order details get dumped onto a sheet that I could send to the distributor for a RFQ. This transferring (or is it transposing) of the order entries into a separate sheet with cumulative totals for each grain that is dynamically updated as people enter their orders would be most beneficial and greatly eliminate errors like the one on Randar's order. I know it can be done but I don't have the skill set to do it...hell, I can barely read and write as it is!

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

How would you pick up a ton of malt?

Thats a good question, I can borrow a box truck. The main problem is how to unload it. Ill be storing it in a garage and Ill need to find a way to keep it rat proof, which I think is more of an issue. I could use the 55 gallon plastic barrels, but Im afraid those will get chewed through. Would non stainless steel work well for bulk grain without rusting and giving my beer and people who drink it tetanus?

 

[allthingsgiant]

I know it can be done but I don't have the skill set to do it...hell, I can barely read and write as it is!

Exactly my point. If we don't have a volunteer to build aforementioned ordering site, stick with a simpler, more readily available solution. Let's not get wrapped up in how we are going to complete the task, let's just complete the task.

(My secret is out, I really just need a couple bags of grain because I was on vacation during the last group buy )

 

[starman]

Killjoy. I'm having fun with OpenOffice's database program "Base" - making tables, records, and forms like a fool. It might be covoluticated (favorite new fake word) but so is brewing beer at home. I don't expect this to be even slightly usable.

To heighten the level of complexity I'm listening to the Pink Floyd show from 1969 at Amougies, Belgium where Zappa sits in for part of a set.

 

[bmason1623]

I've been known to listen to Zappa while brewing. His live rendition of "******* and Beer"immediately comes to mind...

 

[bmason1623]

Just milled 30# (just over half a sack) of Pilsen malt for an 11 gallon batch of a Belgian Dark Strong that I'm brewing tomorrow. At this rate I'll need more grain in no time soon!

 

[ylpaul2000]

Just milled 30# (just over half a sack) of Pilsen malt for an 11 gallon batch of a Belgian Dark Strong that I'm brewing tomorrow. At this rate I'll need more grain in no time soon!

I just blew through 50 pounds of two row on one batch of beer (Barley Wine)! It's amazing how fast one goes through this stuff. I'm going to need more in a few weeks!!!

 

[ThirstT]

I'm back in the city so I've got plenty of Metra time to help beta something. Hopefully it's soon, I'm out of 2 row domestic.

Also, Neopol and I were discussing the possibility last pick up of a hop contract for 2013. The main advantage of this would be in order to secure some of the proprietary hops (Citra, Simcoe, Soriachi etc etc) in quantity at a competitive price. The minimum total contract is 88 lbs. Varieties can be mixed and matched in the 11lb or 44 lb boxes. In order to keep this from being a total zoo, people would have to go in for at least 4lbs for the year. As I understand it, we'd have to pay up front.

The deliveries could be spread out over the course of the year.

As of the last catalog everything but Amarillo was available for 2013. Thoughts/Interest?

I could definitely see myself Going in on 4 lbs of this or that, IF it's a hop that I could see brewing a lot with. I also hope to see some EKG somewhere to join in on

 

[Painkiller]

we just transferred about 3 and a half gallons of dopplebock that we did using decoction for the first time, it's malty as hell but under fermented, so we just racked it off the crap in the bottom and tossed in some nutrient. great way to get rid of extra munich.

 

[wcrooker]

I'm back in the city so I've got plenty of Metra time to help beta something. Hopefully it's soon, I'm out of 2 row domestic.

Also, Neopol and I were discussing the possibility last pick up of a hop contract for 2013. The main advantage of this would be in order to secure some of the proprietary hops (Citra, Simcoe, Soriachi etc etc) in quantity at a competitive price. The minimum total contract is 88 lbs. Varieties can be mixed and matched in the 11lb or 44 lb boxes. In order to keep this from being a total zoo, people would have to go in for at least 4lbs for the year. As I understand it, we'd have to pay up front.

The deliveries could be spread out over the course of the year.

As of the last catalog everything but Amarillo was available for 2013. Thoughts/Interest?

I'd be in for 4 pounds of citra and Simcoe. Just let me know how much and when to send payment lol

 

[starman]

I'd be in for 4 pounds of citra and Simcoe. Just let me know how much and when to send payment lol

Unfortunately I was looking at a cached version of the catalog. The current release shows Amarillo, citra, and simcoe are gone for 2013.

 

[wegz15]

So you're saying we need to do a contract for 2013?

 

[bmason1623]

so you're saying we need to do a contract for 2013?

2014

 

[inverted]

I'm in for four pounds if you do it.
Also need grain 4 sacks for sure

 

[mobly99]

wegz15 - was that you that got 3rd in the Besley's Homebrew Competition? Fists of Goodness?
Congratz!

 

[wegz15]

Yea. I wasn't able to attend though. did you get to go? Also, were there awards/prizes? And its supposed to be fist of goodness.

 

[mobly99]

Yea. I wasn't able to attend though. did you get to go? Also, were there awards/prizes? And its supposed to be fist of goodness.

I did attend. Had 3 beers in the running, my blonde got a 37, my ipa didn't do well, but I knew that already. Best beer I ever brewed APT Barleywine, they didn't judge - skipped it entirely - still had the two bottles at the end of the competition. I drank it with a couple of the judges who said "yeah, you really got screwed". Fairly sure it would have went to BOS round at least.

I think 1st/2nd/3rd get ribbons which looked to be pretty big ribbons compared to the ones I have gotten for individual flights from babble brewoff. 1st place gets their beer brewed at Mickey Finns.

Anyway, the event was pretty cool, most of the usual suspects for a beer festival.