Home Brew Supply - Market info (Canada)

[gurrback]

Hi there,

I'm doing some research on home brewing in Canada and am hoping to glean as much information as possible from this site. Specifically, I'm looking for market research and financial reports for home brew supply shops. I've had a hard time finding this information on the internet (most search results are USA-centric) and really hope someone on here can lead me in the right direction.

I'm also wondering what the supply chain looks like for brewing ingredients. What is the structure of the wholesale grain/hop/yeast market? What quantities/price are we talking about? Is there anyone on this forum with experience in the large-scale purchase of brewing goods for retail?

Keep in mind I'm in Ontario, Canada, and would love to get some Canada specific information.

Many thanks and my apologies if this thread is misplaced.

 

[birvine]

Contact the supplier in Fergus (Gilbertson and Page) or Peterborough (Can Malting) - I believe they supply homebrewers as well as commercial breweries. They likely have some of the knowledge you seek.

My own two cents... from what I read on HBT, I see all kinds of brewers (NOT all) whose goal is to make the cheapest batch re-using yeast their great-grandmother had stashed under her pillow in order to save $1, then dig out oil buckets from the local chip stand and spend three months cleaning them to save another $5. It might be a bit frustrating to supply this market considering the cost of real estate in TO. Why are there not endless shops in the city?

That being said, if you CAN make some money, it could be amazing. Mail order might help shore up some of the finances though CanPost is costly.

B

 

[broadbill]

My experience (again from HBT posts) are that Canandian homebrewers are frustrated by not having access to a good Canadian mail-order homebrewing supply company. If they order from the US they get nailed by hefty shipping costs and this is prohibitive for them.

If only there were a Canadian equivalent to Northern Brewer, AHS, BMW that could keep prices low by high product turnaround and could also offer reasonable shipping costs...

That being said, I'm not sure a brick and mortar homebrew supply shop is the best route, as birvine alluded to.

Just my 0.02, please don't take this as any sort of reputable market research!

 

[DeNomad]

Online vendors:
http://www.hopdawgs.ca/ - Deals with malts, hops, equipment, kegs
http://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/ Kegging Only

I have used the above vendors. I usually don't ship grain but I will buy hops when my LHBS doesn't have what I need in stock. I have known people that have done bulk grain buys.

Anyway we are lucky to have a LHBS in Edmonton that deals with raw beer ingredients and yeast, every other place in the city only does beer and wine kits and wouldn't know what to do if a ton of Marris Otter appeared in their backyard. Reasonably priced equipment is extremely hard to find locally in Edmonton.

 

[Bradinator]

You can buy home brewing malt directly from Canada Malt Co (CMC), but need to go to the warehouse to pick it up (which the closest for me is Didsbury, nearly 1.5 hours from my house). It's worth the trip though! I got 165lbs of grain for under $60!

They bill directly to your credit card so you need to set up an account with them (very easy and the people at CMC are very helpful).

I believe CMC has some locations out east, but you would need to research their website.

 

[elproducto]

This has been mentioned in a few threads, but...

Gilbertson and Page who are a grain wholesaler in Fergus Ontario do in fact sell directly to homebrewers. Last time I bought from them, I believe a 55lb bag of domestic 2-row was $30. They have a wide selection of malts, and I buy all my bulk grains from them.

We do have a few mail order supply companies, the largest of which is http://homebrew-supplies.ca/viartshop/ in Brampton. They also now have a large storefront where you can walk in and buy anything.

In Ontario we are not charged tax on any brewing ingredients as they are considered "foodstuff".

Liquid Yeast is considerably more expensive than in the USA at $10+ a smackpack.