How do you buy ingredients?

[TxBrew]

We used to have someone local who bought bulk we could buy through but they quit doing it. Thought about doing it on a small scale, buy bulk, sell most local.

How do you buy your ingredients the majority of the time? Tried to do some catch all answers for voting purposes.

 

[sloanfamilydsm]

I'd order more online, but shipping is a killer.

50lb sack 2-row for $36 at LHBS.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

With money.

I have four supply places (that I know of) within 5 miles of me...sometimes it's good living in the beer-****** capitol.

My favorite, and I'm sure the sell online... http://www.mainbrew.com/ <---great guys. Can't say enough good things.

Let me know if any of you are in town and in need of some shizzz. I'll meet you there for some ingredients and some AWESOME lunch at their restaurant, ABV.

 

[CJ1]

So far I just buy enough for what I will be making next. I'm still new to brewing (3 batches in), so I'm not ready to buy in bulk yet.

 

[sweetcell]

this poll needs to allow multiple choice: i buy my hops in bulk online (by the pounds) and buy my grains through a group buy.

in the poll i answered "group buy" since that's where i spend the most money.

 

[unionrdr]

I buy most of my ingredients for my next 1-2 beers from the main suppliers online. But some things like yeast, some hops & odds-n-ends I buy locally.

 

[Oginme]

It would be nice to have a multiple choice option in the poll. I buy bulk base malts locally and then pick up yeast and specialty grains as I need for the recipes I am brewing in the upcoming weeks. Hops I buy on-line, as my lhbs does not carry many of the varieties I use. Prices on-line tend to be better, even with shipping, than my lhbs.

 

[sputnam]

i buy 2 row in bulk from LHBS, hops come from a site sponsor (farmhouse brewing), I usually get 10 packs at 4oz/pack. last batch cost (including shipping) averaged $1.42/oz. Then i get the remaining ingredients from LHBS for 2 - 4 batches at a time.

 

[yeahfairly]

The best deal I have found buying bulk online is Northern Brewer and Adventures in Home Brewing. AIH is .20 a pound cheaper per pound but their shipping cost is 3x higher. With Northern Brewer you can buy a 40 pounds of 2 row and get $7.99 flat rate. All in all they both equal about$1.70 a pound w/ shipping. LHBS looks good in comparison.

 

[Braufessor]

I buy as much as I can locally, in bulk, when possible/practical. If I need something not available locally I will order on line or have a friend pick it up in minneaplolis and drop it off when I see him.

 

[Zepth]

I do a little of everything. For the majority of it I buy 25kg (55lb) bags from the LHBS. I would have no problem getting them from OBK but as soon as shipping is added it's no longer worthwhile. I try to keep my main go-to ingredients in stock. This is Pale Ale, light wheat, light munich, cara 60, chocolate, and carafa III special. While the darker ones in the list will likely not be used entirely by the best before date they're also for flavour and colour not enzymes. I also have the option to sell a few kg to a couple brewers as a group buy kind of thing. Grain isn't going to go bad any time soon.

Hops at the LHBS are stupidly expensive by the oz. Most go for about $5-6 for 2 oz, some go for about $4 per oz. Forget that. LHBS is more reasonable around $2/oz if bought by the lb. OBK (my near exclusive online source) has hops $1.30-$3 / oz, most around $2. When factoring in shipping it doesn't make much sense to get anything from here unless adding it onto an existing order. They do have a notably better selection than the LHBS. Come to think of it that may not be so bad considering 16 oz/lb and $10 shipping, means if I get 2 lb I need it to be about $0.30 /oz cheaper than local to break even. Math that out next time.

As far as it goes I haven't had enough experience to have my go-to for all my hopping needs. I know that goldings and fuggles are perfect for a few different English recipes I enjoy, so they're by the lb for sure. And everything German based this far has had Halertauer or Tett, close enough for me to get away with alternating between until then. With these exceptions I tend to get hops on a recipe basis, usually planned 4-5 brews in advance with my online order of random shiny equipment.

I have only had a short run with liquid yeast. Get it local for convenience and knowing that it will be handled correctly for the journey home. Harvesting and culturing at home makes it a rare enough occurance that sourcing elsewhere never came to mind. I usually harvest from dry yeast as well just to save a few more bucks. With the cooler weather I'll likely get some from online as the LHBS doesn't typically have a great selection and restocks infrequently.

Well that was a bit longer than a simple poll question. FWIW went with the local store poll option, it is where I do spend the majority of money ingredient wise.

 

[sisyphus14]

I suppose I'm like halfway between buying on a per-recipe basis and buying in bulk. I'm an apartment brewer so I don't have the space to store pails of 55lb sacks of grain.

I basically plan out my next couple of brews, figure out what I need, and order online based on that. I try and plan similar beers to use similar ingredients so that I don't have half or quarter pounds of something lying around for some future beer in a couple months. It's a tradeoff between having the freshest ingredients and keeping shipping costs reasonable.

 

[Hello]

I just got a mill and as soon as my LHBS gets their **** together, I'll buy base grain in bulk until I figure out what specialty grain I should buy in bulk. I buy hops as needed, mostly.

 

[lookwow]

I live right by ritebrew.com so i get the online prices, but can put in an order and go pick it up about 5 mins later. Best of both worlds.

 

[rodwha]

I like to support local business and had found a place in San Antonio I really liked. I was going to have a difficult time getting to them as they weren't so local to me, and had them ship my order. But they really gouged me and it took a lot of phone calls to fix, which it never truly was.

I didn't like the other LHBS and so I went online. As I always order a bunch of stuff I have no problem with the free shipping at MoreBeer, and I'm patient enough to wait a couple of extra days.

Now that I'm near Austin my LHBS is AHS, and they just aren't close at all (I'm in Lakeway), and it's just too much of a hassle to get there.

I've always bought my crystal malts and other specialty grains local as MoreBeer only sells my the pound. I'm hoping SWMBO takes note of the Monster Mill 2 in my Christmas wish list!

 

[te-wa]

im not sure i'd like to invest in a mill, or make one DIY even. so, i just get the stuffs i need for a single brew session. LHBS is about 8 miles, sometimes i get enough grain milled for 2 batches.

i do see many ppl posting that hops vary in price "citra costs too much" etc.. my LBHS has ALL hops for $2 per ounce. buy in 1LB bags, they charge $1.75 per ounce.

 

[unionrdr]

I bought the Barley Crusher grain mill for $130 inline NB or Midwest, I forget. When buying PM ingredients & getting to batches worth at a time, it comes in handy as I buy the grains whole to store till I can brew them.

 

[Spartan1979]

I buy my base grains (pale ale, pil and Munich) in a group buy. I buy my hops online in bulk. Specialty grains and yeast are bought locally.

 

[NTXBrauer]

All ingredients are purchased from my LHBS and normally on a recipe basis, as I drive right by them twice daily to and from work.

 

[johnmac22]

My LBHS seems to get damn near anything. I just tell them what I want and they order it. Takes about 4-5 days but they don't charge shipping (shipping is likely factored in to the price) so it's worth it. I use this to buy base malts but I just get my specialty grains as I need them.

 

[ChefRex]

Base grains locally in bulk, hops online in bulk, specialty malts combination of both depending on what it is, who has it and what else I need.

 

[theonetrueruss]

all of the above should be an answer

 

[jbb3]

so far i just buy enough for what i will be making next.

+1

 

[beergolf]

I buy mostly locally per recipe. My LHBS has a good program where you buy 50 lbs of base malt thathey store. You then can come in and use any base malt and deduct it from you bank. So if you want pils, 2- row, MO etc. it all counts. Then I just buy the specialty malts and crush it all together for the recipe.

I usually buy the yeast there also. I often buy hops in bulk, at least the ones I use. a lot.

 

[feinbera]

Locally per-recipe... I'm not really plan-aheady enough to do it any other way. Bit of a bummer when the not-overwhelmingly-giant LHBS doesn't stock everything under the sun and I have to substitute two out of my three specialty grains, but, hey.

 

[govner1]

I buy the majority of my ingredients from my LHBS (6 miles away) as needed. They have an excellent mill, too.
If I have several brews planned I'll buy a full bag of base grains & my specialty grains as needed. I then use my mill.
On the few occasions that the LHBS doesn't have what I need there are two more shops that are about 40 minutes away.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

We used to have someone local who bought bulk we could buy through but they quit doing it. Thought about doing it on a small scale, buy bulk, sell most local.

How do you buy your ingredients the majority of the time? Tried to do some catch all answers for voting purposes.

I can't pull the trigger on any of the options, because I do all of them but the group buys, with little variation.

Hops: almost all bought in bulk online once a year. If I need special hops for anything, I will use either local or online.

Base Malts: Local, in bulk. But by local I mean where I can pick it up. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I can swing a cat and hit a dozen LHBSs. My favorite store (price wise) is about 140 miles away, but in a city I travel to or through a couple times a year, so I try to plan my buys around going there.

Specialty Malts: usually local, per recipe. But my "home" LHBS has a very limited selection, and the next closest has more selection but does not keep up with who the supplier is on their bins, and are a bit *****y when asking them who the maltster d'jour is. Sometimes it DOES matter who the maltster is.

Yeast: LHBS

Whirlflock, calcium chloride, gypsum, etc. Almost always Amazon. The LHBSs either package their own and seriously jack the price, or they use BrewCraft who seriously jacks the price.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

I didn't vote because I get things online and locally-ish. my LHBS's are 45 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 1/2 hours away. one is more geared toward wine, but has a few good finds like MO and GP. hope & yeast selection sucks my grandma's berries though. another has everything in bulk since they are a brewery/tap room, but I hate taking their attention away from customers in the tap room. the farthest one is NB. so I'll get things when we're in the cities or on line. I always get my honey 1 gallon at a time from a guy in IA. dude said that if I wanted to open a meadery, he's give me great discount on 55 gallon drums if I put his name on the label. hahahaha!!!

 

[TxBrew]

Yea I figured once you've brewed for a bit every single option applies. I was more curious how you make the majority of your purchases though.

If the poll doesn't fit, explaining in your reply is great.

 

[TxBrew]

I didn't vote because I get things online and locally-ish. my LHBS's are 45 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 1/2 hours away. one is more geared toward wine, but has a few good finds like MO and GP. hope & yeast selection sucks my grandma's berries though. another has everything in bulk since they are a brewery/tap room, but I hate taking their attention away from customers in the tap room. the farthest one is NB. so I'll get things when we're in the cities or on line. I always get my honey 1 gallon at a time from a guy in IA. dude said that if I wanted to open a meadery, he's give me great discount on 55 gallon drums if I put his name on the label. hahahaha!!!

Is he eccentric? Might have a new Burt's Bee's like company on your hands.

 

[dyqik]

All of them except in bulk at the LHBS, as they don't give much of a price break on bulk purchases (e.g they want $90 for a 55lb sack of MO, and charge $1.95 a lb)

Online per recipe for occasional kits, particular IIPA clones, if I happen to be buying equipment at the same time.
Online in bulk for hops.
At the LHBS on a per recipe basis, as it's only a mile from home, and on the way from work.
Just joined the NE Group Buy for base grain, so I'm now switching to yeast and speciality grains and hops from the LHBS on a per recipe basis, bulk hops online and group buy for base grain.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

Is he eccentric? Might have a new Burt's Bee's like company on your hands.

haha! not really. I've given him a few bottles of my mead & pyment and he hasn't had much else. I think it's more like, "You brew your own beer? You should open a brewery!" kind of things. I tend to make 4-5 gallon batches maybe once a year. if mead making was gun slinging, I'd be that kid that gets gunned down in the beginning of the movie. hahahaha!!!

 

[AnOldUR]

this poll needs to allow multiple choice.

I agree. When I answered I was only thinking grain which I buy bulk from my LHBS. Hops and yeast, I will more often go to an on-line vendor for. Hops in bulk. Yeast after running through many generations of an original purchase.

 

[dkevinb]

I just compared what I pay at my LHBS on a per-recipe basis to what Northern Brewer charges online. The LHBS was cheaper for everything - base malts, specialty malts, hops and yeast. And that doesn't include the shipping. And the LHBS owner weighs out my malts for me and grinds them the way I ask. And it's only 2 miles from work. I am very pleased.

 

[IslandLizard]

Sacks of grain through Group buys.
Sacks of specialty grains are split among group buy participants through sign-up sheet.
Other specialty malts from LHBS, usually by the pound as needed.

Hops by the pound, online usually. Incidentally from LHBS by the ounce or 2 ounce packs.

Yeast from LHBS, large selection of WYeast and White Labs. Not worth shipping in, unless it's exclusive like ECY, etc.

Sanitizer, salts, brewing spices, adjuncts, chemicals, etc., mostly from LHBS, spice stores, or online.

 

[chickypad]

Sacks of grain - LHBS to avoid shipping
Hops - majority once yearly bulk online
Occasional orders online with morebeer for the free shipping over $59 (I use for grains in <= 10lb increments, yeast, and smaller quantities of hops, odds and ends)

 

[krackin]

I buy bulk online for everything. I can order at 4:30 AM with coffee and get delivery dropped off when I'm elsewhere. I don't have any place local.

 

[MaddBaggins]

I've been shopping at the same LHBS since 1997. The people there are always good to chat with, they have a great selection of grains,hops(pellet and whole cone) and yeast(White Labs, Fermentis, Still Spirit, Danstar, various wine yeasts) and other necessities. One of the big pluses is that I can get my own grains and set the crush on their mill to what I want. I buy one or two batches at a time.
Price comparison for many common items, my LHBS is cheaper than NB.