How do you know you get what you ordered???

[geniz]

Ok. So I go to my LHBS (which shall remain nameless) and I put in my grain order for a Godziskie I planned to make today. The grain bill was 1/2 wheat malt and 1/2 smoked malt. Uncrushed, mixed together. Sealed in plastic.
So I get home and the grains look a little light, but hey, this is the first time with this recipe.

So I start my brew day. I crush my grains and I can't for the life of me, smell any smokiness. Well, I go ahead and do a protein rest. Definitely no smokey odors. WTF. I raise the temp for my sach rest, still no smoke. Double WTF.

So I stop before I waste more propane, time and hops. I made a yeast starter, So I guess I'll have to do something with it soon. If I don't brew till next week, its probably toast.

In this case, it is obvious that my LHBS got my grain bill wrong. But If I didn't have smoked malt in my grain bill, how would I have known?

How do I remedy this short of standing over their shoulder when they pull the grains?

Anyone else have a similar experience? It sure spooked me.

 

[djfriesen]

My LHBS has me pull and mill my own grain while they get hops divided up. Any mistake in grainbill is on me. But I did manage to get some stale Simcoe that I wouldn't have walked out with if I had been doling out my own hops. I'll be returning them during my mash in the am.

 

[beerloaf]

Nowdays I hardly buy any grain from my LHBS due to buying in bulk. When I still did however, they always had me go back with them and actually let me see them pour from the grain bags so there was never an issue. Always got what I wanted. Both the LHBS in this area are great. Thanks Mr Steves and Lancaster Homebrew.

beerloaf

 

[Morrey]

I made a yeast starter, So I guess I'll have to do something with it soon. If I don't brew till next week, its probably toast.

I found myself in a situation I had a yeast starter ready but couldn't brew. I put the starter in a sterilized jar and saved it in the fridge just as I would have saved a harvested yeast slurry. It was fine.

 

[mj1angier]

I guess you could ask for it all to be bagged in different bags. Might get some "Who is this PITA guy?"

Went to my local shop Sunday and give owner my grain bill to fill. Talking to me and another guy as he is doing it. He realized he messed up. Refilled new bag with correct amounts and gave me the mistake bag free. Will make cheap mystery beer!

 

[nobadays]

I always have the grains bagged separately... this way I know that I am getting what I ordered. Generally I buy a pound or two extra of the specialty grains anyway and throw them in the freezer for the next brew.

No mill as yet but my LHBS does a great job milling and ship free in-state. Always fresh 2-row that way.

Cheers!

 

[GPP33]

After getting a screwed up batch (caught it before brew day) I watch over their shoulder the whole time. It was probably just a simple mistake when he tared the scale. That said if someone puts the grains in the wrong tub which he pulls from then watching over his shoulder won't catch anything.

The good news is you'll still get beer, the bad news is you may not be able to ever reproduce it, or may swear off a recipe that if done right could be good.

 

[kh54s10]

Mistakes will happen. You can look over their shoulder, find another shop, etc. Or just trust that it was a mistake and carry on.

I buy my grains in larger amounts than I need. I have to trust that if I order c-40 for instance that it will be c-40 and not something that looks the same. Some you can tell right off. It it is a smoked grain and smells like the right smoke then it is probably right.

This gives me the chance to check the grains and if something is off I have the opportunity to switch an ingredient or to start with a whole new recipe.

 

[bleme]

Like Morrey said, the yeast will be fine.

Hopefully you didn't dump the wort. You can water that down to 1.040 and freeze it in baggies for future starters.

 

[kristiismean]

I buy grain from 1 of two places,

my lhbs that has scales, bags, write down what amount out of which bin.
mill what you want (please don't run flakes through the mill, have a beer while you wait)

and ritebrew.com which I assume has not made any errors. I do ask they bag seperately, and the weights are always dead on when I verify. Beers come out great. (and low low priced next day shipping, like 8 dollars for a 16 lb grain bill + 10 oz of hops, yeast, etc)

 

[MaryB]

I buy bulk for the grains I use the most. And I hope Northern Brewer gets it right on the caramel and roast grains... worst case is I make a batch of beer that tastes wrong then I look at the grain I buy in small amounts. And I chew some of every grain I get and am getting a feel for the different tastes...

 

[neverfadeaway86]

We have 2 local shops. One will let you pull your own grain and mill it yourself and they just ask you for a total LB amount on the grains. The other shop will let you pull your own grains but they weigh it and mill it for you

 

[neverfadeaway86]

lol I just saw this thread was started in 2012

 

[passedpawn]

lol I just saw this thread was started in 2012

Posts have dates, but the information is timeless Carry on.

Regarding smoked malt, it should smell very smokey before you use it. If it doesn't, it's old smoked malt (it does loose its smokiness over time, IME.

If you buy your ingredients online, and the store mills and mixes your malts, at least weigh the aggregate bag and make sure it measures what you ordered. If it does, at least you know they didn't forget anything.

 

[MagicRat]

I've only ever used one LHBS and we pull and mill the grain ourselves. I guess I never really thought about there being places that do it differently.