Ingredients - Help me understand how much to buy

[stosh]

Looking to understand the best way to buy ingredients b/c I'm moving to BIAB shortly. I plan to brew 5 gallon batches with the occasional 10 gallon batch to put in the bourbon barrel. I'll keg most and bottle 8-10 bottles of certain beers I plan to age.

I prefer beers that are 6% or higher. I also plan to brew the occasional 'big beer' be it DIPA, barleywine, RIS, etc. I will invest in the needed equipment such as a 15 gal kettle, grain mill, burner if needed, BIAB bags, etc.

What amounts do you BIAB/All Grain brewers buy? Do you buy as close to the amounts a recipe calls for? Are you buying 50lb sacks of grain and hops by the pound? How long do grains and hops last in storage? How do you store them?

Do you buy online or LHBS? If online what are some of the better places to buy from?

Although I'd like to bring my brewing costs down it isn't the primary reason of buying bulk.

I'll use this recipe as an example since it's one I'd like to try (thanks to BierMuncher).

Is it worth buying 50lbs of pale malt or 2X10lbs?

Tits-Up IIPA

Batch Size: 6.50 gal
Boil Size: 8.54 gal
Estimated OG: 1.082 SG
Estimated Color: 7.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 100.5 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 64.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:

18.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
0.25 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM)

1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.20%] (FWH)
1.00 oz Nugget [11.50%] (45 min)
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50%] (30 min)
1.25 oz Cascade [6.10%] (15 min)
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50%] (10 min)
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (10 min)
1.00 oz Crystal [3.50%] (10 min)

1.00 oz Summit [16.50%] (Dry Hop 14 days)
1.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (Dry Hop 14 days)
1.25 oz Cascade [6.10%] (Dry Hop 14 days)
1.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (Dry Hop 14 days)

 

[Yooper]

I buy base grains by the sack (50 pounds for US malts, 55 pounds for European malts). I generally use about 23-25 pounds of grains for a 10.5 gallon batch, depending on what I'm making. I buy crystal/caramalts in 5# increments for the ones I use most, and then others as needed. I buy hops by the pound except for the ones I rarely use. So one sack is usually about right for two batches.

Grains will keep well in a sealed container in a cool place. I store my grain sacks in big bins in the basement, and those dog food containers or food grade buckets for other grains.