Ordering ingredients

[hopnotch01]

Hey Guys, Im new to homebrewing and I recently moved to an area that has no Homebrew shops within a 4-5 hour drive. So my question is: what are some good homebrewing sites. Also the last batch I brewed was a failure thanks to the fact that I bought wyeast that probably sat in a hot truck for several hours- days with no cooling. I bought a Ice pack to be put in it but the yeast was sluggish at best in the fermentation process, and took longer than usual to inflate the little bag it came in. So another question would be should I just plan on using Freeze dried yeast from now on? or is there a company that does a good job transporting yeast?

 

[petey_c]

There are a few good websites, brewmaster's warehouse, midwest, northern, Austin Homebrew. Always go with an icepack when shipping in the warmer months, unless you use dry yeast. There are many debates on this forum about which is the best; dry or liquid. I prefer dry, but that's just me.

 

[inhousebrew]

For most beers I use dried yeast now. Cheaper, more viable and easier. For specialty beers I'll buy the wet stuff because there's better variety. I'm an MN guy so Midwest Supplies and Northern Brewer are both my go to shops.

Another thing to be aware of it the date of the yeast. it could have just been old and needing a yeast starter to get it going.

 

[MB331]

I have had great experiences with Northern Brewer and MoreBeer. Huge selection of products, particularly NB, and decent delivery prices.

 

[dmashl]

Try ritebrew.com.... really low rates. Based in Little Chute Wisconsin. Near Green Bay(Home of the Packers)

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Try ritebrew.com.... really low rates. Based in Little Chute Wisconsin. Near Green Bay(Home of the Packers)

This. They usually have very reasonable prices too on kegging parts.

Also...

GO PACK GO!!!

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Hmmm... 4-5 hour drive...

I see an entrepreneurial opportunity here...

Or just pack up and move. That would be easier.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

My personal preferences are Farmhouse Brewing Supply, Adventures in HomeBrewing (AIH) and Love2Brew. You want to get creative for yeast - there's The Yeast Bay. They are in Cali and I'm in NH, never had a shipping related issue yet.

 

[sanguine]

I'm pretty loyal to my LHBS but I have ordered a couple kits from Northern Brewer in the past. I wasn't crazy about the fact that all the hops in their kits are pellet hops (as opposed to the fresh cone hops the LHBS sells), but that's honestly a rather snobby concern and the beer turned out just fine. They have flat rate shipping and refreshingly responsive customer service reps, too.

 

[noobie]

I like Williams brewing supplies in CA. They have flat-rate shipping and reasonable prices and quality. I was using Midwestern for awhile but they don't offer reasonable rates on shipping anymore. Bad experience with Morebeer.
Dry yeast is usually just fine and always cheaper than liquid. You can propagate your own from either dry or liquid so that you don't have to keep ordering it.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Not sure what part of the country/world you're in, but main brew, brew brothers, and home brew stuff I have had all positive experiences with. Main brew and brew brothers are my two main local go-tos so I can attest to their quality and lack of sitting in a hot truck all day.

 

[wardens355]

Grain - Label Peelers, Northern Brewer, Morebeer
Hops - Yakima Valley Hops, Farmhouse, Label Peelers
Yeast - I would probably go dry yeast since you cannot get liquid yeast nearby. Whatever site you get your grain from.
Equipment - Whatever is cheapest (always see the estimated shipping)
Fittings etc - BrewHardware, BargainFittings, Amazon

You can order liquid yeast with ice packs. Where do you live? If there is a shop that is close to you (1-2 day shipping time), getting an ice pack or two with the order may be OK, or if it is winter and you don't live somewhere super warm, then the yeast will be OK most likely. I know Northern Brewer offers ice packs, others probably do as well.

A lot of the time the best thing to do is get on the mailing lists for these sites and wait for the periodic deals to order new stuff.

 

[muels]

Try to find other brewers within an hour or so from you and set up a group buy. You can buy in bulk prices and save some shipping costs by split them.


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