recomendations for bulk buy

[Yellowirenut]

Looking to do a #50/sack, smaller for the less used grains, buy with a co-worker. We can probable have it shipped to the shop no problem.
Any recommendations on a web site or else wear?
Thinking 2-row for the #50 any other recommendations on a frequently used grain? If stored in air tight (not vacuumed sealed) containers how long will it last?

I have been brewing all grain kits but I wanting to use more of the recipes found on here.

 

[JDGator]

check all the big sites like northern brewer and austin brewing. keep an eye on shipping costs!! that's what kills here in Canada. 55lbs sack of 2 row is $65 and shipping is another $35-40. so i'm sitting at around $2-2.25/lbs and i can buy that online and only buy what i need. then i don't have to store big bulk sacks of grain.

 

[glugglug]

+1 on shipping costs. That's what'll get you. I would see what lhbs charges for bags of grain. Also if you have a local club, they may on occasion do a bulk buy. In my area, there seems to be one every 6 months.

As for good grains, mostly depends on what you brew. A good 2 row as you've mentioned. Marris Otter is another, and I see a lot of people ordering Pilsner Malt. My advice is to make a spread sheet with all the malts you use over 6 months or a year. Then you'll know exactly what you need.

 

[kombat]

We have a great home brew club in my city. They do bulk grain buys a couple of times per year. I've only ever gone in on 2 so far, but it gave me a great idea of which grains it makes sense for me to buy in bulk.

Here's what I'd recommend buying full sacks of:

• 2-row pale malt
• Maris Otter (if you do a fair amount of reds, stouts, bitters, European style beers)
• Pilsner (if you do lagers)

I'd go for half-sacks of the following:

• Munich
• Carafoam (this goes in all my recipes)
• Vienna (my house Pale Ale uses 2 lbs of this)
• Rice hulls (to help prevent stuck sparges with thicker, gummier grists)

At the time, I also bought quarter-sacks of Caraamber, Caraaroma, and Carared, but I find I'm going through them much more slowly. In hindsight, I probably would've been better off going with some Caramunich.

I store them in food-safe plastic buckets with airtight, screw-on Gamma seal lids. Stored like this (and, of course, unmilled), they should be fresh for well over a year.

 

[Yellowirenut]

thanks for the advice on the grains.

Anyone know if you get a lower shipping cost if its delivered to a business?
Could be off loaded from a semi instead of the UPS residential delivery truck.

 

[gray7103]

You can get 50 lbs of base malt (Rahr 2-row) for @ $55 total shipped at NorthernBrewer.com. The bag is $35 and shipping is approx $20.

 

[mikescooling]

Where in IN are you? Did you go to the Group Buy section or IN section and see if their are GB that aren't to far? When most think group buy or bulk grain buy's, they need 40 sacks to make a order. But the price drops way down. They happen 2 or 3 times a year. Are you close to Chicago?

 

[Doongie]

Looking to do a #50/sack, smaller for the less used grains, buy with a co-worker. We can probable have it shipped to the shop no problem.
Any recommendations on a web site or else wear?
Thinking 2-row for the #50 any other recommendations on a frequently used grain? If stored in air tight (not vacuumed sealed) containers how long will it last?

I have been brewing all grain kits but I wanting to use more of the recipes found on here.

If you are within an hour or so of Chicago, check out http://www.chicagohomebrewers.org/phpbb/

 

[Yellowirenut]

I should have specified more of a sack buy. I see now looking around at bulk sites that orders must contain +40 bags