[Seattle] Where do you buy grain?

[fofusak]

Hello,

I recently decided to purchase a grain mill. Mostly because I want to be able to brew without a trip to my LHBS on the same day.
With this new acquisition, I thought of buying base grains by the sack. I've seen people that say they buy it for ~$40 for a 2-Row sack, but locally I've been finding ~$60 sacks only. Online retailers have like $38 but with $20 shipping, which basically disqualifies those.

I live in the Seattle area, but I may consider driving 2 hours and make it a day trip from time to time

tl;dr - Where do you buy your grain that makes economical sense? I'm looking for base grains, but specialty grain comments are welcome too!

Thanks!

 

[BruceH]

There is a malter outside of Burlington. Skagit Valley Malting. It's close to the Skagit county airport. They will sell to home brewers but you need to contact them a few days in advance so they can get the order ready. The bulk of their business is to small breweries.

The last time I was there I purchased 50# of Pils and 50# of Light Munich. IIRC it cost around $85.

I just email the sales department a few days before I go.

https://www.skagitvalleymalting.com/#intro

Edit: They only sell by the sack, nothing less than 50#.

 

[fofusak]

There is a malter outside of Burlington. Skagit Valley Malting. It's close to the Skagit county airport. They will sell to home brewers but you need to contact them a few days in advance so they can get the order ready. The bulk of their business is to small breweries.

The last time I was there I purchased 50# of Pils and 50# of Light Munich. IIRC it cost around $85.

I just email the sales department a few days before I go.

https://www.skagitvalleymalting.com/#intro

Edit: They only sell by the sack, nothing less than 50#.

Thanks! I know those guys, the Pike brewery makes a pale ale that I like a lot with their malts, but it seemed like they only sold to breweries.

Thanks for sharing that they're approachable, I wouldn't have thought of it otherwise

 

[BruceH]

I found out by sending an email and asking. As they put it "we aren't really set up for selling to the public but we won't turn a home brewer away".

It's a bit of a pia (expect it to take 30 minutes minimum, maybe up to an hour) but I bought enough to last a year at least. I made a day of it, took my wife and we drove back roads to Conway, Stanwood, Silvana, etc. on the way home along with a lunch stop and walking around time in Arlington.

 

[fofusak]

I found out by sending an email and asking. As they put it "we aren't really set up for selling to the public but we won't turn a home brewer away".

It's a bit of a pia (expect it to take 30 minutes minimum, maybe up to an hour) but I bought enough to last a year at least. I made a day of it, took my wife and we drove back roads to Conway, Stanwood, Silvana, etc. on the way home along with a lunch stop and walking around time in Arlington.

I didn't see that text, but I'm glad you did
Yes I'm thinking about making a trip. With this being whale watching season, I think I'll go to Anacortes and take a ferry to the San Juans

 

[sweetcell]

Hello,

I recently decided to purchase a grain mill. Mostly because I want to be able to brew without a trip to my LHBS on the same day.
With this new acquisition, I thought of buying base grains by the sack. I've seen people that say they buy it for ~$40 for a 2-Row sack, but locally I've been finding ~$60 sacks only. Online retailers have like $38 but with $20 shipping, which basically disqualifies those.

I live in the Seattle area, but I may consider driving 2 hours and make it a day trip from time to time

tl;dr - Where do you buy your grain that makes economical sense? I'm looking for base grains, but specialty grain comments are welcome too!

Thanks!

consider checking out Mt. Si Homebrew Supply (www.mtsihomebrew.com). $40-something for 2-row, $60-something for imported pils, and MO is either in the upper 60's or low 70's, i forget. a really, really nice couple the run the place and they're great resources for information.

if you want to make a day of it, plenty of good sight-seeing and hiking up 'round these parts

 

[atoughram]

The Beer Essentials down in Tacoma has pretty good prices.

thebeeressentials.com

 

[BruceH]

FWIW Skagit Malting no longer sells to homebrewers unless you coordinate with a local homebrew store.

 

[Rodent]

FWIW Skagit Malting no longer sells to homebrewers unless you coordinate with a local homebrew store.

massive bummer

 

[Rodent]

I buy bags at Microhomebrew in Kenmore. Good people, and the closest LHBS to me

https://www.microhomebrew.com/products/malt-specialty-grains/

Pricing is listed on the above page.

They also have a 'Grain card' where you buy $100 in grain for $80. the card is good for all grains sold by the pound, but is not usable for full 50# bags (since the savings is already built into the sack price)

 

[shoengine]

I got my Skagit malting bag for pretty cheap through my LHBS.

 

[El Gertez]

I just posted this in another thread.
I've found that FH Steinbart down in Portland has some pretty darn good deals on sacks of grain. I have family down there, so I pick up a sack or two every time I go to visit.