I only brew 2 gallons at a time. 110V BIAB. The local brewshop is costing me a fortune for these small batches. Looking to brew 3 batches from same grain but 3 different hops, producing 3 totally different beers. Thinking buying bigger quantity will be cheaper. Maybe online? Suggestions? My last IPA was Maris otter, Cascade hops and US-05. Prefer dry yeasts, for convenience.
SMASH IPA help. Occasional brewer. Mr Beer LBK's
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ryanm8
Well-Known Member
Buy a 55 lb. bag of 2 row and mill it yourself. Then you only need to get the other grains from the LHBS per recipe.
Also buy hops in 1 lb bags online. Vacuum seal and freeze them.
And switch to liquid yeast. Overbuild starters and you can reuse it for many generations.
That will get the cost down a lot. My 2 gallon batches typically cost me $5-10 depending on recipe.
Also buy hops in 1 lb bags online. Vacuum seal and freeze them.
And switch to liquid yeast. Overbuild starters and you can reuse it for many generations.
That will get the cost down a lot. My 2 gallon batches typically cost me $5-10 depending on recipe.
thehaze
Well-Known Member
I agree with buying sacks of grains and hops by the pound. In the long run, you'll save some money and buying larger amiunts, will get you more for the money you spend at once.
I like US-05, but definitely prefer Nottingham due to better flocculation, sedimentation ( in the bottle/keg ), it's more agressive and faster than US-05, it's dry, crisp and works well in many styles of beer.
As for hops: if you haven't tried that many varieties yet, you can do it now. I love Chinook and Columbus, these being cheaper hops. You can then move to Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic, Eureka!, Azacca, Loral, etc. I also love english and german hops, and there's a lot to choose from. And of course, NZ and AUS hops, which are gorgeous.
But if you are doing smashes, Pilsner or Pale malt will do fine. I like a bit of variation, thus I use english Maris Otter and german Vienna malts from time to time. They offer a bigger malt presence, with toasty notes, warm malty flavours, bready/crackery.
I like US-05, but definitely prefer Nottingham due to better flocculation, sedimentation ( in the bottle/keg ), it's more agressive and faster than US-05, it's dry, crisp and works well in many styles of beer.
As for hops: if you haven't tried that many varieties yet, you can do it now. I love Chinook and Columbus, these being cheaper hops. You can then move to Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic, Eureka!, Azacca, Loral, etc. I also love english and german hops, and there's a lot to choose from. And of course, NZ and AUS hops, which are gorgeous.
But if you are doing smashes, Pilsner or Pale malt will do fine. I like a bit of variation, thus I use english Maris Otter and german Vienna malts from time to time. They offer a bigger malt presence, with toasty notes, warm malty flavours, bready/crackery.
Buy a 50 or 55 pound bag of 2-row, pilsner, or pale ale malt. (locally they are about $38) You can store the grain in 5 gallon buckets; 2 buckets will almost hold a sack of malt. Buy your specialty malts in one-pound bags, and pick recipes that don't use a lot of specialty stuff. You will need some kind of grain mill. I use an old Corona mill.
Farmhouse Brewing Supply has good deals on 4 ounce bags of hops. They also sell them by the pound. Hops Direct has really good deals on pounds of hops. Also check out Farmhouse's 10 pound malt specials for stuff like Munich and Vienna.
I'm starting to experiment with K1-V1116 wine yeast. I bought 10 packets for $9 off Amazon. I used it once before in a pale ale (or blonde ale, whichever is lighter) and it was one of the best beers I've ever brewed.
Farmhouse Brewing Supply has good deals on 4 ounce bags of hops. They also sell them by the pound. Hops Direct has really good deals on pounds of hops. Also check out Farmhouse's 10 pound malt specials for stuff like Munich and Vienna.
I'm starting to experiment with K1-V1116 wine yeast. I bought 10 packets for $9 off Amazon. I used it once before in a pale ale (or blonde ale, whichever is lighter) and it was one of the best beers I've ever brewed.
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My favorite base malt for SMaSHes is Golden Promise. I generally buy it in 55-lb sacks.
One good way to make very different beers, of course, is switching out the yeast. You could easily skip starters with 2 gallon batches.
One good way to make very different beers, of course, is switching out the yeast. You could easily skip starters with 2 gallon batches.
