Thinking, Did InBev buy into malt?

[bracconiere]

Got to thinking, why the hell can i not afford to even make my own beer with store bought malt now?

i HAVE to go back to malting my own now, because spending $45 a 10 gallon batch would bankrupt me. But i was alright with $25 or so......


so i gotta go back to $8. or just start drinking cheap fermented apple juice.

Anyone know if InBev bought any big maltsters or anything?

 

[Sammy86]

 

[Knightshade]

Presumably, this would be something in the news and subject to heavy litigation/scrutiny. Vertical integration of the supply chain and all that.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I'm all for DIY'ing things, but malting your own grain seems like a lot of work. Interesting, but a lot of work.

 

[bracconiere]

Presumably, this would be something in the news and subject to heavy litigation/scrutiny. Vertical integration of the supply chain and all that.

?? like when inbev bought NB? and i did find an article their buying up AgTech....or something like that

I'm all for DIY'ing things, but malting your own grain seems like a lot of work. Interesting, but a lot of work.

It's not any harder then making a starter for a batch....just think of it as a barley starter....


as far as you go @Sammy86 the last sip of the second beer on tuesday, tasted GREAT! i think the powerful people are out to get me/you!

and i very well might wear one of those, on this last one i got in the fridge! (as a joke, maybe the 'powerful people' will find enough humor in it)

 

[Sammy86]

as far as you go @Sammy86 the last sip of the second beer on tuesday, tasted GREAT! i think the powerful people are out to get me/you!

and i very well might wear one of those, on this last one i got in the fridge! (as a joke, maybe the 'powerful people' will find enough humor in it)

Technically, being a teacher I am a government employee so I don't necessarily believe they're coming after me entirely...they sure tried early in my career but then I learned how to play the game!

 

[matt_m]

ABInBev does own malting facilities. No idea where.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

They were purchasing entire hop farms ~4 years ago. A brewery that I worked for (producing ~40k barrels a year) had orders for large quantities of some new hops with a South African farm. Out of nowhere the orders were cancelled. When they inquired, it was because they had been bought out!

 

[bleme]

You could be seeing price fluctuations that have nothing to do with InBev also, like how lumber prices went up 300% this year...

 

[Sammy86]

ABInBev does own malting facilities. No idea where.

Do you have any evidence to back that up? From researching it doesn't appear they do.

 

[moreb33rplz]

Wait, how is a ten gallon batch costing $45? My LHBS sells 50-55 lb sacks for $50 of some malt. Are they just super high gravity

 

[bracconiere]

Technically, being a teacher I am a government employee so I don't necessarily believe they're coming after me entirely...they sure tried early in my career but then I learned how to play the game!

i was talking about the illicit drug dealers. but i know not to talk to much about that...

Do you have any evidence to back that up? From researching it doesn't appear they do.

i saw on some documentary channel, i thought they malted in house?

You could be seeing price fluctuations that have nothing to do with InBev also, like how lumber prices went up 300% this year...

maybe, which is why i was wondering. i just know in one year it went from where i could buy pale malt for like $1, then $1.3, now it's $1.8 and this happened in one year....

 

[bracconiere]

Wait, how is a ten gallon batch costing $45? My LHBS sells 50-55 lb sacks for $50 of some malt. Are they just super high gravity

buying malt is $2 a pound over the internet, i shoot for 1.060 OG.....not really big.


could be fuel price and shipping also?

edit: if i ever checked NB for prices, i would have been curious who raised it first...

 

[day_trippr]

$45? Haha! I have 10 gallon batches of neipas that are nearly double that in cost. It's mostly not the grain cost - I buy base malt by the bag direct from BSG and it's roughly a buck a pound - it's using a crap ton of hops

As to the question earlier: I was trying to figure out grain and malt sourcing from an AB InBev annual report but they're so nuanced it's difficult to draw any conclusions. They repeatedly refer to "direct farmers" but never define the term. I have a feeling they actually own nothing and get everything via contract...

Cheers!

 

[bracconiere]

I buy base malt by the bag direct from BSG and it's roughly a buck a pound

should i become a customer? i see they don't sell to the public?

 

[MaxStout]

buying malt is $2 a pound over the internet, i shoot for 1.060 OG.....not really big.


could be fuel price and shipping also?

edit: if i ever checked NB for prices, i would have been curious who raised it first...

Is there a brew club in your area that might do group buys?

You could do some partigyle brewing and get 2 or maybe 3 beers from one grain bill to stretch your resources.

 

[DBhomebrew]

I know Arizona is a big state with a whole lot of nothing between towns; you could easily be 3 or so hours from a decent homebrew supply shop. How far are you from Phoenix or Tucson? Worth the trip to pick up a half dozen bags at a time?

 

[bracconiere]

Is there a brew club in your area that might do group buys?

You could do some partigyle brewing and get 2 or maybe 3 beers from one grain bill to stretch your resources.

there is a N.S.LHBS in tucson i bought a few bags a few years ago from....but the gas to drive there would be a killer, to make it worth while for me, i'd have to buy like 10 bags!


malting my own isn't really a big deal, i was trying to figure out if InBev's hand was why malt is going up....

i malted 100% of my own from 2016 to 2020....so i'm used to it...

 

[bracconiere]

I know Arizona is a big state with a whole lot of nothing between towns; you could easily be 3 or so hours from a decent homebrew supply shop. How far are you from Phoenix or Tucson? Worth the trip to pick up a half dozen bags at a time?

this isn't nessasarily a cheap houch thread....i can always make cheap hooch, but i like beer for the vitamins! apple juice is still $2.99 a gallon at the super market, but i have trouble meeting my folate needs with it...

 

[DBhomebrew]

this isn't nessasarily a cheap houch thread....i can always make cheap hooch, but i like beer for the vitamins! apple juice is still $2.99 a gallon at the super market, but i have trouble meeting my folate needs with it...

Totally. I'm talking economical hooch, not cheap.

 

[bracconiere]

economical hooch

i'm going to remember that for newbies! i mean i can make a 1.75L bottle for like $1.25, and turn that into hard lemon-aid for a bit more....but Beer is loaded with B vitamins!

 

[Knightshade]

?? like when inbev bought NB? and i did find an article their buying up AgTech....or something like that

That is different..but I do see where you're going with it. With wage increases, the cost has to be passed to somebody....

You could be seeing price fluctuations that have nothing to do with InBev also, like how lumber prices went up 300% this year...

Fence contractor friend of mine mentioned that to me the other day...cheaper to get a vinyl fence vs. real wood right now...like ridiculously cheaper.

As to @bracconiere's actual question, I just remembered that my Uncle works for AB in St Louis. Too bad I haven't talked to him in 10+ years or so, and he'd probably want something in exchange just for attempting to find an answer to a relatively simple question...schmuck...

 

[MaxStout]

I think a company the size of AB InBev sources from a lot of directions. Probably get a large share of their grain in futures from a number of contracted producers--more certainty there. But I bet their purchasing people do some spot market buying as well, to meet immediate needs and to cover for shortages, etc. Those shifting spot markets could affect smaller customers (i.e., homebrewing suppliers)

I can't recall the source, but I seem to remember reading Great Western in Idaho shipping a huge amount of product to InBev.

 

[MaxStout]

Paging @grampamark. He's in the grain-production business. He might have some thoughts on this market.

 

[bracconiere]

Paging @grampamark. He's in the grain-production business. He might have some thoughts on this market.

i was just wondering how gross beans as an adjunct would be? Split Pea DIPA anyone? it'd be green!

 

[DBhomebrew]

i was just wondering how gross beans as an adjunct would be? Split Pea DIPA anyone? it'd be green!

"somewhat palatable"

 

[camonick]

Paging @grampamark. He's in the grain-production business. He might have some thoughts on this market.

I don’t know about the barley market specifically, but farm commodities as a whole are higher than previous years. There are many factors that drive commodity prices (global supplies, import/export demand, weather trends, etc) The higher prices for homebrew ingredients at the retail level are probably influenced more by higher fuel/ transportation costs, wages, insurance, etc. I doubt very much whether or not AB owns any malt houses has anything to do with increased homebrew ingredients. What we do as hobby is of little importance to their business model.

 

[bracconiere]

"somewhat palatable"

i'll keep it in mind!

 

[bracconiere]

What we do as hobby is of little importance to their business model.

i doubt that! if i was buying beer i be going through a 18 pack every day, spending like $15 a day on it......in my experience drug dealers HATE DIY'ers.......if not just for the money, so that they can be called gods....

 

[day_trippr]

should i become a customer? i see they don't sell to the public?

Well, they do, actually, and it can't be too onerous because my friend and fellow townie Niles a few miles away is a registered BSG buyer.
All "the public" needs is to fill out an application - and probably have some kind of reseller license with the state...
https://bsgcraft.com/BeACustomer
Cheers!