Where do you buy LME ?

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justenoughforme

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i did a forum search but it came up with a 2009 result.

... anyone have leads on cheaper than amazon LME? i live too rural for a LHBS
 
Are you up for ordering from Midwest Supplies or Northern Brewer? They both ship pretty fresh LME from what I can tell.
 
sure, midwest supplies is where i got my last batch.

but i thought there might be a much cheaper alternative.

i got six 3.3 lb tubs of LME for 65$ shipped. is this market price ?
 
That's not too bad. I go with Northern Brewer for my extracts, I think they're cheaper depending on what type you want and the quantity, plus they do $8 flat rate shipping. An LHBS is probably your worst bet for cheap ingredients, but you're supporting your local brewing community that way...
 
Well then at least you'll be spared the pangs of guilt I get when the guy at the LHBS asks if I need anything else, since I'm clearly not buying everything I need to brew from them :eek:
 
I did the quick math and you are paying $3.28 / pound of LME (shipped)

I get the fresh stuff at LHBS and pay $3.29 (freshest stuff / 45min drive)

$3.60 (Brewers Best 3.3# tubs) at the wanna be HBS in town (5 min drive)

So i would say that you are getting a pretty fair deal.

A buddy and I were discussing going in on a barrel of light LME on a future group buy. We could use it for an upcoming brew club contest where all of us are given the same ingredients and then we brew and anonymously taste them to determine a winner. I think that we figured out that it will cost us less than $2 per pound.
:D
 
photobru said:
Well then at least you'll be spared the pangs of guilt I get when the guy at the LHBS asks if I need anything else, since I'm clearly not buying everything I need to brew from them :eek:
Click to expand...

I get that feeling too. It just sucks bc they have those basic brew kits, and I like getting the interesting ones from great fermentations and other places more!
 
after buying three pounds of hops, 5 lb specialty grains ... and ... well a lot of extras ... this isn't a very cheap hobby
 
justenoughforme said:
after buying three pounds of hops, 5 lb specialty grains ... and ... well a lot of extras ... this isn't a very cheap hobby
Click to expand...

It's all relative. My wife's hobby is horses; compared to that, brewing is cheap.

And with brewing you put grain in and you get beer out. With horses you put grain in and all you get out is... well, you know.
 
morebeer.com has a very good selection of LME's, including an ultralight pale that is (claimed to be) 100% from pale malt (i.e., no mystery amounts of carapils, etc.), a 100% Maris Otter LME, rye LME, pilsner LME, a Munich/pilsner blend LME, etc. And you can get them in various amounts from 3 lb to 9 lb . And they start around $3/lb (not including any shipping).

http://www.morebeer.com/category/liquid-malt-extract.html

I have not tried them all, but the ultralight and the Maris Otter ones have worked very well for me.
 
I think the cheapest prices on LME I have found are at williams brewing. They have a bulk deal where you buy 32lbs (4-8lb packs) for between $54-$65 before shipping. They are in california so the closer you are the cheaper shipping is. I bought there wheat LME and made some great Hefe's!
 
justenoughforme said:
after buying three pounds of hops, 5 lb specialty grains ... and ... well a lot of extras ... this isn't a very cheap hobby
Click to expand...
Decent craft beer is $10 a six pack (more including tax), sour beers, $10-$20 for 25oz bottlle
Ballast Point Sculpin costs $18, and pints at a pub are $5-8 or more, so if you can start making really good beer the cost isn't a factor any more.
You can buy larger containers of LME, but the weight pushes the shipping cost up. If you want the best deal on beer ingredients, get a grain mill and start buying 50 lb sacks of grain. Maybe get some brewing friends to go in on it so you aren't sitting on a pile of ingredients for a long time.
 
Grain is by far the cheapest (for me anyway), I feel with extract you pay for the convenience of avoiding a mash and the associated equipment but you also lose a bit of control. I pay about $1CAD/lb of base malt buying bulk and I know elsewhere the cost can get down ~40% easily, living in the middle of nowhere has its disadvantages...
 
justenoughforme said:
sure, midwest supplies is where i got my last batch.

but i thought there might be a much cheaper alternative.

i got six 3.3 lb tubs of LME for 65$ shipped. is this market price ?
Click to expand...

Where you live matters so post that.

I have the 33 pound growlers for $63 which works out to just under $2 a pound but shipping can put that up near 3 a pound if you're far from NJ.
 
justenoughforme said:
after buying three pounds of hops, 5 lb specialty grains ... and ... well a lot of extras ... this isn't a very cheap hobby
Click to expand...

It can be cheap. All-in, I think I am at an average of 50 cents a bottle; includes all equipment I have bought.

Bulk hops, bulk grain or extract, and reuse yeast and the cost comes down considerably.

Do some research on bulk DME. You should be able to find 50 lbs for close to $150 shipped, or around $3 per lb. Equivalent to $2.40 per lb LME, and stores better. My LHBS sells LME for $2 per lb in 33 lbs packs, so I have not gone the bulk DME route yet.

If you tell us where you are, someone might be able to suggest somewhere clise to keep shipping down
 
Rural northern indiana.
there's a LHBS in fort wayne but it's consistently higher than internet ... and it's a long drive.
indy is two hours i'm sure it has something.


anyway thanks for all the info, it seems i paid a fair price.
 
When I lived in SF I supported a local homebrew supply store (who went on to become Prohibition Brewery). Now that I live in the mountains, I haven't been to a brick and mortar homebrew supply store in over 10 years. I've gotten good at buying online and it's drastically cheaper.

I buy my malt in 5 gallon pails directly from California Concentrate Company, producers of Alex Malt Extract. It's $1/pound and (for me) the shipping is another $0.50/pound. So ~$90 for a 60 pound (5 gallon) bucket, shipped to the door. They may or may not ship to you at all, depending on where you live.

I used to pay about twice that much, for exactly the same malt (Alex Pale) at my LHBS in SF.

I recommend everyone contacting the malt extract producers in your area, and ask them to sell to you direct.
 
Try ritebrew.com out of Little Chute, WI ....$8.49 for 3.3 lbs can of LME. There is shipping costs.
 
If you buy bulk, be careful; I divided a 33# poly container of Briess Xtract among some MT 3.3# containers, and all went well until it was time to use last one, and whotta you think I saw? MOLD, that's what!
Fill any containers FULL, refrigerate or freeze if practical, and replace lost volume in bulk with N2 or CO2.
 

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