YES! my first sack o' grain!

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Zymurgrafi

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I am excited I just bought my first sack of grain today. I weighed it out when I got home and it was labout 56 #'s

I believe it was supposed to be 50.

Awesome. 56 #'s of Marris Otter for $35!!!

That's $.62 a lb.

Man, AG is great...

Now to get brewing!
 
I know $35 is a deal for us homebrewers and malting is a difficult process, but damn. The farmer maybe got $3 for that same grain. I need to get into the malting business.
 
Man, my LHBS must jack up the prices. A 50# sack of MO is $56. Plain old 2-row is $46. Problem is, they are the only game in town. We need another shop to open up and get some price competition going. Congrats on the score! You'll be buying your next one before you know it.
 
knights of Gambrinus said:
I am excited I just bought my first sack of grain today. I weighed it out when I got home and it was labout 56 #'s

I believe it was supposed to be 50.

Most bags are 55 lbs. (25 kilos).
 
Well it probably won't happen again. The guy repacked a sack for me from 2 different ones I think. He said all the sacks were open so he bagged it in an empty sack. He assured me it was all MO...
 
I look forward to joining you all grain brewers. I spent almost $60 for my last batch of pale ale using DME, and you all are getting the grain to make several batches for the same price. Makes me sick. By no means am I homebrewing to save money, but it's hard to justify a batch that costs more than a good microbrew.
 
McKBrew said:
I look forward to joining you all grain brewers. I spent almost $60 for my last batch of pale ale using DME, and you all are getting the grain to make several batches for the same price. Makes me sick. By no means am I homebrewing to save money, but it's hard to justify a batch that costs more than a good microbrew.


I considered it the price of education... and it was well worth it.

Same applies when you ruin a batch of any beer... :eek: :mug:
 
now stop that!
Do not rain on my parade. :(

Well, the folks up front were wondering what was taking him so long. The suspected he was weighing it out rather than just grabbing a sack since there was one back there. He said one was opened and he had another one that was split accidently and spilled some so he rewieghed it to make sure it was all there.

Thanks alot now I'm wondering...

Oh F#%^ it, it's still a good deal. I am gonna go have a beer and prep my next batch.


:p
 
Yeah, before I went AG, I was paying $45 Cdn for a extract brew.
The worst thing was my LHBS ran out of DME and it was months before they had any.
Luckily I went AG and put that issue to rest.
 
I hope you did get your MO. You can really taste the difference in malts.
At least I like to think so. I did 3 Hobgoblin brews with 1 being from 2 row.
The 2 row was good, but not as good as those made from English pale malt.

Hard to beat the price, isn't it?
 
McKBrew said:
I look forward to joining you all grain brewers. I spent almost $60 for my last batch of pale ale using DME, and you all are getting the grain to make several batches for the same price.

Dang Man, 60 bucks? That's like $1.13 per twelve ounce serving. Might as well buy some micros at the store.

I do All Grain and buy grain & hops in bulk. My Haus Pale Ale cost $7.85 or just under 15 cents per 12 oz. serving and that's paying retail for yeast & some specialty grain.

What's your ingredient breakdown and prices?

HausAle3.jpg
 
Is there any reasonable way to buy in bulk if you don't have a grain crusher? I would love to buy a big bag of MO but don't have a crusher or a LHBS that would do it for me.

On a similar note, how long will CRUSHED grain last? I was thinking about buying a bunch at once from AHS (20lbs for 28.50, no bulk discount but saves shipping).
 
I figure crushed malt is perfectly fine for a month and marginal for 2 or three months once crushed. Remember, the husk isn't exactly the perfect storage container. Air is already going in and out. And we all know that grain can sit around, uncrushed for a year or so.

So I don't sweat a month in the least. For specialty grains, I'll let them go to three since most of them are there for their primary character, not their subtle nuance as is the case with a base malt.

Also, if you buy a crushed 55 lb bag of Maris Otter, that's really only 3 strong brews or 5 weak ones. You should be able to burn through that in a weekend if you're really dedicated. ;)
 
EdWort said:
Most bags are 55 lbs. (25 kilos).

Ed, imported bags are usually 25 kilos, which works out to 55 pounds and change. Domestic bags are usually 50 pounds, which works out to 50 pounds.:D

I know this, because I open quite a few bags a week. (50 pound bags will fit in 2, 5 gallon buckets, and the imported stuff requires a 5 and a 6 gallon {or 6.5} bucket.):fro:

steve
 
Dang Man, 60 bucks? That's like $1.13 per twelve ounce serving. Might as well buy some micros at the store.

I do All Grain and buy grain & hops in bulk. My Haus Pale Ale cost $7.85 or just under 15 cents per 12 oz. serving and that's paying retail for yeast & some specialty grain.

What's your ingredient breakdown and prices?

Remember, McKBrew is in Hawaii. I'm sure the shipping costs of getting those ingredients to the island are built into his LHBS's prices.
 
Brewtopia said:
Remember, McKBrew is in Hawaii. I'm sure the shipping costs of getting those ingredients to the island are built into his LHBS's prices.


Ingredient costs based on shipping are a big part of my bill. I used DME for my most recent brew instead of LME.

2 bags (3lbs) of DME cost me $12.95 ea
Pellet Hops run 2.50 for 2 oz, I bought 2 packs
Yeast $ 6.00 for white labs
Specialty Malts for steeping are 2.65 lb
plus some other odds and ends.

I just totaled everything up and came in around $45. Trying to remember what else I bought, because I know I spent just over 60. Now I wonder if I got overcharged somehow.
 
skou said:
Ed, imported bags are usually 25 kilos, which works out to 55 pounds and change. Domestic bags are usually 50 pounds, which works out to 50 pounds.:D

I know this, because I open quite a few bags a week. (50 pound bags will fit in 2, 5 gallon buckets, and the imported stuff requires a 5 and a 6 gallon {or 6.5} bucket.):fro:

steve

Ah So, I facilitated a pallet buy of malt from North Country Malt for a few home brewers here in Austin. All 2,310 pounds came in 55 # bags, but then again it was Canada Malt, BestMalz, and some UK Malt, all of it imported I guess. My only experience so far with bulk malt has been with 55 pound sacks. Intersting to know domestic bags are 5 pounds smaller. Tanks!
 
skou said:
Domestic bags are usually 50 pounds, which works out to 50 pounds.:D

steve

If you are going to spout B.S. coversions like this could you please show your work or at least link to the online calculator you used
 
Only prob with buying precrush is that everything will seperate - husks on top, endosperm on bottom - so you'll have inconsistant batches.
 
Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:
I pay about $22 CAD for a 25 kilo sack of Gambrinus grains. But then Gambrinus is only an hours drive from here. :D

Sweet price! Where's my trailer? :D
 
I just got a 55# sack of MO. It's the first time I've ever bought this much grain. Anyone ever had a problem with infestation, as in mice or moths?
 
l3lackEyedAngels said:
I just got a 55# sack of MO. It's the first time I've ever bought this much grain. Anyone ever had a problem with infestation, as in mice or moths?
Mice love grains. I'd invest in a rubbermaid storage bin with a tight fitting lid. Easier to scoop out your grains for each recipe too.
 
McKBrew said:
I look forward to joining you all grain brewers. I spent almost $60 for my last batch of pale ale using DME, and you all are getting the grain to make several batches for the same price. Makes me sick. By no means am I homebrewing to save money, but it's hard to justify a batch that costs more than a good microbrew.

We ship all of our recipes out for a 20% shipping charge, you just might be saving some money, using us. We also ship out your recipes, with the same shipping charges.

steve
 
l3lackEyedAngels said:
I just got a 55# sack of MO. It's the first time I've ever bought this much grain. Anyone ever had a problem with infestation, as in mice or moths?

If you have a FoodSaver machine, here's what 55# looks like when vacum packed.

4569-Foodsaver55poundsPale.jpg
 
skou said:
We ship all of our recipes out for a 20% shipping charge, you just might be saving some money, using us. We also ship out your recipes, with the same shipping charges.

steve


Thanks Steve. Fortuately for me I am moving back to Washington State very soon, so shipping costs will no longer be an issue.
 
EdWort said:
If you have a FoodSaver machine, here's what 55# looks like when vacum packed.

4569-Foodsaver55poundsPale.jpg


Actually I was about to ask about storage. I packed mine up in 2 gallon ziplock freezer bags about 10 # each. My basement stays pretty cool 50-60° F

Is that enough, or should I put it in my beer bridge or the freezer?
 
Hey, I got my first sack of grain today too!

White sorgum, raw, unmalted.

I've got it soaking now, first step in malting, to try making gluten free beer.

Actually it was a 5 gallon bucket, shiping ws $23. $12 for the 32# of grain, and bucket. Next order I'll either get the UPS imit. or at least ask for a 6 gallon bucket.
 
My LHBS just confirmed that they have 2-row for $35 for 50 pounds, belgian wheat for $46/50 and marris otter for $50/50.

Not GREAT prices, but it's close and I'd like them to expand their homebrew business instead of just being a place for ganj farmers.
 
Those prices aren't too bad. Pretty sure a sack of 2-row is $30 at NB (plus shipping). Marris Otter at $50 isn't bad, either. Pretty sure that's a 25kg/55lb sack, too. You might be paying an extra $5, but I'll always spend an extra 10% to give my business to the local HBS.
 
the_bird said:
Those prices aren't too bad. Pretty sure a sack of 2-row is $30 at NB (plus shipping). Marris Otter at $50 isn't bad, either. Pretty sure that's a 25kg/55lb sack, too. You might be paying an extra $5, but I'll always spend an extra 10% to give my business to the local HBS.

Shipping it about $20-$30 from most stores, so it's not too bad.
 
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