All grain Supplies

[chor808]

Where are you getting your supplies from? I don't have a local shop and I'm getting fed up of paying 6 or 7 pounds for shipping for a 9 quid all grain kit. Anyone got any ideas, online or near MK or is it just order in bulk?

Cheers

 

[Saisonator]

I get AG kits from Malt Miller.
I buy 5 at a time and keep them in a well sealed bin, I only brew once a month and although the are pre crushed I don't find any issues with freshness and any noticeable loss of efficiency.

 

[chor808]

I get AG kits from Malt Miller.
I buy 5 at a time and keep them in a well sealed bin, I only brew once a month and although the are pre crushed I don't find any issues with freshness and any noticeable loss of efficiency.

Thanks, I was planning to do the same order 5 or 6. I was bothered about freshness too. That may be a plan then.

 

[darkbright]

Can't really fault the Malt Miller for service or quality. I once ordered twice in a day because I had forgotton some stuff. They spotted the 2 orders, merged them and refunded one delivery fee. Not many companies would do that.

The AG kits from there have been fine for me - just make sure you read the instructions and batch sizes on each kit.

 

[Norfolk79]

I buy most of mine from The Homebrew Company, although I have used the Malt Miller and Brew UK for other sundry pieces of equipment.

When I started out with kits I did use The Home Brew Shop in Farnborough quite regularly and I can't fault them either. They're very helpful and reply to emails very promptly.

 

[Saisonator]

Can't really fault the Malt Miller for service or quality. I once ordered twice in a day because I had forgotton some stuff. They spotted the 2 orders, merged them and refunded one delivery fee. Not many companies would do that.

The AG kits from there have been fine for me - just make sure you read the instructions and batch sizes on each kit.

The AG kits I use from MM are the ones I make up myself via there web site function.

 

[chub1]

I don't buy kits but use Geterbrewed for grains and hops. I order enough to try and make it worthwhile paying the postage.
Usually pretty good,have had a couple of minor issues of late but sorted.

 

[Leon103]

I just buy in bulk to spread the cost of shopping. Store in air tight barrels. My grain is a tear old and my last brew was 85% efficiency

 

[Bigjas]

I'm another one who buys in bulk from Malt Miller. My LHBS doesn't really cater for AG brewing, so I buy in bulk online. I have recently bought a mill to crush my own grain, as I read that uncrushed grain stays fresher for longer.

 

[Ajhutch]

I buy from Malt Miller for about three or four brews in advance. I like their selection of malts and that amount of grain stays below 25kg for which delivery is very reasonable. It's also about the amount I can easily store in sealed containers.

 

[Gerryjo]

Can't see the point in ordering kits to order online when you can buy the ingredients in bulk,seal in a tight container for freshness and use when needed.I buy in bulk but have a mate that brews as well and has just recently moved to AG so we've always ordered together unless I was buying 25kg plus speciality grains.
If you have the space you'll certainly save delivery cost by buying bulk.

 

[Sandimas]

Like others, I buy in bulk for multiple brews to take advantage of free postage from various suppliers. Usually add a kit in there if I'm running short.

I'm not sure how much the freshness is an issue, my adjunct grains are sealed with food bag clips and then stored in a sealed plastic box. Even my crushed base malt is stored that way and kept for months, although I don't buy massive quantities at a time.

 

[davidgreen]

Here in Toronto we do a club bulk buy, we teamed up with one of the home brew supply stores and we do 2 bulk buys a year. We pay the same per sack as the home brew store + $5 which we receive back in a gift card, we do full sacks but also a partial page where people can split a sack between 4 or 5 people. It does take a bit of coordination and a home brew store that is willing to work with you but it can be way cheaper and just 2 trips a year to get your grain.
We do the collection at the home brew store and many people buy other stuff while they are there.
Maybe worth someone thinking about setting this up.

 

[Slid]

I use the Worcester Hop Shop for most of my English type beer supplies, but use the HBC for the things the WHS don't stock. So, for instance, I bought a load of ageing hops from HBC as well as the Wheat malt and Pilsner for wheat beer experiments, too.

I buy a 25g sack of base malt plus some hops and as many other grains as I can squeeze in under the 30kg limit for the carrier the WHS use. This is good for 5 brews and usually comes in at around £50, including carriage. It must be said, though, that I am no great lover of over-priced USA C hop brews, with 2x 100g @ £6 a pop.

 

[Zephyr259]

Similar to folks here I've just moved over to buying uncrushed grain, 25 kg bulk sack of pale malt, 10 kg lager malt then various specialty malts ranging from 250g to 3kg depending on what I'm planning to brew and what percentage you can use. Last order was from GEB, next will be from HBC as they stock the specialties I want and Wyeast yeast, if it wasn't for the yeast I'd use the malt miller. Still might change my mind and go for white labs stuff instead.

 

[darkbright]

The AG kits I use from MM are the ones I make up myself via there web site function.

I have done a few of each. The batch size can sometimes be different on other peoples kits so worth checking if anyone goes down that route.