Dorset home-brewers grain group buy

[Tony623]

Good evening, whilst I am still very much a newbie both here and with home-brewing. I would like to get in touch with brewers in the Dorset and surrounding areas with a view to swapping tips, recipes ideas etc. In addition, I would also like to gauge the interest in setting up a grain group buying cooperative, that covers Dorset and possibly the South West, within a respectable travelling distance for people.
I have had a chat with Obadiah Boondoggle from the South Cheshire group buy and he has been very helpful with information. Hopefully this is not a forlorn hope and we will not only be able to arrange a group buy, but will also be able to develop a Dorset (and possibly South West) home-brewers group. I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, so if there is an active group already in existence, please let me know.
I have today made a Facebook group called Dorset Home-brewers Group. It’s brand new with no content so if your in Dorset and want to be involved, please come along and join in.

With regard to a group buy, (words borrowed from OB):
The main purpose of this post is to see what interest there is in:

1. Buying grain through a Dorset/Southwest group buy.

2. Being involved as one of the organisers, there are potentially at least 3 roles needed depending on how it is set up.

- Someone to receive and collate orders from members.
- Someone who can take a delivery of a pallet containing 40 X 25kg bags and keep them dry for a couple of days until members collect.
-Someone to be the treasurer.

I could take on all 3 but would very much welcome assistance.

regards
Tony

 

[Oneflewover]

Hi @Tony623 I'm around Dorchester. Very interested in the home brewers group, will check out FB later. There is a Wessex home-brewers group on FB but it's very much BCP based.

As much as I really admire the notion of a group buying co-op, I'm not sure it's for me. I tend to use a variety of base malts and rarely buy as much as 25kg in one go.

Where are you planning to source the grain from out of interest?

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

I would be really pleased to support this initiative in any way I can

Co-operation and collaboration are powerful tools

Here in South Cheshire our local malt buying co-operative has saved us a lot of money, but more importantly than that we have formed some great friendships and support on both brewing and non brewing issues.

There are now 15 of us in the local group, we organise bottle swaps, regular meets in local drinking establishments and a weekly virtual pub meetings via GoogleMeet

I very much applaud Tony's initiative here and hope that he will receive the support and responses that he deserves

Let's create something great in Dorset & the South West!

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Hi @Tony623 I'm around Dorchester. Very interested in the home brewers group, will check out FB later. There is a Wessex home-brewers group on FB but it's very much BCP based.

As much as I really admire the notion of a group buying co-op, I'm not sure it's for me. I tend to use a variety of base malts and rarely buy as much as 25kg in one go.

Where are you planning to source the grain from out of interest?

We have found that if a few people are involved you could share a 25kg bag between you. We are happy to use our contacts at Crisp and Muntons to kick start this

 

[Tony623]

Hi @Tony623 I'm around Dorchester. Very interested in the home brewers group, will check out FB later. There is a Wessex home-brewers group on FB but it's very much BCP based.

As much as I really admire the notion of a group buying co-op, I'm not sure it's for me. I tend to use a variety of base malts and rarely buy as much as 25kg in one go.

Where are you planning to source the grain from out of interest?

Hi Oneflewover, I am not 100% sure of the original source but if we get this off the ground it would be with/alongside the South Cheshire group. There is also the possibility of smaller amounts becoming available.

 

[Oneflewover]

Sounds good. Hopefully a few more will get involved

 

[Tony623]

Hopefully!

 

[Corbières]

The South Cheshire malt buying group led by OB and supported by his team is a fantastic initiative. I found the group on THBF and have been able to source ingredients at very good prices. Everyone is very supportive.
Collection of the malt is often shared so not everyone travels to source and can pickup more locally to home. I have learned a lot from the buying group and made some new friendships.
I would encourage brewers to support and benefit from the Dorset group buy proposal.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi Tony i hope this works for you and fellow brewers in Dorset and Southwest i use the the south west cheshire group it's great and i discovered Sandbach a lovely little town with a great market and a really good bottle shop, i try to collect my grain on market day, on my last collection i bought a lot of seafood on the market and half a sheep from a local farm shop so yeah it's not all about the grain, good luck Tony hope it works out for you and fellow brewers

 

[Summer Lane Brewery]

I put a post on Saturday on some Facebook brewing groups I’m a member of trying to do the same for the North Somerset area. Why I didn’t do it on this group I’m not too sure!! As always, geography is a challenge but I got 8 responses from brewers interested in meeting to taste and swap beers, ideas and techniques etc. I know there’s a brewing group in Bristol that meet monthly (pre-lockdown) and one in South Wales but that’s the only one I know about. I’d be interested in sharing any info that could help with setting up a successful group. If there’s anyone in the Weston-super-Mare area that is interested and hasn’t already contacted me, please let me know.

 

[Tony623]

I put a post on Saturday on some Facebook brewing groups I’m a member of trying to do the same for the North Somerset area. Why I didn’t do it on this group I’m not too sure!! As always, geography is a challenge but I got 8 responses from brewers interested in meeting to taste and swap beers, ideas and techniques etc. I know there’s a brewing group in Bristol that meet monthly (pre-lockdown) and one in South Wales but that’s the only one I know about. I’d be interested in sharing any info that could help with setting up a successful group. If there’s anyone in the Weston-super-Mare area that is interested and hasn’t already contacted me, please let me know.

Hi, 8 is a good start, fingers crossed you get it off the ground. Are you or any of the 8 interested in a grain group buy? Whilst North Somerset is probably a tad too far from where I am for a quick nip out to pick up some grain, one thing I have noticed is that people will relay and maybe become a secondary hub. So perhaps there is mileage (pardon the pun) in potentially joining forces to get us to the magic number of 40 x 25kg sacks if there is any interest?

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Hi, 8 is a good start, fingers crossed you get it off the ground. Are you or any of the 8 interested in a grain group buy? Whilst North Somerset is probably a tad too far from where I am for a quick nip out to pick up some grain, one thing I have noticed is that people will relay and maybe become a secondary hub. So perhaps there is mileage (pardon the pun) in potentially joining forces to get us to the magic number of 40 x 25kg sacks if there is any interest?

The secondary hub idea is certainly what we do here and as a result people 100miles+ from us have contributed to our buying strength. In fact, in one case 166 miles away, it's all about people expressing initial interest with no commitment to see what can be created

 

[starseeker]

I would be interested in principle in joining ,
i am right on the Dorset /somerset border (Crewkerne) so i will keep my eye on this thread .

 

[Oneflewover]

Evening @Tony623. Unfortunately I can't find the "Dorset Home-brewers Group" on FB?

 

[Tony623]

Evening @Tony623. Unfortunately I can't find the "Dorset Home-brewers Group" on FB?

My brother said the same, I will have a look at the settings to see why it’s not visible and provide a link. TBH your not missing anything right now as it is brand new with zero content, however it is a start and ready to be built on.

 

[Tony623]

My brother said the same, I will have a look at the settings to see why it’s not visible and provide a link. TBH your not missing anything right now as it is brand new with zero content, however it is a start and ready to be built on.

So I asked the long haired general to have a look for the group, after minutes of scrolling she eventually came across it. so it is visible, it is just so far down the list it takes forever to get there!
Like I said earlier, it’s a blank canvas ready for developing. Here’s the link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/355982793012973/

 

[Oneflewover]

I've sent a request to join

 

[user 41945]

Working now - I'm in. Used the link above.

 

[Motorhomebrew]

Count me in, I live and work at Golden Cap Holiday Park in seatown DT6

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

I think that it is a certain as Christmas that malt prices will rise significantly next year - hence it's a great time to get a Dorset Group going or someone hires a van and collects for your local group from us - it will add to the cost but it may still be cheaper if we can build a big enough order before the end of the year