Malt prices

[the_quick]

First, if this is in conflict of forum rules, please just delete.

Just needed some more special malt, that my local micro brewer doesn't have (I buy my malt and hops from him.

I needed some pilsner malt and just went searching for the cheapest - ever penny counts. And I was surprised how the price differ. This is not to have a go at any supplier, just an observation. Took for example Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner:

The Home brew company - £1.65
Get Er Brewed - £1.60
Malt Miller - £1.95 p/kg
The home brew shop - £2.08

The first two are based in Ireland and N. Ireland - so wonder if different taxes, rules etc have impact on this

 

[simon12]

Just looking at HBC and HBS the 25Kg crushed price is 80p different so HBC just charges less for repacking it into smaller amounts.

 

[An Ankoù]

And £2.01 at BrewUK.
Buying full 25 Kg bags tends to level out the difference between some of the suppliers. I find the Malt Miller very expensive, even for a 25Kg bag.
I don't think the Irish suppliers have different tax rates and I find I can save most of the cost of postage by ordering from them. The Homebrewcompany tends to be cheapest, but Geterbrewed works out cheaper for small quantities. the defining factor for me is the max weight of the parcel for a single delivery charge where the Homebrewcompany come out tops with a stonking 31 Kg.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

The Worcester hop shop where I buy is £1.70/kg or £30 for 25kg.

 

[oracleoftruth]

Yeah geterbrewed are coming up cheapest now as HBC will be hit with the weak pound whereas GEB is in the North where they still have sterling.

 

[MyQul]

For a 25kg of base malt, HBC is still the cheapest I can find (for their minch malt)

 

[An Ankoù]

For a 25kg of base malt, HBC is still the cheapest I can find (for their minch malt)

And a fine malt it is, to be sure. They also seem to have special offers more frequently than any of the others. Nevertheless, GEB, appear to start from the full sack price and do smaller amounts at a pro-rata price. So Crisp Pale, for example is £24.75 a sack or 99p a kilo. Wile a sack of Minch Pale is only £21.95, but £1.25 for a kilo.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

It's a bit weird at the moment as the gyrations of the exchange rate mean that you're slightly at the mercy of when a retailer bought their supplies. Given that most pilsner malt comes from the eurozone, you're going to see an exchange rate effect regardless of where the retailer is based.

 

[the_quick]

I wonder if Crisps Europils is made from British malt or they import grain and than malt it

 

[An Ankoù]

I wonder if Crisps Europils is made from British malt or they import grain and than malt it

I understand that the UK is a net exporter of malting barley and that this year, because of the uncertainty over brexit and the possibility of tariffs, some big German sales have been lost. (I think contracts are drawn up many months in advance of the harvest). So I don't think Crisp's would find it economical to import barley. Might be wrong, though.