Recommended malt and hops suppliers

[reanimate]

Hi all.
Just doing my research right now and could do with some help.
Can anyone recommend some decent malt and hops suppliers?
I guess I'm looking for freshness, quality ???
Thanks,

Simon.

 

[dennisking]

the maltmiller gives great service

 

[snail59]

There are several. All of the forum sposors (top of the page) are good and reliable. As Dennis has said The Malt Miller & Worcester Hop Shop. I use The Thrifty Shopper quite a lot but have also used Hop & Grape as well as some of the afformentioned. Shop around amongst them and keep an eye on who has deals on stuff you need.

 

[dan_loves_beer]

Malt miller is my favorite. He stocks Thomas fawcett malt. He doesn't have a lot of pellet hops yet, but if you preferred them He'll likely order the type you want.

 

[seanipops]

I use Easy Home Brew in Ashford. THBF members get a discount - see Vossy1's post in the snug.

 

[BigYin]

Where are you based?

If you can, I personally strongly believe in supporting your local homebrew shop (often referred to one here as LHBS) - so if that is an option for you, think of all the postage costs you will dave, as well as ready access to help and advice :thumb:

If that isn't an option, do keep an eye on delivery costs - grain is heavy!! - and if you are going to buy large volumes so that you can get a free delivery deal, make sure you have space and equipment to store it safely, so it doesn't spoil or get attacked by mice etc :nono:

 

[Mike1981]

Ive just started using the malt miller for grain and hops, espescially as the hops are much, much cheaper than my LHBS. Another reason is that the delivery is superb, usually the next day if ordered early enough. :thumb:

 

[orange]

I like to support my LHBS as well. The postage is FREE and it's a good opportunity to talk homebrew. I'm very glad it's there. :thumb:

 

[luckyeddie]

I've used all the sponsored links now - all are extremely reliable. I've also used Worcester Hop Shop - equally reliable and excellent prices for hops. Like others have said, it's also nice to support your LHBS every now and again - there are perhaps going to be occasions when you get into your mash and suddenly discover that that yeastie starter you've lovingly nurtured over the last few days actually has a fly in it and the whole thing now stinks like the chip shop in Acetobacterville. A quick trip down the road to pick up a packet of Nottingham and you've saved the brewday. Without them, perhaps many of us would have never progressed beyond Tom Caxton kits from Wilkos - they're worth supporting.

 

[reanimate]

Brilliant - much appreciated.
(I'm based in Burnham near Slough)
Sorry for the lack of replies been working on a customer site all week.
Thanks,

Simon.

 

[reanimate]

Thinking about grain, how long does it last?

 

[luckyeddie]

Thinking about grain, how long does it last?

A very good question.

Malt will keep, but you will need to look after it. I buy my bulk malts in 25 kg sacks (by 'bulk malt' I mean the stuff that forms up to 90% of the grainbill for my brews, e.g. Maris Otter, Lager Malt etc). The grain comes in a large plastic bag inside a sack. I just make sure that I re-seal the bags after use - I would reckon to go through a sack inside three months.

Speciality grains (crystal malts, biscuit malts, black malts etc) I tend to order in quantities up to 3 kg at a time. These I re-bag into 1 kg bags when I get them - I label the bags with what they are and when they arrived - this aids stock control and rotation, so I can ensure that I use up old stuff before I start on its replacement.

After they've been re-bagged, I put the bags in a couple of those big Youngs FVs - these are great because the lids seal well, it keeps the grain out of the light and - bonus - you can scribble on them with a marker to tell you what's in them. I also keep a record of my stock in a spreadsheet.

I'm informed that you can keep grain this way for up to a year, but I reckon that's pushing it.

Edit: The above is for crushed malt. If you crush it yourself as and when you require it, then it will probably last longer.

 

[Aleman]

Thinking about grain, how long does it last?

I'm informed that you can keep grain this way for up to a year, but I reckon that's pushing it.

Not at all, as long as it is kept dry (and I use bags of silica Gel in my containers to ensure that) grain will easily last a year . . . . and even longer if you buy it uncrushed and crush it yourself.

Phil at Wibblers used to say that he noticed a drop in efficiency as the malt got older (up to three months), but since upgrading to the 18BBL plant his malt turnover is much higher . . .

 

[luckyeddie]

Thinking about grain, how long does it last?

I'm informed that you can keep grain this way for up to a year, but I reckon that's pushing it.

Not at all, as long as it is kept dry (and I use bags of silica Gel in my containers to ensure that) grain will easily last a year . . . . and even longer if you buy it uncrushed and crush it yourself.

Phil at Wibblers used to say that he noticed a drop in efficiency as the malt got older (up to three months), but since upgrading to the 18BBL plant his malt turnover is much higher . . .

Thanks.

I never thought about using silica gel. That's a great idea - ordering some 50g packs from Amazon now....