# Best Value Online Home Brew Supplies



## pearlbrew (20/1/10)

Hi there,

I'm new to the forums at aussiehomebrewer and have been brewing now for about 10 months and bypassed the bottle stage and went straight to kegs. I live in Broome W.A which is quite isolated from the rest of Australia, and 8 months ago a home brew shop opened which was great, although it was quite expensive as everything is up here. The shop lasted about 6 months and had to close down and hence our only options are the standard Coles & Woolies products (Coopers, Tooheys, etc) and do'nt allow for much experimentation. can any recommend an online supplier who's prices are competitive where freight doesn't kill the value of homebrewing? Additionally, I'd be keen to hear from anyone who traditionally uses the Coopers range (available at Coles & Woolies), and who add/order in the specialty hops/wheat malt/yeasts etc which will be lighter for freight charges and also produce great results.

Appreciate any feed back and glad to be a new member

pearlbrew


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## Mearesy (20/1/10)

Welcome to the forum pearlbrew!

Have you checked out any of the site sponsors for supplys?

Ben


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## Gout (20/1/10)

I have used some of this site sponsors to great effect!

I pick up my grain from the shop however as i dont know what the freight would be for heavy items.

grain and grape, craft brewer, beer belly are all in my bookmarks and i am sure the other sponsors are just as good!
they seem really fast to post out the goods and the prices are great. They also provide good assistance via email.


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## phinnsfotos (20/1/10)

I think getting together with a group from the local homebrew club (and/or creating a local homebrew club) to do bulk orders and try to minimize the postage costs might be the trick. Call the sponsors and plead your case


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## JonnyAnchovy (20/1/10)

say goodbye to weekend productivity and hello to your F5 key on the craftbrewer 'new products' section.


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## gjhansford (20/1/10)

My guess is your biggest cost is always going to be freight. So as everyone else here is saying ... contact the sponsors and see what their deal is. I live in Toowoomba which is less than 2 hours away from CraftBrewer in Brisbane and his freight is only $8-10 per 25kg. Good luck and welcome to the forum ... love your username!


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## pearlbrew (21/1/10)

Thanks for the welcome and to the 5 guys who responded to my posts. Your responses are appreciated and yes I have looked at some of the sponsors pages (except beer belly) which I will hunt down. I guess most of them are hamstrung by Australia Posts outrageous costs, but a good suggestion is to bulk order and hopefully use freight companies which are comparable (and often better). By the way, I'm a Beez neez fan and have been brewing replicate recipes for the past 10 months with some pretty good outcomes based on the recipes from this site. I bought a couple of cartons whilst on the east coast over christmas and I swear they hae changed their recipe I think. It was shite and very bland, with little to no honey taste. have sent Matilda Bay and email to see if they have an explanation.

Pearlbrew


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## Adamt (21/1/10)

Beez Neez is very variable depending on the freshness and handling of the product in freight.


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## T.D. (21/1/10)

Sounds like you are a kit and kilo brewer, is that right? If so, ESB produce some of the best kits in the business. Before I went to all grain I used a lot of ESB's kits, both the 3kg and 1.7kg versions. Can't go wrong with them.

Edit: link: http://www.esbeer.com.au/category20_1.htm


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## gunbrew (21/1/10)

"I'd be keen to hear from anyone who traditionally uses the Coopers range (available at Coles & Woolies), and who add/order in the specialty hops/wheat malt/yeasts etc which will be lighter for freight charges and also produce great results."

I use to brew with Coopers cans and they can give great results.
Some suggestions below.

Light stuff you could have mailed cheeply would include:
- better yeast, like Safale 04 or safale 05. About $7
- Grain infusion packs (200g of cracked grain you steep and add to your brew) About $3
- Hops, buy 100g and spread it over a few brews. about $8

Using the yeast that comes with your coopers kit as a yeast nutrient.
Simply empty the coopers yeast you are not using into some water, boil the yeast up then add it to your fermenter with the kit.
This kills the coopers yeast and the resulting left overs are nutrients to help your yeast during fermentation.

2 cans of coopers making 23 litres was a good beer.

European lager, 500g of light malt extract with some extra hops was nice.

Keeping the temprature of your fermenting brew stable makes your beer better.
I generally ferment at about 18 degrees.
Do this by getting a fridgemate or similar, then you can set the temprature of the fridge at 18 degrees or what ever you chose, stick your fermenter in there and your good to go.

You could add honey to coopers cans also if thats what you like.
I read that you should avoid honey made from eucolyptus trees as it can impart a bitter taste.

Happy brewing.


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## manticle (21/1/10)

Gout said:


> I have used some of this site sponsors to great effect!
> 
> I pick up my grain from the shop however as i dont know what the freight would be for heavy items.
> 
> ...




Grain and grape freight costs are postage. I assume most/all of the others are too. Postage within the state is very good - $7.45 covers up to 20 kg within metro melbourne (not sure about greater melbourne) as long as it fits in one box. I've had 15+kg of grain sent, burners sent, fermenters and demijohns sent etc etc. I don't drive so paying less than $8 for over 15kg of grain plus yeast and hops for a few brews worth delivered to my doorstep makes things dead easy.


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## np1962 (21/1/10)

While the sponsors are great and I endorse the sentiment that you could try them but as mentioned postage to Broome could be the killer.
I can't believe no-one has mentioned the Perth HBS's. Gryphon Brewing where are you? I also know of T.W.O.C over there.
I would suggest you contact them, a bit of a Google should give you the contact details or GB may stumble onto this thread and give himself a plug.
I'm sure there are other WA based retailers, Perth guys let us know who they are.
Cheers
Nige


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## pearlbrew (21/1/10)

Adamt said:


> Beez Neez is very variable depending on the freshness and handling of the product in freight.



Good to know and that may be the problem. Thanks Adamt


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## pearlbrew (21/1/10)

T.D. said:


> Sounds like you are a kit and kilo brewer, is that right? If so, ESB produce some of the best kits in the business. Before I went to all grain I used a lot of ESB's kits, both the 3kg and 1.7kg versions. Can't go wrong with them.
> 
> Edit: link: http://www.esbeer.com.au/category20_1.htm



Yep T.D a kit man at the moment not necessarily by choice, and keen to get into All grains. Thanks for the link, will check it out


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## jyo (21/1/10)

NigeP62 said:


> While the sponsors are great and I endorse the sentiment that you could try them but as mentioned postage to Broome could be the killer.
> I can't believe no-one has mentioned the Perth HBS's. Gryphon Brewing where are you? I also know of T.W.O.C over there.
> I would suggest you contact them, a bit of a Google should give you the contact details or GB may stumble onto this thread and give himself a plug.
> I'm sure there are other WA based retailers, Perth guys let us know who they are.
> ...



Welcome to the forum. Lots of great advice and shit funny threads on here.
+1 for Nev from Gryphon Brewing and Roy from TWOC. Both provide great products and service. Would be cheaper postage from Perth too mate.
Cheers, John.

Gryphon: www.gryphonbrewing.com.au/store/index.php
TWOC: www.homebru.com.au/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=12_22


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## pearlbrew (21/1/10)

gunbrew said:


> "I'd be keen to hear from anyone who traditionally uses the Coopers range (available at Coles & Woolies), and who add/order in the specialty hops/wheat malt/yeasts etc which will be lighter for freight charges and also produce great results."
> 
> I use to brew with Coopers cans and they can give great results.
> Some suggestions below.
> ...


Ta gunbrew,

Yep the cans will form the basis of my brews for now, but will continue to get the specialty stuff (hops, malts & yeast ) posted. I've been using Muntons Premium Gold Yeast as it handles our warm tropical temps here better. I'll need another old fridge with the Fridgemate, as my spare houses my 2 kegs at the moment (missus wont be happy). I brew in the laundry with the aircon on to try to maintain as low as possible, but the best I get is around 24-26 oC. Gotta get serious I know (maybe a bar fridge is a good compromise. Your right about the honey - i try to stay away from the Eucalypts as well. The Coles brand has performed well, and interesting the Wescobee which is often recommended, didn't taste as good as thee coles replicating the same recipe with the only difference being the Honey.

pearlbrew


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## pearlbrew (21/1/10)

hey everyone who is posting to me (pearlbrew). If you are interested, we have a Cat 4 cyclone bearing down on us over the next 48 hours (check out www.bom.gov.au and go to W.A weather warnings and Tropical Cyclone Magda threat Map). Living up hear is a challenge. If it continues close to broome we lose power and I had planned to brew on saturday. How is one supposed to keep brewing with the interuptions from mother nature?


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## thanme (21/1/10)

Haha. Maybe leave your fermenter outside and heavily strapped down and pioneer some form of "cyclone fermentation". It could be awesome


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## pearlbrew (21/1/10)

jyo said:


> Welcome to the forum. Lots of great advice and shit funny threads on here.
> +1 for Nev from Gryphon Brewing and Roy from TWOC. Both provide great products and service. Would be cheaper postage from Perth too mate.
> Cheers, John.
> 
> ...



Well played John - checked out both places that are now booked marked. prices are very competitive. Appreciate it 

pearlbrew


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## pearlbrew (21/1/10)

pearlbrew said:


> Yep T.D a kit man at the moment not necessarily by choice, and keen to get into All grains. Thanks for the link, will check it out



might give these a crack as they look simplistic too.


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## T.D. (21/1/10)

Not sure why I didn't think of this before, but another option are the "Master Brews" from http://stillbrewing.com.au/. I have actually never used these kits but back in the Grumpy's days everybody used to rave and rave about them (Boston Cream was one that everybody couldn't get enough of). They are basically an extract kit but with a few little extras that perk them up a bit into something a bit fresher and more unique. Well worth a try.

The rest of their stuff (hops etc) is really good value as well.


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## brenjak (21/1/10)

As has been said before...check the sponsors. It all depends on what you want and if they have it. Everything for me is mail order so i try to use the store with the most products i want to save on postage. Craftbrewer can send a grain bill for a 20 to 25 litre batch for about $15 which is pretty good. I have bought from just about everyone at some point though and found all to be very good!



ghhb said:


> My guess is your biggest cost is always going to be freight. So as everyone else here is saying ... contact the sponsors and see what their deal is. I live in Toowoomba which is less than 2 hours away from CraftBrewer in Brisbane and his freight is only $8-10 per 25kg. Good luck and welcome to the forum ... love your username!


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## Bribie G (21/1/10)

pearlbrew said:


> hey everyone who is posting to me (pearlbrew). If you are interested, we have a Cat 4 cyclone bearing down on us over the next 48 hours (check out www.bom.gov.au and go to W.A weather warnings and Tropical Cyclone Magda threat Map). Living up hear is a challenge. If it continues close to broome we lose power and I had planned to brew on saturday. How is one supposed to keep brewing with the interuptions from mother nature?



Hopefully some of it will make its way over to Queensland like the last one did, and give us some rain B) . I've ordered from Gryphon in Perth on a couple of occasions and the postage has been Aus Post standard and fast delivery, you'd do even better in Broome.


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## Online Brewing Supplies (21/1/10)

Yes we service quite a few towns up north. Postage is not a problem but 25 kg bags going that way can be expensive.
GB


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## Batz (21/1/10)

Gryphon Brewing said:


> Yes we service quite a few towns up north. Postage is not a problem but 25 kg bags going that way can be expensive.
> GB




I can tell how to get a couple of bags to Karatha/Dampier for just a carton, overnight as well  

Batz


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## pearlbrew (22/1/10)

Gryphon Brewing said:


> Yes we service quite a few towns up north. Postage is not a problem but 25 kg bags going that way can be expensive.
> GB



Thanks GB. Heading to Perth in 2 weeks. What is your store address? Going to push my 23kg bag allowance to the max before Qantas charges for excess baggage.


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## Dazza_devil (22/1/10)

G'day Brewers,

Here's some things to consider when buying from the sponsors,

I'm in Tassie, the worst place in the world for homebrew stuff.

Just made an order from G&G for 3kgs of Dried Wheat Malt. I couldn't find the stuff anywhere else and it's friggin expensive. I ordered Wednesday online and made a note for it to be sent express, hoping I would have it use on the weekend. Then it takes them two days to process the order and it's been shipped today. You don't know how much you will be charged for shipping on an order until it has been processed. Turns out I was charged over 17 dollars for a 5kg Express Satchel and it might show up Monday with a bit of luck. That's over 60 bux for just the dried malt for this brew. I can get the same weight sent from Craft Brewer in Queensland in a 5kg a few cents cheaper, work that one out.

Recently I ordered half a dozen 500g bags of cracked spec. grains, a few 90g packs of hop pellets, two liquid yeast satchels with 2 ice packs and a jar of PBW from Craftbrewer in Queensland. The weight come in a little under 5kgs and it cost a little over 17 dollars express which is quite good I thought. The package was shipped within 2 days and it arrived the next day, not bad. The yeast had kept quite cool in transit and a pack swelled within 2 hours after smakin, pretty good. My only complaint with this order would be that the the ice from the gelpacks, which were very roughly cut, melted and entered two of the so called airtight vacuum sealed bags the grain comes in and the lid was loose on the PBW and it got into that as well. I politely advised Ross by email to look into the matter to avoid dissapointing any future customers but never received a reply. Perhaps the two missed calls from Queensland on my phone may have been from him, two different numbers and neither was the shop number. Anyway he never replied to the email asking if it was him that rang either. 

Only minor issues but something which may help anyone ordering online from the sponsors.

Cheers.


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## Batz (22/1/10)

Boagsy said:


> G'day Brewers,
> 
> 
> Recently I ordered half a dozen 500g bags of cracked spec. grains, a few 90g packs of hop pellets, two liquid yeast satchels with 2 ice packs and a jar of PBW from Craftbrewer in Queensland. The weight come in a little under 5kgs and it cost a little over 17 dollars express which is quite good I thought. The package was shipped within 2 days and it arrived the next day, not bad. The yeast had kept quite cool in transit and a pack swelled within 2 hours after smakin, pretty good. My only complaint with this order would be that the the ice from the gelpacks, which were very roughly cut, melted and entered two of the so called airtight vacuum sealed bags the grain comes in and the lid was loose on the PBW and it got into that as well. I politely advised Ross by email to look into the matter to avoid dissapointing any future customers but never received a reply. Perhaps the two missed calls from Queensland on my phone may have been from him, two different numbers and neither was the shop number. Anyway he never replied to the email asking if it was him that rang either.
> ...




Return it at your expense for a replacement.

Batz


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## Dazza_devil (22/1/10)

Batz said:


> Return it at your expense for a replacement.
> 
> Batz




Not likely, sick of forkin out for stuff. 
The grain might be alright, only a small amount of it appeared to be affected by moisture, I repacked it into snap locks and put into airtight containers.
I just scooped the lumps out of the PBW and hopefully it will be OK too. 

I reckon I'll look into a mill and buy my grain uncracked from elsewhere in future.
Since I can get stuff sent express from Queensland cheaper and faster than Grain and Grape in Victoria I wouldn't bother purchasing from them again.


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## manticle (22/1/10)

Boagsy said:


> . I politely advised Ross by email to look into the matter to avoid dissapointing any future customers but never received a reply. Perhaps the two missed calls from Queensland on my phone may have been from him, two different numbers and neither was the shop number. Anyway he never replied to the email asking if it was him that rang either.



Just send him a PM through the forum.


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## Dazza_devil (22/1/10)

Thanks mate, I never thought of doing that.
He just sent me a PM and is looking into it.


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## BristleBeard (22/1/10)

pearlbrew said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I'm new to the forums at aussiehomebrewer and have been brewing now for about 10 months and bypassed the bottle stage and went straight to kegs. I live in Broome W.A which is quite isolated from the rest of Australia, and 8 months ago a home brew shop opened which was great, although it was quite expensive as everything is up here. The shop lasted about 6 months and had to close down and hence our only options are the standard Coles & Woolies products (Coopers, Tooheys, etc) and do'nt allow for much experimentation. can any recommend an online supplier who's prices are competitive where freight doesn't kill the value of homebrewing? Additionally, I'd be keen to hear from anyone who traditionally uses the Coopers range (available at Coles & Woolies), and who add/order in the specialty hops/wheat malt/yeasts etc which will be lighter for freight charges and also produce great results.



Welcome to the forums. I have very limited experience compared to most of the fellas here but I had a go at a pale ale from the coopers draught extract I got from Woolies (It was on special and still had 2 years before expiry) and with the extra hops and yeast I added, I think it turned out pretty good. I was told the draught extract was the best as it had a well balance, reliable ''beer" flavour. I added some 12g of Amarillo during boiling used that US 05 Safale yeast and dry hopped with some cascade in secondary for little more than a week. ( Will do at leat 2 weeks next time as I want more of that grassy flavour) My only issue is I keep wondering whether the hop oils from the extract made it a little too powerfully bitter with my added Amarillo hops but as this ale matures, I am noticing how drinkable it is getting. though my dad doesn't like it, but he thinks "crownies" were made in heaven and is the only beer worth drinking. But I digress. I do not encourage buying " Supermarket Homebrew" if there is a struggling homebrew shop down the road but I think you can do some good brew with the coopers extracts, as long as you ditch the yeast under the lid.

Some links:

http://www.hbkitreviews.com Havent even clicked on it but I imagine it could be bad.
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...;hl=supermarket This may help but I'm not sure.

hope this helps. Cheers, I have to finish this long neck


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## Dazza_devil (22/1/10)

Gryphon Brewing said:


> Not stirring the pot but if it had PBW in it dont use it ! I am sure you will get looked after.
> GB



Thanks for the heads up on that one GB. What's the worry with the stuff getting in?
I reckon the PBW did get through the post satchel, it definitely wasn't pure water spilled, it felt a bit slimey. Perhaps it's possible that quite a number of my brews could be contaminated through careless packing. Many hours of work and a lotta dollars in expense at risk.

I guess they can't improve packing methods if they are not aware of the way things will be treated in transit but I did expect better. Wouldn't take much to put the yeast and gel packs in a seperate sealed satchel inside the post pack at least.
Ross has offered a 5kg Express satchel shipped free as an apology and I also got an IM from an employee with the promise of putting it all right with a number to ring.

Cheers


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## pearlbrew (24/1/10)

Hi All,

You guys have been great help with your suggestions, so I need a bit more advice from the fraternity of homebrewers. Being in the tropics as I told you is tough going, and I experienced that yesterday when i brewed my james Squire Golden Ale version I got off this site (with a few modifications from a mate who is the guru brewer). But i again came into my usual problem - CONTROLLING THE WORT TEMPERATURE. Now, I've searched for the cooling options and my mate suggested the fridgemate. Trouble is, I already have a second fridge with my double keg set-up so I cant play with the temps there as my brewed kegs will get hot. I pitched at around 20 degrees, but by this morning (with wet towels and a water bath), the brew temp hit 28 degrees and was literally boiling at fermentation (air lock blowout). Any advice on the best way to go but avoiding buying another old fridge just to keep the wort and fermentation process chilled & housed. I have already decided I need to get that wort temp to stay on 18, but what is the best and most effect option for me. Appreciate any advice.

Pearlbrew.


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## paulwolf350 (24/1/10)

pearlbrew said:


> Hi All,
> 
> You guys have been great help with your suggestions, so I need a bit more advice from the fraternity of homebrewers. Being in the tropics as I told you is tough going, and I experienced that yesterday when i brewed my james Squire Golden Ale version I got off this site (with a few modifications from a mate who is the guru brewer). But i again came into my usual problem - CONTROLLING THE WORT TEMPERATURE. Now, I've searched for the cooling options and my mate suggested the fridgemate. Trouble is, I already have a second fridge with my double keg set-up so I cant play with the temps there as my brewed kegs will get hot. I pitched at around 20 degrees, but by this morning (with wet towels and a water bath), the brew temp hit 28 degrees and was literally boiling at fermentation (air lock blowout). Any advice on the best way to go but avoiding buying another old fridge just to keep the wort and fermentation process chilled & housed. I have already decided I need to get that wort temp to stay on 18, but what is the best and most effect option for me. Appreciate any advice.
> 
> Pearlbrew.



There really is only one answer

Keep asking around for an old fridge, 

eventually one will turn up, I looked and looked never found anything. Then bingo, one turns up, then another, then another. Now I am giving them away again. passing it on to other brewers

as for your current problem, I would be getting a plastic garbage bin from bunnings and putting water and ice in that, wrapping that up with wet towels and changing the ice every day

I tried using wet towels just over the fermenter on the concrete floor ( with ice under the towel) but found it dried out too quick. The garbage works better

Paul


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