Bulk Buying Ingredients & Is It Worth It?

[Diesel80]

I would buy grain in bulk, it's always a good idea for base malts at least, except it costs twice as much to get it to Darwin than it does to actually buy the malt. You'd think chucking 25-50 kg of grain on a truck would be cheaper than sending it via Auspost or something. Apparently not.

Incidentally, if anybody knows a reasonable way of getting bulk grain to the middle of nowhere (Perth, Darwin, etc), let me know! As long as it ends up cheaper than buying extract I'll be happy.

Slash,



no problems getting grain in perth mate. Not sure how Darwin fares. Sounds bad though

 

[MartsHomeBrew]

After buying nearly all the AG ingredients in bulk at some stage I have settled on only buying a good Pilsner malt in 25kg sacks.

Reason: variety.

Bulk yeast - well you're already doing that when you buy 100 billion in one pack. Yeast culturing and pack splitting etc is a better idea IMO. Yeast variety is important for beer variety.

Bulk hops - great idea if you make 100L per week. Say you have freezer space for 12 pounds (4 for PAs, 4 for Lagers, 4 for other) ... do you know how long it takes to actually use 12 pounds of hops? What you are actually doing is buying 12 pounds of hops and then you have 8 pounds of 3 year old hops in 3 years. Old hops (even stored well) are not as good as new hops.

Spec malts - also nice to try them all, and there's a lot of them. A kg or two at a time is fine - most recipes don't use much.

It costs about $5 more per batch to use fresh ingredients and brew a different beer each time - that's why I only buy base grain in bulk. Weyermann Pilsner ... can use it in everything.

Not making the beer that it says on the label of the can is the best thing about AG. You can make any beer ... in the world.

Was just reading a US blog (jaysbrewingblog) discussing 5 base malts. They are listed asf:

2 Row
6 Row
Pilsen
Pale
Marris Otter

Also been studying the Weyermann website, and based on beer I like, I would add Pale Wheat Malt to the list. Vienna & Munich also fall into the base category based on % of total grain per batch. Im sure this list could be added to.
Would i be overdoing it if i went forth and chose these five as base malts in a bulk buy for each? Bearing in mind, i can open a grain logbook, pay for it while it is 20% discount at G&G, and draw on it when needed. Thats not even beginning to focus on the specialty malts, but for now i just want to get clarity on what I see to be a confusing and vast array of choices.

Pilsner (Numerous variations to choose from)
Pale Ale
Vienna
Munich
Pale Wheat

Have also read mixed opinions on Joe White product. Any thoughts?

 

[Helles]

Greenborough Home Brewing
Much closer to Doncaster than Yarraville

 

[stux]

Was just reading a US blog (jaysbrewingblog) discussing 5 base malts. They are listed asf:

2 Row
6 Row
Pilsen
Pale
Marris Otter

Also been studying the Weyermann website, and based on beer I like, I would add Pale Wheat Malt to the list. Vienna & Munich also fall into the base category based on % of total grain per batch. Im sure this list could be added to.
Would i be overdoing it if i went forth and chose these five as base malts in a bulk buy for each? Bearing in mind, i can open a grain logbook, pay for it while it is 20% discount at G&G, and draw on it when needed. Thats not even beginning to focus on the specialty malts, but for now i just want to get clarity on what I see to be a confusing and vast array of choices.

Pilsner (Numerous variations to choose from)
Pale Ale
Vienna
Munich
Pale Wheat

Have also read mixed opinions on Joe White product. Any thoughts?

Just forget about 6 row, you can think of that as feed grade barley. And 2-row is just American domestic barley malt, like our locals

 

[MartsHomeBrew]

Greenborough Home Brewing
Much closer to Doncaster than Yarraville

True it is closer, however price wise with no 20% discount on a decent sized purchase, G&G trumps it having just flicked through the Greensborough price list. G&G base price starts cheaper in many cases as well

 

[jammer]

Was just reading a US blog (jaysbrewingblog) discussing 5 base malts. They are listed asf:

2 Row
6 Row
Pilsen
Pale
Marris Otter

Also been studying the Weyermann website, and based on beer I like, I would add Pale Wheat Malt to the list. Vienna & Munich also fall into the base category based on % of total grain per batch. Im sure this list could be added to.
Would i be overdoing it if i went forth and chose these five as base malts in a bulk buy for each? Bearing in mind, i can open a grain logbook, pay for it while it is 20% discount at G&G, and draw on it when needed. Thats not even beginning to focus on the specialty malts, but for now i just want to get clarity on what I see to be a confusing and vast array of choices.

Pilsner (Numerous variations to choose from)
Pale Ale
Vienna
Munich
Pale Wheat

Have also read mixed opinions on Joe White product. Any thoughts?

Seems reasonable. I agree, drop the 6 row. Everything else gives you a fairly broad spectrum. Was at the brew shop only today, and the fella that works there wasSlagging off joe whites. It's an aussiegrown barley that (apparently) isn't much cop. To be honest, I always thought it was ok.... But with the imports only a tad cheaper, why not....

 

[MartsHomeBrew]

Seems reasonable. I agree, drop the 6 row. Everything else gives you a fairly broad spectrum. Was at the brew shop only today, and the fella that works there wasSlagging off joe whites. It's an aussiegrown barley that (apparently) isn't much cop. To be honest, I always thought it was ok.... But with the imports only a tad cheaper, why not....

I was reading this thread http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=47633 on here today with someone expressing a similar sentiment. They offered to give a bag of Joe Whites away for free, and didnt have a good word about it. I respect the history of beer which pre dates our infant country by hundreds of years, more than 700 in some cases, and its great to be able to buy product straight from the motherland so to speak. If it costs a little more, it is not much, but quality is key and trumps price, so until I hear some reputable feedback about Joe White product being as good as the German/Belgian imports (or Simpsons if that is any good), then I will avoid Joe White.
Perhaps its a bit like buying some Australian Made Lederhosen to wear to Munich for Oktoberfest. Or a Lamborghini made in china. I might be wrong but i can only go off what i read and thats two bad raps for Joe White in the lat few hours.

 

[hyjak71]

No idea on the specialty JW malts but I regularly use JW Pale or Traditional malt and can't really fault it for the brews I use it in.
Admittedly I don't brew lagers so any faults it may have would be more easily hidden.

 

[slash22000]

Can anybody else comment on the JW malts? It would be good to know if it's crap before anybody goes and buys sacks of the stuff.

 

[marksfish]

for me it is horses for courses j.w ale or pils works for aussie styles and hoppy americans but when i brew english or german styles i use their malts.

 

[stux]

I'd look into Golden Promise as an alternative to Maris Otter. It's what all the cool kids are switching to now

Also, some people regard Munich/Vienna as a specialty grain. Are you actually going to use sacks of it up?

German/bohemian pilsner (wey pils etc)
English Pale (Maris or GP)
Aussie Pale (BB or JW)

And a wheat would be my 4 bag recommendation

Then Munich and/or Vienna

 

[hsb]

I'd just get a pilsener, a pale and maybe half a sack of Munich. You can always open another book on a sack if you find you need it.
But then I wouldn't be brewing beers with more than 20% Munich, and not a fan of wheat beers, tend to use wheat just for head retention. 125kg of malt is a lot of wort!

 

[Midnight Brew]

Starting out when I first got into the grain was

2x Pilsner
1xMunich
1xWheat
1xVienna

I went with Joe White because it was a first time thing and cant say I fault it but in saying that, I've never tried imports. I havnt used the Vienna as much as the others until recently but I am addicted to 30% munich in my APA's. Depends what you're brewing but Pilsener/Pale as a base would be fine for ales, if your planning lagers get the pils. Getting a grain mill down the track will be worth it in the long run when you do decide to bulk buy as you have the ease of using everything when your ready and so much choice as to what you can brew with those grains plus a few kilos of various specialities.

 

[Spiesy]

True it is closer, however price wise with no 20% discount on a decent sized purchase, G&G trumps it having just flicked through the Greensborough price list. G&G base price starts cheaper in many cases as well

Where are you seeing the Greensborough Homebrew price list? Their website hasn't been updated for years... best to call and speak with Dave.

Whilst I'm still new to homebrewing (only been doing it for a year), I know good beer, and I've made good APA's with JW Pale base. On the other side of the coin, I've made ordinary English Bitter's with Golden Promise and Marris Otter - but I wouldn't put that down to an inferior grain.

 

[Cocko]

Where are you seeing the Greensborough Homebrew price list?

Here Chompy!

 

[MartsHomeBrew]

Where are you seeing the Greensborough Homebrew price list? Their website hasn't been updated for years... best to call and speak with Dave.

Whilst I'm still new to homebrewing (only been doing it for a year), I know good beer, and I've made good APA's with JW Pale base. On the other side of the coin, I've made ordinary English Bitter's with Golden Promise and Marris Otter - but I wouldn't put that down to an inferior grain.

Yes, the link supplied by Cocko is the one I was looking at. Would hope in this day and age the info on the website is current. Looks like i am up for a few hundred bucks at a minimum just on the grain (4,5 base malts in bulk and a kilo or two of a few specialty malts) before beginning on other ingredients. On the other hand am looking forward to the challenge and hopefully the end product is as superior to extract as numerous people have told me. Seems like a grain mill is worth it for me to save on driving, perhaps a shrink wrapper as well. Look forward to the day when all the capital expeniture on equipment is done, although perhaps there is no such day in home brewing!

 

[hsb]

...capital expenditure...is done... perhaps there is no such day in home brewing!

Now you're getting it!

The 'grain book' thing sounds cool, wasn't aware of that arrangement, great idea.
Best thing about a grain mill is the freedom to shoot from the hip with recipes and not have to pre-plan everything.

FWIW my method is to pre-plan 5 or so recipes, buy grain including bulk base, brew 1, then totally forget what the next 5 are and end up on an adventure of brewing new beers every time loosely shaped by what grain is available to me.
You really can make such a wide range of beers from a relatively small set of malts yeast is the absolute key ingredient. Hops, not too dissimilar, some nobles, some US/NZ alpha bombs and a couple of UK classics and you're away.

 

[sponge]

I'd look into Golden Promise as an alternative to Maris Otter. It's what all the cool kids are switching to now

Also, some people regard Munich/Vienna as a specialty grain. Are you actually going to use sacks of it up?

German/bohemian pilsner (wey pils etc)
English Pale (Maris or GP)
Aussie Pale (BB or JW)

And a wheat would be my 4 bag recommendation

Then Munich and/or Vienna

Very much what he said.

 

[Nick JD]

Wey Pils goes into all my beers.

 

[manticle]

Can anybody else comment on the JW malts? It would be good to know if it's crap before anybody goes and buys sacks of the stuff.

Joe White ale and pils are fine. I have a preference for other brands and I'm not a fan of their munich or vienna but I've made beers with JW and tasted beers with JW and you can make good beer with the malts. Many brewers use JW including many commercial breweries. Wouldn't call their malts crap.

Realistically you shouldn't dismiss/steer clear of a brand until you have tried it out -buy small amounts then buy bulk if you like it and think it will work for you.