Most Commonly Used Grains To Bulk Buy.

[Truman42]

Even though its too easy for me to place a grain order with G&G and have them mill and bag it all ready to go, Ive been thinking about buying some grains in bulk to save a bit of money.

Just wondering as a start what would be the most commonly used base malt that I should consider starting with? An ale malt, pale ale malt? I know this is recipe dependant but is there something used in a larger variety of recipes than anything else?

I don't have the room to store bag loads of grains so am happy to keep buying the extras from G&G.

As a side note:- Last night when driving home I passed a ute on the freeway with a pallet of Pilsener malt on the back. Would have been nice to score all that..

 

[razz]

Joe White Traditional Ale is very popular Truman and it's pretty cheap compared to some of the imported stuff.

 

[Lecterfan]

My first bulk buy I did as Razz suggested - and once you get into bulk buys to save $$$ the (minimal) cost of AG brewing rocks your world! While you are still buying batch-sized quantities from G+G why not try as many varieties as you can (based on what you are most likely to make/drink) and then you'll be all knowledged up when the next bulk buy rolls around?

 

[ekul]

Depends on what you like drinking. I usually get a few sacks of BB ale/pale ale, a bag of munich II and depending on stocks a bag of wheat malt. I buy these because most of my beers are 50% ale/pale ale malt with 50% either munich or wheat. PLus i usually throw a few hundred grams of wheat in everything. And every few batches i make a coopers clone which is nearly all ale malt.

If you don't have much room to store grain get a 250L water barrel. They're around $20 and are air/water/rodent proof. You can store many bags int ehre whilst not taking up much space.

 

[Truman42]

So how much diference in $$ are we talking buying bulk vs buying as needed?

 

[bum]

Dude, just look up the prices yourself. The BB threads are all there.

Does someone always need to hold your hand?

 

[sama]

I cant search the forum with my phone(icons missing),but theres a long thread not long ago on what base malt do you stock at home

 

[Truman42]

Dude, just look up the prices yourself. The BB threads are all there.

Does someone always need to hold your hand?

No they dont...I had already read the Melbourne bulk buy thread and didn't see any prices. Im guessing they are in the spreadsheet which I cant open due to restrictions at work. But I will check it out at home tonight. Thanks for the help mate...

 

[stux]

Two approaches to grain.

Get the cheapest you can, or get the most exotic

If you want cheapest then go for domestic base malt

Barrett burston or joe white

You *need* a pale ale or trad ale

You *should* get a wheat if you like wheat beers at all

If you want to go fancy, a pilsner, perhaps a German, weyermann, bohemian, or even floor malted one

Personally I'd recommend Golden Promise, fantastic grain

 

[doon]

You can always just go in grain book. 160 bucks for 50kg of Australian grain and they just take off what you have ordered each time. You can also order international grain they use a formula to work out how much to take off your order.

This is good for me as I live around the corner may not be what you want as you don't live that close

 

[WarmBeer]

So how much diference in $$ are we talking buying bulk vs buying as needed?

Additionally, next time you're in at G&G, ask them about their "Grain Book".

It allows you to pre-purchase a full bags worth of grain, at the 25kg price (still higher than a bulk buy price, as most retailers do need to make a profit!) and then next time you order from them, you take whatever volume you want from your Grain Book allocation.

The grain is freshly milled for you at the time you order, no worries about storage, and no need to amortise the cost of a mill up front.

Saying this, I bulk buy, and own a mill, but I love the freedom of deciding what I want to brew on the day that I brew it.

 

[argon]

Just concentrate on bases
Joe White or Barrett Burston Ale for the American
Golden Promise of Marris Otter for the English
Weyermann or Joe White Pilsner for the Euros (Lagers, Belgians etc)
Half sack of Munich and/or Wheat is always handy too

 

[Fish13]

yeap pale ale malt is your base for most beers out there.

so a joe white or a BB.

 

[davo4772]

Truman, from memory it's around half price as Compared to buying retail in one batch bags. Very roughly $5 retail, $2.50 p/k bulk buy for imported ale malt.

 

[Truman42]

Thanks for the responses. The Grain Book at G&G sounds like the go until the next bulk buy comes around.

 

[CosmicBertie]

No they dont...I had already read the Melbourne bulk buy thread and didn't see any prices. Im guessing they are in the spreadsheet which I cant open due to restrictions at work. But I will check it out at home tonight. Thanks for the help mate...

Off the top of my head, the prices for a 25Kg sack of grain were around the $60 mark, thats what I paid for Golden Promise and Wey Bohemian Pilsner. A bit more for the international stuff, and a bit less for the local stuff.

Oh, and I just bought mainly full sacks of base grains, a half share in wheat + crystal and 1/4 share in melanoidin, these allow me to brew the beers I like. Anything else I'll buy from G+G as and when I need it.

 

[ekul]

Even buying it by the sack at the store is a fair bit cheaper than buying it by the recipe. I think craftbrewer sells 25kg bags of ale malt for $65 from memory

 

[Nick JD]

If I could only get one base malt it'd be Weyermann Pilsner. You can make anything with it, and it doesn't have the "mouse cage" flavour of Barrett Burston - the Aussie beer signature.

 

[Maheel]

your gunna need a mill...

so add $200 -> $300 to your plans

 

[petesbrew]

your gunna need a mill...

so add $200 -> $300 to your plans

Or a mate with a mill.
Pay him with beer.