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Author Topic: local brew shop  (Read 5466 times)

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #15 on: May 07, 2014, 12:14:58 pm »


Doesn't look even remotely like enough hops either. 5 oz of Cascade is enough for the first dry hop addition at best.

+1.  Not even close.
Jon H.

Offline yso191

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #16 on: May 07, 2014, 12:33:29 pm »


Doesn't look even remotely like enough hops either. 5 oz of Cascade is enough for the first dry hop addition at best.

+1.  Not even close.

Just to pile on...  I'm about to brew a regular American IPA and I'm using 12 oz. of hops.

I also agree with the above that say the cost you mentioned is not too far out of line.
Steve
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Offline braufessor

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #17 on: May 07, 2014, 01:05:51 pm »
As others have mentioned - the determining factor in brewing "cheaply" is bulk.  If you are buying your grain by the pound, your hops by the ounce and your yeast as single use....... it is always going to cost you a lot - whether you shop online or local.

If you want reasonable prices - you better buy grain in 50Lb sacks, hops by the pound and learn how to get 3+ brews out of your yeast by repitching and making starters.  My LHBS will get me sacks of grain for upper $30's for 2 row, mid $50's for european malts.  I got about 20lbs of hops from him earlier this year, and I can give him a list of yeasts I want and he will order them.

Shipping will kill you and having a LHBS is great - I went 15 years without one.  Have had one for the past 2 years or so and I buy everything I can from him.  As long as the service is good, and the prices are in the ball park, I would go out of my way to support the local business.

Offline thirsty

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #18 on: May 08, 2014, 05:43:09 pm »
Yep. Shipping is always the deal breaker for me even with the lower prices at the online places. Online ordering is always at least $5.00 or more over the price of my local place no matter what I buy.

Buy local!

Offline arustyt

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #19 on: May 09, 2014, 06:36:21 am »
I buy base malts in bulk through my club. Usually my LHBS for specialty grain, yeast and hops. However I have been frustrated on a number of occasions when they did not have what I needed.  Sometimes I have to go to multiple shops or compromise on ingredients. 

Btw, shipping is not free with the  LBHS. It costs me 1 or 2 gallons of gas depending on which shop(s) I go to. And then there is sales tax.

I used to buy more online thru midwest, but their shipping became unreliable a couple years ago.



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Offline beersk

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #20 on: May 09, 2014, 09:35:00 am »
A new shop opened up about 10 miles from me about a month ago. I've compared prices and if I factor in shipping for online purchases, the prices come out to be pretty close, if not slightly more if I buy from the local homebrew shop. I'm fine with that, but the shop doesn't quite have all that I want for bulk grains. Kind of disappointing, but I suppose I can make exceptions...
Otherwise, I joined a homebrew club this year and ordered a whole bunch of grains through the group buy. So I guess that's where I'll get my bulk grains from now on.
Jesse

Offline Jeff M

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #21 on: May 09, 2014, 09:57:08 am »
Remember how there used to be book stores all over the place, then amazon came along and people started shopping on amazon to save 50 cents?  Now the book stores are mostly gone and the ability to drop by and browse through books has mostly gone the way of the dodo.  Homebrew shops are the same thing, if you dont support local, they are going to disappear, then when your yeast gets killed by some fluke and you need a new one, your not gonna be able to drop by and grab a replacement because they closed.

Support local IMO.  Most HBS give back locally in some way, shape or form.
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Building a clone of The Electric Brewery to use as a pilot system for new recipes!

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #22 on: May 09, 2014, 09:59:41 am »
Remember how there used to be book stores all over the place, then amazon came along and people started shopping on amazon to save 50 cents?  Now the book stores are mostly gone and the ability to drop by and browse through books has mostly gone the way of the dodo.  Homebrew shops are the same thing, if you dont support local, they are going to disappear, then when your yeast gets killed by some fluke and you need a new one, your not gonna be able to drop by and grab a replacement because they closed.

Support local IMO.  Most HBS give back locally in some way, shape or form.

+1
Jon H.

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #23 on: May 09, 2014, 10:06:44 am »
Remember how there used to be book stores all over the place, then amazon came along and people started shopping on amazon to save 50 cents?  Now the book stores are mostly gone and the ability to drop by and browse through books has mostly gone the way of the dodo.  Homebrew shops are the same thing, if you dont support local, they are going to disappear, then when your yeast gets killed by some fluke and you need a new one, your not gonna be able to drop by and grab a replacement because they closed.

Support local IMO.  Most HBS give back locally in some way, shape or form.

+1

Absolutely.  My LHBS is near enough that I can run out and back on brew day if I have to.  You cannot put a price on that, IMO.

And they donate to local fundraisers.
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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #24 on: May 09, 2014, 10:21:34 am »
$41? That's incredibly expensive. At those kind of prices the shop better offer a lot more than just a local place to buy grain. Otherwise they are going to find a lot of customers buy one or two batches there and then go online.
For a double IPA? Doesn't seem that unreasonable, but you really can't say that unless you know exactly what was purchased.

I read that to be just his grain costs. I don't know why I thought he would have just bought grain.

I guess you guys are right, the price really isn't out of line. I brew a lot of small batches, have been brewing smaller beers recently and buy in bulk where I can, so I guess I don't have a good idea of what people are regularly paying for five gallon batches.
Heck yeah I blog about homebrewing: Brain Sparging on Brewing

Offline stpug

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #25 on: May 12, 2014, 10:32:24 am »
9Lbs 2row
2LBS caramel/crystal 20L
2Lb white wheat
1LB victory
5oz cascade hops
1 pack white labs WLP001
$14.40 9Lbs 2row
$3.60 2LBS caramel/crystal 20L
$3.60 2Lb white wheat
$2.00 1LB victory
$10.00 5oz cascade hops
$7.50 1 pack white labs WLP001

Total: ~40.60+tax (~$41-42 after tax) from LHB shops near me.

I think your LHBS prices are fair considering you're not buying in bulk. In bulk (base and hops) you could easily get that down to ~$30.

If you reuse the yeast several times (and do bulk) then you could count the yeast as 1/4 the cost and call your final total would be about $25.

If you modified the grainbill with less crystal, less wheat, and less victory (1/2 of each of those), and replaced with base, then that's another couple bucks savings making your total (bulk costs, reused yeast, modified grainbill) in the ballpark of ~$20-$22. All of the sudden, you're about half the cost for this batch.

At least this is how I think about it. :D

Offline yso191

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #26 on: May 12, 2014, 11:27:48 am »
Also ask if they offer a discount for members of your local Homebrew club or the AHA.  I get 10% off at both stores here in Yakima - that saves me a lot of money over the course of a year.
Steve
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Offline Jeff M

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #27 on: May 12, 2014, 11:34:22 am »
Also ask if they offer a discount for members of your local Homebrew club or the AHA.  I get 10% off at both stores here in Yakima - that saves me a lot of money over the course of a year.

+1.  Most Business owners will match quote(+ shipping) the big chain stores just to keep your business. It never hurts to ask, then you can make your own decision.
Granite Coast Brewing Company.
Building a clone of The Electric Brewery to use as a pilot system for new recipes!

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #28 on: May 12, 2014, 11:50:19 am »
Buying your base malt and hops in bulk would help. A pound of cascade should be about 10 and 55 pounds of 2 row about 40.

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: local brew shop
« Reply #29 on: May 12, 2014, 11:59:52 am »
Buying your base malt and hops in bulk would help. A pound of cascade should be about 10 and 55 pounds of 2 row about 40.
Maybe on your side of the Cascades Jim, but not around here.  More like $16 for the hops and $60+ for a 50 lb bag of domestic 2-row on this side.
Tom Schmidlin