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Author Topic: Buying in bulk  (Read 4546 times)

Offline zwiller

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Re: Buying in bulk
« Reply #30 on: May 16, 2017, 03:50:54 pm »
Paul how do you like the Cargill?  I've wanted to try it and it is 5 hrs to get some. I hear they have several varieties that are good. IIRC Sean said their Euro Pils is good. I wish I were near St. Louis now and then. My LHBS just went to Briess, guess I'll be doing mail order.   
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its good - I wouldn't go out of my way to get it, though.  I got the 2 row and the German Pils.  I prefer my usual Rahr by a little bit, but then again I've only used it in IPA and APA so far, so the changes in malt profile are pretty hidden.  As for the Euro Pils, its pretty on par with Weyermann or Best, I'd buy it again as part of this group buy if we do so next year, but i would rank them Best, Weyermann, CGP if they were all easy to get for me - i pretty much can only get Weyermann these days.

I also got a bag of Warminster MO in that buy, which i have not used in maybe 8 years - interested to see how that tastes over Crisp or Fawcett.

RE: weight - yeah supposedly the shelves are rated to 600#, but as you can see that is incorrect.  I'm already 2 bags off that load, so hopefully they hold up.
Sorry. That's just a cheap shot at ya Paul. Jealous how much you have and how organized you are! 

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Sam
Sandusky, OH

Offline coolman26

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Re: Buying in bulk
« Reply #31 on: May 16, 2017, 04:01:23 pm »
I have 9 sacks right now. I have 5 more I'm going to use that are going on 4 years old. I'm going to answer that how old is too old question.  My place looks a lot like Paul's. The only difference is all my chit it everywhere in a jumbled mess. That's just how I roll.
It does look nice though.


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Jeff B

Offline Stevie

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Re: Buying in bulk
« Reply #32 on: May 16, 2017, 04:07:17 pm »
The cheapskate in me has to be reigned in when I need a half pound at $12, but a full pound is only $18. I've been pretty good as of late and only ordered what I need for about 6 months other than a pound of Columbus which I could not pass up at $10.

Offline Andy Farke

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Re: Buying in bulk
« Reply #33 on: May 16, 2017, 04:29:50 pm »
I've got about 700 lb. of malt on hand, including unopened bags back to 2013.  That's the downside of buying in bulk if you overestimate your usage or your brewing schedule changes.  And I have a tendency to buy full bags of malts I only use a bit of at a time, like rye.  I dumped maybe 40-50 lb. of various malts last week because they had gone slack.  Tend to do the same with hops, too.  I need to learn to asses my needs better.

one thing that I've learned to do is look back on my average brewing over the past few years and realistically assess and tally my usage.  also, take inventory once or twice a year.   granted, tastes change, new hops or malts come out that you want to test out, and you won't brew exactly the same things even without those variables, but for me it keeps me a bit more pragmatic (see what i did there) about ordering.

Back in December, I did a tally of all my brewing from 2016 along with most-used ingredients...it really helped me out in planning big purchases! My side goal was to buy 1-5 pounds of my most-used grains as well as a few packets of the relevant dry yeasts, to facilitate planning my brew sessions and minimize trips out to the LHBS and/or online orders. It has worked well so far this year!
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Buying in bulk
« Reply #34 on: May 16, 2017, 05:12:11 pm »
I brew about one or two 2.5 gallon batches a month, but I still buy everything in bulk with rare exceptions. Most of my brewday are on short notice, and I have no real LHBS, so it helps to have a small brewshop in my basement.  A sack of base malt is doable, but a bit much for my needs. I usually keep one or two 10# bags on hand of the ones I use the most, and 2-5# of my usual specialty malts. I do like 4oz bags of hops like Farmhouse sells, but my most common ones  I still buy by the pound. I have about 20 packets of dry yeast on hand, too...

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Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline zwiller

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Re: Buying in bulk
« Reply #35 on: May 17, 2017, 11:06:38 am »
I brew about one or two 2.5 gallon batches a month, but I still buy everything in bulk with rare exceptions. Most of my brewday are on short notice, and I have no real LHBS, so it helps to have a small brewshop in my basement.  A sack of base malt is doable, but a bit much for my needs. I usually keep one or two 10# bags on hand of the ones I use the most, and 2-5# of my usual specialty malts. I do like 4oz bags of hops like Farmhouse sells, but my most common ones  I still buy by the pound. I have about 20 packets of dry yeast on hand, too...
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Slightly OT but do you find 2.5G to yield enough for the time invested?  I have been considering doing some large beers but scaled to 2.5G but unsure if it is worth it.  My free time is rare.   
Sam
Sandusky, OH

Offline erockrph

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Re: Buying in bulk
« Reply #36 on: May 17, 2017, 11:14:46 am »
I brew about one or two 2.5 gallon batches a month, but I still buy everything in bulk with rare exceptions. Most of my brewday are on short notice, and I have no real LHBS, so it helps to have a small brewshop in my basement.  A sack of base malt is doable, but a bit much for my needs. I usually keep one or two 10# bags on hand of the ones I use the most, and 2-5# of my usual specialty malts. I do like 4oz bags of hops like Farmhouse sells, but my most common ones  I still buy by the pound. I have about 20 packets of dry yeast on hand, too...
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Slightly OT but do you find 2.5G to yield enough for the time invested?  I have been considering doing some large beers but scaled to 2.5G but unsure if it is worth it.  My free time is rare.
I only drink 4-5 beers a week on average. I'm actually considering going down to 1.75 gallons, since I still end up dumping the tail end of many 2.5 gallon batches to free up kegerator space. YMMV, based on your consumption.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer