There were other things I really liked about Hearts.
1. They will sell you incremental amounts of grain at the same base price as 10-pound lots, and their base prices are a lot lower than places where I have shopped in the past. I found one grain at $1.65, crushed, which was $3, whole, elsewhere.
2. They will bag things however you want, with labels, at no charge. If you want half a pound of Maris Otter in its own bag, no problem.
3. No crushing charge.
4. Their yeast prices are almost 40% lower than some online places.
5. You can buy hops in increments of 1/4 ounce.
On the down side, there is no free shipping for online customers, but if you're within driving distance, it doesn't matter. The shipping charges aren't bad, though. If I had had my order shipped, the cost would have been about the same as buying from a site with free shipping, and I would have had exactly what I wanted, packed the way I wanted.
I spent money on gas and tolls, but the grain, yeast, and hops saved me about the same amount. I bought grain for two 5-gallon batches of beer, and I saved around $22. I like not having to buy 10 pounds of grain when I only need 8.
