Intro and shopping question

[knightnorth]

Hi all,

This is my first post but this site has been instrumental in my first brew. The advice on these forms has taught me technique, etiquette, and has quelled a lot of my fears over the last couple of weeks. I have an initial question to ask though. I’ve been going to my local beer supply store for everything and I think their prices might be a little outrageous after doing some online searches. I’ve been trying to beat the price of shipping since that can be high with the weight of bottles and stuff but I still think I might be getting ripped. I’m into my first brew at almost $300 and I’ve been trying hard to do everything on the cheap (plastic bucket, no secondary, used grandma’s boiling pot, etc). How does $33 for a 24 case of 375 ML bottles sound? That’s the cheapest and smallest bottles they had and I immediately found the same bottles after a few minuets shopping online when I got home for $12 for 12. At first I noticed my local shop was a couple bucks here or there over online supplies but I'm seeing that it really adds up. Is my fear of shipping prices unfounded or do you think I’m saving by going local? I’m a bit out in the boonies and that’s the only shop I can get to reasonably. I had read that it’s supposed to be cheaper to brew at home but I don’t think that’s going to happen on my first go.

Anyway, thanks for the site and thanks for the advice.

 

[tre9er]

My local LHBS is much more expensive than most sites for most things except grain and hops by the pound and ounce (ie. small quantities). I got my ale pails elsewhere last time and would probably do the same for most of the more expensive items.

We even asked about buying hops by the pound...the price was essentially the same as buying 16-1oz. bags...

I would go to the recycling dumpsters and get bottles there then soak in oxyclean/pbw overnight, de-label, and then soak in starsan or run through dishwasher on sanitize. I have over 70 bottles that were from dumpster diving and/or drinking craft beers and saving them. I wouldn't pay for them.

 

[duboman]

welcome to the hobby and this great community!

To quell a misconception, if you are taking up brewing to save money that might not be the case, yes, over time it's possible but as you improve your skills and become more advanced there is always an outlay of cash for new stuff that you have to come to terms with.

As for local versus on line, my experience is yes on line is less but shipping may balance things out. You can save on line if your orders are large enough to make the shipping worthwhile, in addition you may or may not need to pay tax which can be a savings like here in Chicago where tax is almost 10%!

I do most of my shopping at the LHBS because I know the owner, get a discount and have found his prices to be competitive enough, but I still shop his prices on line and make decisions as I go through my shopping list. For bottles, if doing 5 gallon batches, you will usually need about 48-54 bottles per batch. The cheapest way to do this is to drink beer, save bottles and have all your beer drinking buddies do the same for you. In no time you should be able to stock pile several cases of nice brown re-usable bottles. Some people will also hook up with a local bar they frequent and ask them to put aside bottles for you, after all, unless they recycle they are just getting tossed. If you really have to buy them then go with the cheapest price you can find as they are just bottles!

Regardless of how you acquire bottles be sure to properly clean and sanitize them!

Cheers!

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

I'm torn on the question of LHBS vs. online.

On the one hand, you should support your local businesses. Unless they are ******** who need to learn a hard lesson by losing their customers.

In my region, there is an LHBS that has been open since the 80's. It's in a little house down a street that is impossible to find the first time you go looking for it because it's a named street that exists for exactly one block and is basically an alley way crammed between two large buildings. There's even a tree obscuring the street sign on it's main feeder. This street hasn't been re-paved in probably 30 years. There are enormous potholes that make getting in and out of there a bit interesting. I almost wonder if the city has an axe to grind with him.

The website is terrible and has a ~ in it, and everybody misspells the domain name.

The owner is a bit cantankerous and crabby and grouchy. He knows a LOT about brewing but whether or not he's going to help you or argue with you depends on his mood.

He's struggling to stay afloat. A few weeks ago when i was in there he told me that he was down to his last 50lb bag of 2-row and every penny he had was going into getting another 50lb bag of 2-row.

He says he's survived bad times before, even once when he had 6 competitors. For most of the last decade he had 1 competitor, but then a 2nd opened up and it seems to be killing him.

Whatever grain isn't on his shelves measured out into bags already is under refrigeration in the basement. He has an excellent mill with a motor that literally dims the lights when you switch it on. So i buy grain from him when he has what i want, but he doesn't always have what i want.

His prices are good but not great. I mean, $45 for a 6g glass carboy is not a terrible price for an LHBS, but then someone on amazon sold a bunch for $30/ea shipped. So i did not buy carboys from him.

He has an enormous stockpile of ball-lock kegs that are out in the weather. Probably 100% of them need new o-rings and poppets and he sells them for $45 w/o any of that stuff, and his prices on o-rings and poppets can't compete with online vendors when you've managed to scavenge 11 kegs at an average price of like $25/ea and need a crapload of rings and poppets.

Again, not bad prices, but not fantastic.

I like the guy. Even when he's a grouch. But yesterday i spent $180 on mostly fittings, seals, keg parts, testing bits, etc -- all online. Because even considering shipping it would have been like $50 more to buy from him.

But, you know, his grain prices are fair and his hops are in sealed baggies in a freezer turned all the way down, and while he's got a limited selection of liquid yeast (not moving fast enough) i'm fine with dry yeast for most brews.

I hope he doesn't go out of business. He probably will. But I'll buy from him when it makes sense for me to buy from him.

 

[wowbeeryum]

Look for bottles on craigslist. I picked a bunch up for anywhere between $0 and $6 a case. There are numerous adds offering them for sale. If you can't locate any I'm sure you'd get some hits if you posted that you were looking to get bottles.

 

[Airplanedoc]

My LHBS (120 Mi round trip) has prices consistent with the online places. They will also order wine kits at the same price as the online place. So I can save a bundle on shipping sometimes. For me it comes down to if I'm near the LHBS then I shop there, but I also order a bunch to save $. $7.99 flat shipping saves me a bundle in gas and taxes if I can wait until I need a bunch of stuff.

I get Dos Equis bottles free at the Mexican restaurant.

 

[Waynep005]

The nice thing about the local shop is that you can go pick up some supplies and brew later that same day. I use the local shop for a lot of my supplies but buy most of my equipment on line. The one exception is is some of the less popular yeast strains are easier to find at one of the large online stores than in my local shop.

 

[BrewerBear]

My nearest shop is 1.5 hours drive each way. I will go if I need something bad enough on the weekend. Prices vary some decent,some bad enough I can pay shipping and still be cheaper. Has some decent employees and some crappy ones.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Often liquor stores will receive empty beer bottles that have accidently been filled with beer. If you buy them, put a little time into emptying them (a tough chore but well worth the effort) and removing the labels, you will be less anzious as your first batch approaches bottling day. A little hint: select either long neck or short neck bottles and stick with them. I have a selection and it makes for some fancy dancing as I store empty bottles and replace them with full ones. The long necks don't fit into short neck cases.

 

[knightnorth]

Wow, a lot of great advice here. Yeah, I didn’t plan on brewing beer to save money, I knew it would cost, especially at first. But I don’t even drink beer or any alcohol really so I’m already spending more than I usually would. I’m just borderline aspergers (cause by low dopamine – manifests into tourettes for me – but I think that’s a different forum). I just got the idea in my head about a year ago and I’d make some beer for coworkers. Well, sure I’ll drink the first beer to make sure it doesn’t make anyone violently ill before I dispense it. But probably not any after that. I love the bottle ideas. I have to find out if I know anybody that works at a bar but I’m sure I can get people to save some bottles for me. The online LHBS answer if different for everybody. I will probably try online for a while and just go local when I need stuff fast. The guys at the local shop were a little weird (and that’s saying something from me). But they gave me free tubing one time because the guy didn’t know how to price it. Thanks for the help!

 

[HopSong]

Bottles: I went to Costco and bought a couple of cases of Kirkland ales. Some think it's cr@p. I didn't find it as such. Anyhow, you get 24 bottles of beer in 'semi' longnecks, a nice cardboard box to keep them in.. and, of course, beer. It may not be your favorite craft beer.. but, it's much better than BMC.. IMHO. Have no idea how far from Costco you are. Also, you can get friends to save bottles. I have a friend who also is a Sierra Nevada fan. He would bring me a cleaned, boxed 12 pack every so often. Bars sell a lot of bottled beer. Not a great source.. I brought home a mix of 13 cases.. didn't think of looking first.. probably 97% were screw caps.. Now you know what is mostly consumed at bars.. not pubs

Equipment.. Sign up for Groupon in your area. Midwest, which many folks here are familiar with very frequently has a Groupon special.. can't beat the price. Brew and bottling bucket. Capper, caps, etc etc etc.. Plus, you get a choice of your first kit.. with grains.. AND.. you get a certificate for $25 off your next purchase.. I didn't need one.. but, couldn't resist.

 

[rifraf]

Another vote for Costco brand. Learned on this forum that the beer is brewed under contract by Gordon Biersch. Still not the greatest beer in the world but really not bad. I bought two cases and threw a party, got my bottles real quick.

 

[tre9er]

Trader Joes has decent beer in pop-tops at times for fairly cheap, too. Here our grocery store regularly has $4.99 craft brew six-packs. That's nearly BMC prices!