Grain Supply from Your Local Brewery

[Matt12398]

I've been doing a bit of asking around my local breweries as there are several down in here in Cornwall to see if any would supply me with grain. I thought this could work out as slightly cheaper option as I can collect it in person so no postage and for one in particular I know theirs is grown in Cornwall and malted in Devon and Wiltshire so I thought I'd be cutting my food miles down a bit, saving the environment and feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

One got back to me and said no which is fair enough, I had a strong expectation that they would all say no.

One said £36 for a sack of pale malt which is a lot more expensive than all the well known home brew suppliers even when considering postage.

I'm still waiting for replies from two others.

I just wondered what other's experiences were and if anyone had been able to source well priced grain from a local brewery.

[BeerEagle]

Yes. £20 for MO plus a handful of whatever hops are hanging around. Usually chucks in some conditioning salts and some Protofloc as well.

But then I do reciprocate with a few bottles of my own stuff from each batch.

[GrowlingDogBeer]

I have asked, the answer I got was we could supply it, but we'd rather not as it's not really worth the hassle sorting out the paperwork. The price they offered was also not very competitive. The same brewery did however give me some Amarillo hops for free.

I think it's quite awkward for them to sell grain, something to do with VAT complications I believe.

Another very small local brewery has just started selling some home brew supplies. £2.50 per Kg for Pale Malt.

[Matt12398]

To be honest it was just a fact finding mission and I expected to be told no because they have very little to gain by helping me out and really for them it's probably a pain in the ass.

I had a slim hope that with the amount of malt they get through it's probably much cheaper for them to obtain than for us and even with a mark up it might still be cheap for me to buy it off them.

I've only tried the bigger breweries and there are several micros I might try but I think I'm just as well to carry on with the usual suppliers. Some of the best ones are pretty well priced afterall.

[Befuddler]

I get pale malt at cost +VAT, because I'm a jammy sod (and the brewer is a mate ).

I'm not going to tell you the actual figure, because you might cry.

[Matt12398]

I'd be interested to know what cost was. I know it would be much less than we can buy it for.

[boingy]

Do keep asking local breweries. Eventually you may find someone that remembers what it was like to be a home brewer and who will take the time to help you out. And your part of the bargain is to fit around them and their timetable rather than demand service on the spot and also to buy and big up their beers whenever you are in a pub that serves them! Aim at the smaller micros if you can.

A brewery in Cambs used to supply home brewers but stopped because one or two were starting to demand "better service" and generally whine about stuff, as if the brewery was there for their convenience. They didn't seem to grasp that if you wanted some fresh yeast you really had to be there when they were harvesting it rather than expecting them to crack open their precious yeast container on demand. Likewise, turning up on a busy brewing day is not particularly helpful.

[Nofolkandchance]

Ive requested from two small local breweries in Northumberland and Tyne & Wear, who shall remain nameless, if they could supply me malt and both have said no as the grain is all audited by Cusoms & Excise against the volume of beer made and its % alcohol content. Both said I could order directly through the maltster in my name and have it delivered to them where I could pick it up however I came up against a brick wall for a single bag and was informed the minimum order was a pallet.

I asked to have a look round one of them when I was there and was told I would need to book in advance as it would be a cost item!!! WTF!!!

[Andy]

Visited a micro the other week and the brewer gave me a sack of pale for nowt

[darkonnis]

Lad near me just said to let him know, I'm without wheels at the minute so I cant take him up on the offer. I find it odd that HMRC could even work that out, given that they'd need to know your efficiency, wastage, account for test batches etc etc. Or that they'd quibble about such a small amount given the amount who dodge tax entirely.

[fego]

Mine helps me no probs, so long as I pay cash....

[andyCo]

I visted a small local brewery and was offered a sack of marris for £52 and a kg of hops for £54.....which I declined
I emailed an another and they said £30 ...so its getting lower...


Andy

[Martin G]

Nothing wrong with going to a micro but if everyone did it we might lose some of the homebrew shops.

[Matt12398]

From my initial ask around I don't think there's any danger than that. There's a lot of homebrew shops with good prices. I think for me the main thing is postage. I have a decent homebrew shop about 50 miles away which is well priced one some things and not on others so I mostly rely on online ordering. That means I have to plan a long way ahead on what I want to brew to make sure I have ingredients for all of the recipes and if suddenly I want to make something else I either have to wait for my next big order or weigh up whether it's worth paying postage on a small order. It's not so bad on a bag of hops or some yeast but if I want half a kilo of a certain grain and half a kilo of another I'm suddenly paying a lot more for postage.

[boingy]

My most local brewery, Stroud Brewery, does not sell grain direct but instead supplies my LHBS, Stroud Home Brew.
The first sack I had off him was £25. When I went back it had gone up to over £35 (can't remember the exact amount). So I told him he could keep it.