Does this annoy anyone else!

[Battleaxe]

Im currently sat with 4 HBS websites open in separate tabs i have gone through the list of items that i need to order for my next Brews.

All im doing is trying to compare prices and availability etc etc they all have their good and bad points.

But out of four HBS! not one has EVERYTHING i need. Collectively they have what i need but they all have atleast one thing they either dont carry or their version is MEGA expensive for example im planning an Amarillo SmaSh I've seen hop prices vary from £3.50 to £8.00 and pack sizes vary too! as well as the harvest year and AA rating!!

I just want to order some brewing goodies and i cant!

and im not spending £6.95 everytime for postage for just one item... also some of the HBS sell on ebay and have free postage!!! but they dont offer the item i need!!!

If one HBS could get it together they'd really start cleaning up the market!

[Dave S]

What is it you're looking for?

[Battleaxe]

A place where everything is in stock at a reasonable price with a good reputation and delivery.

Basically the Holygrail of HBS...

Theyre all good dont get me wrong but its annoying when they want £6.95 to deliver and they havent got everything you want id happily buy for different suppliers if the delivery wasnt so high.

Im after

5kg Pale Malt
250/500g Brown malt

First gold pellets 100g
Amarillo Pellets 100g
Chinook Pellets 100g
Centennial pellets 100g

C.R.S solution
Gypsum
Ph strips

ive had pricest ranging from £17.50 to £35 + Postage... and that doesn't include everything above...

[Clibit]

We shouldn't complain, things have massively improved. And hops can be hard or impossible for home brew shops to get hold of. I just work with the ingredients I've got and what I can get hold of. There are zillions of possible recipes.

[Battleaxe]

[quote="Clibit"]We shouldn't complain, things have massively improved. And hops can be hard or impossible for home brew shops to get hold of. I just work with the ingredients I've got and what I can get hold of. There are zillions of possible recipes.[/quote]

Im with you there but im trying to copy some recipes and ive had it before where ive compromised or substituted and i was trying a different approach this time.

however i have basically just bitted the bullet and spent the extra to get everything i need! i also managed to find all my hops from the 2015 harvest aswell!

[Dennis King]

Without knowing what sites your looking at I would be surprised if the malt miller did not have all that in stock.

[Battleaxe]

Malt Miller wasn't one of them, until now I didn't know they existed I will take a look in future.

[Rookie]

I hear what you're saying and have seen the same thing with my LHBS thrown into the mix. I like my local, but they aren't the biggest and some of their prices are a bit high. I give them as much business as I can and get the rest from the internet. One shop that I like has a free shipping over $59 deal on most stuff with fairly good prices.

[Dennis King]

Malt Miller wasn't one of them, until now I didn't know they existed I will take a look in future.

The maltmiller is an active brewer himself which I think helps, allways very helpfull. He is also a long time member both here and the brewing forum under the name Borischalton.

[Clibit]

I use Maltmiller and the Homebrew Company. Both have wide ranges of stock and good prices and qiakity, both are home brewers themselves too.

[Fil]

even in these days of internet shopping its still worth to foster a good relationship with a local hbs, they may not have everything in stock but can get most things in with a lil notice.

if you dont have a lhbs then mine is online @ stonehelm.co.uk or .com and if you phone them they are very helpful and i have also used the copper kettle online brewshop,and have also rung them up for further advice/help and found them helpful and friendly too. Im am sure either of these would also source missing ingredients for you if possible too.

[GarethHW]

This is always my problem. Don't have a lhbs (well I do but it's terrible, mainly for kit brewers and wine). I try to order five or six brews supply at a time to save on deliveries, but I can rarely get it all from one place.

Hbc, brewuk, the-home-brew-shop and malt Miller all have good ranges but for some reason there will always be a hop or obscure malt you have to go elsewhere for!

[davereal]

Plus 1for copper kettle. fair enough ,the prices are a bit punchy on a few things,but he's a small local business and very knowledgeable . Went to get 4kg of d m e to brew with a mate and i think his name is ian, recommended using 2 cans of extact/ brew inhancer and 1 kg d m e. Done a e s b , turned out really good. very nice fella. his set up's also at the shop. bit ramshackle but sound. even poured us a half of his mosaic /nelson pale. very nice.

[lord.president]

Yes! I've no local store,so always try and order from closest. I really try to use those where l can order exactly what l need,instead of having 500g of malt spare. Then l find they are out of stock of the yeast l need or don't stock something else.

[duncans]

Yeah, it's a pain when they don't have everything. Everyone has stock run out, especially of slow moving items and unpredictable order patterns, so for me the problem is the delivery charge. Why they can't send a couple of packets of yeast or 100g bag of hops out by post is beyond me.

Sellers can get accounts with post office, where it is a fixed price for up to 2kg. Even using regular post would be helpful for customers.