Hi… I have recently turned the corner from extract brewing to all-grain and I find it very nice indeed. So I,m considering purchasing bulk grains to save a bit of money but i,m not sure what I should try to have around to work with…I only brew 4-5 times a year(for now) and I brew lot of porters and stouts but sometimes a pale ale.Other than a bag of 2-row base malt what might I try to keep on hand?
IMO, if you are only brewing 4-5 times a year, I wouldn’t invest in sacks of grain. I brew two to three times a month (5 gallons) and go through a few sacks a year. I like to keep a sack of pale ale and Pilsner malt at home at all times. I’ll go to my lhbs for specialty grains. You can also save money by buying hops in bulk. If you have freezer space and a vacuum sealer, hops will degrade much slower.
Nailed it. Get your bulk bag o’ 2-row, buy some hops in bulk, and just buy specialty grain as needed. You’ll save a lot of money going this way.
I only keep 2 row grain in bulk. Head to the LHBS (which happens to be Northern Brewer for me) for any other grain as needed.
Hops are also fun to keep in bulk. I get a pound of the ones I use a lot (cascade, etc) and vacuum seal what I don’t use. This also makes it easier to use 1.4 oz of hops, instead of rounding it to 2 because they sell them by the ounce.
I personally like pale malt. Have also purchased Golden Promise, and Maris Otter. Pale seems to be a great middle ground. Cheers!
Since you only brew 4-5 times per year, it really depends on what styles you brew. 2-row is pretty versatile (good for pretty much any American ale, stouts and porters). If you brew mainly English ales, Maris Otter or Golden Promise would be good. If you brew mainly continental European styles, maybe Belgian pils malt. Continental pils can be really good for some American styles too (APA, IPA and wheat), but it’s quite a bit more expensive than 2-row.
If you brew all over the map during the year, I’d skip the sacks and just buy grain as needed. There are places to buy really reasonably priced base grains in 10 pound increments at a discount compared to by the pound.
