24 replies to this topic

[Humperdink]

Hey all, I'm going to be putting together a bulk buy here pretty quickly that should be around 1000# or more. i was liking the idea of getting it drop shipped, but was wondering where you all who have done this before have had success with and what shipping prices were like etc. Any help is appreciated. Chris

[RommelMagic]

Most bulk orders I've seen have been through North Country Malt. It looks like there would be a $270 pallet fee for a California delivery though. If you are interested you can PM me your email address and I will forward you what I think is the most recent price list.I'm not sure how close you are, but perhaps you could use B3 and pick up from their location? I'm not so sure they would lower the price per pound/sack for a large bulk order though.

[Humperdink]

Most bulk orders I've seen have been through North Country Malt. It looks like there would be a $270 pallet fee for a California delivery though. If you are interested you can PM me your email address and I will forward you what I think is the most recent price list.I'm not sure how close you are, but perhaps you could use B3 and pick up from their location? I'm not so sure they would lower the price per pound/sack for a large bulk order though.

yeah, that was my other thought is contacting B3 for a pickup. Those guys are generally really cool and helpful so that may be the cheapsest and easiest way to go. I'll check out the malt supply group though. PM being sent.

[gumballhead]

yeah, that was my other thought is contacting B3 for a pickup. Those guys are generally really cool and helpful so that may be the cheapsest and easiest way to go. I'll check out the malt supply group though. PM being sent.

TRY THIS LINK. our Club gets ours out of the Chicago location.https://countrymaltgroup.com/

[ncbeerbrewer]

We do bulk grain buys out of North Country from NY as Rommel mentioned. I think looking into their Chicago Location should help you in getting some grains to the west coast. They have a great variety of grains at awesome prices. Awaiting a Couple sacks here myself Great Western 2 Row for $27.94. You can't beat that price. Hope the purchase goes well.

[Humperdink]

We do bulk grain buys out of North Country from NY as Rommel mentioned. I think looking into their Chicago Location should help you in getting some grains to the west coast. They have a great variety of grains at awesome prices. Awaiting a Couple sacks here myself Great Western 2 Row for $27.94. You can't beat that price. Hope the purchase goes well.

Hey thanks guys, I spoke with a buddy ofmine who is also going in and he called the western US distributor in Washington. they said they do not in any way shape or form sell to homebrewers... Not quite sure what to make of that, but I think I am going to be creating a southern sierra nevada brewing coop

[JReigle]

Hey thanks guys, I spoke with a buddy ofmine who is also going in and he called the western US distributor in Washington. they said they do not in any way shape or form sell to homebrewers... Not quite sure what to make of that, but I think I am going to be creating a southern sierra nevada brewing coop

Not sure where in northern California you are, but in Woodland/Davis you can find Certified Foods. They (at least they used to when they were in my town) sell to homebrewers no problem, only you'll need to pick it up at their will call location. Great selection and wholesale prices. certified foodsI guess it really depends on what price point you're trying to achieve. At least at my LHBS, the grain prices are really relaxed compared to the last few years and GW 2-row is about $32 right now. I feel this is an exceptional value.

[Humperdink]

Not sure where in northern California you are, but in Woodland/Davis you can find Certified Foods. They (at least they used to when they were in my town) sell to homebrewers no problem, only you'll need to pick it up at their will call location. Great selection and wholesale prices. certified foodsI guess it really depends on what price point you're trying to achieve. At least at my LHBS, the grain prices are really relaxed compared to the last few years and GW 2-row is about $32 right now. I feel this is an exceptional value.

hey, thanks for the link. I am paying upwards of $40 for a $50 sack of GW pale malt, 75-80 for a sack of vienna. Checking the pound pricing at country malt supply, I could get it much cheaper. I want to support my LHBS, but I feel like I'm getting gouged on malt.

[Humperdink]

Craziness! just got an email back from the western US malt supplier and they said they are not a retail seller and couldn't help me unless I could show them I was a commercial brewery!

[RommelMagic]

Craziness! just got an email back from the western US malt supplier and they said they are not a retail seller and couldn't help me unless I could show them I was a commercial brewery!

That's such BS. Basically what you need to do is have a location for the delivery arranged. A forklift will save some $$ on a tailgate fee. Get your order together and call or you might be able to email your list, and don't mention homebrewing. Maybe make up a little header with something that looks like a brewery name or logo.I just did a buy from their NY location and they had no problem at all. WTH is up with that western location? And they say New Yorkers have an attitude. :cheers:EDIT: I see that link that Gumballhead posted. It does look like the western location is different from the midwest and eastern locations (there is no contact/order information link). But as long as you can get enough to fill or almost fill a pallet (or even if you couldn't) WTH should they care if you're a bunch of homebrewers? They're still making a sale. And I could almost be positive that there is no law out there that says one needs a brewers or business license to make a bulk grain buy

Edited by RommelMagic, 20 October 2009 - 05:03 PM.

[Howie]

We do bulk grain buys out of North Country from NY as Rommel mentioned. . .Awaiting a Couple sacks here myself Great Western 2 Row for $27.94. You can't beat that price.

That's awesome. I need to get in on that next time.

[Humperdink]

That's such BS. Basically what you need to do is have a location for the delivery arranged. A forklift will save some $$ on a tailgate fee. Get your order together and call or you might be able to email your list, and don't mention homebrewing. Maybe make up a little header with something that looks like a brewery name or logo.I just did a buy from their NY location and they had no problem at all. WTH is up with that western location? And they say New Yorkers have an attitude.

I have a delivery location with a loading dock and forklifts etc, so that wouldn't be an issue for us. It's more that they aren't willing to sell to anyone but an established brewery. It's really not that big a deal because there's a lot of other bulk suppliers, but it sucks I'm gonna have to pay for extra shipping...

[RommelMagic]

I have a delivery location with a loading dock and forklifts etc, so that wouldn't be an issue for us. It's more that they aren't willing to sell to anyone but an established brewery. It's really not that big a deal because there's a lot of other bulk suppliers, but it sucks I'm gonna have to pay for extra shipping...

I hear ya. I just can't imagine that they would care that much to pass on a customer, and probably a repeat customer at that.

[Humperdink]

I hear ya. I just can't imagine that they would care that much to pass on a customer, and probably a repeat customer at that.

Agreed, and I made sure to state that in my response. Who turns down a pallet order customer? I mean really?

[Patrick C.]

Someone who has limited manpower and prefers to deal with truckload customers? I know it sounds silly to turn down business, but a small order could very well cost them more than they make on it. They may also have agreements with their other customers to not sell to indiduals- sort of like why I can't walk into the LD Carlson warehouse near me and buy stuff direct. NCM has a statement on their site that they wouldn't sell to homebrewers in MD and DC because they have an agreement with a LHBS there.It is funny that one part of the company won't sell to individuals while the others do- I hope this doesn't mean that NCM and MCM are considering stopping sales to individuals.

[zymot]

Your profile says you are in Northern California. How close are you to a morebeer store? They have bulk pricing and if you can drive to there you can save on shipping.My LHBS is one of the morebeer retail stores, if I get a bulk grain oriented, that would be the most practical for me.zymot

[Sidney Porter]

are you actually looking for a pallet at a time or are you just trying to avoid buying by the recipe /lb. I have found the cheapest and easiest way is to buy from a small brewery or brewpub. I pay them the same price that they pay and only need to worry about storing 1 or 2 sacks at a time. The limitation is that I am limited to what ever base grain they purchase. I can buy from one brewpub and one brewery it was great because they were using 2 diffent base grains, but they recently switched so that they are using the same.

[3rd party JKor]

Someone who has limited manpower and prefers to deal with truckload customers? I know it sounds silly to turn down business, but a small order could very well cost them more than they make on it. They may also have agreements with their other customers to not sell to indiduals- sort of like why I can't walk into the LD Carlson warehouse near me and buy stuff direct. NCM has a statement on their site that they wouldn't sell to homebrewers in MD and DC because they have an agreement with a LHBS there.It is funny that one part of the company won't sell to individuals while the others do- I hope this doesn't mean that NCM and MCM are considering stopping sales to individuals.

Very true. We sell smaller samples at something like a 10x mark-up over our bulk prices.

[zymot]

Let's face it, when it comes to their hobby, homebrewers are a pretty high strung perfectionist bunch of people.Selling a few bags of grain at $30-$40 a bag with wholesale type profit margins, a couple extra phone calls and answering emails can make the profit not worth the trouble.Did it ship yet?Do yo have tracking number?Can I change that to Briess munich? I heard GW Munich a little too grainy.Which one is better?How fresh is the Great Western?Did it ship yet?What is the diastatic spec on that?Can I pick it up?Generally speaking, your LHBS owner earns his money.

[Humperdink]

Well I went the simple route and just ordered through my LHBS. He gave me a fair deal so I figured I'd just take him up on that. $35 for GW pale and two row and $59 for 55# of best malz munich and vienna. The nice thing is no shipping charge and I can pick it up next wednesday. It's a little more than B3 charges, but I don't have to drive to the bay area (I hate driving int he bay area.) They didn't seem too happy to get a 600 dollar order though. He seemed like it was more of an inconvenience than anything. I piggy backed on their order and told him exactly what I wanted, paid upfront and made no changes or anything. I don't get people sometimes.