Home of the BrewNosers

Hey guys. I just registered on here. I've only been brewing for about a year now-- started with extract and now do all-grain using the "brew in a bag" method (haven't gotten around to making a mash-tun yet). I live in Yarmouth county (but not in Yarmouth itself). This spring I planted some hop rhizomes (Mt. Hood, Cascade, Fuggles, Nugget, and Willamette). It's been so wet here this spring they haven't had much sunlight but they are growing. So far I've been enjoying homebrewing but I've noticed it's really hard to find ingredients. Where do you all buy your supplies (mainly malts and hops)? I've been using http://www.homebrewgearcanada.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; mostly and http://www.homebrew-supplies.ca" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but I find freight to be quite expensive! Where do you fine folks get supplies? Any place(s) in Halifax?

Hi!

Unfortunately, I don't think we have any other members in your vicinity - but this is quickly turning into the place to find them if they're around! Now, if you were in Amherst...

We get most of our malt and hops from group-buy orders. Robert (X) has been organizing them, and JohnnyMac's heroic BIL lets us use his warehouse to receive and dole it out (come to think of it, I think most of my next brewing session product is now committed to people I owe favors to! JM's BIL, the guy who sold me my equipment, and Peter who I'd never met who paid for _two_ HopMess Monsters last friday - just because Kyle knew me).

Anything we need on shorter notice tends to come from one or other of the Noble Grape outlets. They're not as good a deal as our group buys, but they have most stuff on the shelf when you need it.

Don't let the fact that you're in Yarmouth deter you from joining the next group buy - somebody will always be willing to hold it for you until you can pick it up, or I can usually find someone heading that way to drop it off (especially if you pay him in beer... Funny how beer works so well as a currency).

Hey there. Good to see that we are branching out across the province.

Welcome! And I agree with Derek: even if you only make the occasional trip to town, using the group buys and Noble Grape might give you some savings. I know that NG will ship things to you, as well.

chalmers wrote:Welcome! And I agree with Derek: even if you only make the occasional trip to town, using the group buys and Noble Grape might give you some savings. I know that NG will ship things to you, as well.

I've had NG ship ingredients to me before as well and it arrives fairly timely. However, they normally use Canada Post, so if you place an order soon, it might be best to ask for a different shipping method. I've also got them to order in yeast that they don't normally carry and they hold onto it in their fridge until I can get into Halifax.

I'm a regular customer of both HomebrewGearCanada and Canadian Home Brew Supplies as well. The shipping is definitely a bit of a killer, but for getting good, fresh supplies delivered to your door in a pinch, they're definitely the best. I'm also a big fan of [link=http://ihomebrewing.ca/]Innovation Homebrewing[/link]. I've purchased bulk (1lb) hops from them as well as supplies like gypsum and lactose. They're incredibly fast to get orders out and ship via FedEx which tends to be a bit cheaper than Canada Post.

akr71 wrote:
I've had NG ship ingredients to me before as well and it arrives fairly timely. However, they normally use Canada Post, so if you place an order soon, it might be best to ask for a different shipping method.

I beleive they'll ship via SMT (bus) for heavier items. I was down that way a couple of years ago and stopped in, and they said they ship both ways...not sure if that's still the case...but would be quicker than canada post as well (next day )


to the OP, welcome to the site

Thanks for the replies

I noticed that on the Noble Grape website they have prices for 25kg bags of malt. Are these available for pickup at one of their locations?

Usually, but call ahead. The main store in Burnside usually has the best stock.

Welcome aboard. Soon we'll be nationwide.

hi guys, i'm really new to homebrewing. I've only done one batch of festabrew so far, and am interested in getting into the all-grain brewing process. If anyone out there wouldn't mind if i watched while someone made their homebrew that would be awesome.

You've come to the right place. I think the best thing to do would be to start a thread in the main brewing forum about this.

ryandthompson wrote:hi guys, i'm really new to homebrewing. I've only done one batch of festabrew so far, and am interested in getting into the all-grain brewing process. If anyone out there wouldn't mind if i watched while someone made their homebrew that would be awesome.

Yeah, that Festabrew is a gateway drug. I made beer for well over 20 years from cans. Then one batch of Festa and next thing I know whole weekends are lost to the brewing process.