Does your LHBS get the malt for you?

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jmcnamara

jmcnamara

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Pretty much it. In moving and trying to find a local store, i took for granted that stores let you select and grind your own. But that seems like the anomaly.
Obviously this only counts for the brick and mortar stores
 
Old store I grind. New store they grind. Both stores keep their malt behind the counter.
 
Where i am situated in the UK my nearest Home brew shop is not that great at all.The grain is crushed by them in store,which is fine by me but the owner is less than helpful.
I now have my own grinder and buy online and crush my own.
 
The store I usually go to allows me to get my own and crush it which I prefer. My backup store likes to get it for you but since it isn't behind the counter I usually help myself and just ignore them as they stand next to me watching.
 
LHBS here has an extensive grain room, self-service, including grinding. No hovering, either. I guess they figure grain's ultimately too cheap to lose a customer over.
 
my local store will do what ever you want, they will combined grain and grind it for you or separate each, I chose just to buy in individual bags whole grain, so 5 pounds of this or that, they pull it and seal everything in tough bags, great customer service, I weigh and grind my own at the house right before I brew, I use a postal scale thats very accurate

but to answer they pull it from the back
 
I usually order online and have it delivered , when I visit store I'm allowed to wander out the back since becoming friendly with owners .
I have weighed /milled my own when they were flat out serving other customers but stop short of doing someone else's order
 
I live near Portland, OR. There are a handful of shops around us, some better than others, but all let you do your own grain if you want. My main store (bader) has lots of staff handy to help (which I utilize often), but let you be alone unless you ask for it. All grain is on the wall where you can do your own. I like them doing it because they know where it is without needing to read all the bin labels :)
 
But that's part of the fun, finding what you need, finding plenty of ideas for other brews and most of all sampling the goods
 
I've been to one that only sold prepackaged malt but would mill it for you. One that only sold DME. The one I use now is staffed by club brewers who will leave you to your own in the grain room or mill a complete recipe for you if desired.
 
At My LHBS (local couple) I can phone,email,txt my order and they will have it ready when I come grab it or they will put it together when I walk in and give them my shopping list they have even stored 55 lb (25kg) bags of malt that I have bought from them since I don't have my own mill yet. Couldn't brew without them and have never had to order anything online that they didn't have

I've been to @Nosybear shop and it is super nice too,their grain/hop selection is massive
 
Mine is very helpful if I need it or they leave me to do it if I want. No hesitation to carry the full sacks out to the car or call in and have an order waiting for you. Have a friend that is just starting brewing and she just tells them she wants a extract with steeping grains of a type of beer and they will make up a recipe for her. Most of the help there are brewers themselves.
 
mines the same way, you just say it and they will have it ready and even load your car, love those guys
 
Head First said:
Mine is very helpful if I need it or they leave me to do it if I want. No hesitation to carry the full sacks out to the car or call in and have an order waiting for you. Have a friend that is just starting brewing and she just tells them she wants a extract with steeping grains of a type of beer and they will make up a recipe for her. Most of the help there are brewers themselves.
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And I need to add they have 2 crushers if you need it crushed. One electric and one hooked up to an exercise bike!
 
The guys at my LHBS will put recipes together for those who are new to the process. If you know what you want, it's just like the bulk section at the grocery...weigh it, bag it, let them know what you got when you go to pay. If you want to mill it there, they have a good, powerful mill.
I got in the habit of buying full bags and weighing out my base grain at home, heading over to buy specialty malts and milling it all there. Now I have a mill at home and keep some specialty grains on hand as well as a couple of bags of base malt. For the most part, I can brew whatever I want without a trip to the store with the exception of special recipes or new ingredients. Sometimes it's quite a while between visits and I just stop by to say hey. :)
 
J A said:
The guys at my LHBS will put recipes together for those who are new to the process.
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That's cool. When I was new to building my own recipes, I would ask the manager of my LHBS to look at my recipes. He said, "I really hate when you ask me to do that." Eventually, he was fired. Probably for similar reasons.
 
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