Where to buy ingredients

John C

John C

South Jersey FC Member
Well with Fermented gone, I will hit the wall on brewing unless I can find an easy (not necessarily cheap) place to get EVERYTHING (grains, hops, yeast) I need. I have enjoyed the convenience of ordering online from Fermented and Philly Homebrew because they had stock status for all ingredients. When Philly HomeBrew went under I was faced with replacements on arrival for items that were not in stock. Didn't like that nor the quality of the beer I made from that experience.

What are people doing now?
Talk to me!
 
Try keystone homebrew (https://www.keystonehomebrew.com/). They are unfortunately in Sourderton, PA. However, they seem to have a pretty good online inventory. I've order from them once before and they package it very well and were prompt with shipping. Sad to say but we are extremely limited.

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Keystone is a hike with nothing but stoplights. None of the online houses offer oz quantities of specialties including milling.

I see this as an existential threat to home brewing. I'm surprised to see so little being discussed about this.
 
John C said:
Keystone is a hike with nothing but stoplights. None of the online houses offer oz quantities of specialties including milling.

I see this as an existential threat to home brewing. I'm surprised to see so little being discussed about this.
Click to expand...
Hi John. A mill is a great investment for us home brewers it gives more flexibility. Though you will have to plan ahead a little.

I just buy a pounds or a few pounds of specialty malts I am planning on using for my next few batches and then I can just weigh them out and mill them myself. Also it allows to buy base grains in bulk. Brew a lot of Pale ales or english styles get your self a sack of Maris or Golden Promise. German beers get a sack of pils. Eric is going to do one last bulk buy and he said he has smaller quantities of loose grains still.

I have been brewing mostly lagers lately so I keep Pils, Munich, Vienna and 2 row around buy them cheap when someone has a bulk grain sale save a lot of money. For specialty malts I have Victory, carapils, rye, caramunich and a bunch of dark grains like carafa123.

If you ever need something milled I would mill it for you or I am sure others in the club would as well.

Cheers!
 
I shop @ Keystone, I did before BYOB / PHO came into being, and went back to them after PHO closed. Best selection of any homebrew shop in the area, hands-down, and a great bunch of folks as well.

I'll try to remember to post when I know I'm heading up there*; anyone who places their order online, I'm happy to pick it up when I'm there.

For those who wish to drive up, there are a couple of really good breweries up near Keystone... and Human Robot Jenkintown is just a few minutes "off-route" on the way home. :)

* sometimes I end up just "stopping in" when I'm working up thataway, so it's not always a planned visit.
 
All good feedback guys. I visited keystone last year before starting to go to Fermented. They were just moving into their new facilities. I got to check out fish and tackle while shopping for supplies:).
Am going to try Brew Your Own Beer in Havertown to give it a try. Can't order on line but they will put together your recipe including oz of specialties and milling. Pretty responsive and closer too.
 
Eric at Brew Your Own Beer is a great guy and super helpful. When I was working out in Malvern I would swing through there for stuff occasionally.

If you're looking for a bite to eat when you're over that way- check out Brick and Brew.
 
Love2Brew up in north Brunswick has a good selection as well. It was taken over by a customer iirc a few years ago. Not quite as far as brew hardware. If you are going south I’ve ordered Aussie hops from Annapolis Homebrew they were the only ones near that had what I wanted.
 
Souderton is a 1 1/2 hour drive from my house each way. It's not a place where I'm ever "in the area". And I hate driving on Rt 309. Driving to Havertown is a traffic nightmare. Brew Hardware might be an easier drive going up Rte 295, but it's still a 90 min drive for me each way. Going to the brew shop isn't a normal errand anymore, it is now a half day event, most of which is spent being stuck behind the wheel of a car. I thought Fermented was kind of far as it was, I can't see me devoting almost 4 hours for a brew shop run on a regular basis.

I have always been a big proponent of patronizing LHBS's. But now I am resigned to the fact that I will need to start ordering online instead of actually visiting an LHBS. Which sux, because I'm always nervous when I order liquid yeast through the mail. I did notice on Keystone's website that they have $8.99 flat shipping. That's probably less than what I'd spend on tolls and gasoline going there, so I think I'll give that a shot for my next brew. I'll still be giving that LBHS some business, instead of ordering from a behemoth like Northern Brewer. Biggest difference now is that I can't wait until the last minute to get my ingredients.

FYI, for John C., Keystone does offer "recipe grains" down to 1/16 of a pound.
 
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Yeah the downside of keystone is the $6 toll and all the lights/traffic. I go to Trenton a couple times a month for work, brew hardware is a nice, but long, drive from there.
 
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