Best Places To Buy Beer Ingredients

There are many online retailers that sell beer ingredients for home brewing. Websites such as Midwest Supplies, Northern Brewer, MoreBeer, Adventures in Homebrewing, and The Brew Shed stock beer ingredients that can be delivered to your doorstep. These websites offer a wide range of beer ingredients, including hops, malts, yeast, adjuncts, additives, and more. Some websites also provide recipe kits for those who need help getting started with their home brewing journey.

Online retailers with free shipping

There are several online retailers that offer free shipping on beer ingredients. Here are some options:

MoreBeer

MoreBeer offers a wide selection of beer ingredients, including grains, malt, barley, hops, yeast, flavourings, spices, and brewing sugars. They provide fast and free shipping on orders over $59 to the lower 48 states, with certain items excluded.

Northern Brewer

Northern Brewer provides home brew supplies and offers free PBW tablets ($25 value) with orders over $75. They also have expert knowledge and resources for learning how to make beer at home.

CraftShack

CraftShack is an online marketplace that connects customers with smaller craft-centric bottle shops. They offer flat-rate shipping to the lower 48 states and provide savings on shipping for larger orders. CraftShack carries a variety of craft beers, including unique options and stalwarts like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Best Damn Beer Shop

Best Damn Beer Shop is a San Diego-based retailer with both a physical store and an online presence. They offer same-day pickup for local orders and ship to several states, including AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, ME, MO, NC, NE, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, and WV. There is a minimum order of $40 and six bottles for free shipping.

Craft City

Craft City is an online store that offers free ground shipping on orders over $399 with a maximum of 6 bottles. They carry a range of craft beers, whiskeys, tequilas, vodkas, and gins.

Local home brewing shops

Adventures in Homebrewing

Adventures in Homebrewing offers a vast selection of beer brewing ingredients, from basic ingredients like hops, malted grains, and fermentable sugars, to various adjuncts that can make your beer unique. They have over 50 varieties of grains sold by the pound and offer both dry and liquid malt extract options. You can also find different varieties of pellet hops, whole leaf hops, and hop rhizomes to grow your own hops. They carry a large variety of beer yeast, including lager, ale, wine, and cider yeast from brands like White Labs, Wyeast, Omega, Lalvin, and Red Star. Additionally, they offer ingredients for carbonation, increasing ABV, and adding sweetness or body to your beer, such as priming sugar, maltodextrin, lactose, and Belgian candi syrup.

MoreBeer

MoreBeer provides a huge selection of beer ingredients, including grain, malt extract, yeast, hops, flavourings, spices, and brewing sugars. They also offer pre-made beer ingredient kits for those who prefer a more convenient option. Free shipping is available for many orders, and they have fast delivery from their East and West Coast warehouses in California and Pennsylvania.

Northern Brewer

Northern Brewer offers premium ingredients for home brewing, including hops, malts, yeast, adjuncts, additives, spices, oak, sugar, and fruit. Their hops and malts are packed in small batches to ensure freshness. They carry a full line of White Labs and Wyeast yeast, as well as a range of beer-making equipment and starter kits. Northern Brewer also provides informative resources, such as a blog article on making beer and exploring ingredients, to assist you in your brewing journey.

Midwest Supplies

Midwest Supplies is a passionate home brewing supplier, offering a range of premium beer ingredients, including hops, malt extracts, yeast, adjuncts, and additives. They carry over 100 home-brew recipe kits in various beer styles for those who need a little extra guidance. Their ingredients are carefully packed in small batches to maintain freshness. Midwest Supplies aims to fuel your home brewing passion and help you progress on your brewing journey.

The Brew Shed

The Brew Shed, based in Australia, boasts the largest range of home brewing supplies in the country. With over 30 years of industry experience, they offer a wide selection of brewing and fermenting equipment, ingredients, and artisan food-making supplies. They provide informative resources and safe, simple instructions to help you create your own artisan alcoholic drinks at home. The Brew Shed also offers free shipping on orders over a certain amount.

Pre-made ingredient kits

If you're looking for a convenient, one-stop solution for brewing beer at home, pre-made ingredient kits are a great option. These kits provide you with all the necessary ingredients in one package, saving you time and effort in sourcing individual components. Here's a detailed look at some popular pre-made beer ingredient kits:

Northern Brewer Beer Recipe Kits:

Northern Brewer offers a wide range of Beer Recipe Kits suitable for both beginners and experienced brewers. Their kits include:

• Kama Citra Session IPA Extract Beer Recipe Kit: Perfect for those who enjoy a well-balanced American IPA with a hint of naughty sensibilities.
• Caribou Slobber Extract Beer Recipe Kit: A unique brown ale with a catchy name, this kit lets you brew a beer that's as smooth as its name suggests.
• Dead Ringer IPA Extract Beer Recipe Kit: For fans of American IPAs, this kit offers a thick hop aroma and a bold, larger-than-life character.
• Bavarian Hefeweizen Extract Beer Recipe Kit: Transport yourself to a traditional German Bier Hall with this foolproof recipe kit, yielding a crisp and refreshing wheat beer.
• Chocolate Milk Stout Extract Beer Recipe Kit: Indulge in a rich, frothy, and grown-up version of your childhood favourite with this delicious stout kit.

MoreBeer Ingredient Kits:

MoreBeer provides a diverse selection of pre-made ingredient kits, including:

• All-Grain Recipe Kits: These kits offer a high level of control and allow you to explore new techniques and ingredients. They include base and specialty malts, multiple hop additions, and guidelines for the best yeast to use.
• Malt Extract Recipe Kits: Ideal for beginners, these kits include malt extract, milled flavouring grains, and multiple hop additions.
• Mini-Mash Recipe Kits: A middle ground between malt extract and all-grain brewing, these kits contain malt extract, milled base and flavouring grains, and multiple hop additions.

Midwest Supplies Beer Brewing Recipe Kits:

Midwest Supplies offers an extensive collection of Northern Brewer recipe kits, including:

• Thiolized Swig of Sunbeams Extract Beer Recipe Kit: A unique and intriguing option for those seeking something beyond the ordinary.
• Haystack Saison Extract Recipe Kit: Perfect for those who enjoy a rustic yet refined saison, this kit offers a simple recipe with expressive yeast character and moderate hopping.
• Irish Red Ale Beer Recipe Kit: Brew a traditional Irish ale with a malty, smooth, and medium-bodied character, known for its deep copper-red colour.
• Caribou Slobber Brown Ale Beer Recipe Kit: Another chance to brew the famous brown ale with a catchy name, this kit promises a smooth and satisfying beer.
• Chocolate Milk Stout Extract Beer Recipe Kit: Indulge your sweet tooth with this stout, reminiscent of your favourite childhood treat, now all grown up.

With these pre-made ingredient kits, you'll have everything you need to start brewing your own beer at home. So, get ready to unleash your creativity and become a master brewer in your own right!

The four basic beer ingredients

Brewing your own beer at home? The four basic ingredients you'll need are grain, hops, yeast, and water. Each of these ingredients plays a crucial role in determining the flavour, aroma, and overall quality of your beer.

Let's start with hops, the female flowers of the hop plant, Humulus lupulus. Hops are responsible for adding bitterness, flavour, and aroma to your brew. They are rich in essential oils and resins, which give beer its characteristic bitterness and pleasant, floral fragrance. The longer you boil the hops, the more bitterness your beer will have.

Yeast is another key ingredient in beer-making. It's a microscopic single-celled organism that feeds on the sugars present in the grain, converting them into alcohol and carbon dioxide. There are two main types of yeast used in brewing: ale yeast, which ferments at higher temperatures and produces a sweeter, fruitier flavour; and lager yeast, which ferments at the bottom of the vessel at lower temperatures, resulting in a crisper, cleaner flavour.

Water is the most prominent ingredient in beer by volume, typically making up more than 90% of it. The type of water you use will impact the flavour, aroma, and texture of your beer. Distilled water or reverse osmosis water are good options for brewing, as they have low mineral content and won't react with other ingredients.

Lastly, grain is the second most prominent ingredient in beer. Barley is the most commonly used grain, but you can also use wheat, rye, or oats, each imparting its own unique characteristics to the beer. Grains provide different flavours and aromas, and darker grains will result in a darker beer.

With these four basic ingredients, you'll be well on your way to crafting your own delicious brew at home!

How to modify your water

Water is one of the four basic ingredients in beer, and modifying your water can take your beer from 'good' to 'great'. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to modify your water for brewing:

Step 1: Get a Water Quality Report

First, establish a baseline by finding out the mineral content and pH of your water supply. If you live in a city, you can usually find a pre-written report from your municipal water authority. If not, you can collect a sample and test it yourself using a home test kit or send it to a lab for testing.

Step 2: Compare Your Report to Desirable Ranges

Once you have the information about your water supply, compare it to the desired ranges for each element. The desired ranges for elements such as bicarbonate, calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, and sulfate can be found online.

Step 3: Adjust Chemistry

Now that you know the mineral content of your water, you can make any necessary adjustments. This can be done by adding salts or acids to the water. For example, adding gypsum can increase calcium levels, while adding Epsom salt can increase magnesium levels. Be careful not to add too much, as high concentrations of certain minerals can affect the taste of your beer.

Step 4: Remove Chlorine and Chloramine

Some water sources may contain chlorine or chloramine, which can give your beer an unpleasant taste. To remove these compounds, you can let the water sit uncovered for 24 hours, use potassium metabisulphate or campden tablets, or filter your water.

Step 5: Choose a Flavour Profile

Different beer styles will call for different levels of minerals to achieve the desired flavour profile. By adjusting the amounts of specific minerals, you can make your beer taste fuller-bodied, sweeter, drier, more bitter, or even sour. Choose the flavour profile you want to achieve and adjust your water chemistry accordingly.

Step 6: Calculate and Measure Salt Additions

Before calculating the amount of salts needed to reach your mineral targets, you need to know the volume of strike and sparge water you will be using. There are online calculators and spreadsheets, such as EZWaterCalculator, that can help you with these calculations. Once you have calculated the amounts, measure the salts using a precise scale, such as a jewellery scale.

Step 7: Add Mash Salts and Acids

When adding the milled grain to your heated water, also add the calculated amount of mash salts and mix well. After the grains and mash salts have been mixed, take a pH reading. If the pH is above the desired range, add a small amount of acid, such as lactic acid, to lower the pH.

Step 8: Acidify Sparge Water

Before sparging, check the pH of the water and add acid if it is too high. This will help prevent the extraction of excess tannins from the grain husks, which can give the beer an astringent taste.

Step 9: Add Boil Salts and Acids

After the wort has come to a boil, add the calculated amount of sparge salts. If the pH is too high, you may need to add some acid to lower it. A lower pH can improve beer clarity, long-term stability, colour, and hop bitterness.

Frequently asked questions