Buying Beer Ingredients: Best Places To Source

Beer is made with just four base ingredients: malts, water, hops, and yeast. However, there are many other ingredients that can be added to create different flavours and types of beer. These include adjunct grains such as flaked oats, flaked corn, or rice hulls, as well as flavourings, spices, and brewing sugars.

There are several online and in-store retailers that sell beer ingredients. These include Northern Brewer, Midwest Supplies, MoreBeer, The Cleveland Brew Shop, and Amazon.

Online suppliers

Northern Brewer

Northern Brewer is a one-stop shop for homebrewers, offering a comprehensive range of beer ingredients. They carry premium hops, malts, yeast, adjuncts, additives, and spices, ensuring freshness by packing their hops and malt extracts in small batches. Northern Brewer also provides essential equipment like fizz drops and priming solutions, making it a go-to website for both beginners and experienced brewers.

Midwest Supplies

Midwest Supplies caters to the needs of homebrewers by offering premium beer ingredients. They stock a wide range of hops, malt extracts, beer yeast, distillers yeast, adjuncts, and additives. Additionally, they provide recipe kits for those who want a guided approach to brewing. With their passion for home brewing, Midwest Supplies is a great resource for both ingredients and knowledge.

MoreBeer

MoreBeer boasts a huge selection of beer ingredients, covering three of the four essential components: malt, hops, yeast, and an array of flavourings, spices, and brewing sugars. They offer pre-made ingredient kits for those seeking convenience, as well as individual ingredients for more experienced brewers. With fast and free shipping options, MoreBeer is a convenient choice for homebrewers.

The Cleveland Brew Shop

The Cleveland Brew Shop is an online store that provides a range of beer ingredients, including hops, yeast, and adjuncts/additives. They also offer equipment and recipe kits, making them a good option for those just starting their homebrewing journey. The Cleveland Brew Shop is a helpful resource for those looking to explore the world of fermentation.

Amazon

Amazon, a well-known online retailer, offers a vast selection of beer-brewing ingredients through its various sellers. From yeast and malt extracts to hops and adjuncts, Amazon provides a convenient platform to purchase ingredients with the added benefit of customer reviews to help guide your choices. With a wide range of options and quick delivery, Amazon is a popular choice for homebrewers.

Homebrew stores

When shopping at a homebrew store, it's recommended to have your grains crushed or milled before purchasing. This service is often provided for free and makes it easier to extract the starches from the grains during the brewing process. If you prefer to do it yourself, you can also buy a grain mill and grind the malts at home, being careful not to over-grind them into flour.

In addition to grains, homebrew stores offer a variety of hops, yeast, and other ingredients. You can find hops in the form of whole-leaf hops or pellet hops, with the latter being more widely available and affordable. They also stock different types of yeast, including ale yeast and lager yeast, in dry or liquid form. Dry yeast is more convenient and has a longer shelf life, while liquid yeast offers a broader range of strains for experimentation.

Some popular homebrew stores include Northern Brewer, Midwest Supplies, MoreBeer, and Cleveland Brew Shop, each offering a range of ingredients and equipment for home brewers.

Amazon

Beer Brewing Kits

• My Brew Supply Hazy IPA Brewing Kit (4.4/5 stars)
• Northern Brewer - Dead Ringer IPA India Pale Ale Extract Kit (4.7/5 stars)
• Muntons Beer Making Kit - Mexican Cerveza Premium Range (4.4/5 stars)
• Brewer's Best Zombiefest Extra Oktoberfest Ingredient Kit (4.6/5 stars)

Grains

Grains are a crucial ingredient in beer brewing, providing the starches that get converted into fermentable sugars. Amazon offers a range of grains for brewers to choose from, including:

• Rahr Standard 6-Row Uncrushed Malt (4.7/5 stars)
• My Brew Supply 2-Row Premium Malt (4.9/5 stars)
• Briess Chocolate Crushed Malt (4.9/5 stars)
• Weyermann Cara Rye Malt (4.6/5 stars)

Hops

Hops are another key ingredient, adding bitterness, flavour, and aroma to beer. Amazon offers a wide variety of hop pellets and leaves, including:

• Citra Pellet Hops (4.7/5 stars)
• Mosaic (US) Hop Pellets (4.6/5 stars)
• Galaxy Hops (no rating)
• Gesho Kitel Ethiopian Brewing Hops (no rating)

Yeast

Yeast is essential for fermentation, and different types of yeast can significantly impact the flavour and character of the beer. Amazon offers a range of yeast options, such as:

• North Mountain Supply Fermentis SafAle US-05 Beer/Ale Yeast (4.7/5 stars)
• LalBrew Nottingham Brewing Yeast (no rating)
• LalBrew Verdant IPA Brewing Yeast (no rating)
• Fermentis Saflager W34/70 Beer Yeast (4.8/5 stars)

Other Ingredients and Additives

In addition to the primary ingredients, Amazon also offers a range of other products to fine-tune your brew, including:

• Dry Malt Extract (4.8/5 stars)
• Brewing Salt (Calcium Chloride) (no rating)
• Irish Moss for clearer beer (no rating)
• Natural Beer and Wine Fruit Flavoring (no rating)

MoreBeer

In addition to their extensive selection of ingredients, MoreBeer also provides pre-made beer ingredient kits for those looking for convenience. These kits include Malt Extract Beer Ingredient Kits, Mini-Mash Beer Ingredient Kits, and All-Grain Beer Ingredient Kits.

With their passion for homebrewing and commitment to customer satisfaction, MoreBeer is an excellent source for anyone looking to start or advance their brewing journey.

Midwest Supplies

If you're looking to start brewing your own beer, Midwest Supplies is a great place to start. They offer a wide range of premium beer ingredients to help you craft award-winning beer recipes from the comfort of your own home.

Their hops and malt extracts are packed in small batches to ensure freshness, and they carry several full lines of beer yeast, distillers' yeast, adjuncts, and additives to help you perfect your brew. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced brewer, Midwest Supplies has something for everyone. They offer a range of home-brew recipe kits, with at least 100 recipes in all different beer styles, so you can easily find one that suits your taste preferences.

Some of the key ingredients you'll need for brewing beer include priming sugar, yeast, hops, and malt extract. Midwest Supplies offers a range of options for each of these, with competitive pricing. For example, their Priming Sugar (5 oz.) is priced at $2.99, while their SafAle US-05 American Ale Dry Yeast is $6.49. They also offer a range of flavouring options, such as US Cascade Pellet Hops (1 oz.) for $1.99 and German Hallertau Hop Pellets (1 oz.) for $2.59.

In addition to their extensive selection of ingredients, Midwest Supplies also provides beer-making equipment kits, so you can find all the tools you need to get started in one convenient place. Whether you're just starting out or you're an experienced brewer looking to experiment with new recipes and ingredients, Midwest Supplies has everything you need to progress on your homebrewing journey.

Frequently asked questions