Increasing Cost Efficiency - Part 2

Hello all!

Here is a very short follow up post to Increasing Cost Efficiency Part 1.

To be short and to the point, I received my barley crusher for the big 30 bday. What a sweetheart I have to give me such a wonderful present. The barley crusher is phenomenal. It has a hand crank which is removeable, allowing me to hook up a drill. There is no way I would ever hand crank it given I use 20-30 pounds of grain in any given batch. I gave it a test run last night and ran a pound of 2-row through it. It was the perfect crush. It wasn't too fine to the point that it was all flour and it wasn't too course to the point where it remained whole kernels, it was the perfect balance.

I bought a 55 lb sack of Maris Otter (a malty, base grain) and just ordered a 55 lb sack of Pilsner 2-row, 27.5 lbs of Crystal 15, and 27.5 lbs of Vienna Malt. So once I recieve the new order I'll have a total of 165 pounds of commonly used grains.

Here is an example of the cost savings I just received.

Here is the Homebrew Supply Store prices:

55 Lbs Maris Otter x $2.25 (per pound) = $123.75
55 Lbs Pilsner 2-row x $2.00 = $110.00
27.5 Lbs Crystal 15L x $2.50 = $68.75
27.5 Lbs Vienna x $2.50 = $68.75

Thus, if purchased at the store, 165 pounds would have cost me $371.25. Expensive, right.

Here is what I paid by ordering through a group of homebrewers who set up a commercial account.

55 lbs Maris Otter x $0.60 (per pound) = $33
55 lbs Pilsner 2-row x $0.61 = $33.55
27.5 lbs Crystal 15L x $0.68 = $18.70
27.5 lbs Vienna x $0.71 = $19.53
$15 freight and fuel charge

Total that up and you can see I just purchased 165 pounds of grain for $119.79. That is a difference of $251.46!!!!!

You can see how much I'm saving now on my grains. Yeah, I now have to store 165 pounds of grain (keep in mind a batch utilizes anywhere from 20-30 pounds), but the amount of dollars saved fully justifies it. Plus, I love the smell of the grains, so when I get bored I can take a nice whiff and get that pleasant smell of euphoria.

That's the wonders of the Barley Crusher.

Aren't you as happy as I am right now.