What's your stock like?

[Classic Brewing Co]

29 minutes ago, Thirsty Jim said:

Just In Time.  JIT.  That is what industry calls the practice of reducing your warehouse requirement by ordering in inventory just in time.  Let the supplier bear the cost of storage.  Let them deal with the problem of perishables and just order what you need when you need it.  The whole idea depends entirely upon the reliability of the supply chain, the accuracy of your requirement and consistency in the level of demand but given those things JIT works.  There is less waste, you require less space, it is all together more economical.

As an apprentice minimalist it is important to me that my brewery is contained by my brew fridge, 6 milk crates of bottles (= 7 dozen) and a small free standing cupboard.  It is not allowed to be any bigger than that, it is not permitted to grow.   It is not allowed to take over my kitchen or any other room of my house.  I wish I had a room to devote to brewing but I don't.  I wish I had the money to fill that room with bright and shiny equipment but I don't.  Still my little brewery, all 0.75 square metres of it,  manages to keep me stocked with an abundance and variety of beer which I enjoy very much. 

Last week I took delivery from Coopers of four kits, three cans of malt extract and krausen collar for my little FV.  They arrived in good time and were very well packaged. The price was excellent as I not only received club discounts I also received free postage.  My car did not leave the driveway let alone make the 50km journey to a retailer who could meet my needs.  This lot will make 120 bottles of beer which will see me through to Xmas.  

Thank you Cooper's.

I concur we all do what is necessary to avoid buying the dreaded megaswill & choose to brew our own which calls for holding stocks to support this. I am fortunate in that I am single however I still try to not go overboard, some think I do.

[Journeyman]

On 10/4/2021 at 6:10 PM, Thirsty Jim said:

Last week I took delivery from Coopers of four kits, three cans of malt extract

Wait... Coopers let you buy 7 cans? The limit has been 6 up till now.

I feel the pain of affordability. I saved for my first lot of gear then used the savings of not going to the pub to build it up to what I have now. I did plan a man cave when we built the place but it's been full of extra stuff since we arrived. I'm about to start getting vicious with it so I can clear some room for me. 

Edited October 5, 2021 by Journeyman

[Journeyman]

On 10/4/2021 at 10:57 AM, Classic Brewing Co said:

We'll let you off this time, next time a bit more order please. 

Well, they are kinda grouped by type in those little alcoves.

[Classic Brewing Co]

17 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

I did plan a man cave

Mate I think you should just take control & take over a section of the house & enforce some rules, something like this  

or this 

HTH 

[Journeyman]

22 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Mate I think you should just take control & take over a section of the house & enforce some rules, something like this  

HTH 

So you've got a spare room I can move into... right?

[Classic Brewing Co]

5 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

So you've got a spare room I can move into... right?

You would have to BYO & help with groceries,, do the cleaning, washing, car ... hang on maybe you are all ready doing that 

[Thirsty Jim]

1 hour ago, Journeyman said:

Wait... Coopers let you buy 7 cans? The limit has been 6 up till now.

I feel the pain of affordability. I saved for my first lot of gear then used the savings of not going to the pub to build it up to what I have now. I did plan a man cave when we built the place but it's been full of extra stuff since we arrived. I'm about to start getting vicious with it so I can clear some room for me. 

You are right JM.  It was actually only 5 .  

I had no idea there was a limit.  I just ordered $100 worth including the collar :  Brew A, Sparkling, Bootmakers and  2 cans of light malt.  I have a can of Special Bitter and another can of light malt on top of the fridge and that is my whole stock.  I have a bag of LDME and a box of BE2 and I have no hops apart from 25g of EKG.  I have one sachet of Nottingham yeast otherwise I am kit dependent although I intend on harvesting Cooper's yeast in future especially for the Sparkling. 

I have never ordered from Cooper's before because when I lived in the suburbs I had a two Woolies, two Dan Murphy's, 2 LHBS and 2 craft breweries within 5km but since I have moved to the peninsula I have a limited local Woolies and its 40 or 50kms to reach a Dan's of Big W.    So Coopers, especially with free delivery, makes a lot of sense. 

 

[BlackSands]

Stocks?  Zero.  I don't hold anythinmg in stock. Homebrew stores are able operate online even under NZ's stricktest of lockdown rules so I just order as and when required as I usually do. 

[Thirsty Jim]

Well... after all my sage advice, Just In Time and all that I wander into my local Woolies (Rye, Mornington Peninsula) and they are having a clearance special - $9.40 for Dark Ales (BB March 2023) and $10.20 for Real Ales.  

Now I have stock  .

[Journeyman]

13 hours ago, Thirsty Jim said:

Well... after all my sage advice, Just In Time and all that I wander into my local Woolies (Rye, Mornington Peninsula) and they are having a clearance special - $9.40 for Dark Ales (BB March 2023) and $10.20 for Real Ales.  

Now I have stock  .

Hmm... I wonder if it's all Woolies or just yours?

[terminal2k]

No woolies anywhere near me stocks home brew. I have to buy it from the online woolies. Who haven't had real ale in stock in over a month. They're also out of Pale, and the dark ales aren't discounted.

[Classic Brewing Co]

49 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

Hmm... I wonder if it's all Woolies or just yours?

The Big W Cross Roads, Cumberland Park is advertising 20% off ATM.

Coopers | Brands | BIG W

 

https://www.bigw.com.au/brands/coopers

60. Save $3.40. 20% OFF. Coopers PET Beer Bottles & Caps 15 x 740mL. $12. Save $3. 20% OFF. Coopers English Bitter 1.7kg. $13.

[Journeyman]

5 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

The Big W Cross Roads, Cumberland Park is advertising 20% off ATM.

Not here - normal pricing. As in $15 for OS series!

And Woolies is at $13.85, which from memory is also their normal pricing. 

Ah well, I have more than enough cans now anyway!  One good thing about having stock is I can just wait for specials.

[Graculus]

Just one can of Morgans Cider sat on the shelf.

I've got a fair bit of LDME. Probably five kilos, as I buy a 20 kilo bag every year.
Couple of kilos of dextrose too.

I'll probably stop by a homebrew store that I drive past when working. I'll be picking up a Muntons Yorkshire Bitter.

[Thirsty Jim]

1 hour ago, Journeyman said:

Hmm... I wonder if it's all Woolies or just yours?

@thebeerpig said on the Cheap Coopers thread that his local in Central Victoria also had Dark & Real discounted with 'Clearance' tags too.   I make a habit in these situations of asking to see the store manager and pointing out that the only reason I shop here instead of Aldi is that Woolies sell Coopers kits and Aldi doesn't !   I am not sure it does any good but it makes me feel better.

As i was filling my trolley I did stop to think about how much was too much given the 18 month best before date, my existing stock and variety being the spice of life ... and put half of them back. 

Edited October 12, 2021 by Thirsty Jim

[Journeyman]

47 minutes ago, Thirsty Jim said:

As i was filling my trolley I did stop to think about how much was too much given the 18 month best before date, my existing stock and variety being the spice of life ... and put half of them back. 

Well, they are still usable after the BB date.  

I use the RA as a base for other things. e.g. I make quite a few XPA clones and it goes well in that instead of the APA one. Also it makes a solid base for my attempts at Fixation IPA.

[Thirsty Jim]

They certainly are.  They just get darker is all - and that is no problem for me.  The age of the kit yeast is more of an issue though. At these prices I could go buy yeast and still be in front.

[Popo the Reprobate]

2 hours ago, Journeyman said:

Also it makes a solid base for my attempts at Fixation IPA.

Off topic a bit, but how is that one going for you? I had it a few years back and thought it was pretty good.

You've been at that one for a while. I've only ever rebrewed a small handful of recipes over the years. Getting any closer?

[Journeyman]

50 minutes ago, Popo said:

Off topic a bit, but how is that one going for you? I had it a few years back and thought it was pretty good.

You've been at that one for a while. I've only ever rebrewed a small handful of recipes over the years. Getting any closer?

I've certainly got it down to a very drinkable beer, but it's been more than 5 years since I had one on tap. So I am unsure how close I've gotten. I know the hops is simcoe, mosaic, amarillo and citra - most recently I've been using mosaic in a 25 min boil and a tea or dry hops of the others. I did try a couple with the simcoe (forget why) but it wasn't the same.

I tend to light hops loads - if I get 50g in a dry hops of tea, that's a big amount. But I have been thinking of boosting the next one.

Also I know it has light crystal - we munched on it in the bar where the Fix rep was doing the promo. I usually steep that then mash it with some ale malt.

[Popo the Reprobate]

Good stuff @Journeyman. It's been a while since I have had it too. Worthy of a clone attempt. You can't go too wrong with that mix of hops even if it is not quite the same thing.