Beer Republic

[dadgel]

I know that thrifty shopper is an often used supplier by some JBK members, but at present their website is saying they are not trading and are recommending their sister company, beer republic.

Searching here I only found a couple of posts from people who had used the latter.

I've emailed them for some info in the middle of last week but haven't heard anything back yet.

Before I go ahead and place an order, has anyone had good/bad/indifferent experiences with them?

And does anyone know who has malted their M.O. and if they normally sell it crushed? Couldn't find an answer to these on their website and that's what I emailed them about.

Thanks in advance, as always.

D

[crafty john]

I haven't ordered from beer republic yet but I rang the home brew supermarket nee thethriftyshopper and they told me their MO is Bairds and yes they do sell it crushed at just under £20.00 for a 25 kilo sack plus postage of course.

[boingy]

I'd probably think twice before placing an order with an on-line company that can't be bothered to reply to emails.

[kebabman]

I have just had a look at the Beer republic website and the 1Kg price for malts is stupidly high relative to the 5kg and 25kg.

[dadgel]

But the 25kg looks like a good deal...

Agree fully about an online company not responding promptly to emails.

I'm just a touch concerned now as I've have been following the Bairds low extract thread on JBK. I've only used Warminster thus far, and had good results - but that's going to cost me 50% more.

Perhaps I'm being a tight wad.

[jimp2003]

Hey dadgel,

If you do hear back from them with confirmation about their malt supplier let us know. I was wondering exactly the same thing a few weeks ago but never got round to mailing them.

I don't think there is anything shady about them but if an online company doesn't communicate well with their potential customers it does not bode well for a good relationship....

Jim

[Titch]

ive had a bag of them it was fawcetts just brewed with it today actually

the shop is currently being maned by Mark i think, as the rest are probably brewing or looking after the bar they have opened, last time i was in, he had orders to pack phone to answer and customers to serve

[crafty john]

ive had a bag of them it was fawcetts just brewed with it today actually

the shop is currently being maned by Mark i think, as the rest are probably brewing or looking after the bar they have opened, last time i was in, he had orders to pack phone to answer and customers to serve

When I rang them last week they said it was Bairds, the same malt they use in their brewery.

[Titch]

might of changed but i just went out to the garage and checked my sack off them, might pop down this tuesday/wednesday have a natter see what it is

[crafty john]

Mind you I have had good results with Bairds.

[mysterio]

I've had email communication with them and they were fine. Seems like they cater for the bulk buying home brewer but nobody else?

[daz c]

I ordered from beer republic this week.I ordered sunday night but some items were out of stock but everything arrived friday morning. Was kept informed by email of the delay so didn't mind the slight wait. Prices are good and they have a good selection of hops and grains I ordered a sack of golden promise which is from fawcetts cant wait to get a brew on sunday.

Daz

[dadgel]

I've now ordered from them and went and picked the stuff up as the postage on 100kg of grain wasn't too good. All fitted perfectly in the back of the car though.

Nice enough chaps to deal with, good range of hops and grain and the prices are good if buying in bulk (not so good for smaller amounts). Although they wanted me to place the order on a PC in the shop before they'd pick it which was a bit of a faff. The logic is that they'd prefer you to place the order at home before you leave, and then it'll all be ready for you when you arrive. That's a great idea, but it wasn't very clear.

Also was a bit surprised to see them vac packing my hops out back - I assumed they'd be vac packed as soon as they got hold of them. I thought the point was to keep them fresh - and just keeping them fresh from the shop back to my place seems a bit pointless. Perhaps there's something I've missed.

In answer to my own question about maltsters - they have both Fawcetts and Bairds. We discussed the recent issue that some had had with Bairds efficiency and they said they'd seen it a little - but they mentioned that the Fawcetts got much better efficiency but tended to stick more (assume due to being ground finer) and so they preferred the Bairds. I took a sack of each for my own testing...I figured worst case I might be able to use 50% of each and get the best (or worst) of both worlds.

Short answer is I'll probably be back there again.

[leedsbrew]

Intereting about the hop vac pack. I had a packet of centennial from them that wasn't as fresh as I'm used to from other supliers! That might be the answer!

As for the Fawcetts sticking more. Ive had this problem with Fawcetts malt bought from home brew shops but when I have got malt direct from Fawcetts themselves, you can specify the crush you want. I find that their medium crush is much better and has no detriment to efficiency!

LB

[mysterio]

Ask them about the vac packing, it could be they just opened a 5kg brick that day.

I remember someone asked Thrifty about their practice and they said their hops remain under vacuum all the time but they re-vac pack for smaller amounts. Who knows.