February 2012

New Burners from Bayou Classic

The Wine Smith is now stocking the Bayou Classic 16" Banjo Cooker for $109. The Banjo style burners are more efficient than the single flame burners because they disperse the flame across the entire bottom of the pot and they also result in more even heating. We also continue to offer the all stainless steel Top Tier burner from Blichmann Engineering for $142.

Changing Malt Line-up

Our main malt supplier, Crosby & Baker, has been acquired by the Brewers Supply Group. As a result we are offering a wider range of malted grains. Our current British Muntons line has been replaced by Crisp and Simpsons, and Rahr has replaced Malteurop as our primary North American offering. We will continue to stock the high-quality Weyermann malts from Germany.

Overall, we will be offering a more complete line of adjunct grains. For instance, we have already stocked Crisp Brown Malt, Amber Malt and Pale Chocolate Malt as well as Simpsons Peated Malt. You can view all of the Brewers Supply Group malts at www.brewerssupplygroup.com .  Let us know if there are any additional malts that you would like to have us stock.

Grain and Extract Prices for 2012

Malted grain prices will be up  significantly in 2012 due to reduced planting and poor quality harvests in both North America and Europe.  Grain prices are expected to increase 5 to 10 cents per pound, spray dried malt (DME) 3-4% and malt extract (LME) 8-10%. One hedge for extract brewers is to buy your processed malts in bulk. The Wine Smith currently sells a 50 lb. bag of Briess DME for $135 and a 33 lb. growler of Muntons LME for $69.95. 

Schmidling Malt Mill

The Wine Smith is pleased to announce that it will be offering the full line of Schmidling Malt Mills. Our initial order is due in the store the second week of February.  We will offer both fixed and adjustable gap models.  These mills will crush grain with the hand crank at a rate of a pound every 15 seconds. 
 

Kegging Kit Prices

Kegging kit prices have been adjusted due to the scarcity of reconditioned kegs. All kits include a filled 5 lb. CO2 bottle, TapRite dual gauge pressure regulator, tank connectors, hoses and a squeeze faucet.                                                                         1) Base kit without a keg, $185                                                                                           2) Base kit + Reconditioned 5-gallon ball lock keg, $239                                                   3) Base kit + New 5-gallon ball lock keg, $299