LHBS says not under 1 pound?

Just another data point...

My local shop has 1 oz hops, which I think is pretty typical.

Grain can be any amount, milled or unmilled.

 

I guess I don't see why this is a big deal, grain is cheap and can be easily stored, plus why wouldn't you want to have a variety of grain around? If you only brew a couple times a year then maybe it is an issue but still it will cost about $1.00 or so more in the end.

 

Because if you don't mill your own grain, then you buy it milled. Then it can go stale if you don't use it sooner than later.

You are right that in the big scheme, it's not that big of a deal. But as someone supports my LHBS only, I always want good service. If I brew twice a month, even at that, I don't want to store milled grain around the house. Every 2 weeks, I want to go to the store, put my recipe together, mill it, bag it, and pay for it all and leave. My store will sell me whatever quantities I want, down to half an ounce if I so want it, and more than likely, he doesn't even charge me for that anyways.

Selling in 1 pound increments works for some places as they aren't left with old grain for longer periods, they pass the lazy buck to the consumer, especially for specialty grain that might sit around longer in some cases.

 

I see where you are coming from but in my experience at my LHBS grain turns over quickly and storing grain, even milled grain, for only a couple of weeks will not make a difference from what I have heard. Though as I mill my own grain I do not have direct experience with this nor have I tested stored milled grain vs. fresh milled grain. Ultimately it comes down with what you are comfortable with, and if you are not comfortable with storing milled grain then change LHBS to one that will suit your needs.

 

My LHBS: You measure the grain yourself and self-report the weights (to the nearest gram!) to the register. Hpos are 2 oz packages.

Also, precrushed grain does not go stale that quickly. I used 4+ month old biscuit malt with no issue in the past.