First Brew

[shazapple]

I'm getting setup for my first all grain brew and I need a bit of help with the ingredients. I'm a fan of amber beers so I think I'm going to use this one.
http://nbcba.org/forum/10-american-ale/evil-twin/

If I get the specialty grains through the grain order, should I substitute for the more 'popular' version? I'm not familiar with the equivalents/substitutions but here is what I've figured out, let me know if there are better options.

Maris Otter = Same
Pale Malt (2 Row)  = Same
Munich II (Weyermann) = Same   
Cara 40 (MaltBroue)  = Caramunich 2 (Weyermann)   
Cara 120 (MaltBroue) = Caraaroma (Weyermann)
Melanoidin (Weyermann) = Amber Roasted Malt (Muntons)     
Carafa I (Weyermann) = Light Chocolate (Muntons)   

For hops, I assume I can gather those from anywhere online? This recipe uses Columbus, Cascade, and Centennial which seem to be fairly popular so I should get at least a couple extra ounces?

[feldmann]

If you're in Freddy it might be worth it to get everything from Noble Grape. It is cheaper in the long run to get the specialty grains through the grain order but you're getting a lot of grain that will take you a long time to go through. I would suggest getting your base malts (2-row, marris otter, Pilsner) through the club orders since you'll be using these in large quantities in almost every recipe and just getting the specialty grains from noble grape for each recipe until you discover which grains you brew with more often.

cascade and centennial are very common in American style beers, but if you're only ordering a few ounces the shipping might still make it more expensive than noble grape unless you're ordering a few pounds.

[robcoombs]

I agree with @feldmann it's going to be the best deal to get the base grain through the club. Really try to get as much through the club as you can.

As far as splits go I have a lot of different kinds on hand. But I always try to have a good amount of wheat malt,carafoam and munich. Light crystal, chocolate and roasted barley.

Cascade, Columbus and centennial are hops that are easy to use in a number of different recipes. Considering buying by the pound. It is much cheaper in the end. It helps sometimes to get a few guys from the club to order together and split the shipping. I would avoid getting hops from noble grape. Their storage conditions are a joke and I've been disappointed with quality numerous times.

[Jake]

Some of your grain substitutions may be better served by some of the other options available to us.

 
Cara 40 (MaltBroue)  = Caramunich 2 (Weyermann)  - - - I think this is probably just the light crystal. On our sheet its called Crystal 110. Cara 40 probably represents lovibonds ... "crystal 110" is 40-54 lovibonds according to our sheet. Just a different measure of how dark the grain is.

Cara 120 (MaltBroue) = Caraaroma (Weyermann) - - -  I think this is probably just the med/darker crystal. On our sheet its called Crystal 240 which is listed as 90-116 lovibond.

The other 2 are difficult to sub out. The carafa malt i believe is de-husked so its not as bitter & a little smoother. Melanoidin malt I don't know a whole lot about, but know it's pretty grainy/malty ... maybe some munich you could probably get away with as a sub if you don't want to buy the melanoidin. You could probably get away with some chocolate malt I suppose for the carafa and you probably wouldn't tell a whole lot of difference. Maybe reduce the amount you use to compensate.

[shazapple]

Thanks guys, I have a bag of 2-row and MO on the group order list. 100lb of grain seems like a lot but I'm sure I'll use it somehow!

@Jake , I think you are right. I did a bit of reading on Lovibond/SRM/EBC and their conversion. From a look at the manufacturers websites it seems like MaltBroue uses lovibond in their names and Muntons uses EBC. I'll go with the Muntons if that is the more popular option.

I've been using this to compare substitutions http://www.brew.is/files/malt.html (although it doesn't list a lot for Muntons) and where I got the idea for the substitutions. @jamie_savoie also has another recipe (West Coast Amber that is similar but uses the Victory/Amber/Melanoidin substitution. Maybe I'll end up getting the Melanoidin separately. Looking at the manufacturer website the Carafa 1 has a EBC rating closer to the Chocolate Malt you mentioned (the light chocolate I listed is low).