Austin Homebrew. I do have to pay state sales tax, but it's worth it to me since A) I'm supporting an in-state business and B) my stuff arrives the day after it ships.
I buy grain in bulk, hops too, and farm my own yeast, so I don't order kits, and I don't order regularly. That being said, I like to spread the love and order from one this time, another the next. I usually rotate between Austin, morebeer, williams, and northern brewer. I try not to purchase equipment from Austin homebrew because the 8.25% sales tax takes it to a new level.
I buy local. My LHBS is very close to where I live in Vanvouver, WA. They even have a website. Bader Beer & Wine Supply, Inc. if no ones heard of it check it out. :fro:
I'm partial to Barley & Vine. Born out of the love for brewing and introducing homebrewing to a new generation of brewers. Also offers flat rate shipping. You can even call and start describing the beer you want to brew and they will help you formulate a recipe. Also known for their infamous Clone Brews.
Midwest. Every time I get ready to order, I think, "man, their shipping is kind of high", so I price my order at AHS or NB or the LHBS and every time, not only is it cheaper, no one else has their selection. Who gives a monkey if a HBS sells less than 8 oz when Midwest's 8 oz prices are cheaper than 2 oz anywhere else? Go make breakfast with the extra grains Most often, I can't even put together a real comparison of the same recipe due to hop, grain or yeast selection. I'm not a "loyalist". I'll buy from wherever makes sense. Midwest just makes sense. My LHBS is more expensive without shipping. They are pretty ridiculous though. I only use them now for one off items I don't want to order like caps or 1 lb dme.
It really depends on what I'm ordering. I like BMW because they have a recipe builder so after I make something in BeerSmith I can go make it in BrewBuilder and order the whole shibang in one go.
The problem is that some things are more expensive at BMW, so if I'm making a hoppy beer I would save a lot more money going with somebody like Midwest or another site. BMW sells them for a flat $2.15 but Midwest sells them at different prices usually in the $1.80 range. It may not sound like a lot but it adds up. Also, it depends on the grains that I'm using. BMW has a good selection of base grains, but I can choose from only 11. Rebel Brewer has 56 base grains to choose from.
Also, some of these sites don't have what I need...so I go to another one. So really it just depends. I really like the setup of NB and AHS websites, and you'll notice that AHS and BMW have a strong presence in these forums which means they have to run a tight ship or everyone will know about it. We've seen plenty of those threads which swing both ways
I guess I'm lucky, I have a LHBS five minutes from my house which is conviently on my way home from work. So far they have had everthing i've needed thus far, so I have not had to online shop for supplies yet. I guess that makes it a successful LHBS store.
If everybody talked a friend into starting to brew, supply cost would go down, and accessability would be much greater!!!!!!!!