Ust311

Recipes 

I started a thread called brew store but felt the title should have need more detailed....

All feed back is welcome. What are good and bad things about your LHBS? I'm starting a new job at my LHBS on Monday and we want to create an awesome experience for the customer.

Hammy71

Recipes 

Well, being a cute chick that knows her beer helps. Sadly, I doubt you can help me there....

Gameface

Recipes 

Friendly, knowledgeable staff is the #1 best thing a LHBS can have.

huntingohio

Recipes 

Make a recipie book, including all grain and extract.

Learn your styles of beer.

Dont always push top tier equipment on people, especailly beginers.

If someones trying to brew on the cheap, make real suggestions for example "if your trying to save money, you can use bleach instead of starsan, just rinse very very well to avoid off tastes. Or if they are interested in all grain expose them to biab, ect. It might affect bottom line with them not buying gear, but youll have a loyal customer, and a businees without atleast an 80% repeat loyal customer base is going to struggle.

Most of all BREW LIKE MAD. Get a couple one gallon gear kits and small batch brew, they experences even scaled down are directly relatable to larger brews, and taste the same. It wil allow you to brew more often, giving you more experence. A person who knows there products and what they can do is the best thing at a brew shop.

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P1 Strawberry bannna melomel
p2 mixed berry cyser
p3 lemon ginger melomel
2 gallon fermenting kit is OTW!!!

chefmike

Recipes 

I look for a place that is willing to accept the many different opinions and variations on homebrewing from the knowledgable staff.

I am NOT looking for a lecture from an "expert" whose only qualification is the paycheck from the LHBS.

Nor am I looking for my wife to receive a lecture about the list of items I have given her. (really happened. Went online after that until another store openedin the area.

What do I want? Camaraderie. Resources where I can learn more at my own pace (maybe a list of online resources). a chance to try different equipment I have heard about. (maybe a customer will build a new system after he learns to use a march pump.

free stuff... it builds community and pulls people in... maybe a washed yeast bank? bring some and trade for something else. (and then upsell by talking about comparing 2 yeasts on a batch.

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Reformation Brewery: A 15bbl community brewery coming soon...
Obsessing over: starting a local brewery (hence I am not here much these days!), CSA produce, my wife, 1 year old and 4 year old, my chevy 6.5L diesel Suburban
Reading: A Praying Life by Paul E Miller
Building: gardens, recipes, and trailer mounted smoker/ wood pizza oven

Billy-Klubb

Recipes 

availability of products. such as a variety of hops & yeast strains. and let the customer know that if you don't have it, you'll get it.

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There is a difference between pride and arrogance. Which do you hold in your heart?

msa8967

Recipes 

At least one worker that does not have a beard or is a fan of either the Chicago Cubs or Boston Red Sox.

On a more realistic note, I would like to see some of the brewers that work in these shops provide the novice brewers some basic sample recipes that can be made with the ingredients from the store. There could be some extract, partial mash, brew in a bag and full all grain recipes with a basic set of procedure instructions for novice brewer to follow to make a transition to a different method of brewing.

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Mick Arnett
North Liberty, Iowa
"Beer will change the world. I don't know how, but it will."

Ust311

Recipes 

Lol...Well...I have a beard(for movember) and I'm a Twins fan!

Euripidez

Recipes 

Grain mill for my malt purchases.

Please

45_70sharps

Recipes 

I'll second that one and add that she should be single!
Why is it that all the dudes at brew stores have beards?

Since you can't fill that role, like others have said you need people that are friendly and knowledgeable.
You need to be able to tell the skill level of a brewer and help them accordingly.
Also the recipe book is great. I travel about 2 hours to my "local" brew store and I've found myself there when I wasn't planning on going to town so I didn't have a shopping list. They have a recipe book there and I was able to find something that I wanted to make and pick up a batch of ingredients.
The rest of it is stuff that you have minimal ability to control. Things like the type of inventory.
It would help if you had sources for what you don't carry. Steer them to a good online source for a mill if the store doesn't have them or be able to order what you don't carry.

If you go to a homebrew store that doesn't mill your grain, they aren't even trying to succeed. They will almost certainly fail.

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Let's see if I keep this updated!

On tap
Black Butte clone

In secondary
Pumpkin ale

In primary
Honey wit

Up next.. Firestone Union Jack clone