I am from Orlando, went to his store 2 weeks ago and got similar treatment.
However, after talking with him I realized that he just gets tired of answering newbie questions. The guy has been in business for 30 years. Thats like 20 years before the internet and he was brewing at a time before most people even thought you could. He actually is no different than the OCD anal jerks on this very forum. He is the kind of person that knows the process but scorns newbies for asking dumb questions.
However, I work with difficult people, and after getting past the initial comments, I began to laugh and questioned his seriousness and irritibility. I even made him crack a smile because I was asking about how many times does he get customers come in who think they are experts.
All in all... it beats paying for shipping.