Just found a Home Brew Shop in Central PA...

So, I'm loving the new hobby but was hating 1 week waits for purchases from MidWest Home Brewing, etc.

I google'd for what seemed like hours and couldn't find any HBS in "Central PA". All seemed about 3 hours or so drive.

Well I was planning a Micro-brew outing this weekend as I often do at Bube's Brewery in Mount Joy, PA and it turns out they have a home-brew shop. Pretty sweet!! No more week-long waits for supplies (unless its something really rare I guess?)!!

Here's the website if there is anyone else in the region:

http://www.bubesbrewery.com/brewery.htm

Start down the main street in Lemoyne (traveling on 11 South) and make a right at the street immediately before (or after...I forget) the chiropractor. Make a right into the alley. On your left about a half a block down is Scotzin Bros. They're open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10-5.

Silkky,

I grew up in PA really close to the area you're talking about. When most folks referred to "central PA," they were talking about the Penn State/Centerville area about 2-3 hours from the Lancaster/Harrisburg area. That's probably why your searches were taking you so far out of town. Try "PA Dutch Country" or "Amish Country" area searches to keep you close to home. I can't imagine there's only one homebrew shop between Lancaster, Harrisburg, and Reading.

Steve's Brew Supplies is in York, PA. Been there several times...

Google a search for his website.

I just ran a quick search on yp.yahoo.com and came up with 13 homebrew supply stores within 50 miles of York.

Right down the street not exactly, but near on 83 is where I go. Steves homebrew, i think im going to check this place out next time.

Wow, thanks fellas... Beats ordering online and paying the horrendous shipping prices...

As for the one at Bube's Brewery I wasn't impressed; noone was even working it other than the 'hostess' for the restaurants. And the selection was slim. In fact, Bube's didn't even have any 'house beers' b/c they dont have a brewmaster.

Anyone on here need a job? Haha.

Muntzster said:

Right down the street not exactly, but near on 83 is where I go. Steves homebrew, i think im going to check this place out next time.

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Tell Steve that Bill from IL sent you...

homebrewer_99 said:

Tell Steve that Bill from IL sent you...

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Are you guys all in this area? I've been trying to find some more locals. We go to Scotzin's and Mr Steve's, some of the lists are not up to date. There was one in Carlisle but it closed.

I live off the Halifax exit of 322... (15 miles or so north of Harrisburg)

First "real" batch is in the primary now, so I'm a newb, but would love to get together with some of the locals for a homebrew party/tasting at some point in the future...

SilkkyBrew said:

I live off the Halifax exit of 322... (15 miles or so north of Harrisburg)

First "real" batch is in the primary now, so I'm a newb, but would love to get together with some of the locals for a homebrew party/tasting at some point in the future...

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There is a club that meets at Scotzin's the first Saturday of the month from 3-5. November is an odd month because they had a halloween party this weekend. Shoot me an email and I can keep you posted for the next meeting. I've got a few brews under my belt.

[email protected]

Todd said:

Are you guys all in this area? I've been trying to find some more locals. We go to Scotzin's and Mr Steve's, some of the lists are not up to date. There was one in Carlisle but it closed.

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I live in Illinois, but I get to York every once in a while...visiting BAE...I work for the Army.

I'm in Lanaster county, near Ephrata. I've been to Scotzins a couple times. It sucks that they're only open two days a week but they do have a pretty good inventory. I have'nt been to "Mr Steves" in York yet, but intend to, soon. Mostly, I've been ordering from Austin and Midwest.

Evets - My significant other lives in Lititz, so I'm there often. I'm also working in East Petersburg next week. Wow, this is a small world.

Ya know?, I think I remember hearing about a smoke shop or something in Lititz that carries brew supplies. I'll hafta check that out.

Evets, I grew up in Denver (PA) - small world, eh?

Yuri_Rage said:

Evets, I grew up in Denver (PA) - small world, eh?

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I'm originally from Camden, NJ and lived in Philly many years ago (both of my parents are from Philly...still have relatives there).

Like Todd said, most of the lists are out of date... but this one from White Labs has just about every brew shop in PA that I know of:

http://www.whitelabs.com/stores/pa.html

Another one that is not listed is Keystone Homebrew Supply. They have stores in Bethlehem and Montgomeryville. http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/


How is that shop in York? (I assume it's http://www.mrsteves.com/ )

Sweet; Smoke n' Brew in Lititz, PA. 2 miles from the SO's home. I'll check it out tonight (if they are open).

SilkkyBrew said:

Sweet; Smoke n' Brew in Lititz, PA. 2 miles from the SO's home. I'll check it out tonight (if they are open).

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Mr. Steves is pretty good, decent prices and a good selection. They treat the hops pretty good. Scotzins is NOT the place to go for hops, they are stored in zipper bags and have lost a lot of aroma till you get them.

ryser2k said:

Like Todd said, most of the lists are out of date... but this one from White Labs has just about every brew shop in PA that I know of:

http://www.whitelabs.com/stores/pa.html

Another one that is not listed is Keystone Homebrew Supply. They have stores in Bethlehem and Montgomeryville. http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/


How is that shop in York? (I assume it's http://www.mrsteves.com/ )

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FYI brew company of Carlisle appears to be closed.

Yuri_Rage said:

Evets, I grew up in Denver (PA) - small world, eh?

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Wow huh? I'm right between Denver and Reamstown, near the quarry.

Evets said:

Wow huh? I'm right between Denver and Reamstown, near the quarry.

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Nice! I lived up the hill from the quarry across the street from a little Mennonite schoolhouse when I was REALLY young. A TRULY small world!

Checked out Scotzins this afternoon; definitely a huge selection of items. I'll be returning often!

Haha, I went to Mr. Steve's... I was impressed. If Scotzin's is good though, I'll have to try that, it's much closer to me.

ryser2k said:

Haha, I went to Mr. Steve's... I was impressed. If Scotzin's is good though, I'll have to try that, it's much closer to me.

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I've been to both, scotzins is probably 3 times as large and they have lots and lots of equipment. I've been ordering my hops online, austin is great to deal with and the freshness is nice.

Wow, if Scotzins is 3x as large as Mr. Steve's then I really have no need to drive the extra 20 mins to go there. I still might swing by sometime, but I didn't see anything that Scotzin's didn't have that I would need.

SilkkyBrew said:

Wow, if Scotzins is 3x as large as Mr. Steve's then I really have no need to drive the extra 20 mins to go there. I still might swing by sometime, but I didn't see anything that Scotzin's didn't have that I would need.

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MR. STEVE does seem to have better hop handling ability. Everything is in those foil static bags which is the proper way to store them. Scotzin uses zipper bags which let all the aroma out. It is a pretty noticable difference.

Everything else seems pretty comparable though, prices at both shops are decent. Scotzin has a killer deal on 500ml flipper bottles. $17 for 12 I think.

I didn't venture into the bottle/keggin/etc. room for too long as I was in a hurry. That does seem like a good deal though.

As for the hops, mine appeared pretty fresh and full of aroma, but I'm sure the statis bags are better. I'd never guess that would make a big difference, but I guess we'll see how the brews turn out made with the Scotzin hops as opposed to the foiled ones I've used in the past.

Either way, I look forward to many more trips to Scotzins/Mr. Steves!

Next time you go to Scotzin's, tell him to get a website! For all I knew it was a homebrew shop out of some guy's garage...

I'll have to check it out next time I need ingredients.

ryser2k said:

Next time you go to Scotzin's, tell him to get a website! For all I knew it was a homebrew shop out of some guy's garage...

I'll have to check it out next time I need ingredients.

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They need both a website and the ability to process credit/debit cards. It's cash or check only there.

Ewwwwwwww thanks for the heads up. I never carry that much cash with me.

Haha. I went in with $60 and spent $60.80. I ended up walking down to the ATM down the street to get the extra money.

I don't see how they can sell kegs, $500 oak barrels, etc. and not accept credit card. That's beyond me. Oh well, still cool in my book. Excellent selection.

SilkkyBrew said:

Haha. I went in with $60 and spent $60.80. I ended up walking down to the ATM down the street to get the extra money.

I don't see how they can sell kegs, $500 oak barrels, etc. and not accept credit card. That's beyond me. Oh well, still cool in my book. Excellent selection.

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They take checks. I have a feeling it is because cash is invisible to the government. Plus it is fairly expensive to offer credit machines. They can take several percent as a fee.

Sorry to "revive" a dead thread, but I thought I'd let everyone know that Mr. Steve's moved into a new store. Mr. Steve's is now actually in East York, next to the old Circuit City store, Isaacs, and Bryn Mawr. His store is now about 2 or 3 times larger than it was. He is an excellent resource and so is his staff. Just don't mention Mr. Beer. I swear if some of these LHBS's would actually work with Mr. Beer and sell their products, whether they agree with the Mr. Beer process/equipment or not, I believe their customer base would expand. I remember when I received my Mr. Beer kit for Christmas and then went looking for ingredients to find they were non-existent locally. I hate waiting for things to come in the mail sometimes and it's nice to go out and just buy what you want and have it that night.

But, if you haven't been to Mr. Steve's lately (since he's moved), I feel it's worth it. There seems to be a bigger selection of both beer AND wine making supplies.

Mr. Steve's is now located RIGHT along Route 30 (at the Route 24 - Mt. Zion Rd. exit, on the York Galleria Mall side of Rt. 30)

Steve (no, I am not "THE Mr. Steve - just a customer)

http://www.mrsteves.com/

Hey guys!

It's awesome that you revived this awesome thread, becuase I'm from Marietta, PA.

Just to let you guys know, there's also a new homebrew store called Lancaster Homebrew. It's near the beer distributor on 462 out near route 30.

Good selection of foil wrapped hops, yeast, grains, etc, though its not a very big store.

Here's their website...pretty knowledgeable guys too:

http://lancasterhomebrew.com/

Mr steves also has a store in lancaster at centerville and columbia ave. there is also lancaster homebrew on lincoln highway next to brewers warehouse.

Is Brewer's Wharehouse in York is dist. or a supply store?