So I went to the LHBS for the first time today....

So I went to the only LHBS in town today....it's a combo liquor store/LHBS.....the HB part is pretty small but they've got the essentials and at decent prices.

The only thing I've kinda got issues with is all the hops were just hangin out on the wall....aren't they supposed to be in the freezer?

I talked to the owner(who checked me out) and she's pretty nice but doesn't homebrew! neither does her husband! also...I called before I went to find out when they closed and asked if they had wheat extract (for the hefe I'm brewing right now) and what the price was....the dude that picked up knew they had wheat extract but had no idea there were two kinda (dme and lme) or the prices!


So obviously there is a bit of a bad managment situation going on over there....do you think it would be out of place for me (maybe after going a few times and letting them know I will be a continous customer) to say anything about the hops? or anything else I kinda think is out of wack?

I guess I'm just not sure of "LHBS ettiqute"...

Thanks for your input

maybe I should just get a job there...

I'd tell them about the hops being in a frig not at room temp. But I would b*tch about it. But I'm that type of guy.

Reminds me of a LHBS near me. I dropped in to see what they had. A couple of packs of pellet hops on a shelf were more brown than crystal malt. I told him they were spoiled by improper storage and he just shrugged his shoulders as if to say who cares.
Last time I was in the door.

My LHBS that I frequent keeps yeast and hops in refridgeration.

Got any other lhbs near you? Sounds to me like that one does not know much about homebrewing and who knows how fresh the ingredients are or what their quality is.

You could try to be politic about it. Mention that you are a homebrewer with some experience and let them know that hops should be stored in a fridge. Discuss with them about LME and DME and wheat and barley, etc., etc. If they are interested, you may be able to help them turn into a decent LHBS.

I did this where I used to live. A little convenience store had some hopped LME, bottle caps, and a few kits. I talked to them about getting some grains and hops in. The owner thought it sounded like a good idea. He started getting grains, pellet hops and whole hops, liquid and dry yeasts, some equipment, etc. It was pretty great for a while, but it kinda died out. He said there wasn't enough interest from the customers to keep it going.

Personally I'd probably avoid a place where the people running the show have no homebrewing experience. I wouldn't expect every employee to be an expert, but someone at that place should know something about the process. You can give them some information, and if they care they'll listen, but if not you are going to have a place where you will not have access to fresh, reliable ingredients.

Yeah, I'd try nicely talking with them. If that doesn't work, try to find somewhere else!

No need to be an EAC about it. See if they care to get their act together and up to snuff. If so, you have a local supplier, if not, you're not out anything but some conversation time.

I talked to the lady a bit when I was there (not too much though bc my girlfriend was in the car waiting!) and she gave me a 10% discount bc my birthday was last monday so she seems pretty nice.

She also gave me a card for the local homebrew club but I'm not sure how organized/cool it is...

I think next time I'll maybe say something about the hops...they had yeast in the fridge so maybe they could make some room....

If all else fails I could just get extract and equipment there

Thanks for your help/ideas!