Who is your LHBS here in CT?

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JohnnyO

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Just wanted to check in and see where you are getting your supplies here in CT.

I've been to Maltose, Zok's and Stomp & Crush. All have been very friendly. Haven't gone to Maltose in over two years as I no longer work in that area. Went to Zok's twice to drop off entries. Paul was very friendly and had a good selection of supplies there. Stomp & Crush is a newer LHBS located out in Clinton. Al runs the shop with his wife, and has been very friendly to work with. He even started up a homebrew club that meets monthly.

Unfortunately for me, I live in Hamden. None of these are what I would consider local. So I get my supplies online. Mostly through Brewmasters Warehouse. I will look for good prices eslewhere, but BMW has been my go-to. In addition, I recently went to support one of the LHBS for grains, hops and yeast for a 10 gallon batch, and paid $20 more than I would have through BMW. Even with shipping. As much as I'd like to support the local shop, that is just far too much.
 
I've used Maltose (very pricey), a newer place in Southington called Cork & Brew (small shop, somewhat pricey, their expertise seems to lean a little more towards wine) and Brew & Wine Hobby out in East Hartford.

I prefer the guys at Brew and Wine Hobby - sure, it's slightly more expensive that online, but they've very knowledgeable, convenient when you don't have the time to wait for shipping, and they can definitely give good recomendations for substitutions if they don't have exactly what you're looking for in stock.
 
Ive been to cork and brew, zoks and brew and wine hobby in east hartford. i prefer brew and wine hobby, their prices are very fair and the owner knows a lot about everything homebrew.

they are moving into a new larger shop in the next month or two http://www.brew-wine.com/
 
I like the guys in East Hartford (Brew & Wine not the guy on Murphy Rd). Maltose is just too much. They quoted me $65 for a bag of grain whether I got 1 sack or 20!
 
Sorry you had a bad experience with BMW. I've been using them for over three years now. Aside from a batch that shipped late about 6 months ago, they've been pretty responsive for me.
 
I live in the central CT area and if I need anything in a pinch or onesie twosie items, I'll hit up Brew & Wine. Unfortunately for me, like JohnnyO, the LHBS around here is $10-$50 more an order after shipping costs depending on how much I buy. Since I'm doing a bunch of one gallon batches, it usually means I can do a few more batches if I go online. I usually buy from BMW or Farmhouse because I can buy grain by the ounce (BMW) if I'm doing a bunch of different beers, or if I'm doing a couple of SMaSH beers, I can get grain super cheap and buy hops in bulk for $0.50-$0.90 per ounce (Farmhouse).
 
I have had good experiences with brew and wine as well as maltose but maltose is very pricey
 
I cover the state for work and have used them all. I live near Maltose and use them often b/c they have good inventory and the staff is helpful.
I had a bad experience with BMW in Hartford and will not go back.
I just stumbled on the East Hartford store and was very impressed. The prices are very good and they had a bigger hop selection than Maltose.
 
Rob's homebrew in Salem CT is my go to spot. The prices are reasonable and they recently dropped em.
 
I'm in Branford, so I'll go out to Stomp and Crush if I need any equipment (tubing, hydrometers, etc), but I find the ingredient prices are not competitive with online suppliers, unfortunately. I'd happily pay a few bucks more, but not $10-$20 per batch. I use Northern Brewer for my ingredients, have been very happy with them so far.
 
Stomp N Crush for me. They are the closest. Support your local businesses. The money you spend there gets spent by the owner and employees back in the community.
 
Hey all - I drove out to BMW yesterday since I was in Hartford for lunch and they were closed (oh well) and then thought I'd stop in Eli Cannon's new shop across the street from the Tap Room in Middletown since I live a couple blocks away, and that was closed to.

I'm doing a great job learning which days which shops are closed.

Has anyone checked out Eli's shop (I was in once before my brewing equipment had arrived) and does anyone have an opinion on the best local source for bottles? I'm too good about recycling my empties to clean those out and use them but I'd rather pick bottles up than have them shipped.
 
I go to Stomp 'n Crush. It's a further drive than Rob's (I'm in Groton), but I like the selection and service better. /2 cents

Also, there's a huge local, fresh grocery store (almost like a farmer's market) a few exits up 95. Great for picking up herbs or vegetables for specialty brews.
 
stomp 'n crush is about 2.1 miles from my house so i'm there regularly. The owner is a good guy and he's got just about everything you need. Some of his equipment prices are a little on the higher end but he's relatively competitive with most online stores. for convenience and for supporting a good local dude i'm sticking with them.
 
Also of note with Stomp 'N Crush, he hosts monthly brew club meetings, and other events. On Big Brew Day he had a BBQ/brew party. He made a wheat ale with Soriachi Ace; seemed interesting. It was a lot of fun, and I realized that fly sparging doesn't have to be as complicated as I thought.
 
Also of note with Stomp 'N Crush, he hosts monthly brew club meetings, and other events. On Big Brew Day he had a BBQ/brew party. He made a wheat ale with Soriachi Ace; seemed interesting. It was a lot of fun, and I realized that fly sparging doesn't have to be as complicated as I thought.

I was the other guy brewing at stomp 'n crush on big brew day:ban: only left with that small war wound on my leg haha. I'll likely keg that brown ale on monday
 
Katnip said:
Has anyone checked out Eli's shop .

I stopped in two weeks ago and it seems like they have stopped the homebrew section. All I saw were t-shirts and some gift shop items. Nothing for brewing. Too bad. I was looking forward to having a close store. Maybe I just caught it at a bad time.
 
Living in Stamford, we are limited to Maltose or online orders :( I do have to say that the folks at maltose are very nice and I can usually get what i need for less than it would take to order online. I am thinking of trying "Brewshop at Cornell's" in Eastchester, I'm sure they will be super pricey, but they are a gallon of gas closer.

Anyone know of other shops in Fairfield County? Any one want to open one?
 
Living in Stamford, we are limited to Maltose or online orders :( I do have to say that the folks at maltose are very nice and I can usually get what i need for less than it would take to order online. I am thinking of trying "Brewshop at Cornell's" in Eastchester, I'm sure they will be super pricey, but they are a gallon of gas closer.

Anyone know of other shops in Fairfield County? Any one want to open one?
Cornells is a very small shop. Prices are a little better than Maltose but not much. Not nearly the selection though...
 
If you're near ludlow mass for any reason there's a good LHBS i go to called DiY Brewing. Fairly competitive pricing considering shipping from e-tailers.
 
I stopped in two weeks ago and it seems like they have stopped the homebrew section. All I saw were t-shirts and some gift shop items. Nothing for brewing. Too bad. I was looking forward to having a close store. Maybe I just caught it at a bad time.

From what I understand their home brew stuff is located in a store front across the street, next to their cupcake store. They don't open until about 3-4pm and close at 7ish I think.
 
ArcticBear said:
From what I understand their home brew stuff is located in a store front across the street, next to their cupcake store. They don't open until about 3-4pm and close at 7ish I think.

Yes this is true. You have to enter through the cupcake store to get to the trading post. Could be I went there at a bad time or totally missed the boat but I saw a couple of pots and nothing else brewing.
 
Robs is good, decent selection, and about half the staff is helpful. Might try Zoks sometime when I visit Willimantic brewing company again.
 
Just went to Brew and Wine in East Hartford today to drop off my snerhc entries. They've moved their store to 12 cedar st. They are in the process of settling in, but looks like they have god quality stuff there and Dana, who I spoke to, seemed pretty friendly.
 
Yeah, Dana and Rich are both great guys, I've gotten great advice from them both. I've got to get out there to check out their new digs soon.
 
A new homebrew shop has opened in downtown New Haven.

Finally.

Luck & Levity Brewshop had its grand opening this past weekend. I met the owner on Sunday. He's very interested in helping to develop more of a brewing culture in the area. They have a great space on Court Street. They have a lounge area with couches and access to wifi.

I believe they will cater to the metro area and have a lot of small scale kits. They had the 1 gallon Brooklyn Brew Shop kits available. They also have a good assortment of grains. They had a cooler in the back for hops and yeast. They have the Wyeast line of yeast. They also had some equipment in stock. Prices seemed comparable with other LHBS in the area.

I spoke to Scott, the owner about starting up a local homebrew club. He was excited and supportive of the idea. In addition, they are going to have a Thursday tasting event. Every Thursday, people are welcome to bring in beer to share.

I'll be talking to him more about developing a brewclub, so keep an ear/eye/nose out for the New Haven Brew Club.
 
A new homebrew shop has opened in downtown New Haven.

Finally.

Luck & Levity Brewshop had its grand opening this past weekend. I met the owner on Sunday. He's very interested in helping to develop more of a brewing culture in the area. They have a great space on Court Street. They have a lounge area with couches and access to wifi.

I believe they will cater to the metro area and have a lot of small scale kits. They had the 1 gallon Brooklyn Brew Shop kits available. They also have a good assortment of grains. They had a cooler in the back for hops and yeast. They have the Wyeast line of yeast. They also had some equipment in stock. Prices seemed comparable with other LHBS in the area.

I spoke to Scott, the owner about starting up a local homebrew club. He was excited and supportive of the idea. In addition, they are going to have a Thursday tasting event. Every Thursday, people are welcome to bring in beer to share.

I'll be talking to him more about developing a brewclub, so keep an ear/eye/nose out for the New Haven Brew Club.

Sounds like a good place. If they have a decent price on a 50# sack of two row it might be worth the drive from Groton. Cheapest I've found so far is $58 for Rhar 2-row. Might even come down one Thursday for the tasting event to see how it is.
 
the owner is a nice guy, he's got a ton of ideas and the space to grow.

Stopped by the tasting event thursday night, not a huge turnout but he's still new and hopefully it grows some
 
Well I picked up a bag of grain (3pm on a Sunday!), I got the last one ;) price was great for LHBS, lowest I have seen. Worth the trip from Stamford. Scott has quite a good selection, just not huge volume yet. i will call before coming next time and plan ahead. If you live nearby then you don't need to buy in bulk like we do here.

So happy to have my fermenters bubbling away :D
 
Haven't seen anyone mention Zok's in Willimantic yet. Lucky enough to live a few blocks away. Great guy, very helpful so far for this new brewer.
 
Haven't seen anyone mention Zok's in Willimantic yet. Lucky enough to live a few blocks away. Great guy, very helpful so far for this new brewer.

I went once to drop off beer for a comp and bought a couple cases of bottles while I was there, but Rob's is closer to me. It looks like he has a good selection, though, so you're lucky to live so close.
 
Zok is an awesome homebrewing resource for CT. The guy knows a lot about it. Super friendly too. I believe he specializes in ciders, meads and lagers as he consistently wins in the Southern New England Regional Homebrew comp in these categories.

He also writes a column for the regional Ale Street News. His name is Paul Zocco.
 
Zok is an awesome homebrewing resource for CT. The guy knows a lot about it. Super friendly too. I believe he specializes in ciders, meads and lagers as he consistently wins in the Southern New England Regional Homebrew comp in these categories.

He also writes a column for the regional Ale Street News. His name is Paul Zocco.

Yeah, I was there judging this year and I left after the winners for the categories I entered were announced, but I heard his name called at least three times. I don't remember what categories he won, though.
 
I just went to Luck&Levity in New Haven last night for the tasting social. I am pumped. It is a big store, with lounge space and bigger plans for even more cool add-ons. The owner was very friendly and told me he could source me anything I needed, and his prices seemed really comparable to online stores. Frankly, I am happy to spend $2 more on an order and not have to wait for shipping and hope that the ice pack for the yeast lasted long enough and the UPS guy didnt dropkick my carboy. Not to mention if I need something last minute, I dont have to dread a long drive anymore. Location is great, there are LHBS in CT but strangly enough, not so much in the greater New Haven area. Until now!

I recommend the thursday gathering. I had a blast. Met a few guys that were really cool and hope to be trading and tasting more there.
 
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