Self Serve at LHBS?

Curious to how many out there prefer to fill their own grain bills when you hit your local home brew shop?

Or do you prefer to hand in your recipe and let them put it together and mill it?

It's a bonus to grab your own grains right? Sort of adds to the experience I
think.

And yes I meant 'serve' not 'server'....can't figure out how to edit the poll title.


Thanks

I definitely like weighing out my own stuff. My LHBS has multiple scales and mills so there's very rarely a wait to use them. I think if there was only one of each, then self-serve might be a pain.

JonM said:

I definitely like weighing out my own stuff. My LHBS has multiple scales and mills so there's very rarely a wait to use them. I think if there was only one of each, then self-serve might be a pain.

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Oh good point about the multiple scales. Didn't think about that one.

Mine has a ton of different grains and adjuncts available, only one scale and mill. There's only been once in recent memory when I had to wait more than 2-3 minutes. My only complaint is the crush on the mill is a little coarse and seems to be inconsistent at times. I'm looking at getting my own mill, but I'll still put together my own grain at the shop.

Auger said:

Mine has a ton of different grains and adjuncts available, only one scale and mill. There's only been once in recent memory when I had to wait more than 2-3 minutes. My only complaint is the crush on the mill is a little coarse and seems to be inconsistent at times. I'm looking at getting my own mill, but I'll still put together my own grain at the shop.

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Even with the inconsistent mill you still find it a plus that you grab your own grains right?

Oh and I really like the fact that they keep the grain room tidy. In the self-serve, people spill (me included). Staff cleans up after those who don't clean up after themselves.

I buy my ingredients and mill my own so it doesn't really apply. When I go to the LHBS for grains, I either pick up a package and place it on the checkout counter, or I ask the owner for x amount of y grain. He weighs it out.

I have never shopped at a LHBS that lets the customer do their own.

If I were an owner I would not allow the customer to weigh out their recipe unless I had a very good way to confirm what grain and how much went in. I might let them mill their own, but I would not let them adjust the mill at all. That is just asking for trouble. (though if they got a bad brew when building the recipe and milling it you could say "well you did it!")

I don't think I've ever been to a homebrew shop that offered to fill out a grain bill. It's always been self-serve. I still remember my first visit to a shop 16 years ago and I got a very blunt talking to, when asking for help filling a recipe sheet, about how it's a self-service deal. Customer service has since improved quite a bit, but generally there's still an aurora of curmudgeony out there.

kh54s10 said:

If I were an owner I would not allow the customer to weigh out their recipe unless I had a very good way to confirm what grain and how much went in. I might let them mill their own, but I would not let them adjust the mill at all. That is just asking for trouble. (though if they got a bad brew when building the recipe and milling it you could say "well you did it!")

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I thought about this. I know a shop owner in Denver who does self serve and I asked about this.

He says 90% of people hand in the recipe at check out. So he gets the amounts/measurements that way.

He is not concerned with theft. A big reason he does self serve is he can only afford to have one guy in the shop at a time. He doesn't want his employee spending a busy Saturday milling grains all day long when he can help other ways.

If someone is dishonest and walks out with an extra pound of grain that costs him .70 cents. If his employee is distracted with milling grains then it's possible someone walks out with a $350 brew kettle.

porterpounder said:

I don't think I've ever been to a homebrew shop that offered to fill out a grain bill. It's always been self-serve. I still remember my first visit to a shop 16 years ago and I got a very blunt talking to, when asking for help filling a recipe sheet, about how it's a self-service deal. Customer service has since improved quite a bit, but generally there's still an aurora of curmudgeony out there.

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My local shop (recently closed) did the grains for you. So that is why I asked about this.

As an owner I am not as concerned with theft as I am with oops dumps back into random bins. I know of other shops that have a mistake dump bin but I'm not sure if that works so well. I guess you can sell that stuff for 70% off. I just can't risk selling someone grains they didn't want by mistake.

Bobby_M said:

As an owner I am not as concerned with theft as I am with oops dumps back into random bins. I know of other shops that have a mistake dump bin but I'm not sure if that works so well. I guess you can sell that stuff for 70% off. I just can't risk selling someone grains they didn't want by mistake.

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That's a good point. Do you own your own shop? If so I guess you don't mind putting together everyone's grain bill then and milling?

Just realized Bobby but if you have the 'right' container then that is really hard to do.

Look at my attachment. If they grab the wrong grain, it's not going back in there without assistance.

The idea would be to make it difficult to dump back even with large containers that house your base grains.

I should weigh my own grains, at least then if I did, I'd get exactly what I wanted in the correct amount without a bunch spilled on the floor. Adventures in Home Brewing near where I work has gotten awful... No wonder why I keep missing my OG's

In my shop we keep about 70 different grains on hand all the time. 90% of those are kept in air tight bins and we just teach our customers the process of only opening up 1 bin at a time so as to not mistake what grain came from what bin. It's a simple process but it works. Our customers have the option of self serve or we will do it for them, it's their choice. Most like to do it themselves for sure. It does add to the experience of the beer making process IMHO.

I have been in other shops where you would hand a list to the owner, they would disappear for 10 min and come back with a bog bag of grain for you. I never liked that. I mean what if they are out of say "Special B" and substitute with something else, you would never know. You may LOVE the substitute and make the best beer ever and find yourself chasing that beer for years and never knowing it was Special Roast they added. Nahhh I like to self serve.

Cheers
Jay

Those dispensers are slick but they are about 120 bucks a piece. They are also too small for base malts.

VApatriot said:

I should weigh my own grains, at least then if I did, I'd get exactly what I wanted in the correct amount without a bunch spilled on the floor. Adventures in Home Brewing near where I work has gotten awful... No wonder why I keep missing my OG's

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Which store location are you going to? Taylor? I self serve there all the time. I think I had them do it the first 3 or 4 times when I started but I've been pulling my own for years. The only time I don't do my own is when I don't have time to run over at lunch so I order it online and pick up on my way home. Either way I've once I figured out my personal efficiency % in BeerSmith I've never missed my number with grains from AIH

Bobby_M said:

Those dispensers are slick but they are about 120 bucks a piece. They are also too small for base malts.

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Yep you are right Bobby. They are expensive. Not a real concern there though. Either you want to do it right or not.

The base malts go in larger containers. If you 'train' your client base to keep the lids closed as they are grabbing grains you are OK. The likelihood of someone filling up the wrong base malt is next to zero. I doubt someone will randomly dump 12 pounds of 2-row into the wrong container

I keep base malts on hand at home, and use my LHBS for specialty grain only. I'll place my order online, and get full pounds of whatever it is I need, packed separately, uncrushed.

I'll pick up in store, and weigh and crush what I need at home, and save the rest for the next time I need some.

I like the people there, but I don't want to spend any more time in there than absolutely necessary. The longer I'm in there, the higher the chance that I buy stuff I don't really need. On a good day I can be in and out of there in 2-3 minutes, without buying anything extra. I like it that way.

stylus1274 said:

Yep you are right Bobby. They are expensive. Not a real concern there though. Either you want to do it right or not.

The base malts go in larger containers. If you 'train' your client base to keep the lids closed as they are grabbing grains you are OK. The likelihood of someone filling up the wrong base malt is next to zero. I doubt someone will randomly dump 12 pounds of 2-row into the wrong container

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You must have an exceptional customer base.

I work in retail and I don't give people that much credit.

1) a high percentage of customers don't read labels and would pick the wrong malt.
2) I would say it would be at least 25% likely that those 12 pounds of 2 row would be put back in the wrong container because they don't read the labels.

It really depends on how busy the store is and how much time I have.

If I'm in a hurry I'll call ahead or place my order online. Half of what I brew is their recipe or kit, the all grain kits are cheaper than buying everything separately then you can add whatever yeasthe, or none if you have a yeast bank.

Most of the time I'm not in a hurry and will stop in with a bottle of my latest batch and share with the employee/s that are working and any other customers that want to try. They also have 3 taps that they rotate with their own recipes so I try those as well and then decide what I want to brew. I guess none of that applies to weather I am measuring and milling or if they are.

If it's slow I leave it up to them while I browse and collect anything else I may need. If it's busy, I'll mill my own while they attend to other customers.

The hops are always measured by the employees but if you give them your recipe with hop schedule they will bag by time of addition or by hop variety or both.

Ex of bag label
10 min
1.0 oz cascade
1.0 Oz centennial

I am spoiled that I have such a great LHBS so I continue to support and buy from them even though I know I could buy in bulk online and save some money on grains and hops but they go above and beyond in customer service and I like to support the local mom and pops.

I always serve myself. The one time I had an employee do it took at least twice as long. I can only assume the guy was new, but Christ on a cracker that boy was slow.

90% of what I buy is pre-packaged. One or five pound packages of grain, or a full sack. So I guess that I mostly self serve...... I also find that weighing out exact amount by myself is difficult when I order online.

kh54s10 said:

You must have an exceptional customer base.

I work in retail and I don't give people that much credit.

1) a high percentage of customers don't read labels and would pick the wrong malt.
2) I would say it would be at least 25% likely that those 12 pounds of 2 row would be put back in the wrong container because they don't read the labels.

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Hey KH don't you know brewers are way smarter than the average person

Anwyays you are way off on your numbers. It's never happened in 3 years. The only thing that has happened is the occasional spill. Less than 10 pounds at that. Equals out to about $6.50.

Now maybe a speciality malt mistaking crystal 20 for 120. Yeah I can see that. But mistaking 2 row? Unlikely.

Either way it doesn't happen so I don't even know why I'm talking about it lol.....

stylus1274 said:

Hey KH don't you know brewers are way smarter than the average person

Anwyays you are way off on your numbers. It's never happened in 3 years. The only thing that has happened is the occasional spill. Less than 10 pounds at that. Equals out to about $6.50.

Now maybe a speciality malt mistaking crystal 20 for 120. Yeah I can see that. But mistaking 2 row? Unlikely.

Either way it doesn't happen so I don't even know why I'm talking about it lol.....

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What hasn't happened in 3 years? That someone selected the wrong grain, or put some back in the wrong bin? Either way it hasn't happened in 3 years that you know about.

If it is self serve and unsupervised I guarantee that both have happened.

Grabbing the wrong grain for sure has happened.

In the wrong bin? I doubt it. The bins are right next to the register. You would easily notice some guy randomly dumping 10#s of 2 row into the 6 row bin.

Either way I'm not here to argue. Enjoy whatever you may be drinking tonight

I buy sacks of base grains, the rest I buy (unmilled) from my lhbs, who have always given me free rein.
I'm fortunate that they are very well stocked and it's a rare occasion indeed that I have to sub' anything...

Cheers!

I would not mind self serve. Recently have been calling in recipes and picking up prepared sacks. However, the last stout recipe I got was more the color of a brown ale. Think they forgot my roasted barley. Don't know that I'll trust them again with a grain bill consisting of more than 3 grains.

If I'm there, I much prefer to do it myself. I do most things for myself anyway.

However, couple of weeks ago I called ahead on our way down to the supply store (about 45 mins or more away) and it was nice to pop in, pay for the items, and get back to going where we were going. I mean, I'd still rather take my time looking around and chatting with the people there, but since the wife was with me and we were on a schedule, I chose prudence and getting in and out.

Homercidal said:

If I'm there, I much prefer to do it myself. I do most things for myself anyway.

However, couple of weeks ago I called ahead on our way down to the supply store (about 45 mins or more away) and it was nice to pop in, pay for the items, and get back to going where we were going. I mean, I'd still rather take my time looking around and chatting with the people there, but since the wife was with me and we were on a schedule, I chose prudence and getting in and out.

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This is exactly how I feel. Also, I love AIH (my local) but their rewards program is super quirky in that they cannot combine your online account and your in store account so in addition to the time factor I'll look at how close I am to a reward coupon on each account and if i'm close to hitting the threshold w/ my online account I'll order online.

SgtSparty - yes it's the Taylor store. I can go there on my way home. It used to be better when Jason was there but some of his employees just don't seem to give a crap now. I'm kind of tired of it and I really don't want to have to drive all the way to the "Peoples Republic of Ann Arbor" store just to buy grains, hops and yeast.

Sparty on dude!

While I might prefer if I could self serve, I definitely prefer that others not self serve. Not y'all, those not us. For the greater good, I'd let the HBS serve.

When I first started all-grain I had the guy at the LHBS measure & mill for me. After I think my 3rd batch I went in for a grain bill; everyone was busy helping others at different areas of the store, so I helped myself (but did need help with milling because the drill got stuck). Since then I always measure and mill my own. Jon at Larry's loves it when people are self-sufficient enough to get their own. I also bring my own HD Homer bucket with lid to hold the milled grain, after having to throw away 10 or so empty Briess 50# bags lying around the garage that they used to dump my milled grain into. Not only is it fun to do it myself, but it really makes me feel like I kinda know what I'm doing.

I like self serve because it's part of the process, and because I know I got what I want.

That said, one shop I use is self serve and the other is full service. I have opened bins at the self serve and found partial scoops of other grains. Some people.

That said, I've had the full service misunderstand that I wanted each different type of grain in a separate bag, and they put three one gallon batches all mixed into one big bag. They fixed it without charge, but that wouldn't have happened at the self serve. And it's a quirk, but even when I'm buying for a single brew, I just like having each different grain in its own bag.

stylus1274 said:

Even with the inconsistent mill you still find it a plus that you grab your own grains right?

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Yeah absolutely. All the grains are in labeled buckets, and still in the sack so I generally check the sack label to confirm what is in the bag I'm grabbing from. I'll still get grains from there even if I start milling them at home. Only caveat there is if I can get in on a group buy to pick up a few sacks of base malt to save money, but even then, not sure I want to worry about storing it.

my favorite and the one I prefer to go to is a do it yourself, over 100 bins, write the number and weight. all labeled, all neat and organized correctly. multiple calibrated scales and bins, please help yourself...

and the bag is perfect for putting the spent grains back into. I know what went into the bag, and how much, 4oz of black malt, not 3.5, not 4.5 so if it's great, I get the credit, if it's horrible, I get the blame.

the other place that is nearby, and I don't like it as much, higher prices in a higher priced type area, heat seals it. so yeah, they have an okay crush and prices on the high end, thin plastic bag, heat sealed, which is okay (it's a tube, but easy to poke a hole in it. have to be careful. and not sure what really went into it.