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ρ®ïMσ

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my girlfriend ordered me a few things for VD from this sight (jet bottle washer and a bucket lid tool). i opened it immediately b/c it was packaged very poorly and the box was crushed. after opening i realized the lid tool sent was not the one pictured. i called to explain to the guy how the lip that pries isnt long enough to grip under the lip and that it was useless. the only thing he said in response was that they dont always ship what is pictured. finally he did offer to credit my card if i shipped the tool back.:mad: ive always used AHBS or MIDWEST and have always been pleased. forrest has put things back on sale that ended early..midwest has shipped items to me for free and once credited me on an item and didnt require me to return it.:rockin: both have great customer service. as far as heartshomebrew.com..i was very disappointed.
 
Thanks for the head's up. I've dealt with alternativebeverage.com and austinhomebrew.com (just got my Ventmatics today!) and they've been great. Each one has dealt with some out of the ordinary challenges for me. I'll definitely order from either one again. As far as heartshomebrew.com, if they really think it's wise to ship something other than what you ordered, I expect they'll fail to retain any repeat business or secure forewarned new customers.
 
heartshomebrew.com has been on here before. You are not there first dissapointed customer.
 
Hearts is our LHBS here in Orlando.
The in store experience is just like what you are going through.

It's a cramped, dank closet of a store with poor customer service. But, it is on my way home from work, and I'm to cheap and impatient to order from out of town. :(
 
This is the third heartshomebrew complaint thread in 3 weeks. We've had one each Saturday...

Seems like we should make a sticky thread about them or something. I hate to dis an LHBS but it seems these guys really don't give a frak anymore.
 
Definitely appreciated. Every store, homebrew or not, has its off days...but this one I've heard way too many negatives for almost no positives at all.

I just made my first order from Austin HBS the other day, and it should be here...oh, wow, Monday. :) Their ordering system was quick and easy, their website's more than pleasant, and with everything I've heard I have no doubt I'll be pleased with the product.

That said, I do like to try different companies on occasion, and I really appreciate the heads-up about your experience.
 
I walked in once, tried to chat up the guy at the register, and walked out empty handed. I felt like I was bothering him or something. If service was better then it would have been easier to over look how dingy it was. I'm in the same boat as Revvy, hate to dis a LHBS.

It's always a pleasure doing business at www.homebrewemporium.com . It is the same drive distance for me and their customer service is superb.
 
I've ordered 3 times from Hearts, mostly because they're in Florida. Twice was for grain, hops and yeast, and the other was just for yeast (I ordered the malt, hops from another HBS in cali 'cause I needed another corny and they had free shipping....only ordered the yeast from hearts 'cause I didn't want the yeast making a cross-country trip). All three times, items were packaged well and arrived in good shape.

I haven't been brewing all-grain for long (3 batches so far), but the only time I had a stuck sparge was when I ordered the malt from the cali HBS. The 2 batches so far with grains from Hearts haven't had stuck sparges (don't have my own mill yet, so I gotta order it crushed). Can't really say that it was a bad crush on the part of the Cali batch, may have just been a bad day, but it's worth noting.

Allan
 
Stay away from hearts!! These guys do not care one bit about us or our hobby. They are in it for themselves and their profit.

Most of us in Orlando feel the same way about this store. It is sad to think what a great resource and hub of homebrewing information this store could be..

I order online from Listermann.com and have had great luck!
 
I just want to add my name to the list of Central Florida residents who have had bad experiences with Hearts Homebrew.

Every time I go in there, I get the impression that my presence is a nuisance. They are not helpful or friendly at all.

I have started ordering everything from austinhomebrew.com even though I live just a couple of miles from Hearts.
 
I just joined the forum, really excited about getting in to brewing again after about a 10 year hiatus. Went to hearts this weekend to purchase some starter supplies, and was very disappointed in the service. I won't be going back. They had all the supplies I needed, and the prices seemed decent (maybe a little high) but just like everyone else on here said, it seemed like we were a nuisance even being there. No help whatsoever.

Not trying to sling mud all day, but I believe good service and bad both deserve recognition. That being said, has anyone been to southern homebrew in New Smyrna? It's actually a lot closer to me and I will definitely check them out next time.
 
I just joined the forum, really excited about getting in to brewing again after about a 10 year hiatus. Went to hearts this weekend to purchase some starter supplies, and was very disappointed in the service. I won't be going back. They had all the supplies I needed, and the prices seemed decent (maybe a little high) but just like everyone else on here said, it seemed like we were a nuisance even being there. No help whatsoever.

Not trying to sling mud all day, but I believe good service and bad both deserve recognition. That being said, has anyone been to southern homebrew in New Smyrna? It's actually a lot closer to me and I will definitely check them out next time.

The service is defiantly not great but I like saving money on shipping since the shop is so close to my work. I always order ahead of time so they have everything ready so I can get in an out quickly. If someone opened another Home Brew Shop in Central Florida I think it would do fairly well since most people have a negative opinion of Hearts.
 
This is actually really, really good for me to know. I have a friend in Orlando who is thinking of getting into homebrewing after my stellar example in Chicago, and I'll make sure to steer him clear of this place.
 
I wonder if Hearts mainly survives on local pickup purchases. I can't imagine many people order online because their site sucks and there so many better options online. Opening another store in Central Florida would probably be a pretty good business opportunity.
 
I used to pick up stuff there in person since it is convenient, but I always check the bag before I leave since they make a lot of errors. Bad measurements, missing items, etc. Now, I usually order from Brewmasters Warehouse.
 
There is also a homebrew shop in Sanford. It is at Magnolia Street Market.
Sorry, I don't have a link.
 
Personally.... LabelPeelers.com has been my go to mail order shop for the past few months.... They have great, and I mean GREAT prices on hops... always seem to have special 10%-15% off sales too....

Generally I buy my grain in bulk with my local homebrew club... but for the other stuff I suggest trying LabelPeelers... they are fast and seem like a nice bunch of guys whan I talk to them on the phone!!
 
There is also a homebrew shop in Sanford. It is at Magnolia Street Market.
Sorry, I don't have a link.

You might be thinking of Brewer Cellars (http://www.brewercellars.com/, technically in Winter Springs). I've been in there once, and had a great experience. They focus mainly on wine, and have a bunch of wine stuff, but they also have various yeasts, hop pellets, DME, and other stuff for if you're in a pinch and just need a couple of things. They have some carboys, buckets, caps, bottles, etc, but I don't think they have any grain. The prices were quite good for the things I took a look at. They have an online store at a separate website (http://www.winemakingsuperstore.com/) that also has their prices and what they do have. I don't know why the one website doesn't link to the other, but that's the way they did it.

When I actually visited, and the couple times I called, they were really friendly and seemed to be happy people where there.

I also had a good experience with Brock's Homebrew in Melbourne (http://www.brockshomebrew.com). They are a little too far to drive from Orlando, but if you're in their area, it is a good place. They also have $5 next day Florida delivery, so if you want your stuff to arrive quickly and want to buy from a LHBS, then they are a good option for Floridians. I think they also will mix grain to the oz if you call or email an order, but I haven't ordered anything that way, so I'm not sure.
 
You might be thinking of Brewer Cellars (http://www.brewercellars.com/, technically in Winter Springs). I've been in there once, and had a great experience. They focus mainly on wine, and have a bunch of wine stuff, but they also have various yeasts, hop pellets, DME, and other stuff for if you're in a pinch and just need a couple of things. They have some carboys, buckets, caps, bottles, etc, but I don't think they have any grain. The prices were quite good for the things I took a look at. They have an online store at a separate website (http://www.winemakingsuperstore.com/) that also has their prices and what they do have. I don't know why the one website doesn't link to the other, but that's the way they did it.

When I actually visited, and the couple times I called, they were really friendly and seemed to be happy people where there.

I also had a good experience with Brock's Homebrew in Melbourne (http://www.brockshomebrew.com). They are a little too far to drive from Orlando, but if you're in their area, it is a good place. They also have $5 next day Florida delivery, so if you want your stuff to arrive quickly and want to buy from a LHBS, then they are a good option for Floridians. I think they also will mix grain to the oz if you call or email an order, but I haven't ordered anything that way, so I'm not sure.

If you live near Brewer Cellars in Altamonte Springs, it's a great place to get equipment. They can also order most ingredients for you if you don't mind waiting. My orders haven't taken very long since they order about once a week. I recently bought about $30 worth of DME, grains and hops which would have cost me about $10 more at Heart's. They don't know much about beer since they primarily deal with wine but are defiantly nicer people better to deal with.


I don't know why the website won't post links like normal, but here's this:

http://home.usabusinessweb.com/magnoliasquaremarketcom/index.cfm/NewsItem?ID=3776&From=Home

It is indeed in Sanford.

When I'm near Sanford, I'll have to come buy and check you guys out. I've heard the food at Hollerbach is great.
 
There is also a homebrew shop in Sanford. It is at Magnolia Street Market.
Sorry, I don't have a link.

yes there is a new homebrew store in Sanford. They actually have their own store now that is a door or two down from the deli they used to be located in. Not trying to throw them under the bus or anything but make sure that u specify EXACTLY the grains u want. If u want chocolate malt specify that u want domestic or british chocolate malt. I've been given something completely different when I specifically asked for "chocolate" malt without specifying domestic or British chocolate malt. When I expressed my concern about recieving the wrong grains they did NOT in any way offer to make it right and exchange the grains for the correct recipe. In my opinion it was bad customer relations. That being said I will go back to ordering my grain online from hearts homebrew store in orlando. I've determined that hearts grain crush is better and my beers turned out tastier. I had my first stuck sparge with sanford homebrew shops grain crush. I do agree with everyone else that hearts has a bad attitude sometimes but if u order online and then pick up your order it isnt so bad. U dont have to be in the store very long and they seem to appreciate the "heads up" on the order so they can prepare it before u arrive. I'll deal with the "hearts attitude" and longer distance drive for more knowledge and better end results from the grains I recieve. Just my 2 cents!
 
The guys at the Sanford store are cool dudes.You may also want to check out Urban Sunshine: http://www.urbansunshine.com

They have 4 locations and started selling brewing supplies in addition to organic and hydroponic gardening supplies. The Altamonte Springs location is more stocked than the other locations although they can usually bring any needed items to the other locations in a couple of days. The Altamonte store also gives out free samples of their hombrew they make in store and they said eventually the other locations will be giving out samples also! :rockin:
 
Another alternative is Homebrew Beer & Wine in New Smyrna Beach. They have a decent supply of equipment and alot of Brewer's Best Extract Kits. I wasn't into AG at the time so I didn't bother looking for any grain.
 
The guys at the Sanford store are cool dudes.

Definately +1 this. Gary and Aaron have always had time to help out whether you are new at this or have experience. They have spent hours going over recipe builds with me.

I have also been to Heart's once, and had the same experience everyone else has. The guy behind the counter seemed to think of me as a nuisance and would not help build a recipe at all. I'm surprised they have been in business as long as they have.
 
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