Stomp Them Grapes Denver shut down

I dropped by Stomp Them Grapes' Denver location today and was surprised to see it closed. There were official-looking stickers on the doors saying the property was siezed for failure to pay taxes. There was still a sign out front for a home-brew class to be held tomorrow, so I assume this was a sudden and perhaps unexpected closure. From their website it looks like the Boulder location had already been closed and consolidated into the Denver location.

I've had quality control concerns about this shop in the past (stopped buying yeast and hops there after finding the fridges disconnected on several occasions) but it's close to me and was a convenient spot to pick up bits of equipment and grains. And regardless, always sad to see a home brew shop shut down.

Is there any update as to if they are open yet?

I believe they are shut down for good. Due to back taxes everything has been seized and is getting auctioned off.

nsrooen said:

I believe they are shut down for good. Due to back taxes everything has been seized and is getting auctioned off.

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WOW!!! That sucks!!!

nsrooen said:

I believe they are shut down for good. Due to back taxes everything has been seized and is getting auctioned off.

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Any details available on when/where the auction will be?

A week from Thursday at 10:00 AM, onsite. They will be taking bids from anyone who wants to buy everything and then getting bits for individual items. Whichever is higher (the highest bulk bid or the total price of individual items) gets the lot. So you may be able to get a decent deal on a fruit press, or you may think you are getting a deal only to lose out because not enough individuals showed up to outbid a bulk bidder. So this may seem counter-intuitive, but you may want to talk this up with your friends and club members if you were hoping to score individual items.

Too bad to see these guys go, as I hate to see anyone in this kind of mess, and my drive time to a LHBS just doubled, but I'm not entirely surprised. They were super nice any time I was in there, but can anyone remember a time when the computer system was actually working? I lost quite a few loyalty points and the better part of a gift card to one of the regular computer crashes.

I was in there twice and both times I was flatly ignored by the two "employees" working there. No smile, no "hey how ya doing?" no "can I help you?" One of them didn't even look at me. One time I was just checking it out, another time because they had the best price on a bench capper on that side of town. I didn't even get a thank you when I bought some stuff that second time. Guy handed me my receipt and said "here you go."

Good riddance.

elkshadow, I'll second your comment. For many, many reasons beyond simple unfriendliness (we got screwed over a few times), we stopped going there over a year ago. For being a beer/wine place, I was similarly surprised at their attitude. We've since started going a bit further afield, but well worth the trip, to Barley Haven in Lakewood. They a bit further south of Belmar on Wadsworth, across the way from the Caution Brewery. The guys at BH are great, and they'll grab and mill all your grain for you if you give them your recipe.

I'm in Littleton and I was going to the Brew Hut but I've switched over to the store in Castle Rock. From my house, it's a mile further than BH but has much lower prices and a WAY more mellow drive time. I've picked up a couple things at Barley Haven and Beer At Home on Broadway. Good stores but too much traffic to them for me.

For those in NW Denver, I can recommend Do Your Brew in Westminster. The proprietor can sometimes come off a bit prickly but it's very well organized, good selection and good prices, and generally a few brews on tap to sample. There's a Type A vibe that may not be the homebrew stereotype but gives me confidence that the ingredients are fresh and well maintained (for instance, they have a CO2 tank connected to their LME casks to maintain freshness - love it!)


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fosaisu said:

For those in NW Denver, I can recommend Do Your Brew in Westminster. The proprietor can sometimes come off a bit prickly but it's very well organized, good selection and good prices, and generally a few brews on tap to sample. There's a Type A vibe that may not be the homebrew stereotype but gives me confidence that the ingredients are fresh and well maintained (for instance, they have a CO2 tank connected to their LME casks to maintain freshness - love it!)


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I agree with this. I used to live at 63rd and Federal and I went here several times. If there is a young guy working there avoid him at all costs. He'll roll his eyes at you and sigh when you ask him something. The owner is far from a chatty cathy but he gets the job done. Just don't expect him to be bro bro when you go there. Now that I'm thinking about it, the owner did chat me up and give me a pull a couple times. It's a good store.

elkshadow said:

I'm in Littleton and I was going to the Brew Hut but I've switched over to the store in Castle Rock. From my house, it's a mile further than BH but has much lower prices and a WAY more mellow drive time. I've picked up a couple things at Barley Haven and Beer At Home on Broadway. Good stores but too much traffic to them for me.

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Where is the castle rock store? I'm down in roxborough and castle rock would be closest on weekends. I work by the beer at home on Broadway, so I try to get stuff there during the week, but another option on weekends would be good

Castle rock homebrew supply - on the south end of castle rock. Some of his prices beat even amazon and now he's importing grapes from California. Plus the place is Vet owned. I've been to a lot of beer shops in Denver because I've moved around a ton lately. Castle Rock and Quirky are the best two places I've been to by far.


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bondra76 said:

Castle rock homebrew supply - on the south end of castle rock. Some of his prices beat even amazon and now he's importing grapes from California. Plus the place is Vet owned. I've been to a lot of beer shops in Denver because I've moved around a ton lately. Castle Rock and Quirky are the best two places I've been to by far.


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Thanks - found their website. Next brew day I will try them out.

I live in Colorado Springs and get the majority of my grains from Old West Homebrew. If I want a White Labs Yeast, I hit fermentations. Also hit up High Country Homebrew in Monument on occasion (they just opened up the co-located Catriona Cellers, a local wine producing and restaurant venture...quite nice). I'm also a regular at the Brew Hut...they have a great selection of ingredients and equipment, the workers are all great, and I love to stop in for a few beers at Dry Dock after making my homebrew purchases. Have not been to Castle Rock Homebrew Supply before...but it is now on my radar and I will stop by on my next trip through Castle Rock.

If you have not done so check out Quirky Homebrew Supply. Somewhat new. Insane inventory, upwards of some 200 different types of grains, and competitive prices. If he does not have it he will try to get it for you. The owner Greg is also very friendly. The only store I now go to.

Quirky Homebrew Supply
425 W 115th Ave #6, Northglenn, CO 80234
(303) 457-3555

Is anyone going to the Stomp auction today? Just curious what equipment they would have. Stomp Them Grapes is probably one of the only major stores I never have visited in the Denver area. Always heard they were out of stuff and their employees were not very helpful at all. I'm just curious with their low stock levels what could be expected to be available in the auction? Mostly I am looking for large kettles. If it's like any other auction though they are probably bidding off stuff in lots (i.e. you'd have to buy 10 kettles, not just one)

bondra76 said:

Is anyone going to the Stomp auction today? Just curious what equipment they would have. Stomp Them Grapes is probably one of the only major stores I never have visited in the Denver area. Always heard they were out of stuff and their employees were not very helpful at all. I'm just curious with their low stock levels what could be expected to be available in the auction? Mostly I am looking for large kettles. If it's like any other auction though they are probably bidding off stuff in lots (i.e. you'd have to buy 10 kettles, not just one)

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They are taking individual bids on items and then bids for the whole lot. Whichever total is higher - the individual ones or the entire lot wins. Guessing someone is going to score the entire inventory. As for kettles I do not know.

nsrooen said:

If you have not done so check out Quirky Homebrew Supply. Somewhat new. Insane inventory, upwards of some 200 different types of grains, and competitive prices. If he does not have it he will try to get it for you. The owner Greg is also very friendly. The only store I now go to.

Quirky Homebrew Supply
425 W 115th Ave #6, Northglenn, CO 80234
(303) 457-3555

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I'm thinking that Quirky will be getting the first shot at my business. Based on what I have seen online, it is beyond an insane inventory- I could waste so much more time than I already do dreaming up recipes with all of those different malts (what if I tried using Golden Promise or Optic rather than MO?). And unless the prices online are outdated, it looks like you can still get an ounce of domestic hops for around $2. That's enough to get me to make the drive up to Northglenn in a few weeks when my brew room cools off a bit.

HerbieHowells said:

I'm thinking that Quirky will be getting the first shot at my business. Based on what I have seen online, it is beyond an insane inventory- I could waste so much more time than I already do dreaming up recipes with all of those different malts (what if I tried using Golden Promise or Optic rather than MO?). And unless the prices online are outdated, it looks like you can still get an ounce of domestic hops for around $2. That's enough to get me to make the drive up to Northglenn in a few weeks when my brew room cools off a bit.

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Yes, the price list is current for the most part. A few hops have gone down in price as I have found superior sources (I try to keep all under $2/oz) and I have added a few more grains putting us at 182 last count.
Optic is what is used in Fullers Vintage Ale and is a good traditional old ale (old school ESB basically) English beer base malt. Golden promise is an all around go to like MO and we have 2 variants of GP and 6 of MO. We also added Inland Island yeast, which is out of Denver but struggle keeping it in stock as it is popular and they are still ramping up their production. But with three other (Wyeast, White Labs and Gigayeast) to choose from, we should have what you want. This Saturday is a free White Labs educational seminar at 1pm. Come by and check it out and get some White Labs swag. I have no idea what they are bringing but am hoping for lots of the Yeastman dolls. They are cool.