I took a drive to a local Homebrew store in Chicago, a place called "Brew and Grow." I had been ordering from Austin Homebrew. Here's a quick head to head comparison:
1) Putting together a grain bill: I give the edge to the online store here. Instead of ordering just what I needed, I had to grab bags of this and that in 5lb or 1 lb increments. In other homebrew stores I've been to I've merely presented the grain bill and the store's employees assembled it for me. It worked out okay, but I took home leftovers and bought more grain, ultimately, than I needed. I also had to crush it myself with their Maltmill. For a minute there I thought I was going to have to hand crank it out. Then he broke out a mill attached to a drill.
2) The crush. Big edge to my local store, I think. I don't have a mill so I've really only seen the crush I get online. This was a much finer crush and they took some time making sure they had it adjusted properly before I used it. I appreciated it.
3) Beer samples. I got two small sample cups that were pretty good. Edge to LHBS, although I had to ask for them. Though I spent quite a sum there today, he didn't offer me a beer. When I asked to try one after seeing him offer beer to almost everyone else, he apologized, so I think they usually offer.
4) Price: Edge to online. Just about everything was more expensive than online. I bought a Perlick and it was just over $40. Only $32 online. Bought a CO2 distributor, 2 way, was $36. About $29 online, or less on ebay. It was definitely more on basically everything.
5) Immediate gratification from LHBS, obviously.
6) Cost control: If you're online you can see how much you're total is before you get to the register and even decide to hold off on the order if it comes out to be too much for you. Since I was there I wound up just getting everything I was thinking I needed recently, then was a bit surprised when I saw the total.
7) Packaging. Edge to Online. I was practically on my own bagging my stuff. After cracking my grain I had to hunt around for some paper bags. Usually my stuff arrives heat sealed and other LHBS also heat seal, but not this one.
8) Knowledge... I usually order from a website with no interaction from staff so I don't know how knowledgeable staff at Austin Homebrew are. At LHBS, they were too busy to interact much. I was also told that cracked grain will last 3 months and that if I was worried I should put it in the freezer.
...I'm not sure about this advice.
9) Time. Big edge to online. They assemble, crush grain, and ship to my door. It was several hours of time saved. I think it was 2 hours door to door to go to LHBS.
10) Meeting some cool brewers... Er, not so much for me. The man working there seemed alright, but not especially interested in conversation. I asked about favorite recipes and he showed me to a book. He may have been busy, but it wasn't the brewing community I thought I might encounter.
Overall, I think I'm going back to online, though I don't think I get as good a crush. Better accelerate plans for the motorized mill. Price, time, and hassle are all factors.
What are your experiences?
1) Putting together a grain bill: I give the edge to the online store here. Instead of ordering just what I needed, I had to grab bags of this and that in 5lb or 1 lb increments. In other homebrew stores I've been to I've merely presented the grain bill and the store's employees assembled it for me. It worked out okay, but I took home leftovers and bought more grain, ultimately, than I needed. I also had to crush it myself with their Maltmill. For a minute there I thought I was going to have to hand crank it out. Then he broke out a mill attached to a drill.
2) The crush. Big edge to my local store, I think. I don't have a mill so I've really only seen the crush I get online. This was a much finer crush and they took some time making sure they had it adjusted properly before I used it. I appreciated it.
3) Beer samples. I got two small sample cups that were pretty good. Edge to LHBS, although I had to ask for them. Though I spent quite a sum there today, he didn't offer me a beer. When I asked to try one after seeing him offer beer to almost everyone else, he apologized, so I think they usually offer.
4) Price: Edge to online. Just about everything was more expensive than online. I bought a Perlick and it was just over $40. Only $32 online. Bought a CO2 distributor, 2 way, was $36. About $29 online, or less on ebay. It was definitely more on basically everything.
5) Immediate gratification from LHBS, obviously.
6) Cost control: If you're online you can see how much you're total is before you get to the register and even decide to hold off on the order if it comes out to be too much for you. Since I was there I wound up just getting everything I was thinking I needed recently, then was a bit surprised when I saw the total.
7) Packaging. Edge to Online. I was practically on my own bagging my stuff. After cracking my grain I had to hunt around for some paper bags. Usually my stuff arrives heat sealed and other LHBS also heat seal, but not this one.
8) Knowledge... I usually order from a website with no interaction from staff so I don't know how knowledgeable staff at Austin Homebrew are. At LHBS, they were too busy to interact much. I was also told that cracked grain will last 3 months and that if I was worried I should put it in the freezer.
...I'm not sure about this advice.
9) Time. Big edge to online. They assemble, crush grain, and ship to my door. It was several hours of time saved. I think it was 2 hours door to door to go to LHBS.
10) Meeting some cool brewers... Er, not so much for me. The man working there seemed alright, but not especially interested in conversation. I asked about favorite recipes and he showed me to a book. He may have been busy, but it wasn't the brewing community I thought I might encounter.
Overall, I think I'm going back to online, though I don't think I get as good a crush. Better accelerate plans for the motorized mill. Price, time, and hassle are all factors.
What are your experiences?