Learning to value my LHBS

I visited the LHBS in the next town today, thinking I would try them out for comparison. What a contrast!

At my LHBS I am asked to buy only exactly what I need for the grain bill and the grain is crushed uniformly to my specifications. At the store I visited today I was asked to purchase whole pound packages even for items that were only a quarter or half pound on my grain bill, and the grain was ground using a cheesy device that resulted very non uniform results. Also at this store all the grain was sealed up, no sniffing for comparison.

I will be happily patronizing my own LHBS going from here on out. So here is a salute to proprietors that do it right.

LOVE MY LHBS. The HomeBrewery, yep that's the name opened in 1982 two owners since and I LOVE THEM. Great Service, Well Stocked, Extract Kits and AG Kits all solid Brews. The Owner came over for a big brew day with me and my two good brew buddy's for a 60gal brew of Barley Wine that goes into a Buffalo Trace Barrel, Tomorrow. Also one other guy from the store is in for 5gal. Check them out if you don't have a good LHBS At thehomebrewery.com

We only have one choice here on O`ahu, Hawai`i. But the place is GREAT if not expensive. But then everything in Hawai`i is expensive except the Sun Shine.

All the grains are stored in 5 gallon plastic buckets and you measure out what you want and mill it yourself.

2-row costs $1.70/lb everything else is $2.50/lb

Pretty good selection of hops, and yeast as well as just about any piece of hardware you may want.

Home Brew in Paridise

C-Rider said:

We only have one choice here on O`ahu, Hawai`i. But the place is GREAT if not expensive. But then everything in Hawai`i is expensive except the Sun Shine.

All the grains are stored in 5 gallon plastic buckets and you measure out what you want and mill it yourself.

2-row costs $1.70/lb everything else is $2.50/lb

Pretty good selection of hops, and yeast as well as just about any piece of hardware you may want.

Home Brew in Paridise

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Yep my place is similar... I had no clue when I first went there..... where else would you go and be able to open mulitple buckets and vessels to get what you need, You do it and it's charged as items only they do it it's charged as a kit. Hands on crazy !!

What passes for a LHBS in my town is a corner of a food coop. The selection is limited, the price is relatively high and the grain comes unmilled in pound packages. The nearest that I can find that has grain in bulk and a crusher is 150 miles away. You people are soooo lucky.

We have a five star LHBS in Dallas, TX. Homebrew Headquarters is helpful and if not in stock, quick to ask if you want it special ordered. The gain mill is set good and the rollers are replaced when worn. Their prices are sometimes slightly more than on line, but even a local grain buy, the price is not enough difference for me to do that. They are very free with tips and advice. My only problem is that on Saturdays they can be very busy!

My lhbs back home in Tampa was phenomenal. Now that I've moved, my lhbs sucks. The one and only time I went in there, they didn't have the right yeast, hops, or specialty grains. I order everything online now.

oakbarn said:

We have a five star LHBS in Dallas, TX. Homebrew Headquarters is helpful and if not in stock, quick to ask if you want it special ordered. The gain mill is set good and the rollers are replaced when worn. Their prices are sometimes slightly more than on line, but even a local grain buy, the price is not enough difference for me to do that. They are very free with tips and advice. My only problem is that on Saturdays they can be very busy!

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Yes x 1,000! I love the guys over at HBHQ. Always knowledgeable and always fully stocked. I even see one of the owners all the time at the Flying Saucer in Addison.

DrakeSuperbus said:

My lhbs back home in Tampa was phenomenal. Now that I've moved, my lhbs sucks. The one and only time I went in there, they didn't have the right yeast, hops, or specialty grains. I order everything online now.

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I buy all my hops and dry yeast on line from MidWest and or Austin Homebrew. Grains are to heavy to ship to Hawai`i.

DrakeSuperbus said:

My lhbs back home in Tampa was phenomenal. Now that I've moved, my lhbs sucks. The one and only time I went in there, they didn't have the right yeast, hops, or specialty grains. I order everything online now.

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You must be talking about Southern Brewing. I checked that place out a month ago and that's the best LHBS I've seen. Ours in Jacksonville is not so nice.

I hate one of the LHBS here in town, and love the other. Coincidentally, one treats me like a 5 year old, and one treats me like an adult.

Good LHBS are hard to find. If you have one, patronize it. I'm sure those in Phoenix (East Valley) will know which ones I'm talking about.

The closest homebrew shop to me is about 40 kms north, called Hop Dawgs. I go there for all my equipment, specialty grains, and hops. Pricing is equivalent to pretty much everything I can find online, and his stock is pretty good. The only annoying thing is that the proprietor isn't there 100% of the time, as it's a home-based business and he has a full-time job.

Of course, since Gambrinus Malting is only 10 kms further north, I usually head up there and pick up a 25kg sack of base malts (2-row, ESB, pilsner, munich, or vienna) for about CAN$25.

Is it spring yet? I want to go back outside and start brewing again. I'm tired of Brew House kits.

Is it spring yet? I want to go back outside and start brewing again. I'm tired of Brew House kits.

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Do you have to wait? I do 2 1/2 gallon batches BIAB right in the kitchen. The only reason I have to go out is to chill the wort faster as the kitchen sink is slooow but the big tub of ice water works pretty fast.

This thread makes me realize why I started just buying base malt in bulk 250 lbs per year and buying 3-5 lbs of each specialty grain I use and just storing them all in plastic containers...then when I want to mill up a recipe I grab my food grade buckets, scale and scoop and it's like Christmas!

I feel kinda bad for those trying to make it in the LHBS business. People are very price-conscious these days and the service provided by the online outfits is excellent. Really it comes down to economies of scale. A group of buddies and I just brought in 40 sacks of grain (I bought 15) from a national distributor, and saved as much as 50% on malt (per-sack prices we received vs. per-sack prices at the LHBS), including shipping. Same goes for hops; we get incredible prices and quality from places like Hops Direct; $1.25/oz including shipping on average is less than half what we pay locally for lower quality/improperly stored hops.

I still spend hundreds of dollars per year at the LHBS, but it's tough for them to be competitive.

jasonclick said:

You must be talking about Southern Brewing. I checked that place out a month ago and that's the best LHBS I've seen. Ours in Jacksonville is not so nice.

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That's the place. I was spoiled going there as my first lhbs. Now I expect them all to be as good.

I hate my LHBS with the fury of a thousand gods. Their customer service is beyond horrible, their prices are ridiculously high, and their selection is crap.
It's gotten so bad that I'm actually looking at opening my own homebrew store.

scottland said:

I hate one of the LHBS here in town, and love the other. Coincidentally, one treats me like a 5 year old, and one treats me like an adult.

Good LHBS are hard to find. If you have one, patronize it. I'm sure those in Phoenix (East Valley) will know which ones I'm talking about.

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I'm in the East Valley and have gone to both, not sure exactly which one you are referring to actually. I always go to the one in Mesa, never been too thrilled with the one in Tempe but they both seem to treat me well. I like the prices better at the location in Mesa, the guys there are fun to BS with, plus I get a 10% discount with my ASH (AZ Society of Homebrewers) membership.

I'm a big fan of Alabrew, here in Alabama. Kim and SunAe are knowledgeable (and opinionated in the fun way), have competitive prices, and constantly bend over backwards in terms of service.

-Rich

I haven't visited the Tempe or Mesa HB stores, but both up north here have been good to me. 63rd Ave on Bell is my "home" HB shop, but the couple of times that I've been to Anthem I've been treated well too.

lunchbox said:

I hate my LHBS with the fury of a thousand gods. Their customer service is beyond horrible, their prices are ridiculously high, and their selection is crap.
It's gotten so bad that I'm actually looking at opening my own homebrew store.

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I had to double-check your location to see if you were from here...

BrewinHooligan said:

I'm in the East Valley and have gone to both, not sure exactly which one you are referring to actually. I always go to the one in Mesa, never been too thrilled with the one in Tempe but they both seem to treat me well. I like the prices better at the location in Mesa, the guys there are fun to BS with, plus I get a 10% discount with my ASH (AZ Society of Homebrewers) membership.

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Ya, the Mesa shop is my fav. They actually let me touch the grains, and open the hop or yeast refrigerator *gasp*.

Seriously though, I can't stand the other store. Joel and company will continue to get my business at BYOB. Store is clean, organized, and well lit. They are fun to BS with, but helpful when you need them to be. I can't ask for much else in a LHBS, they do a great job.

I love the LHBS in Reno. It's in what used to be a frozen storage freezer near some railroad tracks. Great selection of milled grains and malts, all in large containers so I can weigh and pay for what I actually need. They have beers on tap so I can walk around with a pint and browse for new beer stuff. They have fruit crushers and a press for people to use for free for making wine or cider. They place is dog friendly. ...I know where I'm going tomorrow.

I met with a couple at a club meeting that owns the HBS a city over and talked them for a while. They have some harder to find hops and yeasts that the LHBS doesn't have so I thought I've drive over and offer some business for the next brew.

scottland said:

Ya, the Mesa shop is my fav. They actually let me touch the grains, and open the hop or yeast refrigerator *gasp*.

Seriously though, I can't stand the other store. Joel and company will continue to get my business at BYOB. Store is clean, organized, and well lit. They are fun to BS with, but helpful when you need them to be. I can't ask for much else in a LHBS, they do a great job.

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They encourage me to eat the grains too to get a feel for what they bring to the brew. They will always have my business! I refuse to order ingredients online other than hops just so I have a reason to go hang out there.

Interesting. I mostly go to BC, although I've been to BYOB a few times for yeast or fruit (cherries for Jamil's recipe of Black Forest stout) and whatnot. I haven't gotten the "treating you like a kid" vibe from them, but they've always seemed pretty helpful to me. Maybe I should try to make it out to BYOB more often and chat more, since BC is usually where I buy my stuff locally. It's hard, though, when they all close at 7:00, and I don't get off work until at least 6:00 (and later, if there's stuff happening, sometimes much later). I'm amused that Tucson-based BYOB opened a store in Mesa, and Tempe-based BC opened one in Tucson.

I tried to visit the one up on Bell, but I got annoyed the one time I got there (before I purchased my first equipment kit) and they'd closed early, handwritten sign on the door and everything. I was over on that side of town anyway, but I still had to drive several miles out of my way. I haven't tried to go since then.

Never been to the one in Anthem or either place in Tucson, but I stopped by the one in Flagstaff when I was up that way. They seem nice there, although I didn't need anything that day. They did mention that their UPS shipping from their web site was all overnight, in-state.