Best LHBS in NW or W suburbs?

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Mermaid

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Location
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I'm moving to Schaumburg in about a month, and hope to get right back into brewing. I tell ya, moving halfway across the country really puts a damper on what you can brew (not wanting to schlep full carboys 1000 miles in a big metal box).

So.. I've already viewed the thread that someone is starting up a club in the NW suburbs (good!).

I'm wondering where some of the better HBS are in the greater Chicagoland area. I know there was one in West Chicago (or maybe it was St. Charles?) at one point (my sis lives in Geneva, I've driven past it a couple times).

Any other suggestions? I love having a store somewhat nearby that stocks a good variety of grain and has a decent crusher in the store, gets the limited edition yeast, and has employees that are at least polite to the customers. :)

I'm a bit nervous about the new rental and whipping out the banjo burner on the patio - freaking the neighbors out. I suppose the worst case scenario would be to haul the gear to my sister's house and offer babysitting in exchange for her letting me brew on her driveway.

Any other friendly pointers for a native (Chicago) suburban beer geek who has been away from the midwest far too long?
 
There aren't that many shops but the one in st charles is good. and also crystal lake health food store...and the brew and grow...they seem to be more about growing then brewing.


If you need anyhelp when you get out here just send me a pm im about 10 minutes from woodfield
 
Welcome to the area, I am in Bloomingdale. Both the Brew and Grow in Roselle(Slightly cheaper prices) and the Home Brew Shop(Definitely more knowledgeable and they are in the club I belong to, UKG) are both great shops.
 
Another "welcome to the area". I work in the Schaumburg area and live about 20 min NE of there. For me, Perfect Brewing in Libertyville is the best... hands down. It's easy for me to shoot right up 294 and get there in less than 20 minutes, but YMMV depending on your exact location.

It is really out of my way to go to St Charles and I have never been to the Brew and Grow in Roselle, so I can't speak to that one even though it would probably be closest to most Schaumburg people.
 
Thanks for the sugestions guys! Can't wait for my life to get back to it's semi-normal state. I've been dying to start a sour .. and I'll actually have a garage in this new place so I'll have a place to tuck it away.
 
Home Brew Shop in St. Charles on route 64. Parking can be a pain but it is a good shop with the freshest white labs vials ive been able to find. The staff is very knowledgeable and it is a local family owned shop which is definately good to support these days. Brew and grow in Roselle has a large variety of grains and I know they have a good crusher in the storr that they are morr than willing to let you use. Staff is friendly enough but as was stated before they carry more growing supplies than brewing but they still have good stuff. Welcome back to the area and cheers!
 
I live in St. Charles and cannot speak highly enough about the Home Brew Shop. The staff is some of the most knowledgable in the area with the awards to back it. It is the only place I will shop! Good luck!
 
I too live in St. Charles and love the Home brew store in town. It is an easy drive from where you are, I would say about a 45 minute drive. The staff are friendly and are really helpful. I do not know if you have a co2 tank, but there is a place near by thar will re fill rather than exchange wich is often hard to find.
 
nik555,

Who refils co2 near the store in St. Charles? I think mine will be empty soon, and my normal connection takes a couple of days to get refilled.

Kurt
 
KurtB said:
nik555,

Who refils co2 near the store in St. Charles? I think mine will be empty soon, and my normal connection takes a couple of days to get refilled.

Kurt

Fox valley paintball at i88 and farnsworth will refill
 
If you are looking for a brew shop Two Brothers in Warrenville I think still run brewers coop.
 
Hey Kurt,

The Illinois Fire and safety Co in Geneva will do a refill. It is on Keslinger rd. Across the road from Delnor hospital. It took 15 mins to refill my 5 lb tank. It may take two days to refill if your tank needs to be re certified, but it is a great place. If you need a phone number or address let me know.
 
nik555 said:
Hey Kurt,

The Illinois Fire and safety Co in Geneva will do a refill. It is on Keslinger rd. Across the road from Delnor hospital. It took 15 mins to refill my 5 lb tank. It may take two days to refill if your tank needs to be re certified, but it is a great place. If you need a phone number or address let me know.

+1 on Illinois fire and safety. Char Novak is the manager there and they are always friendly and very helpful, not to mention competitively priced. I seriously recommend using them as your go-to.
 
If you are looking for a brew shop Two Brothers in Warrenville I think still run brewers coop.

Yes, it's still there but supply is limited. Decent grain selection, almost non-existent hops selection, good yeast selection (plus expired yeast for cheap). Small equipment section. Good prices. They will crush for you.

It's more of a giftshop for their taphouse - most people that work there don't homebrew.
 
TyTanium said:
Yes, it's still there but supply is limited. Decent grain selection, almost non-existent hops selection, good yeast selection (plus expired yeast for cheap). Small equipment section. Good prices. They will crush for you.

It's more of a giftshop for their taphouse - most people that work there don't homebrew.

That's too bad. Back in the day you could go in and get advice from the brothers.
 
Randar said:
Another "welcome to the area". I work in the Schaumburg area and live about 20 min NE of there. For me, Perfect Brewing in Libertyville is the best... hands down. It's easy for me to shoot right up 294 and get there in less than 20 minutes, but YMMV depending on your exact location.

It is really out of my way to go to St Charles and I have never been to the Brew and Grow in Roselle, so I can't speak to that one even though it would probably be closest to most Schaumburg people.

Bump. Most helpful, most knowledgeable. I shop there even when I can get some stuff cheaper online to help ensure they stay in business because the tips you get from just chatting are worth it.
 
Ditto to Sagacity's post. Perfect Brewing in Libertyville is one of the best around. I like to order my grains online the night before brewing, and usually it's ready for pickup the next morning. They will fill CO2 here as well.

www.perfectbrewingsupply.com/
 
nhhintz said:
Ditto to Sagacity's post. Perfect Brewing in Libertyville is one of the best around. I like to order my grains online the night before brewing, and usually it's ready for pickup the next morning. They will fill CO2 here as well.

www.perfectbrewingsupply.com/

That's right. Not only will they fill it; they'll fill _yours_ rather than trade it in. Important since I have a new one.

Cheers!
 
nhhintz said:
Ditto to Sagacity's post. Perfect Brewing in Libertyville is one of the best around. I like to order my grains online the night before brewing, and usually it's ready for pickup the next morning. They will fill CO2 here as well.

www.perfectbrewingsupply.com/

That's right, and they'll fill _your_ cylinder; not just exchange. Important, since mine is new.

Cheers!
 
I'm not really a fan of the Brew & Grow, atleast the one in the West Loop. I just get that feeling that when you are asking them for something that you are causing them so much trouble. I mean it is a business, you're supposed to want to help the customer and make some money. When I went in there last time all the guy could do is complain about how tired he was. Meanwhile, I'm just waiting for him to see if they have any gas disconnects for a ball lock keg. Guy - "Well it shows we have 17 in stock, but there are none here in the displaycase and none in back, so I'm not sure what is going on." Me - "well can you give me the one that is on display over there?". Guy - "No, sorry cant do that. But you can go up to our location on Kedzie, they should have some." Me - "well can you tell me how many they have in stock?". "It shows that they have 12 in stock, so you'll be fine." Me - "Well it says you have 17 in stock but apparently you have 0 since you cant find any." Guy - "Yeah man, I'm so tired........"

Won't be going back there ever again, even though it is definitely the closest LHBS to me. Too bad.
 
Bummer experience, Sippin. Experiences like that are far too common in homebrew shops, unfortunately. Getting some people to show interest is like pulling teeth...shouldn't be the case in retail.
 
Yeah I agree. I mean I like to support the local economy but when you get treated like that you might as well order everything online. Especially here in the city, the taxes here end up washing with the shipping online.
 
TyTanium said:
Bummer experience, Sippin. Experiences like that are far too common in homebrew shops, unfortunately. Getting some people to show interest is like pulling teeth...shouldn't be the case in retail.

That's so bizarre. I've actually never had a bad experience in a home brew shop. They always want to be helpful - I mean that's what they're there for. Ay that are still around now should be because they have good customer service, otherwise they get beat every time by online sales.

I go to my LHBS specifically to support them and keep them I business. I feel that the knowledge they give me is worth the slightly higher prices. Sometimes they're cheaper.

Maybe it was just that guy. I'd say give them another chance, maybe when that guy isn't there. Could have been a bad guy on a bad day. On a side note, I have noticed that the hydroponic places that sell home brew stuff are a little less knowledgeable. I was at a place, I think in Gurnee, and I had some questions. The register guy said, here, let me connect you with my brewmaster. The conversation ended with the brewmaster saying, "I don't know, I've never brewed all grain before". Neither have I, but, I would never call myself a brewmaster either...BUT they were still really helpful and nice. I ended up buying a wine making kit because they were so helpful.

Cheers!
 
So just as a followup to this thread...

The Brew and Grow in Roselle is close to where I live, but I was totally spoiled by my previous HBS where you could measure out only the grains you needed, run them through the mill, and be on your way.

The Brew & Grow only sells grains by the 1 lb. and 5 lb. bags. Prices are totally reasonable, but you need to bring your own bucket to carry the grain home in if you want to use their mill.

Yeast selection is so so. They only carry Wyeast (which is fine) liquid - but they were out of the Saison yeast I wanted.

Hops selection is decent.

Helps to go in there knowing what you want/need, unless you can chat up a fellow homebrewer there. I know I was there with another guy who was buying ingredients for a British mild extract batch - and we shared some tips.

The guy who was working there was friendly, and seemed eager to help, but (for example) they didn't carry tubing or I couldn't find it so I'll have to search elsewhere.

Overall, the Brew & Grow in Roselle isn't a bad place so long as you know what you need and show up with a bucket to carry your grain home (unless you've got a mill at home). I think I am going to call around tomorrow and see if anyone in the area has Saison yeast in stock. It's supposed to get stupid hot here again and I would love to take advantage of having a 85 degree garage to stash a carboy in.

If not, I'll just brew up a BSG or Abbey style and leave it in the A/C with me.
 
The guy who was working there was friendly, and seemed eager to help, but (for example) they didn't carry tubing or I couldn't find it so I'll have to search elsewhere.

They do carry tubing but for some reason its not out in plain sight. i did the same thing last week and couldnt find it so i asked if he had it
 
The who brews there on Saturday knows his stuff. He's usually preoccupied with brewing, but if you ask him questions, he has darn good answers.

Mermaid's experience there matches that of my own.
 
FYI, Brew and Grow now carries White Labs. I picked some up at Bolingbrook a few weeks ago.
 
Chicago brew werks in Plainfield is now my go to...awesome customer service and interaction, better than I got at Brew and Grow.

He has as big a grain selection, all the yeasts, hops, etc I need
 
I like the brew and grow on the north side, all the guys are HB'ers and they have samples in the shop. They have bags of 2row for 38 bucks. They have a big cooler just for yeast (new stock is in back of old) and another cooler for hops. I have been to lesser brew shops and this one is very good! Get some free coffee it is so good, it saves me a trip to starbucks.
 

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