Homebrew Shops, Dust, and Rodentia

[edgeofblade]

Is it just me, or are all LHBS dusty? I read a lot of homebrew store reviews online and most of them complain they are dusty and dirty and they give the impression, as taken from one review, that their kits will have dead spiders in them. I also see frequent allegations of rats, though I have no frame of reference to evaluate that. Is it that milling puts a lot of dust in the air?

 

[JJL]

Not all. It's like any other business. Some places focus on cleanliness and some don't. I will say though that an HBS will have a slightly higher propensity to have some dust simply because of all the grain particles that are present.

You also have to consider that you are reading reviews. People are a lot more likely to write a review if they have a negative experience than if they have a positive one. Most satisfied customers don't post comments.

 

[Golddiggie]

Milling grain will generate dust that can get into the air easily. So, depending on where they mill the grain, and how much grain they mill, you could have a decent amount of dust... For rats, probably going after the grain... That goes back to how it's stored...

I've not seen any dead (or living) bugs in the kits I bought from the LHBS where I am... Not to say that they won't be in there for others in the future. Since I've gone all grain, I'm not using pre-packaged kits for my brews.

If there are reports of rats (that can be verified) for the LHBS, I probably wouldn't buy grain from them. I would also inspect their kits for dead insects. It's not the dead ones you need to worry about, really, it's the live ones with nasty bites.

 

[JJL]

If there are reports of rats (that can be verified) for the LHBS, I probably wouldn't buy grain from them.

If there are rats, definitely go elsewhere. The grain is definitely contaminated no matter what type of container they store it in. The rats are there specifically because they want to eat the grain. Rats can chew holes in concrete and metal, so if they want the grain they will get it. And they will leave urine, feces, and bugs behind.

 

[TxBrew]

I have a friend that runs a C-store, I tell him every time I'm in there that it is to dusty and I will not buy his poptarts.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

both of the stores i frequent are very clean, however I have been to shops that were covered in 1/4" of grain dust at all times... I dont tend to go back to places like that.

 

[dfc]

I haven't had any problems with my LHBS.

 

[lazytaper]

Everyone around here is dusty from grain milling. They clean all the time and do major shelving moves weekly to keep up on it. It's just a result of having the mill in the main room. You would think they would have an enclosed area with exhaust but I haven't seen one set up like that, yet.

No rats though.

 

[borrachio]

Austin Homebrew is my LHS and they don't have dust problems. They also have a large grain room visible to the store floor that I believe is under negative pressure. Also, all workers don respirators before going in.

 

[Henrythe9th]

You have to think about the fact that most shops are run by men,, the last thing a man will do is clean.. speaking from experience...

I dust my shop man style, compressed air @160psi and a California duster

its only been open for 2 months so not that much dust but I can see it being a problem,, milling does make dust

 

[Jersh]

the homebrew shop here in Tampa that I shop at has their mill in a seperate little room.... I'm not sure how it's ventilated because I've never used it, I mill all my own grain at home. Their shop isn't dusty at all.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I refuse to buy chocolate malt or Roast Barley from a shop with a rodent problem!

 

[edgeofblade]

I'm not saying anyone has rodents, but you might guess that competitors could spread false information like that. If the store already appears dusty, it's not much of an imaginative leap of logic...

 

[Golddiggie]

Good reason to have your own supply of base malt and mill/crusher, only getting additional unmilled malts from the LHBS as needed. That's the position I'm now in...

The LHBS I visit only has the base malts in the basement. The rest are all in the main section of the store, in small bags, so you can get the amount you want without worrying about anything else being in there (at least not from the LHBS)...

If you're worried about dark malts, get them whole, and inspect them before you go to mill them. Of course, doing that a few times will probably start to get old. Especially if you don't find anything nasty in there.

Way I see it, if you order from a place with a decent amount of turnover of stock/inventory, the chances of getting droppings, and such, in your grain is really small. The places that are not doing so well, where grain is hanging around in bulk, are more prone (not saying it will have) to having other items in there. Of course, that also depends on how well they keep on top of things. If they care enough, and properly store things, I don't think you'll have an issue...

 

[bengerman]

the shop i go to (and only one i've ever been to) is very clean. no dust, etc.
they do have a vaccuum setup on their mill, which probably helps, and i believe they are also fairly high turnover on stock (even though i've never actually seen another customer in there......)
never gone to another shop because this one has been awesome and everyone else in the area has higher prices (they all have websites).
well, there is one with simmilar prices in the area, and my friend used to work there, and has since advised i not go there.

 

[dzlater]

People aren't going to post a thread:
My home brew shop is clean
so you naturally find threads:
My home brew shop is a ****hole

 

[IrregularPulse]

I've been to two shops. One is very cleaned with very overpriced merchandise. The other was filthy. I didn't take the time ti inquire about pricing.