Austin Homebrew is awesome. Great selection and close to where I live
Awesome, except for prices. More than double the price for crystal, for example, than similar places online. And those places give a discount if you pick it up at the shop.
What do you love/hate about your LHBS??
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Awesome, except for prices. More than double the price for crystal, for example, than similar places online. And those places give a discount if you pick it up at the shop.
I have three LHBS new me. I recently have a new favorite (#3 below), primarily because I have recently upped the volume of my all-grain brew days and the owner is willing to help me quite a bit with the price of 2-row.
LHBS 1: nice shop owner, but everything is overpriced, to the extreme. I shopped here for my first kit, telling myself that they extra 30% would come back to help me in terms of advice, etc. Grain is the same price no matter how much you buy, even 50+ lbs. He is selling Wyeast Smack packs at $11.50 a piece. Brewing two 10-gallon batches, I was buying 4 of those and it "hurt coming out" (from the reaming). The one thing I really liked for a while, was that he was "super-modifying" a Blichmann Top-Tier and was going to show me how to do the same over time. I like the idea of the DIY classes and guidance.
LHBS 2: The shop owner drives me crazy. I told him I wanted to do all-grain. He told me I was wrong for wanting to. I told him I wanted to buy a conical, he told me I didn't want to. If he had taken a minute to get to know me, to know that I like to spend money on GEAR and I have disposable income to do so, you would realize that this is the best thing for me. Thousands of $$s later, LHBS #1 got my revenue. Last week I needed to buy a stir bar and he pulled the attitude of, "people buy those ONLINE, when they buy their STIR PLATES THERE." I am sorry that people look to get good prices on commodities online, but that is life. Spare me your attitude, pal. I am never going back there again.
LHBS 3: my new go-to. I was doing 2 10-gallon batches of high gravity beers this weekend. This means 60+ lbs of 2-row. He gave it to me at the sack price and crushed it for me at no additional charge. It was around $0.75 per pound, as opposed to $1.70 that the previous shop owner was charging. Yeast and hops are reasonably priced and he has nice specialty malts that a lot of other smaller shops don't keep in stock, like Special Roast. This shop owner also runs a nano brewery out of his shop and when I spend a few bucks, he gives me a bomber of his latest libation to take home. SWEET!
LHBS 1: nice shop owner, but everything is overpriced, to the extreme. I shopped here for my first kit, telling myself that they extra 30% would come back to help me in terms of advice, etc. Grain is the same price no matter how much you buy, even 50+ lbs. He is selling Wyeast Smack packs at $11.50 a piece. Brewing two 10-gallon batches, I was buying 4 of those and it "hurt coming out" (from the reaming). The one thing I really liked for a while, was that he was "super-modifying" a Blichmann Top-Tier and was going to show me how to do the same over time. I like the idea of the DIY classes and guidance.
LHBS 2: The shop owner drives me crazy. I told him I wanted to do all-grain. He told me I was wrong for wanting to. I told him I wanted to buy a conical, he told me I didn't want to. If he had taken a minute to get to know me, to know that I like to spend money on GEAR and I have disposable income to do so, you would realize that this is the best thing for me. Thousands of $$s later, LHBS #1 got my revenue. Last week I needed to buy a stir bar and he pulled the attitude of, "people buy those ONLINE, when they buy their STIR PLATES THERE." I am sorry that people look to get good prices on commodities online, but that is life. Spare me your attitude, pal. I am never going back there again.
LHBS 3: my new go-to. I was doing 2 10-gallon batches of high gravity beers this weekend. This means 60+ lbs of 2-row. He gave it to me at the sack price and crushed it for me at no additional charge. It was around $0.75 per pound, as opposed to $1.70 that the previous shop owner was charging. Yeast and hops are reasonably priced and he has nice specialty malts that a lot of other smaller shops don't keep in stock, like Special Roast. This shop owner also runs a nano brewery out of his shop and when I spend a few bucks, he gives me a bomber of his latest libation to take home. SWEET!
BAJones
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Get affiliated with local brew club and have stuff like wine corkers or even trial stuff like a (used) keggle for rent/loan to see if someone wants to try it before they make/buy one. Keep website updated with accurate depiction of current stock. And cocky employees are the worst.
My LHBS is wonderful and has everything I've needed in stock except maybe some rarer stuff that you can't even get online certain times of the year (like a lb of citra or something). There's brewouts with the local brew club that have instructional sessions or also just get to know people sessions. If no club is there, maybe start having competitions (I know I wish there were more).
My LHBS is wonderful and has everything I've needed in stock except maybe some rarer stuff that you can't even get online certain times of the year (like a lb of citra or something). There's brewouts with the local brew club that have instructional sessions or also just get to know people sessions. If no club is there, maybe start having competitions (I know I wish there were more).
gizmodog51
Well-Known Member
other than the fact they have the personality of a reptile.........
they don't handle hardware or equioment for intermediate to advanced brewers.
they only sell grain by the pound & the customer must get it out of the binds & god forbid if you spill any on the floor. and they do not crush and the scale sucks, so the customer spends way too much time - & + to arrive at the amount needed.
small selection of liquid yeats.
not open on sunday and closed wed.
35 miles away!
GD51
they don't handle hardware or equioment for intermediate to advanced brewers.
they only sell grain by the pound & the customer must get it out of the binds & god forbid if you spill any on the floor. and they do not crush and the scale sucks, so the customer spends way too much time - & + to arrive at the amount needed.
small selection of liquid yeats.
not open on sunday and closed wed.
35 miles away!
GD51
MotorcycleMatt
Well-Known Member
I wish i had a lhbs...
I love my LHBS! Pros: always a social spot, you can talk technique, recipies, or equipment. The owner/employees are all very knowledgable and helpful. You can buy you grains by the pound or whatever weight and she will mill it. The group has brew day for AG one weekend a month. I have never asked for a yeast she didn't have. Tried to stomp her last brew day, nope, she had my yeast.
The only thing I don't like about mine is the size which is a small complaint really and it's not even that I don't like it. Especially considering he runs it out of part of his office so I'm appreciative that its even there. But because of that he has limited space and can't stock up on 100s of #s of malts and all the hop varieties and yeast strains out there. I have to get my base malts and specialty hops online but other than that they always have what I need in a pinch and I like to support the operation.
jsguitar
Well-Known Member
I hate my LHBS's prices for sacks of grain. I was in there today and for a 50lb sack of Briess 2 row they wanted $60 and for Muntons MO it was like $84 
I also don't like that they only carry white labs for liquid yeast.
What I like: Super friendly and professional every time. The guy helped me out to the car, ect.
Grain prices here are generally high compared to others I've seen around the country but I might have to go to the 'other' place for grain. I believe they have bulk Rahr for a decent price and Wyeast if I need one of their options. Last couple of times I was there I felt like the owner had an attitude and it kind of turned me off. My wallet's killing me though.
I also don't like that they only carry white labs for liquid yeast.
What I like: Super friendly and professional every time. The guy helped me out to the car, ect.
Grain prices here are generally high compared to others I've seen around the country but I might have to go to the 'other' place for grain. I believe they have bulk Rahr for a decent price and Wyeast if I need one of their options. Last couple of times I was there I felt like the owner had an attitude and it kind of turned me off. My wallet's killing me though.
CoalCracker
Well-Known Member
Both of mine are pretty good however they are both over an hour away.
Cons:
It only has Wyeast yeast.
Selection of hops isn't great and they're expensive $3/oz.
It's the only one around.
It's too small.
****ty crush even two times through (personal best is 66% eff biab).
The dude creeps me out.
Pros:
Open 7 days a week.
Flat grain rate.
I once had 2 free shots of moonshine.
It only has Wyeast yeast.
Selection of hops isn't great and they're expensive $3/oz.
It's the only one around.
It's too small.
****ty crush even two times through (personal best is 66% eff biab).
The dude creeps me out.
Pros:
Open 7 days a week.
Flat grain rate.
I once had 2 free shots of moonshine.
Things that make a LHBS stand out: Knowledgable staff, Empowering the employees to make decisions, a price matchin policy. A no hassle customer satisfaction policy. A loyalty program to reward repeat consumers and using your database to recomend different brews based on past purchases. And freebies, bottle openers, mail openers, coozies type of stuff too. Hope this helps, just make sure your customer service is better than the rest and you will do well in the industry.
Bob
Bob
ingchr1
Well-Known Member
Have a good location near people. I live in a populated area of my county but both of my "LHBS" are at least 30 to 45 minutes away. They are kind out in the rural areas, so going there takes up a couple of hours. Because of that I only go there if I happen to be out by them.
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