What do you love about your LHBS?

Jaybird · Jul 21, 2013

Yah know I was just sitting here enjoying a little alone time (something I don't get very often) And was thinking about my store and other LHBS stores around the nation. I am ALWAYS trying to make my store better for my customers both in house and online and I was wondering what exactly it is you totally LOVE about your LHBS? My store is fairly new and of course it can be improved upon for sure. If you could say 1 thing, taking customer service out of it because we always try and make that #1, but other than that is there a product or a procedure or anything really that your LHBS does or has in stock, that can help me make my place better for you and for my in house customers?

I think this thread will help you as the customers and all of us LHBS owners alike. We can all learn a few things here and gain from the input.

Cheers
Jay

neosapien · Jul 21, 2013

The guys that work there are awesome. Always friendly (usually hungover) and helpful. If they don't have what I need in the store, they'll order it special for me. They trade me my backyard hops for free grain. Oh, and I get a 10% discount just because.

Jaybird · Jul 21, 2013

neosapien said:
The guys that work there are awesome. Always friendly (usually hungover) and helpful. If they don't have what I need in the store, they'll order it special for me. They trade me my backyard hops for free grain. Oh, and I get a 10% discount just because.

They trade you your back yard hops for free grain? Really? What do they do with the hops?

Thanks for the feedback!

Cheers
Jay

neosapien · Jul 21, 2013

probably brew with them

I've never thought to ask, really.

Zuljin · Jul 21, 2013

They have this big fancy mill and scale and will weigh out the *exact* amount, exactly. It's kind of their thing. They have this scale and they want you to know they can weigh stuff, exactly. You want a pound? How about 1.07 pounds? We can weight that.

They have all sorts of grains and hops and yeasts. Even when I know what I want, I still look around to see what they have. Whole leaf hops. I'm hooked on that now, and I'm not even a hop head.

Every part and every piece of every part. Need a lid with a grommet? They have it. Just need the grommet? They have it.

And you wanna make some weird stuff with snowberries and the wings of a moth? It's like an apothecary in there. No spelt though. But if you wanna brew with oats, holy cow, what kind of oats?

The other one I go to is really a home brew corner in a general store. They have a homemade mill and you're pretty much on your own. I like that place because it's in and out and still has everything I need.

I'm not picky. Sell me what I need at a decent price and I'm on my way.

meltroha · Jul 21, 2013

I've always loved the invaluable professional advice, they take time to talk to you and tell you what you need instead of selling you crap that you don't. Now they have their license for brewing and now brew and serve there own beer, you can drink a pint while shopping!

kosmokramer · Jul 21, 2013

Thanks for this thread Jaybird, as a new LHBS owner i am definitely interested in what i can do to keep customers coming back, my goal thus far has been to make it a place where I would like to shop, but there is always more to learn and do to keep customers happy with their experience.

Billy-Klubb · Jul 21, 2013

for me, one's an hour away (we'll cal A) and the other is 45 minutes away (we'll call B). A has 50 & 55 pound sacks of base malt, but a poor yeast selection. they have a fair amount of gear/equipment, but poor specialty malt selection. they are geared more toward wine and know little about beer. B has a poor equipment selection, but they have a great malt selection & decent yeast selection. they will also sell you any grain they have in 50-55 pound sack if you want. they have nothing for wine. another plus for B is that they are a brewery with a tap room. but my favorite LHBS was in Wyoming. whatever you wanted, they would get it for you. they were very laid back, held demonstrations, and would always want to trade home brews with any customer that was willing. they weren't very knowledgeable when they first opened their doors, but learned quite a lot in a very short time and would give solid advice on what they knew and ask about what they didn't. I miss Pour Brothers.

Jaybird · Jul 21, 2013

kosmokramer said:
Thanks for this thread Jaybird, as a new LHBS owner i am definitely interested in what i can do to keep customers coming back, my goal thus far has been to make it a place where I would like to shop, but there is always more to learn and do to keep customers happy with their experience.

You bet man that is what its all about. As a business owner we WANT to help our customers. I mean if we didn't we shouldn't have ever opened out doors to them.

Thanks for all the info so far guys!

Cheers
Jay

meltroha · Jul 21, 2013

kosmokramer said:
Thanks for this thread Jaybird, as a new LHBS owner i am definitely interested in what i can do to keep customers coming back, my goal thus far has been to make it a place where I would like to shop, but there is always more to learn and do to keep customers happy with their experience.

My lhbs has a local professional brewer working on weekends, I love talking to him, even if you can bring one or two in to give a free talk would be good.

Jaybird · Jul 21, 2013

Wow that's cool......what a nice thing to have on hand and what a great resource!

Cheers
Jay

Grannyknot · Jul 23, 2013

There is A LOT my lhbs can improve on, but I still support them every chance I get, because if they go out of business, I'll have nowhere to get a quick last minute item.

Things I like:
They let me weigh my own grain
They let me mill my own grain (which I now do at my house)
Prices are reasonable

Jaybird · Jul 24, 2013

Grannyknot said:
Things I like:
They let me weigh my own grain
They let me mill my own grain (which I now do at my house)
Prices are reasonable

I think every home brew store should let you weigh and crush your own grain.
It was fun for me to do when I first started brewing and it seemed like it was just part of the brewing process.. Good call Grannyknot Thanks for the input..

Cheers
Jay

Fuzzymittenbrewing · Jul 24, 2013

Grannyknot said:
There is A LOT my lhbs can improve on, but I still support them every chance I get, because if they go out of business, I'll have nowhere to get a quick last minute item.

Things I like:
They let me weigh my own grain
They let me mill my own grain (which I now do at my house)
Prices are reasonable

+1 on this. But Its also the personal things. The two guys that own it always call me and a lot of their customers by name. I always bring along a few home brews when I visit because besides getting ingredients we will sit and talk and sample each others beer and offer feedback (they usually have about 3 beers on tap) They also hold regular brewing demos to make the newbs feel comfortable.

Jaybird · Jul 29, 2013

Fuzzymittenbrewing said:
+1 on this. But Its also the personal things. The two guys that own it always call me and a lot of their customers by name. I always bring along a few home brews when I visit because besides getting ingredients we will sit and talk and sample each others beer and offer feedback (they usually have about 3 beers on tap) They also hold regular brewing demos to make the newbs feel comfortable.

I really like it when I frequent a business and the staff make it a point to remember my name. My staff is great at this! I love hearing them talk to customers like they are friends, well because they are!
I have always been reluctant to put beers on tap as its no legal to do, but we are starting to realize we need to do this as well. We are going to take it a step further and just put in a 3BBL brewery and tap house. :mug:

Thanks for all the comments guys. All of us LHBS owners can all learn from this.

Cheers
Jay

neosapien · Jul 30, 2013

I'd say if you treat your shop like you treat HBT, your shop will be fine. I'd frequent it. Greeting customers as friends is pretty key, that's one of the main things I love about mine. Also, if you're not sold on having beers on tap, at least be open to having customers bring in their own homebrews to share/diagnose/praise. Mine does that and it is a huge help to new brewers.

outside92129 · Jul 30, 2013

Friendly staff:
- it's nice and i feel welcomed when i walk in and the staff says hi (and makes me want to spend more). They also always offer me a beer, i assume from one of the weekend tutorials they offer.
- All it takes is one d-bag comment from a hungover employee to a new homebrewer to sour the relationship. I remember starting out and some of my questions may have seemed knuckleheaded to a experienced brewer but i didn't know.
- I do pick up a sense of "you have what kind of gear-snottiness" when asked about my setup. I like DIY just as much as brewing! But there isn't a lot of that in coastal socal.
- being able to take a bottle in and have people critique it.

LabRatBrewer · Jul 30, 2013

The only thing I love about my lhbs current is the location. Even a nice "hello" or "what you brewing next?" ,might stop me from driving a half hour away to the next shop. Admittedly, location is a very strong force.

agcorry00 · Jul 30, 2013

Having a desire to help and encourage noobs is important, and being able to give feedback on a beer is invaluable.

uatuba · Jul 30, 2013

My LHBS is Northern Brewer. Occasionally I go to Midwest Supplies. And I frequent Austin Homebrew when I feel like it. Alas, there is no L in my HBS, as I'm located in Northwest Alabama.

Jaybird · Jul 30, 2013

outside92129 said:
Friendly staff:
- it's nice and i feel welcomed when i walk in and the staff says hi (and makes me want to spend more). They also always offer me a beer, i assume from one of the weekend tutorials they offer.
- All it takes is one d-bag comment from a hungover employee to a new homebrewer to sour the relationship. I remember starting out and some of my questions may have seemed knuckleheaded to a experienced brewer but i didn't know.
- I do pick up a sense of "you have what kind of gear-snottiness" when asked about my setup. I like DIY just as much as brewing! But there isn't a lot of that in coastal socal.
- being able to take a bottle in and have people critique it.

Man I totally agree about your comment on NEW BREWERS. Its funny (not really) because we "HAD" an employee who talked down to a few new brewers and I got rid of him so fast! Huge NO NO in our place! We were ALL new brewers at one point and totally deserve to be treated a little special. Even though we cater to the new brewer and do whatever we can to assist them in making their first beer a slam dunk, we do like the guys that have been doing this for a long time that can come in get what they want, they don't NEED to have their hands held (unless they want it) and most of them prefer getting their own hops and crushing their own grain etc, anyway.

Cheers
Jay

GilSwillBasementBrews · Jul 30, 2013

I love that I can order online to .001pounds of grain. I can pay C.O.D. They will pull my order together. Mixing grain by recipe or individually depending on choice selected at ordering. Then I just have to stop in pay and pick everything up. Easy in and out. Unless I feel like browsing then will order when I get there.

Cheesy_Goodness · Jul 30, 2013

One thing I appreciate about my LHBS is it's always the same guy (owner) in there. That tells me that a) he works hard, b) cares about his business, and c) cares about his customers. The trip in there after my first brew was very informative because he remembered which kit I got, what equipment I got, and my experience level. If I don't get to talk with the guy every time I'm in there it's because he's busy helping someone else. As a customer that's very comforting.

There's a store in PA my family goes to (in fact the owner might be a member of the boards here) that has a fully stocked supply of home made wines (and beers?) for customers to try when they come in.
"Oh you were looking at getting this kit? It's great if you want it to taste like this *sample*, but you said you were looking for more of this taste *another sample* so you might be better off getting this kit here."
I always thought that was cool.

TangoHotel · Jul 30, 2013

I had three choices; a brew and grow, a LHBS, and a nursery. The nursery has your basic stuff like kits and siphon. They were reasonably priced and my work was close, but still 45 minutes from home. If I needed cheap equipment I would head there. Very little yeast or grains.

Brew and Grow was 20 minutes from home, but it felt very impersonal. I'd go in and not get any questions answered. If I wanted to "grow stuff" (ahem) they would talk to me all day. I think they had brewing as a secondary to the growing. Which is fine and all, but I really wasn't interested in different soil and fertilizer types. I didn't need a hydro setup in my basement.

The LHBS was about 30 minutes away before they moved. However, once I found out where they were I never looked back. All my purchases have gone through them in the last year. It's locally owned, beer and wine focused, tons of grain hops yeast and wine supplies, a cache of equipment, the guys that work there are knowledgeable but never condescending, and they love to bs. Need an idea for a recipe? They'll steer you in the right direction. Have a recipe? Bring it in when your done! They're trying to get a brewing license to brew their own in house, and they have 4 taps. The kicker; they moved and now it's a 10 minute ride. :rockin: my poor wallet!

ShaineT · Jul 30, 2013

Jaybird,
I always know what I need when I go to the LHBS but then I start shopping around and completely lose my mind forgetting about the little stuff. What I need is someone to say, "Do you need any bungs for those airlocks?", "Do you need any clamps for all that tubing you just cut?", and "Don't forget your brain when you leave the store."

TangoHotel · Jul 30, 2013

ShaineT said:
Jaybird,
I always know what I need when I go to the LHBS but then I start shopping around and completely lose my mind forgetting about the little stuff. What I need is someone to say, "Do you need any bungs for those airlocks?", "Do you need any clamps for all that tubing you just cut?", and "Don't forget your brain when you leave the store."

I have the same problem. I go in, ADD kicks in, and I end up leaving with stuff I don't need and none of the things I needed.

I will inventory what I need and make a list. I use the Out of Milk app on my phone. I can scan barcodes and it stores it as an item in the phone. I can also take pictures of it too. I'm visual, so I have to see it. When I get it, it gets checked off.

A piece of paper and a pencil also does the same thing. Just less techy.

W0rthog · Jul 30, 2013

What does it for me and why I pass up 2 other LHBS, traveling 35 miles, is for the ingredient selection. Specifically the grains. I haven't seen any store, online or local, that matches them. They typically have the yeast and hops I need, but can be hit or miss. For me, it's all about the grains. Best wishes in your business.

NathPowe · Jul 30, 2013

Cool thread. I'll chime in by saying that I also like that the folks at my LHBS know who I am, remember our conversations, etc. - in general they are just cool people. As noted many times already, this is huge for a local joint when there is so much competition online. It pays off for them - I've stopped by just to share a couple home-brews, but ended up spending cash before leaving.

I'll also +1 being able to measure out your own hops and grain. I like to just go in and do my thing.

Another thing they do that I REALLY dig is what they call a 'grain bank'. Basically they charge me for a 50lb bag of grain and keep track of my consumption. They just subtract pounds from my total as I come in and buy ingredients. This is very cool as it gives me access to bulk prices without having to store a bunch of grain (no space for it right now). I know a lot of places do this, but I hadn't seen it mentioned and it think it's huge.

They also offer a yearly 'membership' thing where you pay some nominal fee - I think $10 or $15 and get 10% off of everything you buy for the rest of the year. Definitely a money saver.

As far as suggestions for improvement, I'd have to get nit-picky. Of course I'd like a better hop selection, but who wouldn't? They do a pretty good job of that as well. Also they only carry White Labs which is usually fine, but it'd be nice to have access to some Wyeast occasionally.

That's my deal. Good luck with your store Jaybird.

kombat · Jul 30, 2013

I actually *don't* visit my LHBS very often, and perhaps my reasons will be helpful to other owners.

They're nice enough guys, it's a big, clean store, and the prices are reasonable. But all that means nothing to me if they don't have Magnum or Crystal 80 or WLP833 whatever it is I happen to need that day. Early on in my brewing adventure, I got burned a couple of times by planning an exciting brew day on the weekend, then taking the trip to the LHBS to pick up my supplies, only to find they didn't have many of the ingredients I needed. So I've learned instead to plan ahead and order online from a bigger shop, farther away, with much better selection.

I'd much rather shop locally, for many reasons. They're nice guys and I'd like to support them, and I'm even willing to pay slightly higher prices for the convenience and to save shipping costs. But if they don't have EVERYTHING that I need, then that means I'm going to have to order at least some of my ingredients online anyway, so why would I pay the shipping of an online order, AND take an hour out of my day to drive to the LHBS? I might as well just order the whole thing online and have it waiting for me on my front porch 2 days later.

So that's what I do.

So my advice: Carry a broad selection of ingredients, as broad as possible. I don't need the lowest prices, or someone to hold my hand, I just need you to have the grains/hops/yeast I need.

ShaineT · Jul 30, 2013

TangoHotel said:
I have the same problem. I go in, ADD kicks in, and I end up leaving with stuff I don't need and none of the things I needed.

I will inventory what I need and make a list. I use the Out of Milk app on my phone. I can scan barcodes and it stores it as an item in the phone. I can also take pictures of it too. I'm visual, so I have to see it. When I get it, it gets checked off.

A piece of paper and a pencil also does the same thing. Just less techy.

Out of Milk app? Nice, I'll try it out, thanks.

What do you love about your LHBS?

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