Asking for HBS help and advice.

[Billy-Klubb]

the owner of our local health food store wants me to spearhead (I hate that term) a home brewing section section of the shop as well as give classes on basic home brewing. I really don't know much about wholesale distributors and would be very grateful for any help and/or advice concerning bulk orders from any wholesaler on equipment, ingredients, and beginner kits from from B&M shop owners. he's gonna do this without me or not, so I'd rather help my community with the help of the home brewing community to do this right. we're not looking for any financial support as it is not needed. feel free to PM me if that's more comfortable. in the meantime, I'll keep searching. thank you in advance for your time and advice!

 

[1977Brewer]

PM BrewHound. He owns my LHBS and is incredibly cool and helpful like that.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

nice! thanks brutha!

 

[Bobby_M]

The three major distributors are BSGhandcraft.com, LDcarlson.com, and BrewcraftUSA.com. I'm guessing LD being in Ohio might be the best option for shipping economy. For kettles, the best bet for a limited selection would be Bayou Classic.

Note: there best not be another homebrew shop within a reasonable distance because all of the distributors are protective of market dilution.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

The three major distributors are BSGhandcraft.com, LDcarlson.com, and BrewcraftUSA.com. I'm guessing LD being in Ohio might be the best option for shipping economy. For kettles, the best bet for a limited selection would be Bayou Classic.

Note: there best not be another homebrew shop within a reasonable distance because all of the distributors are protective of market dilution.

what's a reasonable distance? the closest I know of is an hour away and they focus more on wine.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

it seems we will meet the criteria as it is a B&M storefront and we have no intention of internet sales (we couldn't compete in that caliber). we will not be a brewery nor Brew On Site.

something I would like some advice on is box kits. it's been a good many years since I brewed up a commercial box kit (NB & HB Supply excluded). I used to dabble with the Brewer's Best kits, but that was over a decade ago. I've had some friends brew up some TrueBrew kits and were happy with them. I suspect with the amount of home brewers there are now compared to the last 20 years, these kits are probably very comparable in quality. I understand the beer will turn out how the brewer brews it. are they all pretty much the same with instruction clarity and ease of use?

 

[mongoose33]

it seems we will meet the criteria as it is a B&M storefront and we have no intention of internet sales (we couldn't compete in that caliber). we will not be a brewery nor Brew On Site.

something I would like some advice on is box kits. it's been a good many years since I brewed up a commercial box kit (NB & HB Supply excluded). I used to dabble with the Brewer's Best kits, but that was over a decade ago. I've had some friends brew up some TrueBrew kits and were happy with them. I suspect with the amount of home brewers there are now compared to the last 20 years, these kits are probably very comparable in quality. I understand the beer will turn out how the brewer brews it. are they all pretty much the same with instruction clarity and ease of use?

My LHBS has a bunch of kits, but he makes them up himself. You might consider that as a cost-saving mechanism.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

My LHBS has a bunch of kits, but he makes them up himself. You might consider that as a cost-saving mechanism.

that will most definitely be happening, but I would like some box kits on the shelf people can recognize as a commercial reliability.

 

[Bobby_M]

The BSG kits are very close to what I'd put together myself and you can't beat the packaging and labor being done for you. The cost isn't much more than the raw parts.

 

[MeanLowerLow]

The BSG kits are very close to what I'd put together myself and you can't beat the packaging and labor being done for you. The cost isn't much more than the raw parts.

My first kit was one of these and I agree with the above statement. I am also a CPA for a LHBS and confirm pricing being similar to putting together a kit yourself.