"Brew your own" shop

[rightwingnut]

Found a cool hbs shop nearby where you can brew your beer in shop. I have no need for it, but found it interesting. Smelled great in there!

 

[Brewman]

Hmmmmm interesting idea though......

........ make money teaching people to brew beer! and get free samples!

 

[Janx]

My buddies did that once in Charlottesville, VA. There are a fair number of these kind of places. It's pretty cool, but at least at this one, it was all extract. But, hey, you get good equipment and space, a great fermentation environment, etc at the places that are really dedicated to it. Definitely a cool idea, especially in urban/suburban areas where you may not have the space to brew at home.

 

[Uncle Fat]

Brew on premises (BOP) shops are not all that uncommon (there are a couple of all-grain BOPs here in Portland), but they usually don't do all that well. Most of them charge in the $100 range for a 10 gal batch. The up side to it is that they supply all the ingredients and equipment, the recipe, they do all the cleanup for you, and there's always a pro around to field any questions you might have. The price being the only real downside to the customer. The reason they don't ususally do well is most homebrewers are (by nature) do-it-yourselfers. We don't want to spend extra money for something we can do ourselves. We don't mind cleaning up after ourselves, we don't mind building elaborate Rube Goldberg type contraptions to make our beer, and we CERTAINLY don't mind learning all there is to know about germination, isomerization, fermentation, etc... etc.... for our craft. It's what drives us.

I think they are great ideas for people who live in small apartments and don't have room to brew. Also for a new brewer who wants to start with all grain, but doesn't have the equipment yet. You can learn from the 'pros' and decide if you like it enough to make the investment. They are also sometimes used as team-building experiences for business.

 

[TxBrew]

I live in a small apartment and make room. If there is a will there is a way. However, does seem like a good idea to me for those not experienced.

 

[Dude]

I think they are great ideas for people who live in small apartments and don't have room to brew. Also for a new brewer who wants to start with all grain, but doesn't have the equipment yet. You can learn from the 'pros' and decide if you like it enough to make the investment. They are also sometimes used as team-building experiences for business.

That's exactly why I'm waiting until next month to start all-grain brewing. My local HBS (as do many, I'm sure) holds classes ever few months and goes through the entire process. The tips and tricks the owner of the shop passed on were awesome. I think the brew on premises shops are a great idea. Our local shop is too small for it, but I like the fact that he at least does classes.