Do you support your LHBS?

[oldschool]

My LHBS is in a guy's basement of his house and it's really expensive. He has about 20 different kinds of hops but no liquid yeast so if i'm going to buy white labs then i'll just get my stuff at the same time.

 

[bronzdragon]

My nearest homebrew shop is about a 45 minute drive across the lake and down into town. If it were closer, I'd probably frequent it more. But as it stands I order online and have it delivered to my door.

~r~

 

[MBasile]

I try to support my LHBS, but a lot of the time they are out of at least one item. This makes buying and brewing the same day rather difficult at times.

I actually just ordered a kit from AHB today, as well as stopped by the LHBS for some priming sugar for my IPA.

 

[Acuna]

Although I am a total newbie to homebrewing, I guess the answer for me would be yes, but then again AHS is less than 5 minutes from my house....

 

[ruffdeezy]

I do both. I buy once in a while from the lhbs, about a 30 min drive, and it's in the worst part of town. It's also a 30 min drive across the border where I get a lot of things shipped. I like being able to have a huge variety recipes online, my lhbs has 5 online and about 30 in a book at the store. I tend to be ordering online a bit more now.

 

[JDoolittle]

I have two local stores, one about a half hour away (Crystal Lake Health Food), and the second a little over an hour (Perfect Brewing). The health food store doesn't always have a brewer on staff, and they carry White Labs where I prefer Wyeast. The grain supply is mostly prepackaged from LD Carlson. Not bad, really, but it's not my first choice.

Perfect Brewing is an excellent shop with friendly brewers on staff all the time, beer samples available, a wide selection of bulk grain, hops, and yeast. Their prices are pretty competitive with the mail order houses. They've been getting the bulk of my business, lately. I make an afternoon out of it when I drive out there...can have a beer with lunch at the local brewpub up the street, and then hit the store.

I'll check out Northern Brewer's new store in Milwaukee, as I've mail ordered stuff from them for years, and been to the store in St. Paul.

 

[Airborneguy]

I'm trying to for my latest order. Just found one.

 

[cobalt60]

Another yes, specifically for The Brew Hut in Aurora, CO. They're reasonable, knowledgeable, and friendly.

Also, it definitely helps that they're literally attached to Dry Dock Brewing which has some fantastic (and award-winning) beers on tap.

They're about fifteen minutes away from the office, so I can make it there and back during my lunch hour!

OK, I'm done bragging...

 

[TXCrash]

Hops: Hops direct
Base grain: Brewbrothers.biz
Yeast: Varies
Expensive equipment: Craigslist, here or elsewhere online and patience
Specialty grain and everyday (stoppers, airlocks, bottling wands, etc): LHBS

LHBS has gotten plenty of my money and if I brewed less I'd probably shop there almost exclusively. A large portion of their issue price wise, I think, is they are supplied by brewcraft - the wholesale arm of F.H. Steinbart. Steinbarts is known for being well stocked but overpriced...

 

[ibbones]

Well, I live in a small town where I am surrounded by four bigger cities and all are about 100 miles from me. I picked Austin and use them. I go there every two or three months. Great people to deal with.

 

[Edcculus]

I'll shop there in a pinch. Its 30 min away and closes at 6:00. Its really hard for me to get there before they close with traffic after work. They also don't carry a lot of stuff I take for granted online. I can only buy PBW in small 5oz baggies. I can get tubs of the stuff online. My LHBS specializes in wine too. I'll say no, since I do all of my ingredient and equipment ordering through BrewMasters Warehouse.

 

[dasein668]

I get my liquid yeast from the lhbs. I also buy some of my specialty grains and hops there. I often pick up odds and ends that I might need there as well. I buy my bulk grain and hops via mail order though. His prices are just too far out of whack on those items. I understand why, and I often will pay a little bit of a premium on some things to get them from him, but the bulk ingredients I just can't justify.

The other issue is that his hours are not really convenient for me.

 

[Noleafclover]

In Omaha, NE there are two LHBS one block apart. The one tha has a lot of stuff charges seriously 2x the cost of most stores that you can access on the Internet. For instance, they charged $12.50 for a vial of White Labs Oktoberfest yeast... That's pretty intense. He also has some converted sanke kegs for boiling and a whopping $275.00 (they're nothing special either.. We're not talking a polished keg with beautiful welds and cool designs here..)

With that said, I'll occasionally go buy something from either store just to help keep them in business just in case there is every an urgent need. Other than that, I don't shop there.

Plus the guy at the shop that has a lot of stuff has a less than sunny disposition...

 

[Skins_Brew]

my lhb shops are a good distance away from me (30-45 minutes); the owner can be a bit of an ******/acts like he could care less if you bought from him, always seems to be in a rush when you're there even if you're the only one there...and generally just is very stand-off-ish...prices are also higher...due to the location (northern VA) if it was just higher prices i'd probably go even though its out of my way...love to support small businesses when i can, and good face to face interaction is nice...but the fact i've never had a positive face to face (or phone) convo with the guy makes me shop online first...only go to him for emergencies now.

I know what shop you are talking about. I was down there for work once and went there after to get some grain. I did not have a mill at the time and the guy told me it would take an hour for him to crush the grain because he was expecting a delivery and he only had a hand cranked barley crusher as his store mill. I went across the street to DFH and had lunch and some beers while I waited, which was cool. I mean, at least hook a drill up to the BC to make things somewhat faster!

 

[rwagner23]

I just started brewing about 1.5 months ago. At first I would pop in about twice a week. I'm sure they thought I was creepy, stalky, strange. Now that I'm on a brewing cycle of every other week, I'm in once ever two weeks.

When I moved away from kits, they showed me around the shop and explained how to gather my ingredients. Really nice guys.

 

[skibb]

So some take-aways from this:
1 - Do not be way overpriced - keep things reasonable
2 - Provide a good variety of specialty grains/hops (though I can see that without much demand this may not be much of a profitable venture)
3 - Have knowledgeable staff on hand that are engaging and friendly
4 - Have reasonable store hours
... anything else?

 

[Revvy]

So some take-aways from this:
1 - Do not be way overpriced - keep things reasonable
2 - Provide a good variety of specialty grains/hops (though I can see that without much demand this may not be much of a profitable venture)
3 - Have knowledgeable staff on hand that are engaging and friendly
4 - Have reasonable store hours
... anything else?

Don't be an A$$hat owner who think he knows it all...If you read some of the "my lhb sucks" threads on here, you will see that one of the biggest complaints on here is arrogant "I know it all" opinionated owners many of who the last book or info they read on brewing was Papzian's book 30 years ago. And sneer at anything contradictory to that, even if it happens to be the most recent, state of the art ideas and/techniques discussed on places like this, or on all the great podcasts on the topic.

This is an ever evolving hobby, and hopefully you'll keep up on the knowlgebase as it shifts, but if you don't and someone comes in who may know more than you, or may be more up to date, or just have a different take on things, then don't denigrate them, utilize and learn from them.

For example someone went to a homebrewshop recently looking for a bottling bucket dip tube (they didn't realize it's something you make not something you buy- and it's based on the stuff in my Bottling tip thread.

And the owner was douchey to them. Others who have jumped on the "no secondary/long primary" shift in brewing philosophy have been derided by LHBS owners who still believe in autolysis.

If you end up not knowing about one of the 10,000 ways to skin this "brewing cat" don't bash down the brewer who does. He may be your best customer if he's treated nicely.

 

[SFBEER]

I use my LHBS all the time. The owner knows me now and all I need to do is mention an ingredient that I may want to use in the future and he is sure to bring it in. Their prices are good and they almost always have what I need in stock. What I like is that they are a beer first place. They do wine on premis but the majority of their business is beer. It is also handy to walk in the place and say "I've got this crzy idea" and he will be able to help me work through it.

 

[Gumbys_Brew]

i do for just about everything except for vessels those i make but for ingredients cleaning supplies uttensils and kegging equipment yes i do.

 

[The Pol]

I dont shop there really...

#1. When I go there, they act like I am inconveniencing them.
#2. Thier prices are WACK! $2.30/lb for crystal malts? C'mon
#3. Buying in bulk not only saves money, but allows for brewing anytime with minimal planning.

 

[hal2814]

I had a great LHBS that went out of business about 6 years ago. There is another LHBS about the same distance away in the opposite direction but it sucks... hard. I went there once when I needed some yeast that day. The prices were atrocious and it was definitely geared up as an extract kit shop with limited supply of everything else. I didn't feel bad at all about buying online during that time. As of a few years ago, a new LHBS opened up not too far from the first. It made me realize how much I missed having a decent local shop. That being said, I don't buy everything there. But it's great to have a good shop nearby.

 

[skibb]

Well that's good revvy cause being a know it all ******** is far away from the kinda personality I have. I absolutely love talking to people who know more/different things about beer
some more...
5 - perhaps allow for discounts on buying bulk and/or give the option for special ordering certain ingredients/quantities for customers
6 - have a good balance between beginner and experienced brewing supplies/ingredients/resources (I'm thinking a good books on brewing selection..)
7 - definitely get involved with helping out the local club (discounts or space for events)

 

[TexLaw]

I absolutely support mine, DeFalco's, but I have some very good reasons:

1 - It's very close, and the variety is good -- 10-15 minutes from my house, depending on traffic and lights. It's good to know that I could be brewing within an hour of whenever the spirit moves me. Of course, those emergencies also work out much better when I can haul ass over to the LHBS. He doesn't carry everything, and he does run out of things from time to time, but it's usually not a problem. I understand how you have to run a small business.

2 - The prices are pretty good, and he does some piggy-backing with the local micro. Most of the time, after accounting for shipping, I do as well or better off at the LHBS than with mail order.

3 - Good, knowledgeable people work there, and its presence helps advance homebrewing. Almost every time I am in there, I see someone buying a starter setup. The guys are great homebrewing missionaries, and there is no equal to that (including a forum like this). Everyone there also brews. The owner has brewed for thirty years or so and is a Grand Master I judge.

4 - The owner is probably the largest supporter of the homebrewing community in Southeast Texas. He lends his store out for Foam Ranger meetings (he is a Foam Ranger), other Foam Ranger activities, for BJCP classes, and as an entry drop-off point for competitions. He also donates full recipe kits to Foam Ranger raffles, and he donates the ingredients for person leading the monthly Foam Ranger brew-in every month (outside his store). He's also just a stand-up guy, all around.

If I had one of those bad LHBSs around (and I've been in that situation), I don't imagine I would be a very good customer.


TL

 

[Revvy]

Well that's good revvy cause being a know it all ******** is far away from the kinda personality I have. I absolutely love talking to people who know more/different things about beer
some more...
5 - perhaps allow for discounts on buying bulk and/or give the option for special ordering certain ingredients/quantities for customers
6 - have a good balance between beginner and experienced brewing supplies/ingredients/resources (I'm thinking a good books on brewing selection..)
7 - definitely get involved with helping out the local club (discounts or space for events)

8) Have a fridge in the back, and have a few of your own beers in their to share, with new customers and regulars, WHICH ALSO encourages your customers to bring you beers, (and hopefully not just the bad ones, they are looking to you for advice for, but the stuff they are proud of too- I've actually heard that from friends who work at or won lhbs, most of the time people bring in the bad beer, but not the good. Though I often bring a few bottles of the good stuff to my HBS homies, which helped ME to end up getting preference during the hop shortage, including more than the allotted 3 ounce/recipe if I wanted some.)

But if that is the case, the remember this maxim, "Weigh first, drink second." Or this will happen to your customer as well.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/why-bringing-beer-your-lhbs-guy-before-noon-not-good-idea-126613/

 

[alexdagrate]

I buy my grains, liquid extract, and equipment from my LHBS.

I buy large orders of hops from HopsDirect, I buy small orders of hops from FresHops if I need small amounts of special stuff like Simcoe.

I get my yeast from a local microbrewery. They give me yeast that's a by-product for them, precious for me!

 

[zman]

YES!! My LHBS is run by the Dry Dock Brewing Co., which won the Small Brewing Company / Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year at the GABF. Plus, the shop shares the brewery's recipes. Who wouldn't support these guys?

I agree it is like a homebrewers superstore. However, I just found out that they do not sell polarware kettles...sigh...

 

[zman]

I'm lucky in that Denver has a great selection of homebrew stores. I buy some items from them, mostly specialty grain and the occasional yeast that I don't have yet. I'm finding better sources for bulk base malt (thanks to Wayne1), but I do go back for the specialty grains.

The closest shop to my office is only OK at best, and I got some specialty grains there a while back that sprouted bugs after being stored for a week, so I'm taking my local business to The Brew Hut now. Doesn't hurt that the brewery associated with TBH (Dry Dock Brewing) just won the 2009 Small Brewery of the Year award at the GABF.

I don't buy equipment from the brew stores, because I like to make it myself, so I only look to them for ingredients, and I usually buy base malt and hops in bulk for the price advantages.

Mind sharing this info about the Ok store so I can be more careful? I like the Brew Hut and Stomp them Grapes for the incidentals I need, yeast specialty grains, bottle caps, etc. I have done bulk grain buys this past year and get all my hops online in bulk. I do patronize the online merchants that post on HBT because in addition to having what I need at good prices they are apart of this online community that feeds my addiction.

 

[sparkyaber]

I have a close small shop (10 minutes away)that was pretty good, but I also am lucky enough to have Midwest only about 25 minutes away. The local shop was usually cheaper on hardware on stuff that they had. The grains were only sold by the 10#bag or 1# bag. Much smaller in general. Midwest is well, midwest.

I had a really bad experience with the local shop. I had my recipe in hand and went in asked for the grains, (knowing I would have some partial bags left over) to be crushed. The guy went in the back to start crushing them. I went to the hop freezer looking for cascade hops, not one oz, none. Ok, centennial, as a substitute, oops, wtf! No centennial either. by this time the grain bags were open, and being crushed. I had to run to midwest now anyways, where I could have bought the grain by the pound and paid less. Man was I hot. I have not returned since.

 

[barely]

"Do you patronize your LHBS?" - Last time I was there, I was very patronizing.
Seriously, though, when I was doing extract only, I found on line to be cheaper than any of the LBHSs. Now that I'm all-grain, the LBHS is actually cheaper than on-line due to shipping. Most hops are still from HopsDirect - no one can touch their prices.

 

[CGengo]

My LHBS is great - good people, decent prices, super-fresh yeast, and they have a great grain selection (40ish different grains + 20ish adjuncts). The owner used to brew professionally and the main business is supply to area breweries - they picked up the homebrew torch when the only crappy little shop went under. They hold classes regularly and sell most of the equipment you might need on brewday as well. You can't really ask for more than that. That said, I won't be buying hops from them anytime soon thanks to HopsDirect.