Does my LHBS suck?

[Droot]

New Store? They moved? I would have been pissed next time I was going there.

They moved around 1999 give or take. From Niagara falls to The present location corner of Military and Sheriden. I was the last customer in the old store and first in the new one.

Becky Remembered me and the Brew on the river we did a LONG time ago. I brewed an all munich malt and the club split up the batch so each one could use a different yeast.

David

 

[Flyin' Lion]

+1

Get your sht and get out. YOU are the customer, and don't deserve to be treated like you are ignorant. Besides, you already know you know more than him about brewing, so put on a smile, get your stuff, and go home and brew!

My LHBS is like 1.5 hours drive from my house. I could put up with a smart-ass owner if I could get hops or yeast on the spur of the moment!

I wouldn't necessarily agree with this statement. Bob has won numerous comps and basically doesn't compete any more because of it. He may have his idiosyncracies, but I would say he is far from a jerk or smart-ass.

There are techniques on this board that are "new" enough for him to be out of the loop on, but that doesn't make him wrong. There are plenty of horror stories on this board about LHBS that have terrible customer service, old and stale stock etc., but I'll chime in as a frequent customer and say that he's probably one of the best in the business.

As far as his explanation on fermentation, maybe he "dumbs it down" for noobs. I mean, if you had to explain it over and again, maybe you'd find the easiest method to do so.

 

[Flyin' Lion]

Geez?!? Guess he doesn't care that he can get 50 beers rather than 48 with 5 minutes worth of work to build it.

I've got to check out this technique, but do you really have 24 oz. of beer in the bottom of your bottling bucket that you can't bottle without a diptube?

It's also possible that he didn't understand the explanation of this application.

And the silly grin is just typical Bob, he is a friendly guy and not the least bit condescending in my experiences.

 

[jspence1]

They moved around 1999 give or take. From Niagara falls to The present location corner of Military and Sheriden. I was the last customer in the old store and first in the new one.

Becky Remembered me and the Brew on the river we did a LONG time ago. I brewed an all munich malt and the club split up the batch so each one could use a different yeast.

David

Well thats just wrong messing with me like that. if a store moved 9 years ago its not a new location

 

[amercuric]

My LHBS has excellent ingredients.. average selection, and uh... they recently hired a bunch of new staff and uh... It honestly reminded me a little bit of when my local fish store (LFS) turned me down to work there when they were hiring, and I would go back there and there would be dead fish and algae in the holding tanks. Although not totally. The grains were crushed very well for my last grain bill. The good news is that the quality of a LHBS all boils down to the quality of the ingredients, and they have quality ingredients.

Pic related, it was my aquarium... Enough melancholy, time for a homebrew! =)

 

[davesrose]

As far as his explanation on fermentation, maybe he "dumbs it down" for noobs. I mean, if you had to explain it over and again, maybe you'd find the easiest method to do so.

I think this is an important point to restate. One of the things I've had some concern about with this board is some of the constant berating of say Alton Brown's episode of beer, Craigtube, or some LHBS owner.


One of the LHBS that I like in Atlanta, I have to really drive out to. But the owner stocks the most stuff, and is a certified beer judge and knows quite a bit about brewing (he's probably familiar with any topic on this forum, whether he believes in them or not). But one thing I've noticed when I've gone in for a keg part or some ecclectic grain bill......most all of his costumers are buying Brewer's Best extract brew kits: most of his time is spent answering the same basic questions from folks just getting into the hobby. Instead of talking about active fermentation and optimal attenuation, I'm sure he gives the same "basic" tips kit instructions might give. If you're into AG, crush your own grain, and do your own kegging....then you're already in a very small minority of brewers around. I consider myself lucky, then, that I do have LHBS owners that can supply my needs.

 

[BrewSpook]

CV - I have also been a semi-frequent customer at this LHBS, and another store in Richmond that sells homebrew equipment and ingredients as a second thought to kitchen supply. With the drive, higher prices, and all other aspects in consideration I have been thinking of opening a LHBS myself near the fan/downtown. The only thing I worry about is having a customer base to support one. You may know the areas homebrew population a bit better than me, as I have not really met any others in Richmond (except the few I have converted). Do you think the city could support it?

 

[david_42]

Sounds like he has some strong opinions about brewing; ingredients, methods, yeast, etc. People like that really have no place in the homebrewing community. Anything we all can't agree on shouldn't be used.

Realistically, I'd say you LHBS learned to brew quite a while back, doesn't like Wyeast and charges a buck for small credit purchases because the CC company hits him with a minimum fee.

 

[Leppah]

I guess i'm really lucky i have Nothern and Midwest right down the street from me

 

[HomebrewJeff]

Sounds like he has some strong opinions about brewing; ingredients, methods, yeast, etc. People like that really have no place in the homebrewing community. Anything we all can't agree on shouldn't be used.

That actually made me chuckle... there are very few things that homebrewers agree on, 100% anyway. That's one of the benefits of being a homebrewer, I can do what I want. As I said earlier, there's no right or wrong answer, only opinions.

 

[passedpawn]

That actually made me chuckle... there are very few things that homebrewers agree on, 100% anyway.

I beg to differ.

 

[iddqd]

My LHBS really sucks. They do have a pretty good selection of equipment for a rookie like me (the only thing I miss is hop bags) but when it comes to ingredients, they really suck. They only have kits, DME and some wierd little tea bags with hops (nothing interesting, just stuff like Saaz and Goldings). When I was shopping for ingredients for my first brew (an APA), I asked the woman who runs the store if they had any other yeast than the ones in the kits because I didn't want to use kit yeast. She looked at me like I was a moron and told me that they sold lots of these kits with "so called bad yeast" so there couldn't be anything wrong with it.

But then again, they're not a specialized home brew store. They also sell stuff for wine brewing, bar stuff etc. so I suppose I shouldn't expect much more. Still, their slogan, "Everything the homebrewer needs" is a bit misleading.

 

[brian_g]

My LHBS really sucks. They do have a pretty good selection of equipment for a rookie like me (the only thing I miss is hop bags) but when it comes to ingredients, they really suck. They only have kits, DME and some wierd little tea bags with hops (nothing interesting, just stuff like Saaz and Goldings). When I was shopping for ingredients for my first brew (an APA), I asked the woman who runs the store if they had any other yeast than the ones in the kits because I didn't want to use kit yeast. She looked at me like I was a moron and told me that they sold lots of these kits with "so called bad yeast" so there couldn't be anything wrong with it.

How did you ask the question about the yeast? Did you imply that there was something wrong with the yeast? Did you come off as a know-it-all? (It was only your first batch.) I think it's a good idea to stick with the kit yeast for your first batch. I've found that the yeast in the kits can make great beer. They also tend to be more forgiving. I think a lot of beginners make the mistake of placing too much emphasis on buying expensive yeast. Specialty yeast can add flavors giving your beer more character, however, the fermentation temperature is critical. Special flavors can turn into really nasty flavors if your fermentor gets too hot. I say make a few batches with the standard kit yeast and practice getting your temperature under control. The wrong yeast at the right temperature will produce a better beer then the right yeast at the wrong temperature.

 

[iddqd]

No, I just said something like "I've heard some bad things about kit yeast, got anything else?", which was pretty much true. I had been looking around on some Swedish homebrewing sites and pretty much everyone says that if you want to do a kit brew, replace the yeast with another one. Also, I had a recipe in mind that recommended Safale S-05, which I eventually bought. So far, it turned out pretty good. I tasted it after racking to secondary and didn't notice any wierd flavours.

Sure, it's my first brew, but an extract brew with partial grains seemed more fun than using a kit.

 

[cvstrat]

What was his problem with wyeast smack packs? What did he prefer or recommend?

Turns out he only sells White Labs or Safale yeast, so of course he'd scoff at Wyeast. He prefers the WL vials I suppose.

 

[cvstrat]

CV - I have also been a semi-frequent customer at this LHBS, and another store in Richmond that sells homebrew equipment and ingredients as a second thought to kitchen supply. With the drive, higher prices, and all other aspects in consideration I have been thinking of opening a LHBS myself near the fan/downtown. The only thing I worry about is having a customer base to support one. You may know the areas homebrew population a bit better than me, as I have not really met any others in Richmond (except the few I have converted). Do you think the city could support it?

Yeah I believe so. That store is always rockin when I go in there. They do wine as well. However they do beverage supply as a main deal I believe, so I'm not sure what percent of their business comes from the LHB stuff. I've considered the idea myself to be honest with you.

 

[APendejo]

I will not use my LHBS(Long Beach) because of one dick that was working there a couple of years ago. He was too busy to do some specialty grains for me (he was surfing the internet). So I walked out and never went back
I make the 2 hr roundtrip drive out to Morebeer in Riverside now if I need stuff in a hurry.
Was there a couple of weeks ago and got back home and had a customer service questionaire waiting in my email inbox.
Only gripe I have is they don't offer ya a sample of their homebrew unless you are one of the "good 'ol boys".
At least the store that I don't patronize anymore would offer you a sample of whatever they had on tap that day.
AP

 

[brian_g]

Turns out he only sells White Labs or Safale yeast, so of course he'd scoff at Wyeast. He prefers the WL vials I suppose.

My LHBS only carries White Labs. I asked about it. He didn't scoff at Wyeast. He just explained that most yeast strains you could get from either Wyeast or White Labs, so it wasn't worth having two suppliers of yeast. He said that most home brew shops choose one or the other.
That explanation made sense to me.

 

[BrewSpook]

CV, so after much thought, consideration, and beer drinking... we have decided to undertake the project. If all goes well a new LHBS will be in Richmonds future.

Somewhere Fan/Byrd Park/Downtown area close to VCU. We are hunting for locations now and raising funds.

 

[shek]

I will not use my LHBS(Long Beach) because of one dick that was working there a couple of years ago. He was too busy to do some specialty grains for me (he was surfing the internet). So I walked out and never went back
I make the 2 hr roundtrip drive out to Morebeer in Riverside now if I need stuff in a hurry.
Was there a couple of weeks ago and got back home and had a customer service questionaire waiting in my email inbox.
Only gripe I have is they don't offer ya a sample of their homebrew unless you are one of the "good 'ol boys".
At least the store that I don't patronize anymore would offer you a sample of whatever they had on tap that day.
AP

Was it Steinfillers? That's where I've been going for a while, except for a few years in the valley when I would go to The Home Wine, Beer, and Cheesemaking shop