I have a two part question. I am moving back to Cambridge, MA after living in Washing

[orford]

Second question, assuming the local shops suck, I was thinking I would pick up a few 55# sacks of grain here and haul them to Cambridge with the rest of my crap. I typically rip through a 55# sack of grain in a matter of a month or so but this is typically because I buy one with several batches in mind. How long does non-milled grain last for?


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[orford]

Ha ha, I am a ******* and I was drinking a barleywine while typing... The first part asked if people had any experience with the Homebrew Emporium on Mass Ave in Cambridge, MA. I am moving back to Ca,bridge after a two year stint in DC. My Local Homebrew Shop is my local place to pick up supplies. I am an all-grain brewer with all the gear I need and thus only need supplies. Any input on Homebrew Emporium?


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[tjmac5071]

I have been there once. It was a bare bones operation as far as equipment supplies go but tons of grains and hops and a friendly owner. I typically go to a place in Woburn that has s better supply section but worse for grains (1lb bags of anything specialty you can get any quantity at homebrew emporium). The Woburn place is halfway between my family and the in laws so I go on the way there or back typically.

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[Calichusetts]

I havent been there in close to two years but I also recall it being a little bare bones. The selection was nice. They opened up a shop south of Boston that I heard is bigger. Good luck

 

[PHDrunk]

Homebrew emporium is pretty good for ingredients. The staff are really hit or miss, but if all you want is to get in grab your stuff and get out, it's nice and convenient.


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[mkeckjr]

I typically go here for my ingredients as I live in Medford, just a few miles away. I would say that this place has a great selection of both grains and yeasts and are willing to special order anything you want. The guy who runs the shop, Randy, is a good resource and he is involved with many other local beer-related organizations/events like the Boston Wort Processors homebrew club and NERAX, and is a pretty knowledgable guy. I can understand the comments of perceived "bare bones"-ness, because the shop isn't very big and is trying to maximize its utility in the space it has. Thus it isn't set up to be shiny and new looking, it's set up to allow you to access grain, hops and yeast as efficiently as possible so multiple people can get in and get out quickly.

I also shop at the Beer and Wine Hobby mentioned since I work in Woburn, and would say that MHE is much better for the homebrewer, while BWH in Woburn is much better for the home wine maker.

The biggest downside to MHE in Cambridge is that the attitude of the staff is pretty bimodal. Some of the staff are good and helpful, while others seem to be uninformed and rude. My rule of thumb is just get in and get out as quickly as possible when some of the individuals I don't care for are around.

Shameless plug: I am the Secretary of the Boston Wort Processors (wort.org) and we JUST finished putting in the order for our March bulk grain buy. Joining the club will allow you participate in these bulk grain buys, which happen 3 times a year, and you get a great price since you're buying in bulk. So I would say, if you would be interested in joining a larger community of homebrewers, I wouldn't buy the grain there. I'd wait until you got here.

 

[JoesInBoston]

Another plug for the fact that MHE is good for all the ingredients you might want. Some of the staff could use some customer service training, but most are good people.

 

[orford]

Sounds like MHE should work fine. I am looking to live in the Porter Square neighborhood which makes this even more convenient. When I used to live in Cambridge I went in there once or twice but I was only making 1 gallon batches due to space reasons. I will check them out when I get up there.


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[smyrnaquince]

I like MHE over the Woburn store. For most of grains (and IIRC, all the specialty grains), at Woburn you must buy them in 1-lb or 5-lb increments, which isn't much help if you are buying for a single brew. MHE lets you buy whatever quantities you want of any grain. I agree that Woburn seems more wine-focused and, to me, seems more of a mail-order shop that lets you come in person, while MHE is an in-person store.

So far, I've only had to go to Woburn once for something I couldn't get at MHE--last month I wanted some medium-toast oak chips for a RIS and MHE was out of the 1/4 lb bags. I didn't want a pound, so I got some at Woburn.

I've been pretty lucky with the staff at MHE, including the guy who pulled out his brew log and let me copy down a recipe the last time I was there.

 

[63belair]

I'm also a fan of MHE for ingredients. They have a good selection of grains hops and yeast, good prices, and a nice staff in my experience. I would not recommend them if you need any equipment though, as their selection is very limited. For equipment I would go to either the woburn store or to Strangebrew in Marlborough.

Cheers!

 

[NBBC13]

I'm equidistant between MHE and Woburn - Beer and Wine Hobby. I never go to MHE. everything is better and Beer and Wine Hobby - selection, service, ingredients, parking... Even when I was working in Cambridge (Kendall Square), it was actually just as fast to drive over to Woburn during lunch. The only thing I pickup at MHE is if I need a used keg since Beer and Wine hobby only has new kegs.
If you're moving back to Cambridge, you should check out the craft beer store in Belmont. Very good selection.

 

[NBBC13]

I like MHE over the Woburn store. For most of grains (and IIRC, all the specialty grains), at Woburn you must buy them in 1-lb or 5-lb increments, which isn't much help if you are buying for a single brew. MHE lets you buy whatever quantities you want of any grain. I agree that Woburn seems more wine-focused and, to me, seems more of a mail-order shop that lets you come in person, while MHE is an in-person store.

So far, I've only had to go to Woburn once for something I couldn't get at MHE--last month I wanted some medium-toast oak chips for a RIS and MHE was out of the 1/4 lb bags. I didn't want a pound, so I got some at Woburn.

I've been pretty lucky with the staff at MHE, including the guy who pulled out his brew log and let me copy down a recipe the last time I was there.

that's not actually true. at the woburn store, you can buy the main types of grain in any quantity. they have the bins and scale right there. For the more specialized grains, you might be stuck with the 1 or 5 lb bags.

 

[smyrnaquince]

that's not actually true. at the woburn store, you can buy the main types of grain in any quantity. they have the bins and scale right there. For the more specialized grains, you might be stuck with the 1 or 5 lb bags.

For me, that is a showstopper. I don't have a mill, so I mill at the LHBS. If I mill a pound of a specialty grain to have 4 ounces to use, I've got 12 ounces (or 4 pounds 12 ounces) sitting there going bad.

For other people in other situations, the 1 or 5 pound limitation may not matter.

In the end, I think the OP should just visit both places and see which suits him better. What works for me might not work for you, etc.

 

[mkeckjr]

that's not actually true. at the woburn store, you can buy the main types of grain in any quantity. they have the bins and scale right there. For the more specialized grains, you might be stuck with the 1 or 5 lb bags.

I do not want to be rude, but I think that this user is not correct at all. "Main types of grains" is very small at Beer and Wine Hobby in Woburn, limited to basically German Pilsner, US 2 Row, and 2 to 3 other grain varieties; further, their scale system is not very ergonomic.

I also disagree with this user's assessment that "everything is better" at BWH in Woburn for beer. I think that there are SO many grains they do not have on hand. Examples (that MHE in Cambridge do have on hand) include: almost any "cara" malt, like CaraStan, CaraFoam, etc.) 500 Lovibond Roasted Barley (they only carry the 300 degree Lovibond style, which isn't as good for American RIS), many flaked varieties are missing (e.g. rye), Munich 20 Lovibond, white and dark wheat malt versus the basic version, the list goes on and on.

On the other hand, you can find almost any grain at MHE. I challenge this user to find one grain variety at the Woburn store that you cannot find at MHE; however, the converse is easy to show.