LHBS Pet Peeves

[chibrewer]

+1 to the people complaining about LHBS in Chicago, how the hell is it possible that a beer drinking city of this size doesn't have a decent homebrew store? They're all in the burbs!
Haven't tried Bevart yet, might have to make a trip down there to see if it beats B&G.

 

[TexLaw]

I happen to live in the far north side though, so my regular LHBS is the relatively new Brew It Yourself off I-45 in Spring. I love it.

I, in turn, vouch for Brew It Yourself. Ray most certainly is a great guy and a knowledgeable brewer, and he has worked hard to start and maintain a first-class operation.


TL

 

[agusus]

My only pet peeve is that my main LHBS seems to have a little snobbery around dry yeasts. He doesn't carry Safale S-05 because "Wyeast 1056 is basically the same thing." Well, yes, except that it's more expensive and will require a starter if I use it for a high gravity beer. He's a super nice guy otherwise, and I suspect his choice might actually be for business reasons (his profit margin on Wyeast is probably better) than actual homebrewing reasons.

 

[Homercidal]

My lhbs pet peeve is that they carry too many beers and way too much stuff! I never walk out of there without spending twice as much as I plan on. Good thing they are over an hours drive from here, or I'd be broke.

 

[Grimtas]

I have two LHBS's near work and could pop in during my lunch hour. I just told the owner of biggest of the two last week I would never ever return. about every 2-3 weeks I make the 100 mile round trip to Denver and generally pickup my bulk grain and equipment needs while I'm there. My intent was to continue to support my LHBS and buy my spiciality grains and the occasional hops I was out of from them. My last order I checked their on-line pricing and the 20lbs of specialty came out to around $30. So I head over and only buy the grain to a wopping $55. Never ever ever again. I'll just have to get more foodgrade buckets with lids and buy my speciality grain in bulk now as well. I also just put in an order for 10lbs of hops from hopsdirect so that's covered. I'm in the process of building up my frozen yeast bank, so hopefully I'll only be buying fresh yeast a few times a year instead of every batch.

My prefference is to support my LHBS, but I would rather drive 100 miles for realistic pricing. $2-$3 / lb for grain and $3.50/oz for pellet hops that looks older then dirt, and $9 for liquid yeast. No thanks.

 

[user 30639]

Advantage: My LHBS is Austin Homebrew.

Disadvantage: Austin is 5-6 hours away.

Advantage: Flat rate shipping is nearly overnight service.

Disadvantage: I have to wait overnight.

Same here. Except that Austin is only 2 hours away.

 

[pnj]

My only pet peeve is that my main LHBS seems to have a little snobbery around dry yeasts. He doesn't carry Safale S-05 because "Wyeast 1056 is basically the same thing." Well, yes, except that it's more expensive and will require a starter if I use it for a high gravity beer. He's a super nice guy otherwise, and I suspect his choice might actually be for business reasons (his profit margin on Wyeast is probably better) than actual homebrewing reasons.

Are you talking about Bobs?

 

[rjvanden]

Crappy hours.

Also running out of simple grains like Chocolate Malt. Seriously... pay more attention to the stock - how do you run out of it??????

 

[DrColossus11]

I only know of 2 in Chicago. One takes me 2 hours round trip and the other 3 hours round trip, both on public transit.

 

[Yooper]

My LHBS (at least when I am at school) is decent, but only sells base grain in bulk or specialty grain in 1 pound increments. This wouldnt be a problem except I do 2.5 gallon batches and do not have a grain mill. I have a hard time buying and grind 1 pound of Chocolate malt when I am going to use at most 1-2 oz of it. I still get my hops and yeast from them. I usually get my grains from AHS, but my recent order is kinda aggravating me.

One way around that is to only crush what you need, and put the rest in ziploc bags. Crush it when you need it.

I don't have any shops local, except for one place in northern Wisconsin about 50 miles away. They are new to homebrew supplies, so there isn't a good selection, and the prices aren't great. The good part is that they will order things for me. I just got a sack of maris otter, Vienna malt, and 2-row. Their yeast is way too old and overpriced, and their supply of specialty malts is very poor. But I'm thrilled to have any place at all, less than 150 miles away.

 

[JKoravos]

I don't have much to complain about. I have two LHBS within 15-20 minutes drive, which is nice, and very coincidental. I don't ask the owners for advice, I'm not an advice asking type of person. They both generally have the basic stuff I need and having been willing to order stuff they don't stock. Prices aren't great, but they're way better than what some other people here are paying.

 

[Jersh]

I have two LHBSs that I frequent... One is only about 3 miles from home, and my biggest peeve with them is that they're closed on Sundays. My other pet peeve is that the owner can be somewhat condesending, I find that when I ask him questions he gives purposefully complicated answers just to make himself sound smart. The other shop is farther away, it's about 40 miles but it is phenomenal so I go there as much or more than the one that is three miles away. I do not have any major complaints other than their hop prices seem to be a little high.

 

[PintOfBitter]

Any retail operator with any sort of "sales" ability will (and smartly so) always try and persuade his/her customers into purchasing items "off the floor". That's just smart business. The smaller the business, the less likely they're going to have a huge selection, and the more likely the redirection. If they're willing to do special orders for customers that's a nice thing, but it doesn't do alot for a business's bottom line, especially a small business (unless it gets you to buy more off the shelf products and increases your return frequency to the store).

I don't agree that this is good business. IMO, the right way to do business is let the customer make their own decisions. A shopowner has the responsibility to keep on top of what is in demand and what is not. The right way to get rid of aging or stagnating stock is sell it at a discount or offer some other purchase incentive, not shuttle it off on some uninformed shopper.

 

[RunBikeBrew]

There are two shops in the Hartford, CT area. The one in East Hartford (Brew-Wine Hobby) is great. The guy is really nice and is as helpful as you'd like him to be. In general, they've always had what I needed and things are fresh (e.g. liquid yeasts). And they're open on Sundays. Prices are higher than online, but not unreasonable.

There's another one in Hartford, but I've never been pleased. Last time I went to buy some grain, they told me they couldn't help me unless I had previously emailed my ingredient list. I also heard them tell a guy that an all grain batch takes 8 hours to brew (?!?).

 

[Cheaton]

I don't agree that this is good business. IMO, the right way to do business is let the customer make their own decisions. A shopowner has the responsibility to keep on top of what is in demand and what is not. The right way to get rid of aging or stagnating stock is sell it at a discount or offer some other purchase incentive, not shuttle it off on some uninformed shopper.

I never said anything about aging or stagnating stock. I said sell what is "on the shelf". I also said nothing about not letting the customer make their own decisions. I just said a smart business owner does their best to sell what they have, not sell what they don't have. If you want notty yeast, and I only carry Safale, I'm going to tell you my Safale-05 will work for your situation. If you want a 6 gallon glass carboy and I instead have 6 gallon better bottles I'm goign to explain to you the features and advantages of the better bottle in hopes you'll purchase one. If you decide that this really isn't what you want there's nothing I would be able to do about it. The choice is still the customers. For most people in the retail business a "special order" is a last resort, unless it is a big ticket item. One of the best ways to avoid aging or stagnating stock is to sell what you have on the shelf to begin with!

While you can say (and I agree!) that this may not be the most "customer friendly" way to do business, this is indeed "good business". The fewer products you can get away with stocking the more likely you are to sell everything you buy. While this may inconvenience a few people you're going to have the majority covered. To me the most important thing I look for in a small retail establishment are friendly people who know what they're doing. That means more to me than variety and price because I accept the reality that a small business has to cater to the majority. If I need specialty items I look online.

 

[johnnyc]

I've got 2 stores in driving distance and of course the closer one is more expensive . Since I buy my base grain and hops in bulk on group buys I don't mind spending a little more on specialty grains and yeast. By that I mean $2.37/lb for Crystal malt.

I actually turned the store owner onto BIAB and he's excited to see how well it works. He's mostly a wine guy and has only done extract brews. Really nice people but a little uneducated in brewing.

 

[PintOfBitter]

cheaton, I understand where you're coming from. It most certainly makes sense to point out reasonable substitutions in stock, but the attitude is what matters. I may not want your better bottle. If not, I don't expect to be treated like an unreasonable person. customer loyalty is really important in a HB shop.

 

[Smogre]

We're blessed with having a few different shops to pick from and even more if I want to drive far. Which I won't.

My old store was great! The gang there would help with recipes. They've moved on to other things and I've moved locations.

The new shop is just down the street from me. Great shop. I think some of their prices are pretty good and the selection really great. My only big issue and it's big, is their uppity attitude.

I thought we were here to make and drink beer. What's with the attitude? F'in know it alls!

 

[EuBrew]

I have 2 stores about 15 minutes from my house. One I purchase all my yeast from (white labs) since I always do starters and don't want to risk dead yeast in shipping it's worth paying a couple extra bucks for. They also have a nice craft beer selection and the best take n bake pizza in town under the same roof (not to mention the hot red head piling on the toppings ) They are friendly enough, but I wouldn't say they are too informative or experienced. I just get all my questions answered here before I go. The other shop probably has a little better selection, but the owner is a............ well lets just say she is very condecending. Bad attitude plus ridiculous pricing equals no business from me, ever again, I'll delay a brew day to wait for product from Ed at Brewmasters before I'll support that witch or either of her husbands 2 brew pubs which makes me a little sad, but service there isn't much better either.

 

[Tech211]

2 dick head brothers



B&G in the city blows also

So what is wrong with Two Brothers? I like the beer, but have never gone to the Brewer's Coop. B&G is my local, and it isn't great. However, they will sell a sack of 2-row for $40. That's cheaper than getting it shipped across town from Mid-Country. Just don't go to B&G with any questions or for equipment and you're fine. Chicagoland Winemakers and Bev-Art are both ok, I guess, but they have low selection and what I'm guessing is older stock.

 

[Catch-22]

I absolutely love my LHBS. Beer Nut in Salt Lake City. Jamie and the gang are awesome. They treat me like I'm spending thousands as I pay for a one pound of DME. Knowledgable, Courteous and Friendly. Prices are a little higher than internet but that is the standard in all retail. Fast rotation of stock. Really no complaints.

 

[Silenti]

Don't forget the overhead cost is much higher in a retail situation. Rent alone in certain areas can be astronomical, and don't expect employees to work for free. I used to work in a kitchen gadget retail store and would constantly have people try to waste my time asking tons of questions only to go elsewhere (online or walmart) for the actual goods. You're also paying for my time/expertise. I took great pride in my product knowledge and customer service skills. Always patient with the 'noobs' and never tried to act like I knew more than I did to the experienced customers. It was my job to guide and inform customers, not tell them what to do. Remember, the people who frequent a niche forum are the people most personally driven and curious about a subject. As a customer, that demographic is really just looking for the supplies they want and are usually price-driven. If a retail store tried to focus us as its primary customers, it would quickly go out of business, because mail-order will always win out.

Just look at how many people on here only shop their LHBS when they need something quick (and many of the exceptions have a online retailer like NB or Austin HB as their local). Unless you serve a large market, you'll never have the turn over on the specialty items which would draw the forum type crowd to make it worth keeping, especially perishables like specialty yeast, grains or hops.

Remember, in a small business retail setting, a 100% markup over your wholesale costs isn't unreasonable unless you have high volume sales. And online prices are essentially what the LHBS owner is paying.

Uh. well this sorta went all rambling on, but essentially... don't balk at prices 50-100% higher than online (especially on small dollar amounts like oz of hops, or lb of grain) thats probably what the owner needs to charge to survive. But absolutely don't tolerate terrible customer service, those folks deserve to fail in a customer service industry.

And I shop mainly online, closest HB stores are ~1 hour drive, but I always point people their way first when interested in homebrewing rather than to an online retailer. Same goes for kitchen goods or fish/aquarium stuff (my other $$$$$ hobby).

 

[smalltown2001]

I would say the only pet peeve I have with the three LHBS's I have locally are the prices, but I am always willing to pay a little more for ingredients to get the kind of customer service that is provided to their patrons. One LHBS hands me a small glass of Robust Porter on Saturdays while I am waiting when they mill my grain, this shop and another shop provide a wealth of information and are always willing to answer any questions I have, they are always happy to taste test my brews and help me see what might be off with it. Another shop just opened up closer to my house and they are open later on weekdays and on weekends which is nice for when I need an ingredient ASAP since I am brewing within a few hours. I feel very fortunate to have good shops to buy ingredients at, and feel any pet peeves that they could have are always counterbalanced by the customer service that helps you improve on your brewing skills.

 

[SisterThelonious]

I LOVE MY LHBS! Located in beautiful Redding, CA...it is only 30 minutes away for me. Jay and his staff are knowledgeable, friendly, and always enthusiastic about beer. They love to talk about beer and help write recipes, if needed. And the prices are great...Jay's prices on bulk grain and stainless steel pots are the cheapest I have found. I feel so fortunate to have such a great resource in close vicinity to where I work and live. Although Jay will ship anywhere...Go Redding Homebrew Store!
(530)243-BEER

 

[woodenbuick]

Interesting thread here.... I shop at and support AHS. For one thing it is only 10 minutes from home and they are great people to deal with.
Went to San Antonio this weekend and when I got done playing, I remembered I needed some hops that I had forgotten to get. Looked in the phone book and there was a home brew store there. Checked my GPS and it was only a mile or two away so I thought I would check it out.
OMG, never again... Open sacks of grain on the floor, dirty bottles on the shelf etc.etc.etc. If he wouldn't of gotten the hops from the freezer, I wouldn't have bought those.
Not at all like AHS which is crowded but clean and well organized. I will stick with them, thanks much.

 

[beerthirty]

Absolutely none. What Ales You has always been super helpful. If they didn't have it, they are willing to get it. Always happy to see you, even if you aren't buying. Not serving beer is they only thing that keeps me out of that shop on daily basis.

 

[WIP]

I hate that I went to my LHBS for the first time, to buy all my starter kit and my first batch of beer, and the helpful man upsold everything and snuck in some higher priced things that I didn't know I didn't need. Example, $2 for 3/4 cup DME instead of $.75 worth of Dextrose for priming. I know this stuff isn't a big deal, but I don't like being taken advantage of in any ammount. Now I know enough to get an exact list together before I go.

 

[Richabt]

My LHBS is the Homebrew Den in Tallahassee. No complaints, good service, decent prices and selection. Hops run about 3.25 an oz. I usually buy my main hops via hops direct, and don't mind paying more for an oz here and there.

 

[WIP]

I guess I am lucky. My LHBS has hops at $2.50 oz and grains/malts for $1.25 lbs and LME for $1.50 lbs. Although he sold me a strainer for $15 (didn't know until later) and I later found the same thing BUT BIGGER at The Dollar Store.

 

[sp1365]

Also just found out that my LHBS is not open on Sundays. Not very pleased with them.