Moving to Salem OR (HBS's???)

[ftlstrings]

I know that there is a nice home brew store in Corvallis, which is only 40 minutes away, but I am wondering if anybody knows of a good home brew supply store in Salem Oregon??

Thanks!

Mike.

 

[TXCrash]

There's homebrew heaven on 12th st. Guy seemed friendly enough and prices ok. I'll stick with corvallis homebrew supply though ;-) (They're about the same distance from each other)

 

[david_42]

Homebrew Heaven is the only one I know of. There was a knife store that had some brewing supplies, but I believe he dropped them.

And living in Salem, you can join both the Oregon Brew Crew AND Heart of the Valley.

 

[Tenchiro]

Portland is a fairly short drive from Salem (45min-1hr), if you are willing tomake the trip you should be able to find a lot more stores to choose from.

 

[Wallygator]

There's homebrew heaven on 12th st. Guy seemed friendly enough and prices ok. I'll stick with corvallis homebrew supply though ;-) (They're about the same distance from each other)

I would also recommend the Corvallis shop. They will answer any question you might have, sell local hops, and have decent prices.

It's nice to see someone else from Albany on here. Thread hijak - How is that hazelnut clone you did?

 

[TXCrash]

Right on - another Albany'er. Good to see a real local ;-)

Turned out pretty good. Almost gone actually ;-) I pulled the keg to let it sit and age a while longer, gets better every time I pull a pint.

'twas my last extract batch. It was a brewcraft kit - turned out a decent beer but I was disappointed by the omission of a "what's in this beer" listing. I do have a clone recipe for the same that I'll try soon - debating on whether to brew it extract (that's what the recipie is) or convert it to AG.

Back to the current thread: If I lived in salem, Corvallis homebrew or a portland shop (haven't visited any yet) would be my main LHBS. I'd use the guy in Salem for "oh crap I forgot..." or on a whim brews.

Honestly, the prices (on ingredients) and service at CHBS are good enough that I don't have a whole lot of motivation to order all that much online. For supplies they can be a bit high, but I find their grain, hop and yeast prices to be in line with OHBS per lb/ounce prices. I've also gotten good efficiency and clarity right off the bat using their mill (usually come in a bit high on OG using recipies calling for 80% eff. Cooler MT with SS braid)... Have only bought one thing from the guy in salem - but I'd expect the grain, etc. to not be as fresh.

 

[david_42]

Only problem with Corvallis, they get pissed if you put specialty grains through the big mill. Only did that once.

 

[BeaverBrewer]

I forgot to close the hopper once and they weren't exactly happy...

Haha oh well live and learn.

 

[KatoBaggins]

I went to the Salem Store today. No problems. The guy was nice enough. The prices were a little high, but not overly so.

Though if I hadn't wanted to get a batch going this weekend, I think I would have ordered online. The hops was suspect as stated in the reviews of the place above.

But we'll see how it all turns out!

 

[farmbrewernw]

Well I live in Salem and I have never been to Homebrew heaven but I don't know why you couldn't go there I just think they probably don't have everything you would want all of the time. I went to OSU so I've always went to Corvallis brewing supply. Joel is super helpful and friendly, they have a lot of stuff so you should be able to find what you need on any given day. I actually worked there for a short time and from what I could see their price structure was totally fair. Other thing is, he has a bottle shop, there are no bottle shops in Salem, so if you want some specialty beers you out of luck in Salem. I can get to Corvallis in 45-50 min which is closer than Portland and has a lot less traffic, also there is two breweries you can visit on your trip, Calappoia in Albany and Block 15 in Corvallis.

EDIT: by the way if you ever want to get together to brew let me know, it's nice to see someone else who will be from Salem. By the way there is a homebrew club in Salem called the Capital brewers, I wasn't a big fan but that may just be my personality. If I had the time I'd probably go with Heart of the Valley Homebrewers out of Corvallis or the Oregon Brewcrew out of Portland.

 

[ftlstrings]

Nice, good to know that there's an option in Salem at least. I went into the shop in Corvallis a coupla weeks ago when I was in the area and was a bit dazzled. Where I am, for example, the only yeasts you can buy are wine yeasts that are sitting out at room temps...

Soon...

~M~