The Brooklyn Shopping

[alliloop]

Hellooo again.

So, I was just curious of any Brooklyn folks on here and what y'all think about the Brooklyn Homebrew Shop, as well as Brooklyn Brew - the kids that are selling in the Brooklyn Flea.

We actually started our homebrewing by buying a kit and batch of the Brooklyn Brew Chocolate Maple Porter about 8 months ago.
It turned out to be a mighty tasty beer, but had I not had a friend or a Ma who both brew and had just followed their directions, I wouldn't have known that they forgot to give us the priming sugar and would have had a failure at the end.
A friend of mine just recently went to them for the 1 gallon kit and porter, didn't get any advice and just followed the directions... and failed at the end.
8 months later, and apparently they're still not giving the priming sugar. I dunno... just kinda not good to do to the new comer.

As for the Brooklyn Homebrew shop - I am pretty impressed with them. Of course, I'm still learning, but they've definitely come a long way since they've moved into the new place by the Gowanus.
I've only used their kits so far, but gotta say they have some great ones. Soon, tho, I will venture to the learning of the recipes. It'd be nice if they would supply the mesh bags for the hops and whatnot (like Northern Brewers and other shops we've ordered from online), but that ain't as big a deal as not giving the priming sugar.

Anyone have any thoughts, opinions or suggestions about either of these places?

 

[Pivzavod]

Someone I know went to the 2nd place and was not impressed.

AHS is my main place to shop nowadays followed by Northern Brewer and Midwest. I mostly buy recipe kits since I already have most of the equipment I need and online selection cannot compare to the 13 kits LHBS has.

 

[Airborneguy]

I'm in Brooklyn Homebrew at least once a week. While their grain selection isn't huge, and they definitely lack in equipment, I no longer have to go online for any basic ingredients. Honestly, I'm just happy I can finally get base grain without having to pay shipping!

Knowledge wise, I'm probably at their level at least, if not slightly above based on some of the conversations we've had, but if you need the hombrew shop for knowledge, you're a beginner (nothing wrong with that, just saying.) I personally don't need to ask them questions, so I really don't care what they do or do not know.

 

[NorCalAngler]

My first foray into brewing was a kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop. The 1 gallon kit was an inexpensive way to try it out to see if it was something I would want to invest some cash in. The instructions are horrible (all kit instructions are), the ingredients are expensive, and shipping is way too much for us left-coasters. At the least I have a 1 gallon carboy that I use as my blowoff container now. I ordered around Christmas and shipping took a while, but I chalked it up to the holiday season.

My beer turned out horrible. I blame 1/4 of it on the kit and instructions (they don't even give you a hydrometer) and 3/4 on rookie mistakes. I learned a ton though and I liken it to golf, even if you turn in a 114 round you still had that one shot that makes you want to come back and play again.

 

[Pivzavod]

Online stores that I use have flat rate shipping. Buying a few kits from them is actually cheaper than paying tax and kit prices are always cheaper and they have years upon years of experience with making award winning recipes.

 

[Airborneguy]

Depends on what you are doing. Are you doing all-grain? I don't see how you could be saving money if you are doing all-grain. I save almost $10 a batch by going to Brooklyn Homebrew over what I used to pay ordering grain. Even with the fixed $7.99 of a few sites, I am not anywhere near that in taxes.

 

[Pivzavod]

I do PM but AHS gives discount if you do PM and even more if you do all grain so you do save a few bucks per each kit. Buying a few kits at the same time plus some minor equipment will be equivalent to paying 8.875% tax in NYC. $7.99 shipping comes out to spending $90 in Brooklyn store but online you get a larger selection.

I will stop by this store when I get a chance to possibly buy a carboy but for recipe kits I am doing AHS, Northern Brewer and possibly a few more from Midwest to get some of their $1.50 1 litre swing top bottles.