The Venting Thread: Let It Out, Folks!

[Iowa Brewer]

Any how, thanks giving me a place to vent. Though I probably went a little outside what you were going for.

So glad you found the thread, hotbeer, and this is exactly the sort of thing it’s going for: a place to vent all brewing-related frustrations (including flavor fads). Cheers!

 

[Iowa Brewer]

Note to self: send hotbeer pumpkin spice candle for christmas.

thread could also be named “how to push your fellow brewers’ buttons”

and yes, that’s wicked frustrating

 

[Staticsouls]

Sourcing grain for reasonable prices. I have to either drive for almost 2 hours or pay per pound all the way up. I only buy bulk grain sacks. Why do lhbs do this price gouging crap?

Silver lining, since moving to electric, doing full time dad plus work is not as bad as I thought it would be on a brew day.

 

[Brewdog80]

Tell me why the hell a brand new 2.5 gallon corny keg is the same price as a new 5 gallon corny keg. UGH.

Because they sell 10% 2.5 and 99% 5 gallon. There is about a dollar more steel in the 5 vs the 2.5 and exactly the same labor making them. (probably adding some labor to cut the steel in half for the 2.5)

But on a higher note... LHBS closed/sold off. Old guy, I can say that, he was older than me, didn't stock crap for liquid yeast. I never have liked dry, have had bad results. So new guy is opening in evenings as he has a real job. We'll see what he stocks. Otherwise, I'll make a trip it MO once in a while.... Shipping cost is going to kill a lot of things. BTW, free isnt free. I costed a 6 item list (no grain) from a $35+ free vs an add shipping, and add shipping was a couple of bucks cheaper one $100 order.

 

[JaggersBrewingCo]

Sharing bottled beer with people. Going though the whole: "Look after your done all you have to do is rinse them out when your done, and return them" .... Getting them back with cigarette butts and other trash in the bottles, or ones that clearly just set back and have mold and etc growing...

 

[DannyBoy270]

Sharing bottled beer with people. Going though the whole: "Look after your done all you have to do is rinse them out when your done, and return them" .... Getting them back with cigarette butts and other trash in the bottles, or ones that clearly just set back and have mold and etc growing...

I've given up on this lol not too long ago a buddy I gave some beer to forgot and recycled the bottles I gave him. Later he remembered and to make up for it brought me a dozen of some other bottles from a local brewery. It was a nice thought, but they were the wrong style bottle/I dont have a bench capper ...

 

[seatazzz]

Sharing bottled beer with people. Going though the whole: "Look after your done all you have to do is rinse them out when your done, and return them" .... Getting them back with cigarette butts and other trash in the bottles, or ones that clearly just set back and have mold and etc growing...

That happened to me a few years ago; brewed a batch of pepper beer for a friend (he paid for ingredients and maybe a bit more for my time) and said I will need all bottles back, rinsed. Every last one came back with dried crud in the bottom, had to trash about half of them. Needless to say I gave him crap for it, and haven't brewed for him again.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

This:
Fast Prime - Canned Priming Solution

I know that I am pressed for time, and have trouble fitting in a brewday right now, but really!?

What are we coming to as a society that we need boiled sugar water pre-packaged for us?

I could rationalize the canned starter (kinda) but this is too much for me...

 

[FrCorySticha]

This:
Fast Prime - Canned Priming Solution

I know that I am pressed for time, and have trouble fitting in a brewday right now, but really!?

What are we coming to as a society that we need boiled sugar water pre-packaged for us?

I could rationalize the canned starter (kinda) but this is too much for me...

Isn't that basically the same as simple syrup that bartenders use for cocktails?

 

[Bassman2003]

Here's my *****:

Both the major local homebrew suppliers in DFW have closed up. Homebrew Headquarters in Richardson closed and Texas Brewing is closing their storefront. The only LHBS is an hour away in West Fort Worth and while Chris is a great guy, his shop is long way from North Dallas.

So I guess it's back to doing business online, paying freight, and dealing with the fallout when they botch my grainbill....

Sad to hear about HH. I have been ordering online and picking up the order at Texas Brewing all through the pandemic. Did they stop local pickup? As the storefront has been listed as closed for a long time.

 

[wepeeler]

My vote would be the beef I have with Yakima Valley Hops. I have a subscription with them when ever quarter I get a box of various hops. The delays are unacceptable. They charged my card on September 15th and as of today, October 7, it is still unfulfilled. Last time, it took the 7 weeks to get the order in the mail. On top of that, they don't let you know that there is an expected delay of give reasons for the delays. They are also very unapologetic for their lack of customer service.

Dang man, that sucks. I've found them to be overly helpful. I've called and emailed when I needed something ASAP, and they were VERY helpful and friendly. Just this past week I ordered 3 pounds of Citra on Tuesday, and they ended up going on sale on Friday. I emailed them about it, and they credited my account. No questions asked. They even told me to shoot them an email earlier in the week next time, and they'd let me know what's going on sale!

 

[Knightshade]

Sharing bottled beer with people. Going though the whole: "Look after your done all you have to do is rinse them out when your done, and return them" .... Getting them back with cigarette butts and other trash in the bottles, or ones that clearly just set back and have mold and etc growing...

Sounds like these are good candidates to not share the spoils of your next batch with!

 

[JaggersBrewingCo]

Sounds like these are good candidates to not share the spoils of your next batch with!

Yeah pretty much what has happened. Its kind of funny that the guys that do/ did this are upset that a coworker gets about a case or so a month of mixed brews. This guy not only bought a bottle brush, he runs them trough the dish washer, and kicks in on the next brew...

 

[bwible]

Right now the lack of things at the LHBS. I try to support them as much as possible but it's getting hard. I broke down and bought a bunch of grain online and from a place that offers 2 day shipping. My order has been sitting "In warehouse" for nearly 4 days.

I ordered from a big online place that was shipped last friday from CA and was supposed to be delivered yesterday. Its marked possibly delayed and now has no estimate for delivery. Its 20 lbs of grain, 3 oz of hops and 2 packages of dry yeast. I’m mostly concerned about the hops and yeast.

 

[bwible]

Eventually it's going to come to a major standstill, with no loads coming from Asia because there's no empty containers to load their stuff into. I've been doing this for 14 years and have never seen anything like it.

I can’t say that would be a bad thing. We’ll learn to make things HERE again

 

[camonick]

Its marked possibly delayed and now has no estimate for delivery.

FedEx?
… that’s my gripe!!! I hate FedEx, they are miserably unreliable. I had a package that wasn’t brewing related (thankfully) that took 5 days longer than their estimated delivery time. It arrived and departed Kansas City 4 times before it finally got headed the right way. Thing was plastered with arrival and departure stickers when it finally showed up.

 

[user 298779]

if you're going to brew with breakfast cereal.. if it ain't wheaties, do a cereal mash....

I like it!

 

[Cogswell]

Drove 45 minutes to a LHBS. Walked up to the door. Small sign on door says "No Customers Allowed in Store. Online orders only. Due to the pandemic."

Funny, I was on their website before heading out. I didn't see anything about online only.

Got home. Scoured the website. Not a single damn word about being closed to customers and online-only.

 

[bwible]

Drove 45 minutes to a LHBS. Walked up to the door. Small sign on door says "No Customers Allowed in Store. Online orders only. Due to the pandemic."

Funny, I was on their website before heading out. I didn't see anything about online only.

Got home. Scoured the website. Not a single damn word about being closed to customers and online-only.

I have 2 - one is about an hour away and one is about 2 hours away. The closer one is small and not well stocked. The further one is much much larger and better stocked. I get most of my stuff by mail order now for this reason.

our closest shop is 1 hour away and I can't justify 2 hours of my time plus $10+ in gas when MoreBeer has free shipping over $60 and I don't even have to leave town

…And that is exactly why nobody has a local homebrew shop anymore. I owned a shop from 2000 to 2004. I can’t tell you how many times people came into my store with a morebeer catalog complaing I was selling something for 50 cents more than them, etc. That company has killed off a large number of local shops. They have resources so they can buy in massive quantities and get price breaks that small shops can’t get. They can undercut the small shops and still make 150% profit.

 

[Cogswell]

I can’t tell you how many times people came into my store with a morebeer catalog complaing I was selling something for 50 cents more than them, etc.

Wow. Some people don't have a stich of manners.

That company has killed off a large number of local shops. They have resources so they can buy in massive quantities and get price breaks that small shops can’t get. They can undercut the small shops and still make 150% profit.

See also Walmart. And Amazon. Kind of funny Amazon is doing to Walmart what Walmart did to the rest of American retail.

 

[Conehead]

shipping costs, man. what the butt.

that $35 sack of pale malt turns into $70.

Way more than that if you live in Canada. I drive 1 1/2 hours to Toronto to pick up stuff and it is still cheaper than shipping.

 

[Conehead]

Went to the Blichmann website to find the very small red o ring for the pressure relief valve for my 14 gallon conical. Cost? 25 cents. Shipping to Ontario, Canada? $50.00. I think it would of been cheaper if I sent it to Mars.

 

[Sunfire96]

Signed up for AHA last month and was told I'd get a pound of azacca hops. The month is over and now we're over a week into October and no mention from them about the hops. By the time they ship out there will be snow on the ground. Who wants to brew with tropical hops in the middle of winter?

 

[soccerdad]

My beef is with the damn undershorts they make these days. Every time you think you got it figured out where the peep hole is, and how to open it, some Ralph Lauren wanna be changes the design and you gotta start over. Especially difficult on brew days when sampling prior beers is mandatory. From now on, I'm brewing French style - no undies!

 

[Beerstein]

Drove 45 minutes to a LHBS. Walked up to the door. Small sign on door says "No Customers Allowed in Store. Online orders only. Due to the pandemic."

Funny, I was on their website before heading out. I didn't see anything about online only.

Got home. Scoured the website. Not a single damn word about being closed to customers and online-only.

mine is the same way. but its run by elderly couple who are very nice, so i cant blame them.

 

[Beerstein]

My beef is with the damn undershorts they make these days. Every time you think you got it figured out where the peep hole is, and how to open it, some Ralph Lauren wanna be changes the design and you gotta start over. Especially difficult on brew days when sampling prior beers is mandatory. From now on, I'm brewing French style - no undies!

how about tactikilt? i think there is one out there rated to hold ten bottles. then you have a place to store your drink while brewing.

 

[IslandLizard]

Went to the Blichmann website to find the very small red o ring for the pressure relief valve for my 14 gallon conical. Cost? 25 cents. Shipping to Ontario, Canada? $50.00. I think it would of been cheaper if I sent it to Mars.

I had the same issue with my similar, but smaller, 7-gallon conical. Any rubber o-ring of that size will work fine, got a few at a plumbing hardware store, among other things of course. Some buy o-rings by the 100-pack from McMaster's... for like 5-8 bucks, shipped.

Now that (large) lid gasket would be a whole different story.

 

[easttex]

Sad to hear about HH. I have been ordering online and picking up the order at Texas Brewing all through the pandemic. Did they stop local pickup? As the storefront has been listed as closed for a long time.

I believe TB will continue doing online orders and allow local pick up like they've been doing but their storefront is officially closed. They're also making up discontinuing custom recipes and will only sell malt by the pound.

 

[Ogilthorpe2]

Because they sell 10% 2.5 and 99% 5 gallon. There is about a dollar more steel in the 5 vs the 2.5 and exactly the same labor making them. (probably adding some labor to cut the steel in half for the 2.5)

But on a higher note... LHBS closed/sold off. Old guy, I can say that, he was older than me, didn't stock crap for liquid yeast. I never have liked dry, have had bad results. So new guy is opening in evenings as he has a real job. We'll see what he stocks. Otherwise, I'll make a trip it MO once in a while.... Shipping cost is going to kill a lot of things. BTW, free isnt free. I costed a 6 item list (no grain) from a $35+ free vs an add shipping, and add shipping was a couple of bucks cheaper one $100 order.

I‘m no mathematician, but….

 

[Bassman2003]

I believe TB will continue doing online orders and allow local pick up like they've been doing but their storefront is officiallt closed. They're also making up discontinuing custom recipes and will only sell malt by the pound.

I need to call them and ask about the situation. It sounds like they are cutting back on workers present and filling a 1/4 lb of this and that is more than they can do.

 

[Ogilthorpe2]

Also, this ad that keeps popping up on this site. I realize this is a site dedicated to the production and consumption of alcohol, but this is in really poor taste IMO.

 

[beersk]

View attachment 745279
Also, this ad that keeps popping up on this site. I realize this is a site dedicated to the production and consumption of alcoho, but this is in really poor taste IMO.

That's pretty funny, but maybe just a little insensitive.

 

[Tom R]

That's pretty funny, but maybe just a little insensitive.

Especially when a relative (who was an alcoholic) died of liver failure.
It would seem they could have made a better choice.

 

[sibelman]

Frustration that ended well: I placed an online order with my usual LHBS, FH Steinbart. Later, I called about pickup timing and they said it was all there except the Trappist/Abbey yeast I needed was now out of stock. Figuring I'd get the yeast at another fine LHBS (we're so fortunate here in Portland!) I visited and grabbed the malt --I didn't notice they left out the hops too. Dang!

BUT -- they soon phoned to tell me about the missing hops, and that the yeast would be in shortly, credited my card for the yeast, and then delivered yeast, hops, and a T-shirt to my house the next day!

 

[BrewZer]

My beef is with the damn undershorts they make these days. Every time you think you got it figured out where the peep hole is, and how to open it, some Ralph Lauren wanna be changes the design and you gotta start over. Especially difficult on brew days when sampling prior beers is mandatory. From now on, I'm brewing French style - no undies!

Jockey's been sewing the same way since last century...

 

[Iowa Brewer]

Frustration that ended well: I placed an online order with my usual LHBS, FH Steinbart. Later, I called about pickup timing and they said it was all there except the Trappist/Abbey yeast I needed was now out of stock. Figuring I'd get the yeast at another fine LHBS (we're so fortunate here in Portland!) I visited and grabbed the malt --I didn't notice they left out the hops too. Dang!

BUT -- they soon phoned to tell me about the missing hops, and that the yeast would be in shortly, credited my card for the yeast, and then delivered yeast, hops, and a T-shirt to my house the next day!

Class act!

 

[NewJersey]

Tell me why the hell a brand new 2.5 gallon corny keg is the same price as a new 5 gallon corny keg. UGH.

The top and bottom are the bulk of the cost of making a corny AND they sell more 5 s than 2.5s.
This is no trick just regular simple economics

 

[mashpaddled]

Here's my *****:

Both the major local homebrew suppliers in DFW have closed up. Homebrew Headquarters in Richardson closed and Texas Brewing is closing their storefront. The only LHBS is an hour away in West Fort Worth and while Chris is a great guy, his shop is long way from North Dallas.

So I guess it's back to doing business online, paying freight, and dealing with the fallout when they botch my grainbill....

Dr. Jekyll's in Pantego I believe still sells homebrew supplies. I never bought homebrewing supplies there so I'm not sure what prices or selection look like. The other place that sells a small variety of grain is Foreman's General Store in Colleyville but the yeast was always concerningly old and the hops of an unknown age and ridiculously priced. Still, if you're in a pinch to get grain it's an option a little closer to the Dallas side.

It's crazy to think five to ten or so years ago there were so many homebrew shops in the area. Fort Worth had Foreman's, Texas Brewing, Brewhound, that place in south Fort Worth near Arlington and Dr. Jekyll's. Dallas had HH and Fine Vine. I am sure I am forgetting a few shorter lived stores. Most of the older shops aside from HH I believe started as winemaking shops and adopted to brewing with the surge in homebrewing at the time.

Homebrew Headquarters missed the boat a decade ago on internet sales when it could have expanded its footprint. I know they had a dedicated following in the north Dallas suburbs but they could have been a bigger player in homebrewing regionally (especially after AHS fell apart) if they had wanted it.

I'm not surprised at all that Texas Brewing is closing their storefront. In all the times I went there over the years they kept expanding the storefront but there was never many people in there at once. With how much people buy online and an overall slowdown in homebrewing it doesn't make a lot of sense to operate a storefront when they could use that space to fulfill online orders.

 

[Brewdog80]

I‘m no mathematician, but….

Yeah, sorry, fats fingurs... But yah know what ai meant..... dontxha? I hate typing on dang phone.
Oh, met the owners of the lhbs the other night at the annual beer and chili fest at one of the Catholic churches in town. Not so good chili this year, but a lot of decent and ugh, homebrews. They had a booth and I talked and bought a bit from them. They had already had a LOT of feedback about yeast. So hopefully they will start stocking more varieties.

 

[Pils Brosnan]

TILT HYDROMETER REPEATER

Step 1: buy a TILT hydrometer
Step 2: get frustrated as the piece of **** does not have enough power to transmit through a stainless fermenter
Step 3: buy a separate REPEATER for $60. Now you have two pieces of equipment floating in your beer

What the actual festering donkey odour