Want your opinion about this please read!

[Soundwav]

there are two places here in my city that sell grains and or malts..sugars etc etc..

rest of the places just brew the stuff if you are willing to pay the $$$$ to have it done on premises.
they do not sell supplies to the local public so they have told me!

now! the local shop i support i feel im starting to loose faith in!
since im still reasonably new to this hobby, i have alot of questions about stuff. only been brewing extract kits for the last 2+years.
im not afraid to ask these question as i feel there is never a dumb question just an un-educated one!

lately ive noticed when im asking a question im getting an answer VERY quickly from the employees and i mean SUPER quick almost to the point where i feel that i am either not asking the question correctly.... wording it wrong or they are just not listening to me and want my $$$ to get me out of the store

90% of the advice they have given to me has been a contradiction to what is going on here, i have followed there advice multiple times and it really has not turned out very well for me! Some of the kits ive made have been horrible as per the advice of the employees (all of them) now this is a local family owned place that has been around for as long as i can remember which is awesome as i am for family owned local businesses
but it seems to me they are far more educated in the wine scene then they are the beer scene
this was solidified for me today as there was another gentleman in the store buying supplies he was much greener then i am but he did have some knowledge of what he was doing
the questions he was asking i feel were not being answer in a manner that would be easy to translate for a new person.. and hell some of it i know was down right incorrect!!!
it was a very quick do this do that.. (example) i bought a bag of honey malt grains today and i asked how much i should use as i have NEVER used it before, its a 2.2lb bag of the stuff and i was told to steep the whole bag. all 2+pounds of it!
i then asked how long to i steep the grains for and was told as long as you like... not 30 min... not 60 min... nothing! just as long as you like!!!


now even i know that using that much for a simple lager kit would kill the beer to the point where it would be WAY to sweet and very hard to drink.
if i am wrong about that i apologize for this entire post (rant)


but if i follow advice on the lovely forums i get MUCH better results!
i mean very drinkable beer!

should i go in and talk to them about this.. express that i feel my questions are not being answered in a manner that i feel they are listening to me and i am getting some incorrect advice

or should i just scrap this place and go on to the other local store we have
which unfortunately is $3-10 more expensive on average then the current store i am at! and requires a 48 window for any grain orders
hell one of there cider kits is $102 for a 5 gallon batch where as the current store im at its $49.99
maybe because they are making it on premises???
at take home kit from the second store is $75

give me your opinion on this matter please!
thank you!!!

 

[beergolf]

You are probably better off spending a ton of time here asking question or looking them up. Then go in and just get what you need and don't ask questions. If they are giving you advice like steeping a kilo of honey malt for as long as you want....

Look up some recipes in the recipe database here and use them. Just go in, get what you need and get out.

Good luck.

 

[C-Rider]

Ask away here. After 2 1/2 years you shouldn't have procedure questions but I'd say we all have technical questions about ingredients or new things.

I just buy my supplies from our LHBS and ask him nothing. I've learned from doing, reading here and asking questions here.

Plan ahead and then go down and buy what you need.

Oh, yea....don't forget to learn how to use the "search" on this web-site. Lots of questions you have, have been asked by someone else years ago. LOL

 

[Soundwav]

i do alot of searching on the forums here..
ive gotten the best advice from this place..

i was just bothered by the fact that this place is so quick to punt me out the door and or giving incorrect advice
sometimes i like to hear what a person has to say in person then over the internet as the internet does not translate everything correctly...

 

[Subdivisions]

You are probably better off spending a ton of time here asking question or looking them up. Then go in and just get what you need and don't ask questions. If they are giving you advice like steeping a kilo of honey malt for as long as you want....

Look up some recipes in the recipe database here and use them. Just go in, get what you need and get out.

Good luck.

Exactly this ^^^^^^

 

[flars]

Scrap that place. You will most likely not get any useable advice from them.

What would you like to brew next? Give us a go for advice. If it isn't clear just say so.

 

[Soundwav]

i made a post here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=550772 asking for advice!

id like to make something for the lady that is a light easy beer to drink.
she doesnt mind the coopers kits made with 1 to 2 pounds of dme and 200/300g of dextrose she will drink it but right at the very end she is finding that they are slightly bitter.
i have a can of coopers lager 3 pounds of dme (medium) my city is out of the light malt extract. and 2.2lbs of honey malt grain freshly ground.

 

[slym2none]

I am kinda stuck on a "48 hour window for grain orders".

 

[Soundwav]

I am kinda stuck on a "48 hour window for grain orders".

So am I..
Says it right on the website!!

 

[GHBWNY]

I just buy my supplies from our LHBS and ask him nothing. I've learned from doing, reading here and asking questions here. Plan ahead and then go down and buy what you need.

^^^this. I've been brewing less than 2 years, but thanks to both this forum and the advice I have put into practice, I think I may have come to know as much about brewing as the average person working at any one of the three LHBS's I regularly frequent. While not all LHBS employees are homebrewers, but still do their best to be helpful, your best "advice" is the knowledge that will eventually come from experience.

 

[Paps]

hell one of there cider kits is $102 for a 5 gallon batch !

That's more of a rip off than a Brazillian bikini wax!!!!!
Don't buy cider kits. It's just too easy to make a decent cider without one to justify even $50 for a 5 gal batch kit. The same goes for beer as well once you get into all grain.

Like mentioned above,skip asking them for advice as they seem to either not know, not care, or both. Just decide what you want to make before hand and make a parts list. If they don't have EXACTLY what you want, don't ask them for a substitude but then go to the other store to get what you are after. Most salesmen will sell you a pile of rat poop to replace chocolate malt if they are out of the malt just to get the extra sale. Do yourself a favor and don't bother with it.

 

[Gerry_P]

I saw the 2 shops in London you were talking about. One looks like it has a poor selection, and the other one is the brew-on-premises place you were talking about. I've never heard of a BoP place that wouldn't let you take your ingredients home, that's just weird. I saw a place in Mitchell (Ontario Beer kegs) that has a nice website and a lot of products, it might be worth a little drive to get your stuff there.

As far as homebrewing advice goes, you can't go wrong here or on the AHA boards. I've seen questionable advice and/or *****ebaggy behavior on a couple other boards, but that seems very rare here.

 

[Soundwav]

Unfortunately obk does not allow pickup.
Yes one of the two shops has a terrible selection.
And the other place allows you to take home the grains but they are $3-10 more on average.
The other places are just straight u brew shops. No product to sell jusf brew your beer here when its done come bottle and take it home

 

[Gerry_P]

Ah, ok. So you have to mail-order everything from OBK? That sucks. You're kinda between a rock and a hard place there, sorry man. Just to be spiteful, I'd probably order all my stuff from one of the big online stores before I'd give the price gougers my money. I can't imagine paying 4 or 5 bucks for a pound of grain! That's insane in the membrane!

 

[Kickbooty]

Forum is great. Joining a local Homebrew club is good too if there is one in your area. Go to AHA website to find one near you. Go to either store after researching questions using forum or local Homebrew pals then go to either store and don't ask questions.

 

[Soundwav]

There is a local club here
But they charge a yearly fee
You have to pay before you can access the site to obtain any information.

Im going to join aha here http://www.homebrewersassociation.org

This place right???

 

[IslandLizard]

There is a local club here
But they charge a yearly fee
You have to pay before you can access the site to obtain any information.

Im going to join aha here http://www.homebrewersassociation.org

This place right???

This is not the AHA.

 

[Ben58]

Unfortunately obk does not allow pickup.
Yes one of the two shops has a terrible selection.
And the other place allows you to take home the grains but they are $3-10 more on average.
The other places are just straight u brew shops. No product to sell jusf brew your beer here when its done come bottle and take it home

Personally, I would deal with OBK. Top notch service, fast delivery times and quite inexpensive. For your Honey Malt, they list it @$1.69 / pound, crushed. Delivery is @ $8.00, for the cheaper option, and you would see it in a few days. I used the Express Post option on a 20# aluminum CO2 tank and I got it in 1 day.

 

[Soundwav]

I have order from obk before
I may stick with them in the long run as they have a better selection then my local shops
Just sucks that I have to pay shipping when they are just under a 40 min drive from me

 

[Riot]

I am also a Londoner and I understand your concerns here. The shop on Hamilton has super unknowledgable staff and the one in the south end is pretty inconvenient to get to. 48 hrs notice on grain is new, I used to be able to email my order in the morning and pick it up that afternoon. Joining the brewers guild is super worth it for the group buys, 30 bucks for a sack of 2row really can't be beat

 

[Paps]

Just sucks that I have to pay shipping when they are just under a 40 min drive from me

My nearest LHBS is farther away than that.
Can you not `just drive there` and pick up w/e you order?

 

[lumpher]

You could use the cheaper store, even if they have a bunch of know-nothings working there. If you have questions about grain replacements, yeast, etc, do you have a smartphone? If you're in the store, and you have questions, rather than ask a bunch of drooling idiots there, come online here and ask US drooling idiots. You'll likely get an answer within a very few minutes ( 1 American minute = 1.3 Canadian minutes ), and probably far more accurate.

 

[Jq1n]

Hey
I'm in London too! Lots of homeboozers here I guess. The place on Hamilton is super expensive and not great service. south end I find better. Adrian at the counter is a home brewer and has some good advice if he has the time.
If I need something quick I go Brewhaven. Everything else I order from OBK. That place is awesome and for $8 delivery it's worth it. Save fuel and time. If you find the place in the south is hard to get to then you must live in the north west too! I hate driving all the way over there (we're spoiled in London).
I read here mostly too for advice and google.
I wouldn't say anything personally. I just get my recipes online then order what I need. In, out, wham bam. Obk has a nice cap selection too if you're bottling!

 

[Melana]

I agree. Put together your recipe completely and just hit the shop up for what's on your list. If you have process questions ask them here - there are a lot of amazing brewers that are more than willing to help. The recipe database is always my go-to when I want to put together something outside my usual line up.

 

[Gerry_P]

This thread has reminded my how lucky I am to live about a dozen blocks away from a good, reasonably-priced homebrew store.

 

[IkeKrizzule]

You're spending as much in gas on a 40 minute drive both ways than the $8 delivery cost. Just order from OBK and have the local store with the bad advice for one offs where you forgot you need something. Get your advice here.