Well this really sucks

[redrocker652002]

It appears the Morebeer in Los Altos has closed. While it wasn't as close as I would have liked, it was within driving distance. Now, it seems to closest supply store is Williams Brewing, which I guess is only a pickup site with no actual store. Damn, this sucks cause the folks there were really cool and I liked just browsing. I could get some quick stuff I needed and it was not a huge drive to get it. Oh well. Going to have to be a bit better about my purchases now, or give Williams a try. I need a pound of pale for my brew day tomarrow, guess I will have to give it a go without and see what happens.

 

[hout17]

Damn I just ordered a couple things from morebeer through the mail. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come. Having a local homebrew supply is nice on many levels.

 

[redrocker652002]

Damn I just ordered a couple things from morebeer through the mail. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come. Having a local homebrew supply is nice on many levels.

As long as you don't want to pick it up in Los Altos you will be fine.

 

[hout17]

As long as you don't want to pick it up in Los Altos you will be fine.

I get that, I am just surprised it closed there. I'm in Colorado, so it's purely online for me in regard to Morebeer. I'll grab things from them and a couple others every now and then everything else at my local brew shop.

 

[hout17]

I just looked at their retail locations on their website and San Leandro, CA is permanently closed too. Wondering if they are moving to a purely online model at some point?

 

[day_trippr]

[oops! too slow! ]

Looks like they closed two of their four CA stores...

https://www.morebeer.com/about/retail

 

[redrocker652002]

Yep, closest Morebeer is Concord now. I am going to have to start either ordering more and having leftover or order in bulk and pick it up and get a storage bin for it. Wife is not going to be happy with this. LOL.

It really is too bad cause the folks in the Los Altos store were very very helpful and did not seem that they were at all concerned about the bottom line, but more about the customer getting what they needed, even if it costs a bit less.

 

[redrocker652002]

I get that, I am just surprised it closed there. I'm in Colorado, so it's purely online for me in regard to Morebeer. I'll grab things from them and a couple others every now and then everything else at my local brew shop.

To be honest, the Los Altos store was in a very "high rent" city and was a tiny store that probably did not make the company much money at all. With that said, it was sure nice to jump in the truck and drive 30 mins instead of an hour plus to get to Concord. Not to mention that Concord, generally, is not a great place to drive around. LOL.

 

[tdf]

When I lived in the Bay Area that was my local store. Between rent and staffing, it was probably losing $10k+ a month. Sad but not surprising.

 

[redrocker652002]

When I lived in the Bay Area that was my local store. Between rent and staffing, it was probably losing $10k+ a month. Sad but not surprising.

Very much agree, but I still sent Morebeer a message to just remind them that they just put their staff out of a job. And that, to me, means alot. I will look for other ways to buy.

 

[Conehead]

They are closing in Canada too. The worst thing here about online shipping is it is so expensive. Doesn't matter what it is, the shipping is just stupid. I really have to go through my orders and make sure I haven't forgotten anything so I don't have to do another order.

 

[worlddivides]

When I lived in the Bay Area that was my local store. Between rent and staffing, it was probably losing $10k+ a month. Sad but not surprising.

Same here. I started homebrewing when I lived in Santa Clara, and the Los Altos MoreBeer is where I got all my first equipment. Although I mainly bought off the MoreBeer website after that (as well as other online sites such as Northern Brewer), I'd still stop in the store whenever I was nearby and pick up malt, yeast, Servomyces, and stuff like that. Considering how insanely expensive the property is in that area, though, I also 100% agree that it's not surprising.

I remember going there a few times where they had a homebrewer event outside where I got to taste a few homebrews that won competitions (in very small amounts, of course). Got some advice from some of the guys there too.

 

[redrocker652002]

Same here. I started homebrewing when I lived in Santa Clara, and the Los Altos MoreBeer is where I got all my first equipment. Although I mainly bought off the MoreBeer website after that (as well as other online sites such as Northern Brewer), I'd still stop in the store whenever I was nearby and pick up malt, yeast, Servomyces, and stuff like that. Considering how insanely expensive the property is in that area, though, I also 100% agree that it's not surprising.

I remember going there a few times where they had a homebrewer event outside where I got to taste a few homebrews that won competitions (in very small amounts, of course). Got some advice from some of the guys there too.

I never did any sampling of their beers, although they usually had at least 2 taps working on the side behind a curtain. I always wanted to ask but never did. There was one guy who worked part time as an assistant brewer at a place in Hollister I think it was. Really nice guy and I always wanted to bring in a few of my beers for him to sample and give me feedback. I should have but never did.

The place they rented was tiny, but the area, Los Altos in general, is for the Multi Billionaires and CEO's of tech companies, so they were definitely paying more than most for rent I am sure. Maybe they will pop up another store someplace a bit cheaper in that same area. That would really be nice.

I will miss the info they were able to share and just hanging out. I went there with my brother to buy a couple of kits and some odds and ends and ended up staying and shooting the bull for about an hour and a half. LOL.

Like one of the other posters said, I am going to have to be very careful on my orders now to make sure I have all the ingredients I need as the closest place is now 45 mins away and a bridge toll. Oh well.

Gonna give Bobby's place a whirl for grain and see how bad the shipping is to California. If not, I will start using NB or Williams or Austin Home Brew. But damn, Morebeer makes it so easy to ship and free for most of what I need.

Oh well, the price of doing business I guess.

 

[MaxStout]

Going the same route as MW/NB. They closed their Twin Cities stores last year, and are online only. I get it, it's a lot of $$ to maintain a brick-and-mortar location, and the online competition has been eating away at retail stores the last several years.

Online is fine, but shipping is not always cost-efficient if you just need a few items. And if you want sacks of grain...

I miss going in to my local and being able to pick up some onesie-twosies to round out an upcoming brew.

 

[InspectorJon]

It really is too bad cause the folks in the Los Altos store were very very helpful and did not seem that they were at all concerned about the bottom line

Makes one wonder why they might close that store…

 

[redrocker652002]

Makes one wonder why they might close that store…

I think I might have typed that wrong. What I meant to say was they did not seem to try and sell the customer what they did not need or try to upsell stuff that was not necessarily needed.

 

[DonT]

It appears the Morebeer in Los Altos has closed. While it wasn't as close as I would have liked, it was within driving distance. Now, it seems to closest supply store is Williams Brewing, which I guess is only a pickup site with no actual store. Damn, this sucks cause the folks there were really cool and I liked just browsing. I could get some quick stuff I needed and it was not a huge drive to get it. Oh well. Going to have to be a bit better about my purchases now, or give Williams a try. I need a pound of pale for my brew day tomarrow, guess I will have to give it a go without and see what happens.

It sucked when MB closed it's San Leandro store... There was a small LHBS right around the corner from my shop but they closed too. Concord is about the same distance for me as SL, but timewise is only convenient on a quite Sunday morning.
There is Oak Barrel Winecraft in Berkeley.... this might be a better option for you.

 

[whoaru99]

...and did not seem that they were at all concerned about the bottom line...

Perhaps that's why they've had to close retail outlets. It's a lot of overhead to support if they end up mainly as showrooms for tire kickers.

 

[redrocker652002]

It sucked when MB closed it's San Leandro store... There was a small LHBS right around the corner from my shop but they closed too. Concord is about the same distance for me as SL, but timewise is only convenient on a quite Sunday morning.
There is Oak Barrel Winecraft in Berkeley.... this might be a better option for you.

That is a few blocks from BART which certainly could work. I will try and be a bet better on my ordering or give Williams a try and see how that goes. Thanks though, that certainly is an option if needed.

 

[bkboiler]

Living in San Diego, the two closest homebrew stores to me have closed in the past few years. I'm pretty central...one may reopen tho. But if it doesn't, it's at least 45 minutes to the nearest LHBS, traffic willing
Bummer about morebeer

 

[4min33]

Williams has free shipping for orders > $99 and $7.99 flat rate for smaller orders. Since a bridge toll is all of that it makes plenty of sense to use shipping for any order. They are extremely fast, ship same day usually and arrives within two.

If you want liquid yeast though it's hard to beat LHBS.

 

[redrocker652002]

Williams has free shipping for orders > $99 and $7.99 flat rate for smaller orders. Since a bridge toll is all of that it makes plenty of sense to use shipping for any order. They are extremely fast, ship same day usually and arrives within two.

If you want liquid yeast though it's hard to beat LHBS.

Great to know. Thank you. I will check them out.

 

[tdf]

Living in San Diego, the two closest homebrew stores to me have closed in the past few years. I'm pretty central...one may reopen tho. But if it doesn't, it's at least 45 minutes to the nearest LHBS, traffic willing
Bummer about morebeer

Home Brew Mart reopened yesterday. When I went in today there were more folks shopping than average before Ballast Point left. It’s a great store, I hope it survives.