I got word from the owner of MyLHBS earlier this month and a text from Annapolis Home Brew yesterday. They're both packing it in.
Damnit!!
Damnit!!
District of Columbia What a grim month for DC area brewers: RIP MyLHBS and Annapolis HB.
- Thread starter Bramling Cross
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I used to regularly visit Annapolis HB and Maryland HB on my frequent trips out of BWI. Haven’t been to either one much in the past few years since COVID and retirement. I also worry about my local HBS as well. It’s a hard time for the hobby and the LHBS that supply us.
Let me know what I can do to take up the slack. NJ to DC is 1 day zone via Ground and I'm seeing some great rates available through Fedex as well.
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You can expect more of my business, Bobby. I’ve been pleasantly surprised in the past how quickly items have arrived when I’ve ordered from you. I still feel obliged to support my local LHBS as much as I can, but it’s getting harder to do.
rmr9
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That’s a real bummer, hopefully Maryland Homebrew keeps going strong!
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Anybody member of CRABS? They used to be a really active brew club, maybe sponsored by Maryland HB? Hopefully they’ll continue to be strong, along with everyone at Maryland HB. I can remember when Chris was a junior employee, and she’s been the owner now for nearly a decade. Good people there.
OP
OP
Frankly, you haven't seen any business from me because I want to support the locals. It's hard to get CO2 through the mail, you dig?
That said, you have suddenly become my second option, aside from a not-so-LHBS that is now 38 miles away. I would enjoy going out to your shop, though. You seem like good people and I'd like to respect that.
I definitely wasn't dogging you for not giving me business. The ability to shop local is shriveling up every day and just wanted to extend an olive branch.
OP
OP
That's not at all what I meant.
You're good people and you do good things on this forum.
I was just saying you moved a bit closer to me. In fact, I would've been out to see you years ago, just to enjoy the drive, aside from the fact that I'm from the West Coast and I don't abide by pay roads.
Haha, if only pay roads were the worst part.
OP
OP
Well, I see you putting in your work and I respect that.
One of these days I'm going to wander out to your shop and talk to your crew about putting a hop bong on my rig.
Don't try to problem solve this. I'm going out to you because I want to see your mob in action.
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Lampy
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MyLHBS was where I bought my first equipment and ingredients for brewing. Haven't gone there since I moved, but it's a shame that local shops are closing up. I just hope that Jay's in Manassas stays up and running!
Bummer. Lost my LHBS here in Mass a couple years ago. Has not slowed down my brewing any, as I just order online like I did before the shop had opened, but it really puts a crimp on getting sacks of grain. What really hurt though was it was our location for our club meetings and without a local shop, trying to get new members for the club is impossible. What I do, to save on shipping, is I now order grain for my next 4 brews all at once from Bobby at BrewHardware, I buy hops in bulk from Yakima Valley hops and will buy yeast for 3-4 brews directly from White Labs.
Nearest LHBS is in Orlando, 75 miles away. The tolls are beyond belief. But I hit my numbers with their crush, they don't charge for crushing, their prices are great, and they let you specify weights down to the ounce or tenth. I buy 4 batches of grain at a time and have them ship it to kill the added cost.
Yeah, a bummer. I have known Derek (from myLHBS) for a few decades. He has been working part time jobs at different breweries for the past several years to keep things going. It has mostly been just him behind the counter for the past few years. Grain prices are up a lot since pre-COVID, but he was still my go to for bulk grains. My lady lives less than a mile from there, so it was easy for me to swing by on a Saturday. I liked that they had an up to date inventory on the website.
I live closer to Kettles & Grains in Leesburg, so I will likely shift my bulk grains over there. Maybe Jay's, but it is quite a drive and I am not often in the Manassas area. Murphy & Rude is another option. They sell bags for $55 (I think), and I have a friend that is often passing through Charlottesville and has picked up grain for club members.
Most of my hop purchase are from online vendors, but I have tried to keep 50% of my total homebrewing purchases going towards local businesses.
I use them almost exclusively now, but they've gone to 25 lb bags in the homebrewer's grain store for some reason. $32.50 a bag and up ($1.30/lb). I would think they still do 50 lb bags for pro breweries, so I'll have to ask why the change next time I'm in, but it's not like getting two at a time is that big a deal. They also have 5 and 10 lb bags or you can order by the pound (which is good since there aren't too many specialty grains that I need more than a pound or two of at a time).
https://www.murphyrudemalting.com/shop
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Kettle & Grains is well stocked for equipment and common grains and hops. I’ve shopped there a few times. They also have a nice bar area on premises. A bit tricky to find, but close to Leesburg/Ashburn areas.
Don’t feel so bad; my “LHBS” is 57 miles away! I go there only a couple times a year when I need grain and pick up a sack or two of base malts and enough of others to complete the recipes.
I do order from BobbyM and a couple other places that I have used in the past with success before I knew anything about Bobby. I hope that they all stay in business, but it seems like that’s getting tougher to do. I just keep brewing and trying to do my part in keeping their doors open.
OP
OP
Thanks for that! I've looked at their website many times over the years and came to the conclusion that they're an excellent bottleshop that dabbles a bit in homebrewing. Clearly, I was wrong about that. Thanks for setting me straight!
OP
OP
Jay's is the shop I mentioned above. I left there deeply impressed. It's a really nice shop and the dude behind the counter was very nice.
But you're right about the drive. It was a fun adventure the first time...
Yeah, the owner at Jays is a great guy. They also do CO2 refills in the shop. I have not done it myself yet. I have a 15# tank that I often get refilled at Fireline in Leesburg. I need to take it in to get it recertified, so I will do that at Fireline. (I wish I had paid the extra for a 20# tank to make swaps an option.)
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That's a good size for about 2-3 batches. I have 3 base grains I buy in 55 lb sacks. I'd try a few more if I bought that size. With 3 bases, I'm holding on to about 3x(5 or 6 batches)=15 to 18 batches. That's about 15-18 months of base grains. The 1/2 sack would keep the grains fresher.
Almost...I was supposed to go to the last meeting to check it out, but started a new job and had too much to do. I'll be going first of the year.
I hear they are still very active from a member I judged with. We'll see. I just don't have as much passion for this as I used to, so my brewing is very limited.
TexWhit
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Many LHBS are closing. Commercial rent/lease spaces are through the roof and profit margins are just too small for LHBS to compete with online sales like MoreBeer and NorthernBrewer. I managed Atlantic Brew Supply for the past two years and we just closed doors effective Nov 2 after an 11 year run. Thats what it's come to folks! At least the hobby aint dead though it'll take 2 weeks (NB) to get your stuff so just plan well ahead OR join a club that is partnered well with a local brewery so club can get basic ingredients at a cheaper shared cost.
Was sad to see y’all close. I spent time in Raleigh, but 3-½ hours away now. Still, I had just learned about ABS early this year and was hoping to make a visit, as we periodically pass by Raleigh on the beltway while traveling to visit relatives in eastern NC. I did decide to make on online order and found the “closing” message.
It has to be a tough business when folks from can just order from their chair in the living room. My “local” store is 60 miles away, and a no-fun drive. Trying to help them hang on though.
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I get that. After all the years of brewing, this forum is the only ‘social’ brewing I’ve ever participated in, even though there’s a pretty active club in my neck of the woods. I told myself that after retiring I’d join and get active myself, but I barely have time for brewing as it is (and spend way too much time here).
As to passion for the hobby, I notice an ebb and flow in my enthusiasm occasionally. But just like Don Corleone in Godfather III, it “keeps dragging me back in.”
Fact of the matter is, I like drinking beer, but I love brewing. That said, the cleanup is a pain, and a proper job can take quite a while. The HBT forum keeps me engaged without committing an entire day, while encouraging me to anticipate the next brew day. Maybe it’s time for me to finally make the move to joining a local ‘therapy’ group of likeminded brewers.
I do order from my living room. Then pick it up at the local HBS or maltster.
edit - I'm a bit worried that the local maltster might put the local HBS out of business now that they've got their own retail shop set up; but I think the gardening business is what's really keeping the LHBS going so hopefully they continue to dabble in brewing stuff.
Nashville's only full-time store, Tri-Star, just announced it was closing after the first of the year. We do have another one, From the Garage, but he's not an actual store front so his hours are at his convenience. This is fine as he is easily accessible and has a good selection.
Dan_Scott
Member
Damn, about to bottle a cherry wheat Saison kit I got from MyLHBS and was planning to pick up a few things soon for some graf experiments; sad to hear that he's closing down before I got a chance to give him much patronage.
You in the Nashville area?
The ABS closing surprised me. I will admit I never purchased from them. They seemed to be growing as a mail order vendor to serve the South East, and I figured the commercial side would help keep the homebrew side going in slow times. When MoreBeer moved out of PA, I figured I might shift my online purchases to ABS given their wide selection...but that was not to be.
I am not positive about the truth of the myLHBS in Falls Church situation. His email said "I lost my lease". It was in a small business center on a very busy road. There is a huge building next door that was a Sears for a while. I would not be surprised if somebody leveled those complexes and put up a high rise housing complex. But I know that myLHBS has been struggling, so it could have just been that a small price hike on the lease was enough to call it quits.
Same story down here in southwest Virginia. Robb closed up Southern Hills Homebrew Supply in Roanoke, and as mentioned above Atlantic Brew Supply in Raleigh closed. I have not been impressed with the remaining LHBS in Greensboro/Raleigh/Durham. There is another shop in Charlotte NC. Long drive but is a huge and well suppled shop: Alternative Beverage, 1500 River Dr #104, Belmont, NC 28012. Jess is the owner and they do ship free on orders over $59. They only sell by the pound unfortunately.
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I hadn’t heard about Atlantic Brew shuttering up. The times I’ve ordered from them in the past the orders were filled promptly and properly, usually received within two days.
I can’t even get UPS to deliver a guaranteed 2nd Day Air shipment, now twice in the past week. Both times were White Labs yeast orders. The first one arrived five days after I received the shipping notice, and right now it’s late afternoon on the fourth day of a 2nd Day guarantee on the second order that White Labs graciously replaced free of charge, even though the screw up was with UPS.
According to the tracking timeline, this shipment (from San Diego to Florida) left White Labs on schedule, landed in Lexington, KY, hub, but failed to make the ‘sort’ even though they had 6 hours to make the transfer. So it sat for a day in Kentucky, arriving in Clearwater this morning (less than 15 miles away) and hasn’t yet made it to me, while I watch the evening news.
This yeast is getting expensive for somebody, and it ain’t gonna’ be me or White Labs.
I can’t even get UPS to deliver a guaranteed 2nd Day Air shipment, now twice in the past week. Both times were White Labs yeast orders. The first one arrived five days after I received the shipping notice, and right now it’s late afternoon on the fourth day of a 2nd Day guarantee on the second order that White Labs graciously replaced free of charge, even though the screw up was with UPS.
According to the tracking timeline, this shipment (from San Diego to Florida) left White Labs on schedule, landed in Lexington, KY, hub, but failed to make the ‘sort’ even though they had 6 hours to make the transfer. So it sat for a day in Kentucky, arriving in Clearwater this morning (less than 15 miles away) and hasn’t yet made it to me, while I watch the evening news.
This yeast is getting expensive for somebody, and it ain’t gonna’ be me or White Labs.
rmr9
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I do wonder on occasion what the homebrew supply picture will look like 5-10 years from now. Will most of the LHBS’s just be gone? Will we have only websites with seriously marked up prices?
It’s why I try to buy as much as I possibly can from Maryland homebrew or my original LHBS Niagara Traditions when I’m back in the Buffalo area.
A while back I looked into the local Maryland homebrew clubs and saw CRABS. I’ve never been a part of a club but maybe I should check it out.
It’s why I try to buy as much as I possibly can from Maryland homebrew or my original LHBS Niagara Traditions when I’m back in the Buffalo area.
A while back I looked into the local Maryland homebrew clubs and saw CRABS. I’ve never been a part of a club but maybe I should check it out.
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