What do you love/hate about your LHBS??

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I have two stores I frequent of the five I'm aware of in the DFW area.

One is Foreman's which really isn't much of a homebrew shop. It's a general store with a homebrew area. Very cheap base grains and proximity are the reason I keep going back. It's a 10-15 minute drive and the base grains are pretty much cheaper than anywhere else, even ordering online (except if I bought bulk). The downside is that EVERYTHING else is way overpriced and their selection is fairly limited. Everything but the grains is prepackaged (e.g. LME is only available in the can).

The other one I visit is Fort Worth Winemaker's. It has a great grain (and honey) selection, the owners are nice and everything is reasonably priced. Depending on the time of day it's a 20 minute or 2 hour drive, so I usually go there during the middle of the day when I'm already halfway there in downtown FTW. It's slightly more pricey than ordering online at several places but it works out to be cheaper than shipping costs when I need a handful of items. The downside is that their website is often messed up and they run out of items incredibly fast. I know they do some training classes for new brewers and brewers new to AG.

For me proximity, cost and selection are most important. If a store doesn't carry a lot of stuff I think it would at least be nice to have access to a larger database of items the store could order and the retail cost to have it special ordered. So say the store doesn't carry three gallon kegs because they take up room and they are expensive merchandise that may not move quickly. Ok, well let me know what it would cost to order one and have it shipped to the store. If I don't know you could sell them then I'm unlikely to ask or assume that you have a supplier. I'm also likely to shop around so having to call/go in and get a priced that somebody guessed off the top of their head is most likely going to be more expensive than a store that has already calculated all the costs and profits into the price.

 

[Zamial]

I love:
- the competitive prices on grains.
- huge selection of grains
- fantastic knowledge of said grains.
- that they have a nice selection of equipment
- they love to talk about home brewing
- the location

I dislike:
- bad/dated brewing techniques that get told to people
- over priced on everything but grain and yeast
- the never updated web site

 

[Acoma]

Like: Knowledge of brewing, quality of goods, good variety of everything from yeast and hops to supplies and kits. Friendly and helpful.

Dislike: A bit over priced even for a retail store. Their website sucks. It would be nice to see what they have on hand and how much it costs without having to drive across town. They can come across as intimidating to the new brewer because they have so much experience they can't seem to help but really push their ways of doing things. I.E. Very anti carboys, starters, and liquid yeast in general. (I personally like making starters, like using liquid yeast vs dry yeast, and have two glass carboys in addition to my plastic fermenting bucket. To each their own.)

 

[King of Cascade]

My area desperately needs a good homebrew shop. Out of the two places one has been in business since the 70’s and the husband thinks he is the godfather of brewing in this town. They all have bad attitudes and are not current with techniques or ingredients (they still have dusty soda extract from the 70’s on the shelf) other than the stale grains and cheesy hops they have very high prices and very bad attitudes. LHBS 2 is better with some good people working. The problem is they carry briess grains and all the supplies are prepackaged LD Carlson crap. We had a place about a half hour away that was awesome, he had beers on tap and all the gadgets and stainless steel parts but he was a dirt bag. He once asked to see my then girlfriends ****s and he would give me my ingredients for free…she wouldn’t do it so I paid the $40.
I think a homebrew shop done right would kill the competition here but the shop has got to get in bed with the local homebrew club as the past president has made the club a huge presence in the areas beer scene. Second the shop would have to understand that people would circumvent the homebrew shop for bulk grain if the shop owner marks it up too much. Bulk buys happen all the time so unless the shop owner gets involved and/or even organizes the bulk buy people will do something else. LHBS make their money on extract, specialty grain, hops, yeast and equipment in that order and would sell more if they help homebrewers buy base grain bulk. All the ideas listed in this thread so far are good ideas and should be considered especially the brewing. When selecting a location make sure there is a place to host big brews and such and even a meeting room or area for local homebrew club events.

 

[Chefencore]

All I heard was ****s.

 

[bonzombiekitty]

He once asked to see my then girlfriends ****s and he would give me my ingredients for free…she wouldn’t do it so I paid the $40.

*tsk* She really should learn to take one for the team.

 

[davefleck]

My LHBS Stomp them Grapes in Denver... great service, huge grain selection and reasonable prices. After Boulder lost its LHBS they opened Hop to It. Haven't been to that location

 

[samc]

Offering free classes/demo's is invaluable. Having wine, cheese and any other food related hobby is a great plus as you begin to cross sell customers. If I was doing an LHBS I'd also teach pizza making and wood burning oven building and use. All the somewhat lost arts of making stuff for yourself are a great fit. It would be a great way to spend your day - not a job but an adventure!

 

[Hovercar]

Like:

-Great selection of ingredients and materials.
-Willing to order in stuff they don't have in stock.
-Helpful, friendly and patient owner who will take the time to answer any and all of your questions with zero attitude. Guy is genuinely nice.

Dislike:

-Generally pricey, but it's Canada, and everything is more expensive north of the border.
-Website is definitely sub par, and needs to be updated much more frequently. A couple of times the website said they had certain hops in stock, but were sold out when I got there. A well-maintained and constantly updated website is essential to people travelling from out of town.

 

[BrewWhat]

2 "local" stores. Both 80+ miles away

1. Modest inventory, but easily accessible.
Staff is moderately knowledgeable But you have to pry the info out of em.
Prices are high to very high.
Being a hydroponic garden store, I'm sure the staff can tell you more about growing "Colombian tomatoes" than they can about home brewing.

2. Very large inventory, great prices
Knowledgeable staff
the down side is that it set up more for online orders rather that window shopping, so you need to know what you want before you get there.

 

[overflow]

My LHBS is BevArt aka "Brew and Grow" in Bolingbrook, IL.

Love:

The homebrew "guy" (Bob, I believe) is extremely knowledgeable, kind, and eager to help. I believe he used to work for Goose Island Brewery. Always offers samples of his brews, which he brews in house for instructional classes, etc. Haven't had a bad one yet.

Large selection of grains, yeast, and equipment.


Hate:

(Hate is kind of a strong word, more like dislike):

It's also a grow shop, and thus is frequently filled with people obviously buying equipment for marijuana growing (not that I care, the crowd just adds to the checkout time!)

Not a big selection of grains in bulk, which is what I tend to buy to save money. 2-Row, Pils, yes. Others, not so much. I often find myself buying several 5lb bags of base malts instead of a 50lb sack.

I once got yelled at for looking for yeast in the fridge myself.. the employee explained that they have had problems with people accidentally activating smack packs (they only sell Wyeast liquid yeast.) I kind of understand their reasoning on this one.

Closed on Sunday. I always brew on Sundays, and am pretty sure many a homebrewer does the same. I could've used them many a time when I ended up short on ingredients, need a quick fix, etc. for my brew. If anything, they should be closed on Monday or something like that - I really think they are losing about 50% of their homebrew business by being closed on Sundays.

Bob is super nice and accommodating, but unfortunately this sometimes leads him to helping newbs for a long time, when I just need a keg O-ring or something simple. (Really a petty gripe)

I bought a keg from them marked as good and it does not hold pressure. Before I could return it, they changed their policy on kegs to "no refunds". I don't know where they get their kegs but most are really badly beat up.

That's all.. overall, a pretty good LHBS.

 

[heferly]

My LHBS is BevArt aka "Brew and Grow" in Bolingbrook, IL.

Love:

The homebrew "guy" (Bob, I believe) is extremely knowledgeable, kind, and eager to help. I believe he used to work for Goose Island Brewery. Always offers samples of his brews, which he brews in house for instructional classes, etc. Haven't had a bad one yet.

Large selection of grains, yeast, and equipment.

Hate:

(Hate is kind of a strong word, more like dislike):

It's also a grow shop, and thus is frequently filled with people obviously buying equipment for marijuana growing (not that I care, the crowd just adds to the checkout time!)

Not a big selection of grains in bulk, which is what I tend to buy to save money. 2-Row, Pils, yes. Others, not so much. I often find myself buying several 5lb bags of base malts instead of a 50lb sack.

I once got yelled at for looking for yeast in the fridge myself.. the employee explained that they have had problems with people accidentally activating smack packs (they only sell Wyeast liquid yeast.) I kind of understand their reasoning on this one.

Closed on Sunday. I always brew on Sundays, and am pretty sure many a homebrewer does the same. I could've used them many a time when I ended up short on ingredients, need a quick fix, etc. for my brew. If anything, they should be closed on Monday or something like that - I really think they are losing about 50% of their homebrew business by being closed on Sundays.

Bob is super nice and accommodating, but unfortunately this sometimes leads him to helping newbs for a long time, when I just need a keg O-ring or something simple. (Really a petty gripe)

I bought a keg from them marked as good and it does not hold pressure. Before I could return it, they changed their policy on kegs to "no refunds". I don't know where they get their kegs but most are really badly beat up.

That's all.. overall, a pretty good LHBS.

You're too nice...that stuff would bug the hell outta me...especially the kegs...don't sell kegs that don't hold pressure...and put up a sign about the yeast.

Personally, I like being able to check manufacture dates prior to buying my yeast, as i've had to pass on a few less used styles.

 

[daniels]

i have a few places to go that are close to me but i am fearcly loyal to one id like to check your place out once you are open but i can tell you whatever you do dont just sell prefabbed kits and be ready for asses like me walking threw your door and asking what kinda strange **** can u sell me today. the place i go to the prices are for the most part cheaper then i can find online and i can go in to the store and ask anything and they always help. so help me if you treat your customers right thell do anything in the world for you . if i could get by with it id sing the praises of aaron and rod and the shop they own every day on this forum

 

[jrg42]

few observations on my LHBS
1) would say at least 30% of bidness is wine making; probably more. If you are going to open a store, would definitely include (or at least the ability to order) all the wine stuff.
2) They let you find, weigh and mill all the grain yourself. But are there to help do all that stuff as well. For extract, you can bring in your own containers for a discount. Everything else is self serve (or they will help) as well.
3) Usually lots of employees around to help check out, find stuff, help with a recipe or whatever. You are never waiting too long to check is the main point.
4) they carry lots of odds and ends for brewing equipment. hoses, O-rings, keg connections, stuff like that. Comes in very handy for last minute brew rescues when getting something shipped is not an option.
5) very rarely have i needed a grain that they don't have in stock. Hops are a different story, but they do have a decent selection of pellet hops and a small stock of leaf.

 

[Acoma]

After reading some of these posts I'm thinking my LHBS could improve. Free samples of beer would be at the top of my wish list!

 

[buffalobrewer]

hate: hours posted on their website are not accurate. wasted an hour and a gallon of gas driving to a closed store.

 

[Haputanlas]

Austin Homebrew is awesome. Great selection and close to where I live

 

[overflow]

You're too nice...that stuff would bug the hell outta me...especially the kegs...don't sell kegs that don't hold pressure...and put up a sign about the yeast.

Personally, I like being able to check manufacture dates prior to buying my yeast, as i've had to pass on a few less used styles.

I suppose you're right. They did eventually put up a sign on on the fridge about the yeasts. Reading the rest of the thread, I did think of one more gripe..

Only their growing supplies are listed on their website. No listing of homebrew supplies whatsoever, even when they have a pretty good selection. Why, I have no clue.

 

[PseudoChef]

My LHBS, All Seasons, has a great selection of grains and they're always willing to double crush for my BIAB setup. They have a wide variety of whole and pellet hops, too. Only downer is that all their brewing gear is WAY cheaper online. But, that's to be expected.

Dude, if you think All Seasons is actually good, then you really, really need to make the drive up to Rebel Brewer.

 

[sagnew440]

I normally only get specialty grains and buckets, brewing salts, cheaper equipment from my LHBS. The one thing I really appriciate about them is they sell grains by the ounce. Sometimes you don't need but a few ounces for a recipe and don't get stuck with the rest of the pound like at other places.

 

[NWMOBrewer]

An idea is to have a few binders with instruction pages for example BIAB instructions and equipment list on the bottom. Its something that if you had an employee that did not know, they could just print off a few pages from the binder and you would be able to help your customer still. This is often had on the internet, but if you can get a little extra business because people don't want to look online, why complain.

 

[Thefirebuilds]

My local store is disorganized, and the owner is a bit gruff. One day I went there with the express need of malt extraction I bought two (2) three-pound bags. I got home and threw them on the scale and they were 5lbs total. I wrote an annoyed letter to northwestern food in Germantown and they sent me a free bag because obviously they goofed.

Anyway, northern brewer is about an hour from me but on the way home from work it's not too far out of my way. They're very nice and helpful and I've found some of their retail prices lower than the catalog. It's the first hobby-type store I didn't feel unwanted at. As an aside, I once had a 9mm pistol pulled on me as a "joke" at a radio controlled helicopter store in oak creek. Haha hilarious....

 

[Dgonza9]

Provide co2 refill!!!! Can't emphasize this enough.

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

Don't get full of it with beer making classes. Do workshops like High Gravity in Tulsa. The owner does a laid back informal workshop once or twice a month. The amount of crap I read on-line about infections, off flavors, stuck fermentations, hot side aeration and every other worry Palmer published made me hesitant to take up the hobby. When I went to the workshop and saw that it is easier than people want to believe I bought my first equipment kit and two recipes.

 

[Mermaid]

There are 2 LHBS stores near where I live. One of them I like much more than the other.

The "farther" one has convenient parking, and the store has plenty of space, but the staff is always busy crushing grain, getting stuff from the stock room, and they seem to cater more to the winemaking / brewing "kit" crowd than the homebrew "geek". Their yeast selection is lacking and poorly displayed in the fridge. Their prices are not any better than what I could get online. However, they do offer homebrewing classes and again, they do have a good selection of kits for folks just starting out. Good for newbies.

The other store, while closer, is in a part of town that's always crowded with traffic and pedestrians.

Love: Their grain selection. They have just about everything (except for when it's out of stock, which is rare). It's self-serve, scoop out of bins or pour from containers clearly labeled with the name and lovibond rating, with several scales and 2 grain mills available for use.

Their hops selection. They carry a decent selection of leaf and pellet, clearly displayed and well organized in a new fridge (they replaced the old one in January).

Their yeast selection. They have the various yeast "guides" next to the fridge, they're well organized, and the store usually carries at least a couple of the "limited edition" series Wyeast and White Labs strains.

The staff. For the most part, they're friendly and helpful. Sometimes they know the "style" I'm trying to brew and have offered good advice. At the very least they seem to all be homebrewers themselves and are full of "opinions" which is at the least - interesting. I would compare these guys to old school record store employees - some of their advice is more amusing than helpful, but at least they're not rude.

Dislike: This store location is in a part of town that's a pain in the butt to get around. I try to go during "off hours" when there is less traffic. Since the OP said he was in Columbus, think of the area near campus - on street parking, lots of traffic and one way streets, etc. (I used to live in Grandview, and spent way too much time hanging in Grandview, or near campus - all those used record stores, good places to get cheap food, etc.)

It's almost always too crowded on weekends - so much so that you really have to know what you're looking for before you go, have a list, and know where to find it.

Equipment in stock. Their prices on equipment are fair, but it's somewhat of a pain to "shop" for stuff. If they're not too crowded you can just "ask" one of the guys if they have what you need - easier than trying to find it yourself.

This store is very much set up for the all-grain experienced brewers who know exactly what they need. I've seen some of the newer folks struggle a bit with "I want to brew a stout" and then waiting for one of the employees to be not too busy to help them.

Don't get me wrong, I really think this store is great - but I hate driving there and hate how crowded it is most of the time I'm in there.

 

[MrMeans]

My LHBS is competitive with online ordering as far as grain prices go. They are a little pricey when it comes to equipment but considering that you can have the equipment that day instead of waiting for shipping I see that as a trade off.

What I enjoy the most about my lhbs is that since the water is here extremely hard they have their own RO system and will throw in free water and brewing salts if you are picking up a grain bill. All they ask is that you bring a container for your water.

 

[JasonToews]

The only thing i would say I don't like is the crush. My efficiency went up 30% when I got my own mill. Otherwise they have tons of different grains,hops and yeast

 

[NWMOBrewer]

provide co2 refill!!!! Can't emphasize this enough.

+111111111111111111111111111

 

[DannPM]

My LHBS has aged hops. Haven't made a actual plambic yet, but when I do, that will be a HUGE asset. I was truly surprised they had these, incredible!

 

[C-Rider]

My LHBS

http://www.homebrewinparadise.com/Index.aspx

Has :
1-Eight choices of DME/LME
2-Thirty choices of Hops
3-Fourty two choices of Grains
4-Twent four choices of Liquid Yeast
5-Seven choices of Dry Yeast

Lots of other supplies to keep a brewer happy. Plus you can weigh your own grains from the 5 gallon buckets and buy as little as 1 on.

Need I go on?