adamj
Active Member
What are the most important things for you when shopping for homebrew supplies and equipment? Would you rather shop in person at a store or online? What would you like to see from your local shop?
I've been in a couple of excellent stores. That's it- two. Ever.
The best store I've ever been in was Northern Brewer in Minneapolis. Midwest is the second store that was nearly as good. Competent employees, well laid out stores, a good variety of hops, malt, and yeast (all fresh and well packed and stored), and Midwest had frozen wine must in a huge walk in freezer.
Ironically, Northern Brewer and Midwest are only about 10 miles apart!
Were you in Midwest before or after their move. They do seem like a nice store with helpful employees. It's too bad its a 5 hour drive to get there.
I would love to live closer to AHS or have a similar store nearby. But my local store will never get to that size if all the brewers in this area order online. The only way to get a big store in my area is to support the small store so it can grow.Anything less than that and its not worth going to them. Mail-order is cheaper, easier and never a wasted trip.
I've been in a couple of excellent stores. That's it- two. Ever.
One store, in Akron Ohio, had a decent selection and prices, but when I asked where the grain XX was, a clerk waved and said "All over". That's right, there were bins on the floor lined up down the rows, and around the long wall. Wellllll, I wanted five pounds of crystal 20L- I didn't want to search "All over"!
The other thing- three workers were in there. I went in with my dad. They all three asked my dad, "Can I help you?" which was nice. But I was totally ignored until I asked where the crystal 20L. I then asked to see a pH meter and when I had a question I got a shrug.
I really think I was ignored because of my gender, and I will never go back even though it was a pretty big store that advertises a lot. I bought nothing, not even a t-shirt.
I've gone into stores that have a nice owner but you have to order things because he doesn't have a high enough turnover to keep things in stock. That's fine if you only want to buy things he happens to have, but that is an issue. It would be hard to be "big enough" to stock most things without them outdating if your business didn't have high traffic.
The best store I've ever been in was Northern Brewer in Minneapolis. Midwest is the second store that was nearly as good. Competent employees, well laid out stores, a good variety of hops, malt, and yeast (all fresh and well packed and stored), and Midwest had frozen wine must in a huge walk in freezer.
Ironically, Northern Brewer and Midwest are only about 10 miles apart!
grathan said:#1-The shopkeeper should brew and love talking about it and be fairly knowledgeable.
#2-No substitutions (I think this was mentioned already). Inventory should be massive(If you can't turn it over then discount it).
#3- This one is wishful thinking for me and I don't know the legalities, but there should be Homebrew on site. Home brew to taste and the shopkeeper should be open to tasting other people's brew. There should be kegs of beer of the recipe kits the store sells. At least a recipe of the month at minimum.
jonmohno -
Which LHBS are you closest to? The one in Des Moines, beer crazy is pretty exceptional IMO.
jonmohno -
Which LHBS are you closest to? The one in Des Moines, beer crazy is pretty exceptional IMO.
I just want a well stocked shop, which they are... When I need something, I need them to have it....I really don't care to much about knowledge. If I need knowledge, I get It from here. Much better advice anyway...
Enter your email address to join: