Excerpts From A Conversation With A Lbhs Owner

[bum]

Cans of goop are ok from Big W but sooner or later you will need more specialist gear, and frankly i would be using yeast from the LHBS anyhow.

Yeah, been using better yeasts for a little while. In fact, just put down a brew with my first liquid yeast. Been playing with spec grains for a few brews too. Actually, something of a funny story about that. Was steeping some carapils yesterday but got sidetracked by DrSmurto and Bizier banging their heads against K&K brewer shaped wall and let it boil over onto the hotplate. Was pretty annoyed at myself - but it smelled great. I recommend you all give it a go!

I use Narre Brew Supplies to walk in, grab what I want, and walk out.

That is the third place I mentioned above. The one time I bothered heading there he was closed for 2 weeks! Can't hold that against him of course. Is he much chop?

Likewise newbies need to be prepared to pipe up and say 'actually I'm not at that point yet. I'm still getting my head around a few things'.

I am getting my head around many things and I always find I get better, clearer advice if I openly admit I don't know everything and need some help.

I've always been more afraid of looking like an idiot by pretending to know what I'm doing than looking like an idiot trying to find out how to do it properly.

 

[haysie]

Otherwise mail-order is also good. Mail ordered from both G&G and Craftbrew.

We really do need a decent homebrew shop somewhere in the SE!

I reckon Leigh is on the right tram.

S.E Suburbs covers a large area, Boronia/Brewers Den is good but not if you want a pack of Wyeast a kilo of Carared, he may have restricted Whitelabs though. I reckon he should stock more, been at that address for 20 years now and he still wont sell me a kilo of carared cararoma or caraamber.

Narre Warren, sick of hearing "it doesnt sell out here", its good for a bung, a pack of dried yeast and a changeover of the gas bottle. Certainly useless for the partial or all grainer.
Oakleigh, the worst brew store I have ever visited.

So for me its the hour across to G&G once every 2-3 months. They are the best in Melbourne by miles.

 

[bum]

I've travelled far and wide to find a non internet, in your face, old school service and I would recommend for anyone to do it. (Not that the internet stuff is bad in any way but it's so nice to do business face to face with someone who shares your passion.)

I agree completely but if I can find out the info I want from other people outside of the store (i.e. you guys, thanks) then I'm happy to deal with a faceless entity.

Having said that I think Ross is a pretty good ambassador here for his business and if you ever consider using an online supplier you could do much worse.

 

[bum]

S.E Suburbs covers a large area,

Been pointed out a couple times now so I should address it - I'm deliberately not saying exactly where I am now because I don't want to name and shame the business in question. The guy seems nice enough and does try to be helpful, I'm just a little confused as to how he can have a shop and not want to know more about what his customers might want - even purely from a business point of view.

Sounds like I'll definately have to make the trek over to G&G at some point.

 

[scrumpy]

hey bum

i had a very similar experience in un named HBS the other week.. I went into the joint and explained to the fella that the ingredients i was buying was for one of my last extract brews and was gonna embark in all grain brewing....you shoulda seen his face "your just looking for hassles giving that a shot"

Its sad to see these dudes trying to deter brewers from really learning the art of brewing beer from scratch. I have and will never have a bias opinion on brewing methods weather its all grain or extract brewing, I just like to see people who really enjoy beer giving making it at home a shot. Its up to the indervidual person on how much time and effort they want to put into their hobby!

peace!

 

[haysie]

name and shame Bum,

I have told Brewers Den they should supply more specialties, thats after they show you all the awards Peter won at Beerfest. GooD on him! :beerbang:

A few of us have a saying for the fella at Narre Warren,,,,,, Misery Guts, never fuuuuckinng happy and not very knowledgable.

Arnt you the customer?

All in all you cant beat the above sponsors. FULL STOP....

 

[bum]

i had a very similar experience in un named HBS the other week.. I went into the joint and explained to the fella that the ingredients i was buying was for one of my last extract brews and was gonna embark in all grain brewing....you shoulda seen his face "your just looking for hassles giving that a shot"

Funny you should mention that. When I was explaining what I was making I said I knew the extract would make my wit darker than it should be and that I should be mashing "but couldn't be arsed" and he said "I did that once and you don't want to go down that road!" Found that kind of odd - it seemed like saying "You want to spend a shitload of money on gear here to set up for that? Save your money, kits are just as good!"

 

[daemon]

It seems that it's about 50/50 for finding a good HBS for advice and service, not sure I know many other industries that bad!! I don't have a good local for what I want to do either (AG brewing), but the good news is that it's very easy to order from a website (ie site sponsors). Although the postage seems to increase the cost, also factor in what it'd cost for fuel to travel to the HBS. Even if you say it was only $5 worth, it's only going to cost a few more to get it couriered.

 

[manticle]

hey bum

i had a very similar experience in un named HBS the other week.. I went into the joint and explained to the fella that the ingredients i was buying was for one of my last extract brews and was gonna embark in all grain brewing....you shoulda seen his face "your just looking for hassles giving that a shot"

Its sad to see these dudes trying to deter brewers from really learning the art of brewing beer from scratch. I have and will never have a bias opinion on brewing methods weather its all grain or extract brewing, I just like to see people who really enjoy beer giving making it at home a shot. Its up to the indervidual person on how much time and effort they want to put into their hobby!

peace!

It's on a par with walking into a hospitality shop to buy a stockpot for your own stocks and having the guy try to sell you some campbell's real stock instead. Beef stock's too much work mate!!

I don't undersand the attitude (did get it once, the very first time I asked about how one goes about making beer from scratch). Fortunately my LHBS is pretty good and very helpful. Anything they don't have I can either order in with notice or get from Grain and Grape (my limited dealings with them have been very positive thus far).

 

[bum]

name and shame Bum,

Nah, it's not like he was malicious or completely counter-productive. I'm not interested in trying to take food out of the guy's mouth. Of course if I can direct my money to more helpful people then I will.

All in all you cant beat the above sponsors. FULL STOP....

My experience backs that up completely, just I'm not so sure buying kits/liquid extracts via postage is the smartest move in the world on my part.

 

[svyturys]

I've noticed the hesitation of people naming the LHBS with which they have had less than adequate dealings with. For a business to survive it requires feedback. A big business might ask customers to fill in forms. These forms are anonymous. So, if any LHBS that is named here, and has a customer problem as Bum has had, it would be of advantage for the business to be aware of its shortcomings. It would only help the business.
It would be good if those traders kept in touch with the forums. It would help the entire homebrewing community as a whole.
Cheers

 

[bum]

I've got no problem with that concept, svyturys, but the time for that would have been to his face - this would just be bitching behind his back (which I know I am doing anyway but if he's not named directly then I am comfortable with that). But yeah, I'm not doing anything to help future customers by keeping mum.

 

[haysie]

It would be good if those traders kept in touch with the forums. It would help the entire homebrewing community as a whole.
Cheers

Yes and no, there are "traders" whom are inactive for very good reason. They still run great business, their just not here telling you how great they are.

 

[svyturys]

Haysie,
What I meant was that the trader should just read the forum, not join as such. Then they would be aware of what the community is looking for.
We have many posts urging people to drive across the city to get to a good LHBS. If I was running a business I would want to know why people are driving past my front door to get to an inconvenient location. Why can't I get that business?
Cheers

 

[fcmcg]

Thank god the Grain and Grape is only 3 mins down the road
However....I have to be good and and not go too often to keep SWMBO happy
(I'm like a kid in a lolly shop...i get excited ...and must buy something lol)
Ferg

 

[beerDingo]

+1 for Dave in Greensborough!!!!

Tried a bunch others, and he has been the most helpful hands down.

 

[Barry]

I know the blokes at The Brew Shop appreciated the feed back on the forum about slow deliveries when they were getting use to the business. They really have tried to get the orders out on time. Let the business know in a positive way if you have problems. If they do not listen or understand then move on.

 

[Leigh]

Most of the HBS's don't even know this forum exists!

The following are REVIEWS of HBS's, not bitching or back stabbing...

As Haysie said, if you go to Narre, you walk in, grab what you want (just those little things like yeast or a can of goo or some sanitiser) and get out...no point having a conversation beyond "Hi". To his credit, yeast is in a fridge (but check the date on the packet).

I know a lot of people talk highly of the brewers den, we used to catch the bus out the front, so used to spend some time in there in our late teens...20 years on it hasn't changed, and the kits he sells my missus are never what I asked for (I supply her with a list that she gives him)...I use the goo, but it's a pain! Give me what I asked for! ...and his website is shit...he put a little flyer in my kit 2 1/2 years ago to join his website, I'm still waiting on confirmation!

Oakleigh has two brewshops (maybe even three if my mate is right)...never been to either, but have heard they are both crap.

Brewcraft in Richmond also has the yeast in a fridge (for around 12 months now).

Bum, more interested in location to send you in the right direction, not for identifying the HBS.

 

[Trent]

I think that although it kinda sucks that you cannot get the info you want at you LHBS, everybody is probably missing the bigger picture. I would hazard a guess and say that less than 1% of all the home brewers in Oz are all grainers, maybe only 1% including specialty grain steepers.
I am fortunate enough to have an excellent "L"HBS (its 2 hours away), but I completely understand why some owners dont know much - mainly because they dont have to. And I think that you will find that there is more money to be made in selling cans of goo than there is in selling grain, so it is better economically for them to sell cans of goo.
They are probably more than knowledgable for 90+% of their customers, and the fact that they arent as passionate about it as we are doesnt mean they are no good, it just means that they are looking after the majority of their customers, rather than the minority.
By all means, go somewhere that does sell grains and hops, and has better info for you, but realistically, it doesnt make it a shitty HBS. Would you stop going to the local take away for your fish and chips because the owner doesnt know how to make French cuisine? Only if you wanted French cuisine, I would think. The more into brewing you get, the less HBS's will cut the mustard for you, as you will eventually get to know more than most of the owners.
We are the (very minor) minority, and we need to remember that occasionally. Full points to Bum for not "naming and shaming" a bloke that most of his customers would likely find very knowledgable.
All the best
Trent
Edit grammar

 

[mash head]

Reading your fist post reminds me of a time when all I knew about mashing came from Dave Millers book and some other sites on the inter net (it took quite a while to get to this site for me). I walked into a lhbs of a large chain and told him that I wanted to get into mashing, I got a blank look, Beer from scratch I said, Oh he said and showed me bags of pale malt and bags of crystal and that was their range one variety of pale and one variety of crystal with absolutely no specs for the grain. Unfortunatly I bought some of this grain (I didnt know better) and its still haunting me as a month ago I was out of main ingredients and turned to this old grain keen to throw a brew down formulated a recipie and went for it .i am thinking of pouring the lot down the shitter but will wait til the old man comes over caus he drinks stout and that old crystal has imparted some weird stout like after twang. Any way point being hbs owners should know more about their clientel and not just cater for distillers. I am very happy with finding Beer belly on this site they have helped me alot
Cheers Greg :icon_cheers: