Local Homebrew Shops

[SJW]

Interested to hear peoples opinions of their local homebrew shop. I am not looking to start one but am interested to find out what sort of things Homebrew shops could be doing better or stocking to better service the brewing community, or what services your local does or does NOT offer.
My opinion has changed slightly from when I first started brewing where I was just after the best deal, to now where I still want a good deal but now see the value in having a good local to shop at. We are very lucky here in Newcastle having Marks Homebrew stocking all the brewing bits for basic kit brewers all the way up to AG brewers and commercial and offering quality advice + an on-line/mail order service.
I have been to a few HB shops around the country and some are very very ordinary and I wonder how they survive.
I guess this is your opportunity to tell the retailers what you want in a HB Shop or say where you need a HB Shop as I suspect they may be a dying breed.
Apart from this forum and similar ones there are few places you can go to have a detailed in-depth brew discussion, keeping in mind that HB Shop owners do not get payed for talking to mash brewers for hours on end. I am not defending them as it's their choice to be HB Shop operators, just throwing this up for discussion and we will see where it ends up.
Hopefully with me not getting FLAMED :huh:

 

[the_fuzz]

When i first started, Woolworths/big W was my HBS - then I went to The Country Brewer at Girraween and Graham gave me a bunch of help - top guy (are you a member on here Graham?)

Then i moved house and have since been getting my stuff from Home-brew World - Garry is a top bloke and good for advice, it also helps that he is local

One thing I am surprised at, is that no LHBS sells fridgemates all ready in a hobby box etc. The amount of threads in here where people need help (including mine) I would have thought someone would sell them "pre-made" for an extra $20-30 and make some cash. Once you know how to do it, they only take about 10-15 minutes to setup?

 

[beerguide]

I've never been to Marks, but I can tell you the other one near me is USELESS for my needs. Everytime I ask for something I get the same answer... "Mate I don't brew homebrew, I just own the shop" followed by a dodgey chuckle, or his other favourite, "Try emailing Ross at Craftbrewer". I mean seriously, the local homebrew store would rather lose business to an online retailer then learn more about the industry that one would presume is putting food on his plate at night.

I just order everything online now through Craftbrewer. I don't mind paying a little for postage if I get help and great service - even when I ask the really dumb questions of them I get a courteous reply.

What would I suggest for my 'local' - learn about homebrew, before selling homebrew supplies. Even asking Kit & Kilo questions has him stumped most of the time.

The only reason I haven't been to Marks is convienience. I work at C'Town so I walk to my local in my lunch break. I really should pop over and say hi to Mark as I hear nothing but praise for him and his store.

/End Rant

 

[bigfridge]

One thing I am surprised at, is that no LHBS sells fridgemates all ready in a hobby box etc. The amount of threads in here where people need help (including mine) I would have thought someone would sell them "pre-made" for an extra $20-30 and make some cash. Once you know how to do it, they only take about 10-15 minutes to setup?

That's an easy one - it is illegal to do any wiring unless you are a qualified electrician - and it will cost a lot more that $30 for a qualified person's time.

I would think that this is the same reason that they are not available pre-made from BrizzyBrew.

 

[Sammus]

I've never been to Marks, but I can tell you the other one near me is USELESS for my needs. Everytime I ask for something I get the same answer... "Mate I don't brew homebrew, I just own the shop" followed by a dodgey chuckle, or his other favourite, "Try emailing Ross at Craftbrewer". I mean seriously, the local homebrew store would rather lose business to an online retailer then learn more about the industry that one would presume is putting food on his plate at night.

I just order everything online now through Craftbrewer. I don't mind paying a little for postage if I get help and great service - even when I ask the really dumb questions of them I get a courteous reply.

What would I suggest for my 'local' - learn about homebrew, before selling homebrew supplies. Even asking Kit & Kilo questions has him stumped most of the time.

The only reason I haven't been to Marks is convienience. I work at C'Town so I walk to my local in my lunch break. I really should pop over and say hi to Mark as I hear nothing but praise for him and his store.

/End Rant

yep beer'n'gear was my local before I bothered going all the way into town to see mark as well. Back when the old bloke used to own it, at least he was a brewer. I havent been there since the new guy took over, its worth the trip into town though believe me, mark's probably one of the most knowledgeable brewers I've spoken to and is very helpful and generous to boot, not to mention he stocks fresh grain hops and yeast, and even keeps all his hops and yeast in the fridge, unlike the place in c'town with old brewcraft hop teabags hanging off the shelf and yeast sachets on the counter...

 

[the_fuzz]

That's an easy one - it is illegal to do any wiring unless you are a qualified electrician - and it will cost a lot more that $30 for a qualified person's time.

I would think that this is the same reason that they are not available pre-made from BrizzyBrew.

I understand what you are saying, However, if the device already has A-Tick approval then I do not see the issue?

 

[beerguide]

Yeh its a shame the old dude moved on... he really knew his stuff. I guess the other concern is, I'll walk into Marks store for a look and walk out with a Keg Setup and 50 KGs of grain h34r:

 

[tangent]

just specialty malts eh?

last time i saw Domonsura buy malt, we loaded about 10 25kg bags into his car

 

[brettprevans]

read very carefully as Im not having a go at any specific HBS or supplier. I am talking in general terms. we all know there are HBS/supplier that are sh*t and then there are ones that are ACE. my comments are aimed at those that are sh*t.

IMO crappy LHBS survive on customers that dont use the internet and havent found sites like AHB. otherwise they would find out that there are better HBS and ditch the crappy ones. Customers of crappy HBS are probably largely very amature and never bypass K&K, or new starters. thats the way a lot of crappy LHBS would like it as im sure the margins on K&K are better than grain, and if they keep their customres in the dark about the big world of HB then could loose their customers business.

As for other reasons customers may stay with a LHBS is for liquid items ( eg yeast) that cant generaly be mailed (yes im aware of mashmaster vials of yeast on ice packs but they are not the norm) or beleive that bulky heavy items cost a lot for postage.

Now of course great HBS provide as much best possible advice to their customer regardless of whether they think they might go somewhere else, because they know they will get more repeat satified customers from being open honest and helpful.

 

[tangent]

no-one wants loose customers! shagging anyone in the store!

 

[Simon W]

I understand what you are saying, However, if the device already has A-Tick approval then I do not see the issue?

That covers the units internals only and not anything done externally post-manufacture.
Different states have different laws regarding who is allowed to fiddle with electrical equipment.
I believe that QLD has the most stringent laws in the country, which has been a pretty big issue for some time with electronic/electrical technicians and engineers who, amazingly, are NOT allowed to legally wire mains equipment!
It's also true for TV/radio repairmen who, from what I've read, are actually operating ilegaly unless they've done a 4 year electrical contractors apprenticeship and gained certification.

 

[Sammus]

I understand what you are saying, However, if the device already has A-Tick approval then I do not see the issue?

Maybe it's the device itself inside the plastic box that you buy from mashmaster thats got the approval, not whatever contraption someone manages to wire together with it inside another box...

 

[SJW]

I walked into a HB Shop and found the bright spark behind the counter telling this poor sap that good beer should be consumed as close to freezing as possible. His theory on hopping has me stuffing handfuls of bottle caps into my mouth to stop me from butting in. It was something about hops increasing in bitterness the longer they were in the bottle for, and this poor ******* was taking this all in as if it came from the Messiah himself.
Mind u I have nothing against blokes who are happy doing kit & kg and priming with carbonation drops but imagine where they could be if they were given accurate advice and the opportunity to improve their brewing.

Steve

 

[oldbugman]

which has been a pretty big issue for some time with electronic/electrical technicians and engineers who, amazingly, are NOT allowed to legally wire mains equipment!

Theres no way the 'real' electricians would let them ever do that, the biggest gripe is electricians wanting to be allowed to do a short course and be qualified in other peoples trades, re: Refrigeration

 

[tcraig20]

My biggest gripe is the lack of bulk hops at my LHBS's (there are two I visit relatively frequently, although they are 400km apart!).

They only keep the plain old tea bags, which just annoy me. I dont seriously expect them to keep a profile of hops like craftbrewer, but just a few of the more popular ones (POR, saaz, hallertau, fuggles and green bullet would probably keep me happy).

Other than that, they are really just trying to make a living. My two LHBS's dont just sell homebrew. One sells football gear, the other makes furniture. I guess they need to do something to keep the lights on.

 

[HKS]

+1 for another happy MHB customer. Mark's certainly not the cheapest around and even he admits that however the reason I go there is simple. He knows what he is doing! The knowledge of the guy is astounding and second to none as far as I'm concerned. As was said he doesn't get paid for his advice, but anyone that knows Mark knows his advice is gold! So I don't mind paying abit more because his advice is free.

I always make sure I spend up in there each time I go so I can earbash him inbetween.(so I don't feel as guilty sapping his knowledge) I even let other customers who come in get served in front of me so that the rare quiet times between customers I can sap into his knowledge. I think the minimum time I have spent in there is 40 minutes and this is with the Mrs sitting in the car! Though she was prepared last time and brought a book with her :lol: , but her leg wasn't up to walking still and going and sitting on his comfy couch in his A/C cooled shop. Next time I'll drag her in, on my back if I have to.

He didn't have any fridgemates one time so I went and saw the guy at Charlie. He's a nice enough guy and all and has a nice shop jam packed to the ceiling but when he went to sell me sodium metasulphite as a steriliser, it raised an eyebrow. He does sell fridgemates as a kit too and I bought one off him. With everything you need. However upon closer inspection, had I wired it up with what he gave me I probably would have burnt the house down. The short pieces of cable had cuts in the insulation exposing the wire. Nearly every single wire upon inspection had cuts in them. It was quality gear though, a clipsal extension lead but as was said it could have got nasty if I didn't notice the cuts in the cable.

Mark will be guiding me into AG this year and he'll be copping a lot more earbashing from me but I will be buying everything I can from him to support my LBHS!

Met nooch down there last time as well and looking forward to meeting some more of his customers.

Never trust a HBS owner without a healthy beer gut!

Cheers Mark, always a pleasure and thanks for all your assistance so far.

"Some twat from AHB" :lol:

 

[snagler]

My only problem with my local homebrew store is that he doesnt stock liquid yeast, Im sure there is a reason for this I just havent asked him why
My advice is to support your local (good) home brew store and Butcher and fruiterer etc

 

[mark.farrell1]

G;day

Al down at Northan Brew is a perfect shop for me as its 2km down the road and i brew with kits only as i am only starting out. All his advice has been gold and allways ring him couple of times a week asking questions etc. Als shop has all i need for what i am looking for and the price, well its all i know cause i dont shop anywhere else. I have no idea if his shop needs anything else so its all thumbs from me :icon_chickcheers:

happy brewing.

:beer:

 

[domonsura]

It was 16 bags Tangent , and as far as i know it's still a record for a Holden Calais....:lol:

Maybe that's a competition we should have at the next brewday? How many bags of grain can you fit into a fiat bambina and still drive it....:lol:

I didn't like the selection/service/prices at any of my locals at the time and it always seemed to me that I was needing to make changes or substitute something that wasn't in stock for something that was, and to put it bluntly, when you've taken the time to make a recipe in the first place, that sucks. That's how I've ended up stocking grain & hops at all in the first place. Easier to buy it all in bulk, and well....when it's there you might as well sell it.... (Although I'd love to just use it all myself)
It's been a while since I bought much from any local shops now, but I do know that Bill & Luke at Brewmaker Holden Hill down in Adelaide are nice guys and pretty helpful, & when I first started out AG I was getting my bits and pieces from Grumpys as they got me back in to brewing. I liked the way they would measure out a recipe for a brewer and package it all up to order all the while giving tips and chatting about the brew/s and any other little detail - I think that's how it should be personally. Thomas Hamaan (can't remember how to spell his surname properly - sorry if I got it wrong Thommo)) who I believe is now one of the brewers out at Steam Exchange, and another guy Chris Cullinan (whereabouts now unknown to me) were the two running the brew shop. Geez they were a hard case. Used to be cool standing right in the middle of all the grain trying to decide what to make - to a newbie that was part of the experience...Now Phil (Voosher) and Brad are at the reins and doing a good job from what I hear and are also a pair of funny buggers as well.

There are other brew shops in Adelaide, but I tend to boycott any shop that 'pigeonholes' brewers too much. Just the sight of scores of tins on the shelf is enough to put me off - but the minute I walk into a shop where I can faintly smell grain/hops I'm immediately at ease, because I know that it's about the beer, not shiney labels, can openers and profit margins. I'm a huge fan of any shop that has the raw ingredients there to touch/smell/taste and look at because I also think that's part of the experience and enjoyment. Brewing is like cooking, you need to get friendly with your ingredients and know what they're all about. That way when they come out of a bottle it's like greeting an old mate that has undergone a metamophosis into something wonderful - and all because of you.

 

[SJW]

Just the sight of scores of tins on the shelf is enough to put me off - but the minute I walk into a shop where I can faintly smell grain/hops I'm immediately at ease, because I know that it's about the beer, not shiney labels, can openers and profit margins.

I think you will find, and maybe a retailer will back this up, that if it was not for the scores of tins on the selves and spirits you would not have a Local HB Shop. From what I hear they don't make any money out of grain sales and the amount of time they spend yapping to us AGers for the sale of 5kg's of grain at $4 per Kg they could sell $1000 worth of kits and spirit mixer things. I make a point of grabing the odd Ginger Beer kit or Cider kit to help off-set the hor I spend talking about AG stuff. I guess it is like selling a bag of flour or a loaf of bread, there is more profit in the kit than the raw product.

Steve