Local Homebrew Shops

[domonsura]

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

Unfortunately I've done the research (maybe because I am a retailer) and there's not really all that much in comparison to grain to be made from the tins, and quite often the questions from kit brewers are just as common............. but then I suppose I'm an idealist. I do AG. A shop that favours AG would always get my business. A shop full of tins and tiny little packages of hops at severely inflated prices would/does not. I don't like being the customer who has to accept 'token gestures' from HBS's at AG brewing. And the other fact is, I make money out of grain sales and my markups are nowhere near what HBS's put on it usually. Not a huge amount, but then I also don't think anyone running a HBS is going to get rich quick or thinks they are going to, it's all about volume and to move volume you need to

1. Have the product in the first place
2. Make an informed and concious effort to educate the market and sell it
3. not slug the customer so much for it that he goes away thinking "Holy shiot that cost a fortune, not doing that again!!"

And for what it's worth, it's usually the equipment sales that make the $$$, not tins of goop or grain, and the reason that most HBS's wouldn't make much from grain in my very humble opinion, is that most charge FAR too much for it, and as a consequence move far too little of it to see any real profit - many of them see it as an unfortunate inconvenience to have to stock grain. It's far easier money to put a tin on the shelf than make an effort to store 5kg of grain (or 300-400kg of grain like I do which is what I think is what's necessary to provide any kind of selection).........and I think THAT is more like the truth.

I'm not badding the HBS's out there - they do what they can and they each serve a market, just not mine. It would just be nice to see more of them making a proper effort to try encourage & support a burgeoning All Grain market like myself, Ross, Grumpys etc etc. Like I said, call me an idealist. You'd be right

 

[darrell.wallace]

Having recently decided to move to AG brewing, my local (local to work) HBS has been extremely useful and absolutely invaluable.

I started with partial mashes and have now finally got all of my equipment for my first AG which i plan for sunday.

Every time i tell my wife that i am calling in at the HBS on the way home she laughs and says that she wont expect me home for dinner. i always end up talking for so long about different grains/hops/yeast etc.

I was forntunate enough that the first time i went in to the shop (with the descision made to AG) that i also got to speak to the man that has been club champion a number of times as well as having champion beer of show at the AABC.

Colin always has brewing demos and has many beers on tap at the shop to allow people to sample. He has a great knoweldge and has helped me immensly.

 

[SJW]

Having recently decided to move to AG brewing, my local (local to work) HBS has been extremely useful and absolutely invaluable.

I started with partial mashes and have now finally got all of my equipment for my first AG which i plan for sunday.

Congrats on the move to AG, you wont look back now. Good luck with the first brew, just keep it simple and you will make a great first beer.

 

[blackbock]

I agree it's the man/woman behind the counter in a HBS that can make the difference. If they are truly interested in our hobby you at least have a chance of getting good quality advice or supplies.

We might all wish that our LHBS would stock a wide variety of grains/hops instead of cans, but you do need a critical mass of consumers to make the whole thing worthwhile for everyone. Cans of goo have a long shelf life, and yet people still complain about the lack of freshness in them. Imagine how much worse it would be to buy 5kg or more of stale or weevily grain. If more people could experience the improvement in taste that exists after you go from extract to AG then our hobby might really take off and there would be much more variety available in brew shops.\

So I think the answer is partly that we need to promote AG brewing in order to ensure its survival.

 

[wambesi]

I'm very glad I found Greensborough HBS, especially as I'm about to start AG myself, he's been a great help, lots of good stuff in there, unlike that "other" shop in Heidelberg I used to go to when I was K&K, apart from the older guy there once a week the normal bloke just didn't seem to give a stuff.

Like others It used to be the $$'s which steered my direction but now I realise there is alot more to brewing and after quality and well, just that "good bloke" factor

Hijacking the thread for a minute, can anyone recommend a good HBS in the Moorebank area in Sydney? Moving in May with work and need a good local.

Cheers

 

[Wardhog]

"good bloke" factor

I generally spend Friday mornings at work dreaming up an excuse to drop in to Greensborough HBS and have a chat to Dave on the way home.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

The closest thing I have to a HBS is the local Coles supermarket...and the smoke shop that stocks a few Tins... <_<

Luckily there are some good online shops. I started to use Grumpy's but then started to use Craftbrewer because at 300km, they where the closest..... B)

Both shops give excellent advice and are run by brewers for brewers.

I say use the shop that is there for brewers...not just selling a sidline with the advice..." Mate...you need the Sodium Met...its the best stuff...".. :unsure:

 

[paul]

I used to go to Goliath Homebrew but it shut. Dave there was really helpful. Does anyone know what happened to him or if he's working in another shop now?

I recommend Brew maker at Holden Hill. He's always got what I need in stock and good advise.

 

[BoilerBoy]

Agree Paul,

Dave at Goliath was excellent,
First visit I walked out an hour later with a kilo of grain and the mashing began from there.

He simplified and demystified the whole process and just made it easy, seeing AG demo's and living close by it was a significant help to me for the short time I was able to go there before it closed.

BB

 

[joecast]

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

couldnt agree more. let the brewer decide what and how they want to brew.
must be a tough business though. a thread not too long ago talked about how difficult it is to make money at a BOP, and i would think lhbs wouldnt be too much easier.

my main supplies for home brewing come via internet now and while i would prefer to give my business to a local shop i just dont think the turn over is enough to ensure im getting fresh ingredients. so where freshness is not a factor (or $ as sometimes i can get things shipped here cheaper than buying local ) i will go local, and save my questions for ahb. thanks btw!
joe

 

[Peaka]

Well my local is called "The Black Cat" at Toronto, they only stock the cans of goop and no grains from what I can see. But they have a few different varieties of kits and different yeasts and hops as well.
They are mainly a tobacconist and they also sell chocolates as well I think. Hopefully they will upgrade their Home Brewing part of the business.

 

[HoppingMad]

Would have to heartily agree with most of the comments here.

With the exception of Grain and Grape in Melbourne there seems to be a drought of decent stores with a range like theirs. If I'm brewing on a budget and can't make the long drive to G&G, I find I have to drift from shop to shop till I find what I need. My closest shop amazes me each time as they never seem to have even the tiniest teabag of saaz or amarillo hops in stock. Understand these are popular but what ever happened to anticipating what your best selling lines are and making an effort to keep them rolling?

From smaller shops in Melbourne (not G&G) the reactions I have had to telling staff I am moving to all-grain have been hilarious. I have had staff ignore me when I've asked if they stock pumps, I've been told 'we don't stock commercial stuff' when I've asked about grain mills, and I've had people say 'oh that's like a mini mash right?' when I've used the term all-grain, rather than asking me what I'm doing and actively seeking out a sale. We all spend a lot of money on our hobbies, but many of the operators I've found seem pretty content to answer questions in mono-syllables and stare at their registers.

At the same time I feel for the brewshops as it would be hard to find staff that know what they're talking about, and maybe some HBS's feel threatened when someone walks in with a little knowledge that they know they can't preach to. Us homebrewers are a select breed and crave info, and can take up staff time with some annoying questions I'm sure.

Hopper.

 

[Fents]

^^^ your not looking hard enough, 20mins and approx 18kms from you (glen iris) there is a shop that welcome types of blokes like you.

Its at

23 Louis St
Greenborough Vic 3087
9432 0283

Thank me later.

 

[Pollux]

Those who have easy access to a LHBS should consider themselves lucky...

I live in Stanmore, in Sydney's Inner West, only some 4-5kms from the CBD, and due to the fact that we don't own a car as we don't need one where we live, I can not actually get into a brew shop at all...

Only ones I know of are Daves Homebrew in North Sydney, The Brew Shop in Peakhurst and my next option after that is the get my inlaws to shop for me at Blue Mountains Brewing Supplies as it happens to be at the end of their street.....

My only option now is an online order through absolute home brew, based in Penrith as at least they have no postage for orders over $100....

My research has shown that there were other HBS in the Inner West over the years, but they have all since closed down, seems there just isn't the trade volume required to keep the doors open.

 

[mynameisrodney]

Daves homebrew does free postage over $100 as well. or $8 postage for less than $100. probably only a few bucks extra than getting there by train anyway.

 

[~MikE]

my LHBS is a "craftbrewer" - tins, powdered yeast, teabag hops and spirit essences. yep, i haven't been there in AGES.

 

[Pollux]

Daves homebrew does free postage over $100 as well. or $8 postage for less than $100. probably only a few bucks extra than getting there by train anyway.

Also an option...

That said, the same people that own Absolute also own BMBS, so I guess it's like getting my inlaws to pick stuff up for me, without the risk of them grabbing the wrong stuff.....

 

[raven19]

my LHBS is a "craftbrewer" - tins, powdered yeast, teabag hops and spirit essences. yep, i haven't been there in AGES.

+1 MikE, now that my taste buds have been exposed to AG beer, the craftbrewer style just dont do it for me either...

That being said the Jovial Monk (my LHBS) is an interesting visit, however more range and grain options is what I would like to see more of.

JM does keep his hops and yeast in the fridge though.

Cheers.

 

[Gavo]

Local HBS? What local HBS? Well I do have one if you can include the local IGA or Foodworks. Other that the closest HBS is about 220 kilometres away. It's just a good thing the site sponsers are there and Australia Post insn't all that bad.

Cheers
Gavo

Edit: Poor typing.

 

[Goofinder]

Closest HBS for me is Beerbelly, about 10 mins from home (or 2 mins from work).

Always plenty of grain there!