Support Your Local Homebrew Shop !

[Pumpy]

I always try to spread around the dollars I spend on my grain hops and yeast as my Mum said dont put all your eggs in one basket.

Whilst I take advantage of buying the direct hops from the USA .

I participate in Bulk grain buys ,

and get stuff from the the sponsers

I never forget my local home brew store .

I am lucky in that he always has a good range of yeast grain and hops for the AG brewer.

He may not be the cheapest but to me having a good range is important.

Support your local homebrew shop !!


Pumpy

 

[Lemon]

+1

:icon_cheers:

Lemon

 

[manticle]

I always try to spread around the dollars I spend on my grain hops and yeast as my Mum said dont put all your eggs in one basket.

Whilst I take advantage of buying the direct hops from the USA .

I participate in Bulk grain buys ,

and get stuff from the the sponsers

I never forget my local home brew store .

I am lucky in that he always has a good range of yeast grain and hops for the AG brewer.

He may not be the cheapest but to me having a good range is important.

Support your local homebrew shop !!


Pumpy

My most local is Kmart, followed by cellar plus which, while I used to buy almost everything from there when I was extract brewing, is not geared towards full mash brewers and stock no liquid yeasts, limited hop range and bugger all grain. Good shop for extract brewers, winemakers and salami makers, less so for AG brewers. Grain and grape (a bit further but still within coo-ee) see between 50 and 100 of my dollars per pay packet because they have everything I want and are helpful and prompt with delivery. On the occasion they have stuffed up an order, they have been quick to rectify - no questions asked.

I would say support a good homebrew shop and let the shit ones die off. Some of the stories I have heard make me cry a little. It's the ones who are in it for the passion of seeing people make good beer that I want to thrive.

I'll buy a few hops from the US and get the grain that goes with it from GG. Might ferment it with a yeast from them too, inside a fermenter I bought from them. I'll then bottle and cap with caps I bought from them, having primed with dex I bought from them. I might use the capper I bought from cellar plus though. I don't think it's practical for most people to get bulky things from far away places anyway - all serious brewers probably purchase most equipment and ingredients from either their lhbs or at least their preferred Aussie hbs.

 

[Bribie G]

You city guys are lucky, here in the outer outer outer burbs I rely on the likes of Craftbrewer but it can be frustrating to run out of stuff like US-05 or crystal malt, and althought it can be picked up in places like Brewcraft etc, we just don't have one within a 100k round trip unless you are interested mostly in distilling or garden gnomes

I firmly beleive I am the only AG brewer on Bribie Island pop 22000 or whatever but there are sure a lot of stills going :unsure: :beerbang:

 

[drew9242]

Try a 800k round trip to a decent home brew shop for all grain brews. If you could call it local, i try to support this shop when i am up there.

 

[DU99]

i have two stores G&G and sunbury home brew,i can drive too ,plus i check any offers of other stores the advertise on the net..freedom of choice.

 

[Wolfy]

...
I never forget my local home brew store .

I am lucky in that he always has a good range of yeast grain and hops for the AG brewer.

He may not be the cheapest but to me having a good range is important.

Support your local homebrew shop !!

No ... and you can't make me!!

I have visited my LHBS twice and the range of goods, advice/service and assistance I received are such that I do not expect to shop there again.
The level of service, advice, price and range of goods available at Site-sponsors (other AHB forum retailers and some other not-so-local-HBS) is very much worth the effort to avoid my LHBS and either drive 1 hour (each way) or to wait a day or two to have stuff shipped to me.
While my LHBS does stock a range (about 1/2 the store) of gear/ingredients for distilling/spirits (which is of no interest to me), it does not stock malt that is not dried or in liquid/kit form, any form of fresh hops, liquid yeast, or any recognized adjuncts, cleaning or sanitizing goods (all of which are of interest to me) and the prices are such that there is no incentive to shop there.

While I recognize the concept of 'shopping local', I'm a consumer and my loyalty lays with those shops who service my needs best, either with help/advice, an attractive range of goods or by offering a competitive price, my LHBS does none of those.

 

[kocken42]

Try a 800k round trip to a decent home brew shop for all grain brews. If you could call it local, i try to support this shop when i am up there.

No homebrew shop in Albany!? Ripped off!

Guess the Mitre 10 or Home Hardware would (should) stock most of the stuff for extract brewing.

 

[Gout]

My local is ......SHT, they charge through the nose and give horrid advice (such as AG is a waste of time and will never match a kit brew - or Kegs are only for alcoholics.... funny as now days they are selling and pushing them)

I do however support sponsors, and the shop i visit (over an hour drive away) which provide good advice and even taste your beer etc etc

I guess i tend to stick to the shops that support me long after i support them with my cash

 

[Wolfy]

... funny as now days they are selling and pushing them

You only know that because you shop there!

 

[Gout]

You only know that because you shop there!

you caught me i did visit for a liquid yeast when my starter did not fire..... but they don't sell liquid yeast i found out, why would they when the kit comes with one

 

[drew9242]

No homebrew shop in Albany!? Ripped off!

Guess the Mitre 10 or Home Hardware would (should) stock most of the stuff for extract brewing.

Home hardware have a good range kit beers. They have cans of extract but you can't really make a whole batch with the ammount of extract they stock. You can only get some hops for dry hopping. So bit hard to do extract aswell. But i don't know of any stores for the all grain brewer.

 

[Sydneybrewer]

I dunno my lhbs guy seems like a great guy and also seems really knowlagable but he supplies buger all variety in terms of yeast and hops, mainly european and lager orientated products, which he is a fan of. Which i am sorry but has pushed me to buy most of my stuft online from out of state from the sponsers etc. I almost feel guilty not buying from him. I told him i prefer american style beers but he just keeps pushing fuggles, halertau and lager yeast, i wish he would listen as i am shoping with him less and less.

 

[manticle]

I don't know why people would feel guilty buying from online retailers that are in Australia. Whichever way you go, you are still supporting an Australian independent small business owner unless you find Brewcraft somehow offers better range and service than craftbrewer in which case you're possibly odd.

If my local chinese takeaway is rubbish and there's one a bit further up the road that's good why wouldn't I buy my mandarin chicken from the good one?

Support niche, passionate, independent, small business. Don't support rubbish, bad service or monopoly or else that's what will thrive - to our detriment.

 

[Sydneybrewer]

I guess the reason i feel guilty because the guy is a top bloke that allways gives good advice, but when he doesnt have the products i need/want it makes it hard to stay loyal, as much as i want to see him do well in his ventures.

 

[manticle]

So buy the stuff he does have, stop by and have a chat when you can and get your other goods elsewhere. Guilt is a fairly useless emotion for me - better to be active about making things right than feeling bad about not doing so. If you can't make things right then accept it and move on.

That said - have you talked to him about what you see as lacking in his shop? Maybe he'd take your critique on board.

 

[Banshee]

I would say support a good homebrew shop and let the shit ones die off. Some of the stories I have heard make me cry a little. It's the ones who are in it for the passion of seeing people make good beer that I want to thrive.

Also price, service and the person who own/runs the store. My local HBs has everything I need but I travel another 40k's to give my money to the guy who is not ripping me off , is a helpful chap and also knows what he is talking about.

 

[Pumpy]

I have two home brew shops one an hour away and one adds another 40 mins on my trip home still I did not realise how well off I was compared to some of you guys in the Bush .

The sponsors are a godsend to youse pumpy

 

[argon]

i'm lucky that my local IS Craftbrewers... sweeeet. Why would i go anywhere else? Service second to none. Anthony's your man.

Am considering US hops though

 

[RdeVjun]

If my LHBS was staffed by helpful, friendly chaps instead of a pair of lazy, obnoxious twats, then I'd probably be inclined to buy more than the odd emergency hydrometer off them. They just don't seem interested in beer at all, 'purified water' is their game- you can tell by the pallets of dex in the middle of the shop and the wall of essence. Failing that, my selection has to have a big BC emblem (which is never does) for them to serve me with some measure of politeness and offer a few kind words of advice, but most often I find I'm so inconsiderately keeping them from the important business of water purification. I handed back the expired pack of US05 they tried to sell me last time I was there, I guess I should be thankful it was in the fridge... Yep, sponsors are a blessing, I've no doubt!