So I tried this new LHBS....

[FedoraDave]

....and, of course, a story goes with it.

I only had one appointment today, so I ran it, and got home by 8:45. No lie, I worked about 30 minutes today!

So I changed, re-checked my recipe and my supplies already on hand, grabbed my directions, and off I went.

First, I got lost, because New Jersey. I always get lost whenever I go to a new place in New Jersey. I know what I did wrong now, though, and it won't happen again.

But after driving by the seat of my pants for a while, I got off the highway, went through some residential spots, and found a place to pull over and turned to my phone's GPS. Using that, I got where I needed to go. I found the store, and parked across the street from it. It was around 10:10 at that point. Guess what? They don't open until 11:00!

So I walked up and down the street for a bit, but it's pretty much a one-horse town, so there wasn't much to see. And I really needed to go to the bathroom. Fortunately, there's a diner across the street from the store, so I went in, got myself a cup of coffee, and used the rest room.

Well, all the time, I was a little worried, because there was a guy inside the store doing remodeling. And the place looked fairly empty, so I wondered if they were closed during the remodel. But I decided to wait until 11:00 and see what happened. What I didn't know was that the main part of the store is actually in the basement. A guy came up from the basement at 11, opened the door, and I was able to check it out.

Nice. Very nice. They're well-organized, and offer a lot of stuff; not only as far as ingredients go, but brewing hardware and stuff. Best of all, they sell their grain in bulk; they're willing to mix it for you, and if you want, they'll crush it, too. I spent some time talking to the owner, and he's very accommodating. They'll special order stuff if you let them know in advance, and you can phone in an order and pick it up later, which would save me a lot of time, especially since I have to drive a distance, and it would likely be on a Saturday, when the place might be kinda busy with walk-ins. I like that.

He also told me they sell everything needed to put together a kegging system, with the exception of the freezer, and they'll work with me on the design and building of it, so I won't be intimidated by it, nor will I be flying blind. This is important. I've wanted to get into kegging for over a year now, but it's scared me because it's new and seems pretty involved. But this way, I can buy the components over time so the financial outlay is spread out.

I think the main difference between this LHBS and the other one I frequented is that this place is more specialized for beer brewing. The other one tends to cater more to the wine makers (which makes sense, since they're in a predominantly Italian section), and do the brewing stuff more as a sideline. Plus, it's a smaller part of a much larger concern; the family has a supermarket, a garden store, and some other irons in the fire, so their homebrew store is a very small piece of the pie.

The drive home went much more smoothly, and I figure the difference in drive time between the two stores is negligible, especially if I would be getting more personalized service, which I feel I would.

I'll definitely be back, and will probably switch my allegiance. Thanks, ssorck, for the heads-up!

[RickBeer]

Psst. Dave - you can turn on the phone GPS before you start driving, and it will tell you where to turn while you're driving...

Glad to hear you found a bathroom though. No

[FedoraDave]

Well, I had printed directions, and figured I could follow those. I hadn't counted on New Jersey, though.

[philm00x]

Glad to hear you didn't disappear into oblivion! They sound a lot like my LHBS in that they cater mostly to the beer brewing crowd so there's tons of ingredients and equipment in stock. Great find!

[Brewbirds]

I always get lost going somewhere for the first time too.

Sounds like a great new discovery, the enthusiasm from the employees/owners makes a big difference (OHHH SWBO budget alert!!!).

[FedoraDave]

Birdie, SWMBO doesn't begrudge me my brewing expenses. She's glad I have this hobby, actually, because it makes me productive, creative, and happy.

And as far as a kegging system goes, well, she sorta owes me on this. I had been saving my tips and spare change and putting aside money every week for quite some time, and had over $1,000 saved. I was keeping it in an envelope on the shelf above the bed. She knew I was saving for a kegging system, and she asked me how much was in there. When I told her, she felt nervous about having that much cash lying around, and wanted me to put it in the bank, which I did. And then it sorta got used up by other things. Or forgotten about, since we never actually ran out of money. The point is, I saved all this money for a specific purpose, and haven't used it yet, so I'm due.

If I buy the components separately over time, it won't be a big chunk of money all at once, either. I really should get my brother to go with me when they explain how to convert the freezer to accommodate the system, though. He's better at this stuff than I am, and I'd ask for his help in doing it, anyway. So if he understands what needs to be done, all I have to do is hand him the tools and give him a few homebrews, which I do whenever he drops by anyway.

[Brewbirds]

Setting cash aside for that kind of stuff is always hard, it seems whenever you get a few dollars saved up a dog is going to get sick or an appliance breakdown or the car needs repairs.
I for one hope you get to do the keg set up you want.
Many years ago when money wasn't a problem, and before we brewed our own beer our dad gave us his keg set up and we would go to a micro brewery and get beers from them. I think they were five gallon (the tall and skinny ones). They had a chalk board menu of what was available so we could swap out our empties for different brews all year. This was way before the home brewing revolution and we, sadly left it behind during yet another of our many moves. I'd kill to have that sucker back in my possession now.

[ssorck]

Glad the trip was worthwhile Dave! That's the place I'll be getting most of my ingredients too, though hops I'll be doing through the mail.

Friday though I need to meet with a client in Hewitt so I'm hoping to have time to cross the state lime and check out a home brew store named Mistucky Creek in Warwick NY. Unfortunately it's a pain for me to get to so not a place I'd likely regularly go.

BTW there is a side street that goes behind the building Cask and Kettle is in, plenty of parking and a rear entrance back there so you don't have to screw around with street parking.

[Inkleg]

Sounds like a great find Dave, glad you had a nice road trip. Can't wait for you to get your kegging system going, you deserve it. It's nice to find a place like that.

I have a small Mom & Pop store within 5 miles of me. The owner had stopped caring and run it in the ground. Past by the other night on the way home from work (hadn't been that way in awhile, no need, they had nothing), low and behold there was a sigh hanging out front, "New Owners", so I stopped by for a chat. They were aware of the past and were going to try and build from the ashes.
I explained that I use to be a customer and why I stopped coming. They listened and understood. I told them I'd be happy to give them a chance and would spread the word so that others might come back and give them a chance also. So I'm hoping this will work out for everyone.