Brew supply stores

[Whamolagan]

This past weekend I went down to visit my mom and step dad. While I was there, we went to a homebrew supply to check out things. I was greeted with one arrogant SOB ( the owner). I needed some flaked barley(our LBHS had moths in their flaked barley and special B). He asked me if I was baking bread. I felt like he was talking down to me as if I had never had a beer much less brewed any. I needed the special B and F.B. so I bought it anyhow. He was pushing me to buy a 25 gallon pot. I told him I had a speidel 50l system and that I was selling my pots. He acted like he knew what it was, and then asked me how much was 50l. UHHG. Then I was looking through his hop selection,and asked him about a specific, and he didn't know except that he was the first to have these. And then asked google about the hop, I told him I could have done that and he told me then why did I ask. He then asked me how long I had been brewing, when I told him 7 years, he asked if I wanted to come to a class and learn how to really brew beer. I almost pummeled him with 5 lbs of flaked barley. The worst experience I have ever had with a brewer.

So I got him back as I was leaving, I asked him if he was such a great brewer, why doesn't he have a brewery and is hawking grain instead. The look of dejection was priceless.

[Dawg LB Steve]

What a TURD!

[Beer-lord]

What an ass he sounds like. Reminds me of.......me!

[John Sand]

Beer-Lord

Sorry you had a bad experience. They are out there. My first LHBS guy was a beer collector/trader, not so much a brewer. Even as a rookie, I knew some of his advice was bad. That place closed. There was a better, but very small store about 25 minutes away. That closed. Now my only "local" stores are 40 minutes away. Thank goodness a local craft brew store has some supplies.

[FedoraDave]

This is why I'm willing to drive 45+ minutes to my LHBS. They're great guys; very friendly. And they know their stuff. I know I can get good advice from them any time, about cleansers, equipment, ingredients, process, you name it.

Yeah, they recommend stuff they want me to buy; they're in business to make money, and selling a brewpot or a keg is more revenue than just selling grains and hops. But they're not pushy; they just make the suggestion and give their reasons for making that suggestion. And it gives me something to think about, even if I'm not interested in it at the time.

[MrBandGuy]

Yup, they're out there. When our awesome LHBS closed, like many others, I tried the other store in Louisville. Right when I walked in, the lady says, "We don't have liquid yeast. And we won't ever have it, so don't ask." If your not a regulate, don't bother kind of thing. I said thanks, walked out, and took my business online.

Luckily, we now have a great new shop opened by a former employee of the old place.

[alb]

I am so lucky. My LHBS treats me like I know something, they have a good selection, and it’s only about 10 minutes’ drive away. Its sister business next door sells liquor on one side and a huge selection of beers on the other. It’s the place to go to try something new, and they sell singles of anything. AND, the staff would just as soon talk homebrewing as commercial beer because they all do it, including the chicks.

The CO2 supplier is only 5 minutes away.

[jimjohson]

Wow! The one I run don't carry liquid yeast either, the owner said he carried all types of yeasts for a couple years but quit carrying the liquids for lack of interest in our customer base. That's not to say if you ask me to order you a special vial next time I order that I wouldn't, but you'd have to pay for it up front. The only thing we're emphatic about is: We don't take plastic!

[bpgreen]

The first time I visited my LHBS, I was nervous because I was still a newbie and had only used Mr Beer kits. I had heard horror stories about the way Mr Beer brewers were treated.

The guy who waited on me started out with "the only thing I can do with my 5 gallon setup that you can't do with your Mr Beer setup is to brew 5 gallons at a time." He then talked me through some of the options I might want to consider next, suggested some books (and eve pointed out the chapters that I might want to concentrate on first).

Needless to say, they got my business, and as I progressed, they kept my business. They also have been able to answer increasingly more complex questions. They even gave me a formula for calculating IBUs at elevation, but I decided to ignore it and just fudge my numbers in BeerSmith.

I did get the "are you a baker" question once, but it was because I was buying a huge quantity (60-90 lbs) of LME and they usually only sold that much to commercial bakeries. I'm not commercial, it's just not convenient to get there.

[Kealia]

Unfortunately this doesn't surprise me. While I'm lucky to have one LHBS within 10 minutes of my house that is 100% organic and MoreBeer within a hour of home, I get it. Even within the homebrew community there are people who want to show you how much more they know than you do. I've run into these guys at beer events, local breweries, etc. It's not about sharing, or even talking to each other it's about them telling you how to do things, how what you do is wrong and why they do things the right way.

It's a shame that it's at your LHBS, though. Sorry to hear it.

[RickBeer]

No plastic, no business from me...

[Whamolagan]

Unfortunately this doesn't surprise me. While I'm lucky to have one LHBS within 10 minutes of my house that is 100% organic and MoreBeer within a hour of home, I get it. Even within the homebrew community there are people who want to show you how much more they know than you do. I've run into these guys at beer events, local breweries, etc. It's not about sharing, or even talking to each other it's about them telling you how to do things, how what you do is wrong and why they do things the right way.

It's a shame that it's at your LHBS, though. Sorry to hear it.

Fortunately it is not my local store. The folks at my local store are way cool. this one is down by where my mom lives 3 hours away.

[Gymrat]

This past weekend I went down to visit my mom and step dad. While I was there, we went to a homebrew supply to check out things. I was greeted with one arrogant SOB ( the owner). I needed some flaked barley(our LBHS had moths in their flaked barley and special B). He asked me if I was baking bread. I felt like he was talking down to me as if I had never had a beer much less brewed any. I needed the special B and F.B. so I bought it anyhow. He was pushing me to buy a 25 gallon pot. I told him I had a speidel 50l system and that I was selling my pots. He acted like he knew what it was, and then asked me how much was 50l. UHHG. Then I was looking through his hop selection,and asked him about a specific, and he didn't know except that he was the first to have these. And then asked google about the hop, I told him I could have done that and he told me then why did I ask. He then asked me how long I had been brewing, when I told him 7 years, he asked if I wanted to come to a class and learn how to really brew beer. I almost pummeled him with 5 lbs of flaked barley. The worst experience I have ever had with a brewer.

So I got him back as I was leaving, I asked him if he was such a great brewer, why doesn't he have a brewery and is hawking grain instead. The look of dejection was priceless.

He won't be in business long.

[Whamolagan]

he has been in business for 7 years

[Gymrat]

He is probably struggling. If you are not cordial to your customers you will not last.