Fermenter's Supply & Equipment

Homebrew

8410 K St Ste 10
Omaha, Nebraska, 68127-1634
United States

(402) 593-9171 | map
fermenterssupply.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.7
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
8
pDev:
21.08%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Photo of Whadawookie
Reviewed by Whadawookie from Nebraska

4.08/5  rDev +10.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
I have been in this store a few times now. The owner seems a bit eccentric, but being that I'm eccentric myself that doesn't bug me too much. I've worked enough service jobs to appreciate storehands who don't put on a huge front in an effort to upsell.

Looking past these eccentricities, the guy was very knowledgeable and helped me in choosing a kit to get me started brewing that day. He had a large selection of brewing equipment, grains, extracts, yeast, books etc. It looks like a weird tradin' post or alchemist's shop in there.

I'm sure I'll be back in there. There isn't a lot of options in Omaha, but I'm glad that it looks like the guy knows what he's doing.
Nov 09, 2011
Photo of harlanhu28
Reviewed by harlanhu28 from Arizona

1.85/5  rDev -50%
vibe: 1 | quality: 1.5 | service: 3 | selection: 1.5
I looked for this shop and it was kinda hard to find behind a Just Good Meats store in an industrial complex. Walked in and was immediately greeted by the lady running the store that day. This place is so small it was cluttered to the point of hoarding used equipment stacked to the ceiling! The hops were in plastic tubs in a fridge and were in 4Oz bags not vacuum packed very bad! This store had so much used equipment it was had to see anything but that. This store made me very thankful for my LHBS.
Jun 24, 2011
Photo of clarkm04
Reviewed by clarkm04 from Nebraska

4.15/5  rDev +12.2%
A very small shop but organized very well.

Frank is highly knowledgeable about both beer and wine. He can come off abrupt or rude but I've discovered that as long as I'm really clear and concise in my questions he'll give outstanding answers. I've been surprised at times how rude he can be to some customers but it seems he gets frustrated when people are doing things he considers nonsense or haven't invested some time into determining what they want know.

He has helped me numerous times on issues related to brewing but again I had a series of questions in mind and wasn't completely clueless so I've never experienced the 'Friendly' side of Frank. I appreciate his knowledge base but wish he was a little more forthcoming with his expansive understanding of brewing/winemaking.

He has a very extensive selection but the cost seem high. I attribute this to the fact that Omaha has a smaller brewing community and I have access to only two homebrew stores and both charge about the same. Typically I purchase everything online but for some small items or things I forget to order I immediately go to Fermenters. The guys at Cornhusker are nicer and unlike Fermenters they crush grain for free but I typically find they don't have answers to my questions which never happens at Fermenters.
Jul 26, 2010
Photo of ghebel
Reviewed by ghebel from Iowa

3.7/5  rDev 0%
The store is a bit hard to find and is small, but it seems that there is a lot of inventory when you get inside. I bought all of my orginal equipment at this store and that day the service was good. The guy spent a fair amount of time with me and explained things well. He is a bit dry and gets directly to the point, but has a wealth of knowledge.

I gave the service an "average" because I have been in there at times when the service was not as good. Maybe it was the fact that he was busy, or maybe I just didn't like the answers, but I left feeling that I would take my business to the internet.

I will continue to shop here and would recommend it for anyone in the area new to homebrewing. Give it a try.
Jan 02, 2009
Photo of burtonbe
Reviewed by burtonbe from Nebraska

4.55/5  rDev +23%
I had been going next door to Cornhusker Beverage, but upon learning of the existence of Fermenter's Supply, and that they will crush grain for you, I visited the store. My first impression was that the place was very small. Nevertheless, it's packed with lots of supplies and ingredients. I walked into the door and was greeted, or should I say confronted by the store owner. I told him that I heard he crushes grain. He eyed me skeptically and stated that yes he does, but if I bring in grain purchased elsewhere, it would be much more expensive than in-store purchased grain. Haha, it's OK buddy, I'll purchase it from you. He must have thought I had a huge sack of grain in my car I was expecting him to crush for free.

After clearing that up, I rattled off what I was looking for, and he immediately filled my order. Very nice! I perused the store, and was impressed with the selection of bottles, wort chillers, and general brewing equipment. I also wanted to pick up a couple of 3 gallon carboys, but his prices looked a little high, so I moseyed back over to Cornhusker beverage and purchased them there, for almost 10% less.

Overall, the selection of ingredients (especially yeast) is outstanding, and equipment very good. Prices are a bit high. He seems like a very knowledgeable person, but he's not as friendly/approachable as the Cornhusker Beverage folks. I'll be purchasing my grain and yeast from Fermenter's Supply almost exclusively from now on.
Aug 23, 2007
Photo of Fugazme
Reviewed by Fugazme from Nebraska

4.2/5  rDev +13.5%
UPDATE 11/13/06:
TOTAL DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE THAN BEFORE... HUGE AMOUNTS OF HELP AND QUESTIONS ANSWERED WITHOUT A HASSLE. DUDE WAS VERY, VERY NICE AND THE SERVICE WAS STELLAR... REVIEW OF SERVICE SUFFICIENTLY UPDATED.



The only shop in town worth a darn... that's the best way to put it. If you can stand someone looking down their nose at you, you should shop here. Reasonable prices, decent grain selection, great books, good yeast and hops selection... and starter kits for those intrested. Even includes wine making ingredients and equipment.
It just sucks that this guy has to be mean.
This store has almost everything you'd want for ingredients for homebrewing... not as much on the equipment side.
Only bad part is the service... it can suck at times to the point of wanting to tell the guy, "Relax, have a homebrew."
Nov 15, 2006
Photo of bditty187
Reviewed by bditty187 from Nebraska

3.7/5  rDev 0%
I’m not a homebrewer but I am familiar with the legend of “Friendly Frank” the proprietor of Fermenter’s Supply.

I was expecting the worst but I was pleasantly surprised. When I arrived he was helping an Air Force fellow with plenty of flair (it’s an “Office Space” joke people!). Anyway, I was shocked that he calmly and nicely helped him with his winemaking needs. While he dealt with him I checked out the nice selection of books. I was pumped to see some books that I have long wanted but even Amazon.com didn’t have. Needless to say I bought one and will be back for the others. I don’t think I need to hurry as there was plenty of dust on them.

Well, the reason I came to Fermenter’s Supply was to get whole hops for hop tea. There were six varieties of leaf hops. I picked up a couple ounces of Cascade and Northern Brewer. The hop prices were high compared to places online I checked out. I might go the on-line route next time.

I got the hops, checked out, and left with no issues. Hey, what do you know Frank was friendly!

I’ll let the other BAs comment more on the home brewing supplies/equipment but I will say there seems to be amble supplies but not much equipment.

It is a tiny store, hidden off of 84th St. but with plenty of parking.

Overall, I’ll be back for a couple more books and maybe some more hops. As far as I know this is the only store in Omaha dedicated to homebrewing supplies.
Jun 26, 2006
Photo of elmocoso
Reviewed by elmocoso from Nebraska

3.4/5  rDev -8.1%
Is there a prerequisite in being a homebrew-shop proprietor that you have to be a grumpy shit? This place sure fit the bill. My wife believes they must all be alcoholics and jonsing to get home and quaff one. Anyway, this place has a decent selection at reasonable prices. Quite a small floor, but he packs shit in there, that's for sure. The funny thing about this store is it is about 100 yards from the only other Homebrewing shop in town, Cornhusker Beverage Mart. Between the two, i think one should find almost any basic thing they would need...as for the more unique items, look on-line.

i forgot... don't ask this guy to sell you a specific quantity of grain or hops. also, he charges to crush you grain.
Aug 12, 2004
Fermenter's Supply & Equipment in Omaha, NE
Place rating: 3.7 out of 5 with 8 ratings