WARNING: If You Do Not Support Your LHBS It Will Close.

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by plaztikjezuz, Jun 16, 2017.

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  1. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    I'm not loyal...what has my LHBS done for me lately?
    I don't use the telegraph anymore either.
    What did it for me was pre-ordering some WY 1318 and then having my wife pick up the 1968 that was "pretty much the same". :angry:
     
    #21 GreenKrusty101, Jun 17, 2017
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  2. YamBag

    YamBag Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2007 Pennsylvania

    Keystone has great selection and everyone is friendly and helpful, but I don't find the staff to be that knowledgeable. I really like Fancy Camper in Frazer, Cory is great and is knowledgeable, plus he's a passionate homebrew.
     
    #22 YamBag, Jun 17, 2017
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  3. Prep8611

    Prep8611 Savant (1,208) Aug 22, 2014 New Jersey

    I support my store for random cheaper pieces of equipment but there kettles are insanely marked up. I always buy my grain there(sometimes in bulk), hops are half the price when I buy pounds at Yakima house. If I need 2-3 oz I buy there and I reuse yeast.
    All in all I probably spend 40-80 dollars a month there with it randomly being over a hundred some months. They are very helpful with recipes and equipment help. My store is keg and barrel (Berlin,NJ). They are very good
     
    #23 Prep8611, Jun 17, 2017
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  4. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    I'm almost afraid to use the StarSan refill I got from my LHBS ...the price was right, but I have a sneaking suspicion it's not really StarSan, but 100% phosphoric acid...maybe it doesn't matter :confused:
     
    #24 GreenKrusty101, Jun 17, 2017
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  5. invertalon

    invertalon Pooh-Bah (2,249) Jan 27, 2009 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I have a very good brew shop here in Cleveland which (I believe) is somehow co-owned or operated by Platform Brewing... At least, I think there is some relationship there.

    Great inventory, prices are pretty good... Usually I try to go there, but sometimes, online ordering is still more convenient especially because I buy bulk-hops and sacks of grain, even shipped, come out cheaper per pound then when I can buy for there and pickup... $50-55 for a bag of 2-row I can pickup or around $40ish shipped?? Easy choice...

    But I still like to drop in and buy my yeast and specialty grains there when I can.
     
    #25 invertalon, Jun 17, 2017
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  6. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    My LHBS does discount refills on PBW, they buy a 55 gallon tub IIRC and refill off that for almost half the price.
     
    #26 SFACRKnight, Jun 17, 2017
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  7. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    I mix my own PBW...TSP Substitute and Oxiclean, but if I could find it at half price I wouldn't bother.
     
    #27 GreenKrusty101, Jun 17, 2017
  8. plaztikjezuz

    plaztikjezuz Initiate (0) Dec 19, 2004 Michigan

    I can tell you it is awkward because you are stepping on someones toes.

    I sometimes give people advice I am not happy with because they would not understand the real deal without it taking way too long. I have work to do and I cannot dedicate 30-60 minutes to a customer. Then make other customers wait while I go over it again and again because they do not want to read.

    I'm all about helping people and have taught hundreds of people to homebrew.
     
    #28 plaztikjezuz, Jun 17, 2017
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  9. plaztikjezuz

    plaztikjezuz Initiate (0) Dec 19, 2004 Michigan

    The Red Salamander in Grand Ledge (suburb of Lansing).

    I like Adventures, Jason is a cool guy, I met him first when I worked at Brewing World (Kuhnhenn's) in Warren. As a store we buy from Adventures wholesale business. So we like this place. A lot.
     
    #29 plaztikjezuz, Jun 17, 2017
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  10. plaztikjezuz

    plaztikjezuz Initiate (0) Dec 19, 2004 Michigan


    Not the same thing. TSP is poisonous, PBW is designed to rise away easily.

    I built a keg/carboy cleaner it uses 1 gallon to clean many items.
     
    #30 plaztikjezuz, Jun 17, 2017
  11. plaztikjezuz

    plaztikjezuz Initiate (0) Dec 19, 2004 Michigan

    We do acid sanitizer refills, but we do not sell Star San, it is a similar product. But not made by Five Star it is made by a local chemical company. Many breweries in Michigan use their products as well as dairies.
     
    #31 plaztikjezuz, Jun 17, 2017
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  12. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Yeah, but I'm not talking about customers who don't get it. I'm talking about crap advice, right off the bat. If someone can't be bothered to know their business, their toes probably should be stepped on. Or their business should fail. I've seen the latter a couple times now in my area.

    Regarding teaching/understanding "the real deal," I have often wondered why stores don't have "flyers" with answers to some of the most common questions. They could give them the quick (but correct) answer, then hand them a cheat sheet to take home.
     
    #32 VikeMan, Jun 17, 2017
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  13. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Now that sounds like a great loss (or break-even) leader that could bring customers in. Something like that would probably get me into the LHBS more often, where I'd be likely to spend more while I'm there. (Even if the brewing knowledge wasn't there.)
     
    #33 VikeMan, Jun 17, 2017
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  14. plaztikjezuz

    plaztikjezuz Initiate (0) Dec 19, 2004 Michigan

    I hope your local shop gets more knowledgeable employees.

    The main reason why no fliers are book sales. No one would buy a book if I gave them the info for free. Plus it could get into copyright territory?

    We have a cheat sheet for brewing with extract. I was going to make one for cider but I decided against it. The amount of the sales really did not warrant the effort. Cider is expensive so by the time they get here the purse strings have been tied and I have really try to talk them into a $2 pack of yeast nutrient and campden tablets.

    I love it when people tell me they want to make a killer product and then do not follow my advice on how to do that. YouTube is full of "Uncle Buck's". Yes, think the John Candy movie where he is a know it all and a convincing one at that. Those are YouTube Uncle Bucks.
     
    #34 plaztikjezuz, Jun 17, 2017
  15. plaztikjezuz

    plaztikjezuz Initiate (0) Dec 19, 2004 Michigan

    Shops are not supposed to do this. At one point in time Five Star stopped selling 5 gallon buckets of PBW to homebrew shops. This was 2008ish. They have backed off a little. But if they see you selling in your own packaging online they will send that letter.

    But yes we use the acid sanitizer as a loss leader. $12 per pint, $6 refill, $18 per quart is about half the price of SS. The cost of the iodine concentrate went up so much it is cheaper to buy Five Stars IO Star Iodopher.
     
    #35 plaztikjezuz, Jun 17, 2017
  16. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Almost everything is poisonous :sunglasses:...I was talking about TSP substitute though :astonished: Cheers
     
    #36 GreenKrusty101, Jun 17, 2017
  17. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    On a side note, my buddy gave me a gallon of "DU-TEX" temperature sensitive extra-strength acid cleaner (for milkstone on dairy equipment) that's probably every bit as good as StarSan/phosphoric acid...nice living in a dairy town :slight_smile:
     
    #37 GreenKrusty101, Jun 17, 2017
  18. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,647) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah

    OK, know of the store, but have n ever been there.
     
    #38 hopfenunmaltz, Jun 18, 2017
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  19. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    The place that does that, castle rock homebrew supply, has very knowledgeable staff. The only downside is they don't have a huge inventory.
     
    #39 SFACRKnight, Jun 18, 2017
  20. Granitebeard

    Granitebeard Zealot (549) Aug 24, 2016 Maine

    I buy from my local shop. It is basically on the way to/from work and I try to buy there as much as I can. Yeast and some special hops are the hard part, for variety and price (yeast is like $10 for liquid). Granted by the time you factor in shipping it is about even. While they seem far more "average joe" kind of guys, one of the original owners now has two tap rooms in the area, so I guess their base knowledge is sound.

    Just a random note about AB, not saying I want to shop from their HB websites, but the Merrimack NH location will be brewing small batch craft beers soon-ish. I heard that from my father who lives basically across the river from it. Not saying these small batch craft brews will change my mind about AB but they are apparently trying to dip their toes into the craft brew world.
     
    #40 Granitebeard, Jun 18, 2017
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