[MonyTenzel]

Eh, mine is owned by InBev, so it'll keep on trucking.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[Kevin]

The one I used to go to was mainly a beer & wine specialty shop that also had some homebrew supplies... they just closed recently. Mainly due to the newer shop that opened across town that only sells homebrew supplies. They seem to be doing spectacularly. www.Hopcraftsupply.com in Saginaw, MI.

[Iliff Ave]

Mine is doing great. They used to specialize in kegs and dispensing then got into homebrew supplies and expanded the selection of everything very quickly. I started going there when I discovered their prices were much better than their nearest competitor. I buy hops and dry yeast online and use the shop only for grain and occasional liquid yeast.

They are currently working on opening a brewery in the space next door I believe so they must be doing ok....

[waltsmalt]

Eh, mine is owned by InBev, so it'll keep on trucking.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Yep, same here.  I have to say that the two people working in said shop last time I was in there were less than impressive.  Wonder if it's the start of the slide on the service side or just a bad day.

[BrewBama]

We have a hybrid shop literally in the parking lot of the brewery complex (it is also a bottle shop/draft house). Business is not great in spite of a decent selection he has considered shutting it down and has made the footprint a lot smaller.

I went in to this store tonight on the way home from work. They didn’t have what I am looking for.

I still try to use them. ...but it’s hard to keep clientele when you don’t have what they want.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Brewmeisters]

I've got 2 LHBS in my area, ran by the same guy.
The only problem is, the hours.
I always have to look to the website to see where he is going to be on the day I'm going to be in the area.
Kinda frustrating, but at least I have them in the area, and he's very knowledgeable on brewing.

[yugamrap]

You know, I went in to talk to my guy today, actually to tip him off to a potential opportunity distributing for a new malt house, whose owner I'd just talked to.  He just seemed harried and tired, as always these days.  He's fulfilling for Amazon,  has a distillery going, but the brew shop biz seems to grind him down.  I hope something like localism (subject of my visit -- he's selling local hops already -- ) helps LHBS carve out a niche the big online dealers don't occupy.  (Mine FWIW is 30+ years old, early on national by mail, and also longtime online.)

I presume you're referring to Grape & Granary?  I hope our friends on Home Ave. stay around a long time.  They're my go-to shop in the Cleveland/Akron area.  The other shops around here just don't carry as much variety or turn their inventory over fast enough.

[Robert]

Yep, I think G&G looks to be a survivor.  I was talking to John about the new West Branch Malts in Brunswick, I hope he can carry their malt in the future.  Ohio grown barley even.  And G&G's offshoot Renaissance Artisan Distillers is a great addition.  (Try King's Cut if you like whisky.) I don't know any of the shops in Cleveland anymore, but G&G seemed to be a step ahead of the pack from the time they opened in the old spot in the early '90s.

[yugamrap]

Yep, I think G&G looks to be a survivor.  I was talking to John about the new West Branch Malts in Brunswick, I hope he can carry their malt in the future.  Ohio grown barley even.  And G&G's offshoot Renaissance Artisan Distillers is a great addition.  (Try King's Cut if you like whisky.) I don't know any of the shops in Cleveland anymore, but G&G seemed to be a step ahead of the pack from the time they opened in the old spot in the early '90s.

I also have to go there to visit the Cuyahoga Cup since we SNOBs haven't managed to win it away from SAAZ and have it on our home turf for a while!  ;-)

[Joe Sr.]

I ran out for ingredients last weekend only to find they had closed last August.  Apparently I haven't brewed in awhile.

I still have a LHBS, it's just further away.  It's the store I started with in the 90s, just not so conveniently located as it used to be.

[tommymorris]

My LHBS is a bar. They have 30 taps of craft beer in a nice setting. I think that part of the business does okay. But, there is a lot of competition and they never look crowded.

I can’t see how they make any money on the LHBS part of the business. I hardly ever see anyone buying supplies. My guess is they will kill that part of the business and go to bottle shop. Their other location did that. I am not helping. I buy supplies every now and again. I prefer to shop online.

[swampale]

Our town has a population of 80,000 here in Ontario with no lhbs. I live 1 1/2 hrs from Toronto and their hb stores seem to be doing quite well. In the mid 90's you couldn't find any hb stores. They have quite a few now, finally. The biggest store where I order from is online only. No store front. They have absolutely everything to make beer.

[BrewingRover]

I ran out for ingredients last weekend only to find they had closed last August.  Apparently I haven't brewed in awhile.

I still have a LHBS, it's just further away.  It's the store I started with in the 90s, just not so conveniently located as it used to be.

That happened to me with Brew and Grow in the West Loop. I assume they got priced out of there, as they were usually busy when I went.

[Joe Sr.]

I had to run to their location at Kedzie and Ashland. No more free bags for grain which is ridiculous.

I was totally unprepared.  I used t shop there all the time but then had a closer and smaller store open up that I liked. A more local lhbs if you will.

Glad brew and grow is still around.

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

There are two within about 30 miles of me that have brewing supplies as a sideline to other businesses and are doing ok since brewing supplies account for only a small part of their revenue.  However they only carry the basics.  I recently wanted to buy some brown malt and neither had it in stock.  And one stores hops un-refrigerated. 

I support them when I can.  However, I buy base grains by the 50-lb sack at a local craft brewery with no shipping charges for much less than the LHBS charges; $42.50 flat charge for a 50-lb. bag.