[quote=“BrewingRover”][quote=“millstone”]I’ve got 4. 1 - 5 - 12 - 20 miles. the shortest distance is for the stuff I forgot to order or ran short of, good store, new and building up business. The 5 mile is for grain only (Mid Country Malt), the last two are more backup for emergency stuff. I do most of my purchases on line, mainly because of cost.
tom[/quote]
Is the 1 mile store Brew and Blooms in Hammond? I forgot about him – seems good for grain but not so much for yeast or hops. And where’s the 5 mile store, that’s probably closer to me than in the city of Chicago.[/quote]
Yep, Brew and Blooms. The 5 mile is Mid Country Malt (South Holland IL)- grain only and in sacks.
tom
I’ve got a local hardware store that is about 1/4 mile from my house who stocks a small wine and beermaking supplies section. I use them for bottles mainly, plus last minute-things here & there. They seem to be slowly expanding their stock, so unless something is totally overpriced I’ll grab it there to encourage them to keep growing this section. The best part is that they have a small garden center as well, so I can get stuff like plants/soil/fertilizer when I stop in for some bottle caps or to replace my busted auto-siphon. They don’t have a full bulk-grain or extract selection, and no grain mill, so I don’t get ingredients here - only supplies.
There are two other full-LHBS’s each about a 20-25 minute drive for me, which is well within reason for me, but they are only open odd hours that don’t always jive with my schedule. For that reason, the bulk of my purchases are done online. I try to spread out the love to the bigger online retailers (NB, Midwest, Austin and Rebel, mostly) since they all offer their own unique benefits.
I’ve got two. One is about 5 minutes away and the other is about 15. I support both of them, but mainly for last minute items or small items.
I make 95% of my purchases online, because of cost and selection. Since I now have enough grain and hops on hand for my next 7 batches, I will buy my yeast locally. Interestingly, one of the shops carries Wyeast and the other White Labs.
I usually live about 10 miles from NB’s Milwaukee location.
I’m temporarily exiled to the other side of the lake, though, so for the time being I’m about a 35 mile drive from a hat store that has a back corner devoted to beer and winemaking supplies. An interesting combination, but they seem to have a good selection so I don’t think I should have trouble supporting them. Only White Labs yeast, though, so I’m going to have to hurry up and learn how to make starters.
5 minutes for the near one, but they are really a cider mill that dabbles in home winemaking and throws a perfunctory bone to homebrewing. Good for bottle caps and irish moss, not much else.
Elsewise, I’m driving 25 minutes to the hydroponics store that has a remarkably well stocked homebrew section, with a staff seriously on the uptick for their brew knowledge. I’ve been impressed each outing.
19512 posts just on this forum, when do you find time to work? :lol:
I am lucky. Living on the northside of Atlanta, I have access to four shops. I live ten minutes from one, but I don’t feel that the ingredient stock turns over fast enough so I don’t feel that the ingredients are always fresh. I use this shop for my equipment. Another one is about 30 minutes from home and they are primarily wine with some homebrew stuff. I have never purchased from them. The other two are about 30 minutes from my office. I’ve been to both, but one is signficantly friendlier, more helpful and cleaner so I go there. NB is hard to beat, but I try to support the local economy as much as possible.
There are 2 within five minutes of me. Even though they are a little more pricey than online purchases, I get a discount for being a member of the maltose falcons. So it balances out.
