My experience of homebrew shops recently......

[Stu]

I've been brewing a fair few bits lately and ordered all kinds of things to upgrade, so I thought it might be useful to give some feedback around the various places I've used in recent times. My go-to was always the Home Brew Centre in Norwich (my folks live nearby), but since its demise I was fiddling around as necessary.

1. The Malt Miller

There's a number of reasons why I'd like to continue using these - they have an extensive catalogue which covers pretty much every and any eventuality.
They're quick to deliver and pack, even when I ordered when they had a huge sale on over the Easter period.
They're probably my go-to, although I do find them a bit pricier than others. They're one of my nearest, even though they're nearly 2 hours away (I'm on the edge of the New Forest) and I often go past Swindon to get to places.

2. Dark Rock Brewing

Super fast to deliver. I've used them a few times lately, including placing an order last night (Sunday) which was packaged up, I got the DHL delivery note at 10am today and it'll be here tomorrow. I'm going for a kit this time, but I've ordered stuff separately. They do come in a bit cheaper than the Malt Miller I find.

I do like using these - ordered both hardware and grains from them.

3 The HomeBrew Company

These Irish folk are by far the cheapest. Honestly, when they did their sales earlier in the year, I ordered a massively hoppy NEIPA using their "self build" kits and it was £24. Building this elsewhere could cost me £40+. It had 260g of hops (Mosaic and Sabro) - they only allow you to add 160g into a kit then you buy the other bit separately.

BUT, it's sloooooooowww. Particularly when they have a sale on. After a week, I chased up and got a terse reply saying that they were busy and they'd get it out shortly. I've had a couple of kits from them and would do again. But be aware they're south of the border, so shipping can add a day or two.

I'll absolutely use them again. Their kits are fairly traditional brown beers and stouts - and I know a lot of people love to brew this kind of thing. They don't really have much in the choice of yeasts I'd like to use, but that's OK.

 

[old dog new tricks]

I have only good things to say about The Malt Miller as well great service and sometimes get decent offers on stuff.

Another i use for yeast and sundries is CML they post really quick and I can collect in Glasgow area.

Also used Brewbitz and found them ok

 

[Stu]

I have only good things to say about The Malt Miller as well great service and sometimes get decent offers on stuff.

Another i use for yeast and sundries is CML they post really quick and I can collect in Glasgow area.

Also used Brewbitz and found them ok

It's a shame there are so few shops around. I can collect from TMM when I'm nearby.

I have moved to a veritable desert in terms of culture
But I get to visit the beach every lunchtime with the dog and I have a top brewery near me, so the upsides heavily outweigh the downsides.

 

[The Baron]

I have used THBS many times especially for big orders like 25kg grains etc.
Speed wise they are not the fastest but never had a delivery that has taken a week usually 3 to 4 days and they are well cheaper.
I have used the MM but they are not cheap but good service.
If you are looking at brewing equipment I use Brew keg Tap who are great and well priced

 

[Andrew Booth]

I'm Using Brewco in Sowerby Bridge local and great guys

 

[Stu]

I'm Using Brewco in Sowerby Bridge local and great guys

Would be so nice to have somewhere local.
Halifax to Sowerby Bridge is a nice run out.

 

[Andrew Booth]

I used to use Wicked but that has closed now Brewco have helped me massively on my brewery project

 

[Stu]

I have used THBS many times especially for big orders like 25kg grains etc.
Speed wise they are not the fastest but never had a delivery that has taken a week usually 3 to 4 days and they are well cheaper.
I have used the MM but they are not cheap but good service.
If you are looking at brewing equipment I use Brew keg Tap who are great and well priced

In fairness to them, the first time I used them it was only 3-4 days. The 2nd time, they had a huge sale on (I think they'd taken 25% off all their consumables and were a bit overwhelmed)

Storage is a problem in our bungalow. I live on the edge of the New Forest and whilst it's beautiful, it brings with it a huge rat and mice problem.
I don't really have the storage space indoors and I really don't want to be keeping malts in the brewing shed. I think I've rat-proofed it, but mice can get in the tiniest spaces.

I was thinking about moving up to full pressurised FVs, so I'll take a look!

 

[Brew_DD2]

I use Geterbrewed, The Malt Miller and CML. All very good. Used to use The Homebrew Company a lot in the past, but deliveries definitely slower now.

For equipment, I tend to use Brewkegtap and Angel Homebrew.

 

[RichardM]

I've never really been happy with The Homebrew Company. They pretend to be British, using a .co.uk web address and saying "We are the UKs newest homebrew beer and wine website" but they are Irish.
Why pretend to be British when you aren't? Is there anything else they don't tell us?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I've never really been happy with The Homebrew Company. They pretend to be British, using a .co.uk web address and saying "We are the UKs newest homebrew beer and wine website" but they are Irish.
Why pretend to be British when you aren't? Is there anything else they don't tell us?

Bit of a strange thing to claim when its so easy to looked them up -

 

[Brew_DD2]

I've never really been happy with The Homebrew Company. They pretend to be British, using a .co.uk web address and saying "We are the UKs newest homebrew beer and wine website" but they are Irish.
Why pretend to be British when you aren't? Is there anything else they don't tell us?

Not sure that is fair. They use a .co.uk domain to make it clear that they service the UK market. They used it pre-Brexit, and it makes commercial sense when you consider how big the UK market it. I really don't think they're doing anything nefarious or sneaky.

 

[RichardM]

Not sure that is fair. They use a .co.uk domain to make it clear that they service the UK market. They used it pre-Brexit, and it makes commercial sense when you consider how big the UK market it. I really don't think they're doing anything nefarious or sneaky.

To me it looks as if they are trying to give the impression that they are a British company. I'm not sure what Brexit has to do with it.

 

[Brew_DD2]

To me it looks as if they are trying to give the impression that they are a British company. I'm not sure what Brexit has to do with it.

I was just trying to make the point that it's not something that they've tried to do since Brexit. I.e. covering that being based in the EU could make things more complex for UK customers.

It's never struck me that they're trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I don't know what people are so confused about with THBC. it explains it all simply in their "about us" page

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[GhostDoggyWoofWoof]

I've had some great well priced all grain kits from Brew Bros. Eg Even Sharks Need Water £34 for 20l kit.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

It says "We are the UKs newest homebrew beer and wine website" which is some claim.

The sales email address is very misleading.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

If I don't go to the local brewery I use the Homebrew Outlet for 25kg sacks of grain, they also give me a 10% discount as a bluelight card holder.

Bits and bobs I get from Maltmiller or geterbrewed (however they use DPD and me and the DPD man have had a falling out).

Hops and most yeast from CML.

 

[Graz]

A few that I haven't seen mentioned yet that generally give great service:

https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/ Delivery is so fast, usually next day and prices are competitive.
https://brew2bottle.co.uk/ Did have a bit of a wobble a while back as I think they were having financial issues but been great the last few times I've used them.
https://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/ Again, always been quick and reliable whenever I've used them. Their own beer kit range is good too.

 

[Stu]

I think this has turned into a very helpful thread, so thank you!
I thought it might be useful to give my experience of stuff I've used recently and it's been great having additional ideas thrown at me of places to spend my money