I had a chance yesterday morning to stop in to Omaha’s newest homebrew
shop, Patriot Homebrew Supply. I needed ingredients for an upcoming batch and I
was in the area so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I was greeted by Matt,
the owner, and he gave me some quick directions on how his store is set up and
how to shop for ingredients.
One of the first things you will notice is that you get to
weigh out your grain yourself and you pay for it in increments as low as an
ounce. This is a feature that appeals to me a lot. I don’t know how many times
I've developed a stash of random specialty malts in my basement that don’t get
used because I had to order a full pound of each even if all I needed was four
ounces! Everything is well organized too, so it was easy to see what malts were
available. Matt also has a chart of substitutions should he not have a malt or
hop you were looking for. Speaking of hops, he also stocks a good selection of
hops from Hop Union as well as Indie Hops out of Oregon and I believe he also
stocks some local whole leaf hops from Rhynalds Hops Growers. As far as yeasts go,
PHS stocks strains from all of the major brands. I didn't get a good look at
the equipment side of PHS but Matt did tell me that he will be stocking 15
gallon Bayou Classic kettles very soon and he is registered as a Blichmann Engineering dealer so he can order you anything you need from Blichmann if you
so desire.
One downside of shopping at a local homebrew shop tends to
be pricing. The smaller local guys just can’t beat the volume and therefore the
pricing of the big online retailers like Northern Brewer, Midwest Supplies,
MoreBeer, etc. However, I found that Matt’s prices on everything I bought were
all within 20% of the prices found at Northern Brewer and most were less than
10% more expensive. Combine that kind of competitive pricing, the ability to
buy malt in one ounce increments, and no shipping costs and I actually spent
less at PHS than I would have if I had ordered everything through Northern
Brewer online.
In talking with Matt, I also found out that he will be
installing a brewing system (capable of producing 20 gallons of wort) in the
shop that people may be able to rent time on to brew wort right there in the
store. He will also use it to brew his own beer to have on tap at the shop so
you can drink a pint while you shop. What a great plan!
In short, I found Patriot Homebrew Supply to be a well-organized
shop with competitive pricing and a friendly atmosphere. I will most definitely
be shopping there again!
1 comment:
The little time I have known Matt he has been extremely knowledgeable and professional, he and his wife make a good team, the shop is set up nicely. I'm proud to be working with a fellow Army VETERAN and providing them with local hops!
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