Brew & Wine Hobby

The staff was exceptional helpful and knowledgeable. I was only looking for cider brewing supplies, but it appeared that there was a wide selection of other home brew products. They even offered to check out my brew when I was done to discuss what I could improve on!

If you happen to walk in when Rich is running the store, I’d rate them 4 stars. Rich and Dana were, are the best people to ever have run this store.
Walk in when «Chad» is running the show and you will likely be waiting 10 mins before you are assisted. Its a weird «serve yourself» kind of shop when he is there.
Yesterday (9÷10÷15) I walked in and there were 2 other people in the store, and 2 shop keeps. 1 was Chad, and I don’t know the other guys name. Neither said hello when I walked in nor did they offer any assistance. Guy 1 was talking to Chad about some flooring. Guy 2 was standing in front of the yeast fridges. Not to be rude, I stand behind guy 1 and patiently wait my turn. 5 mins go by, Guy 2 finishes his research on yeast and I go over to get Wyeast 1056 (american ale). After hunting through all the yeasts, I finally found the yeast I was looking for. They are numbered, however they are not sorted in any logical order I could see.
I got back in line. Guy 1 is still talking about opening a brewery with Chad, Guy 2 has his money out attempting to buy yeast. Guy 2 is chatting with the group. After 5 more mins, I interrupt and ask if I may make a purchase.
Chad says, «Oh, I didn’t know you were a customer»
This type of lack of customer service is consistent with this employee. He followed up by asking what kind of beer I was brewing. I would have loved to talk about the Pumpkin ale I was brewing, but his fake interest was not wanted at that point.
$ 8.50 for a pack of yeast btw. You can find it up to $ 2 cheaper online.
One other bit of recommendation. Get a cash register that can scan items and use bar codes. The check out process if you have more than 5 items is rather lengthy for a retail store in 2015. The shop keeps have to key in each individual item via the keyboard on a computer.
After I paid, Chad said, «I’m sorry we are a little busy this evening.» I’m sorry, I didn’t think 3 customers, 2 purchasing yeast and 1 just talking shop, classifies as a busy day where it took me over 15 mins to purchase yeast.
Rich is amazing. I wish I knew when he was working and I would only visit the store when he is running the shop.
This store used to be the go to store for home brew supplies in the hartford area. Sadly, I doubt I’ll be a customer in the future.

A rare store indeed. Having brewed about 15 batches of beer at home I can tell you that this store is rare across America. You have the big Internet players and every now and then a local Mom & Pop.
Their inventory and brew geek staff can make it easy to brew your own. Good source for local yeast as well. Friendly staff. A+

Great shop, they have everything you’d need from beginner to experienced brewer! They are more than happy to give advice, share samples or just BS about beer or whatever else! Rich and Thad are super knowledgable, friendly and patient. Prices are reasonable, these guys are honest and will try to save you a buck if they can. Support your LHBS, you’ll be glad you stopped in!

When you want to craft the perfect Bock,
This place will have your supplies in stock.
Want to make a Pale or a Wheat?
The owner will help you get on your feet.
I’m relatively new to homebrewing and I was ordering all of my supplies online. Not anymore. Had a great experience here when I came to buy an extract kit for a Kolsch. The place carried two different brands of extract kits that encompassed a wide variety of unique types of beers. They also had a bunch of industrial refrigerators packed with fresh hops and yeasts. Brew & Wine Hobby carries all types of tools and equipment that any beer or wine maker could ever ask for.
The owner was nice and recommended a certain type of hops when I told him what I was looking for. I also told him what went wrong with my last batch and he helped me pinpoint the problem. I need to warm up my apartment a little more during fermentation.
Since I’m a member of the CT Beer Trailblazers, I also got upgraded to White Labs liquid yeast FO FREE! The place has plenty of parking, is easy to find, and the prices are comparable to what you pay online without the shipping costs. Will be making a monthly drive over here.

I hate to be the person to give these guys their lowest rating, even at 3 stars, because they are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. This is a solid place as homebrew stores go and they have a good variety of kits, materials and equipment for their size. They’ve been greatly helpful for me in terms of making suggestions for alternate ingredients that were out of stock. Their prices are reasonable as well.
My minor complaints are that:
a) their hours aren’t great. 10 – 6 most days, 10 – 5 Saturdays for some reason, closed Sunday/​Monday and closing at 6 on Fridays seems counter-​productive to me. Maybe there are a lot of people hanging out in East Hartford during the late morning/​early afternoon during the work week, but I’m not one of them because I have a job, and I have a rough time getting there on my way home from work in Hartford traffic. That’s my problem I guess, but a hobby store’s optimal hours would be during peoples’ non-​work time I would think. You can have the absolute best store in the world but it doesn’t matter if it isn’t open when people can get there.
b) their website is not very good (as we speak it’s been down altogether for the last couple of days). When it is functioning it doesn’t always seem to be accurate in terms of inventory which makes shopping ahead (the point of the website) challenging. So if you need something specific you’ll want to call ahead before going to the store.
Overall a better than good store, but the inconveniences prevent me from rating it more highly. I would absolutely prefer to shop local and support these guys because they do great work, but because of the stuff listed above, I often end up ordering from an online homebrew shop halfway across the country.

Great local home brew shop! They have a rent-​to-​own corker program and very helpful staff.
The new location is much bigger and easier to find.

Their new location is phenomenal. Lots of room, lots of additional products.
Keep up the great work.

As I drove up for the first time, they were home brewing right at the store! And it only got better from there with excellent and knowledgable service. We will definitely be back for future recipe ingredients.

What a terrific place for the home brewer, home vintner, or anyone who wants to look around in a store filled with interesting products and staffed by knowledgeable folks who are passionate about their ancient craft.
My son and I took a 2-​Saturday Beer Making class and it was a very enjoyable experience. Before and after class, we walked through the amazing retail portion of the building and gawked at the endless variety of beer and wine making merchandise, boxed beer making kits, cans of flavored malt mixes, bags of hops, corks, bottle caps, bottles, machines, and glass gizmos and gauges that looked like they were smuggled out of Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory.
Our first Saturday beermaking class of six was hosted by Thad, a super nice and knowledgeable host who made our 2-​hour session fly. Basically, the class shows you how to use their $ 50 beermaking kit to make 5 gallons of brew. He made a giant pot of a barley tea like substance, then he brought that to a boil before we added malt and hops, etc. This was a participatory class where everyone had a chance to pour or stir. After everything was done, he poured the steaming mix into a 6-​gallon bucket for the one week primary fermentation. Along the way, we sampled about 4 different beers and had a great time. Lots of jokes, lots of laughs were served along with some cool brewing knowledge.
We returned one week later for our second «class». The contents of the 6 gallon bucket was offloaded into a new bucket, leaving behind a hoppy, yeasty mess. We added sugar, sterilized 24 glass bottles, used a magic filling wand to load the beer into the clean bottles, and used a nifty capping machine to smush on a metal bottle cap. Now the beers are ready for a second fermentation — 3 weeks in a dark place to let those little beer bubbles get nice and happy. After three weeks — chill and enjoy.
We had a very enjoyable class, and I recommend this as a real fun activity.

These guys are SO knowledgeable! My boyfriend is into brewing his own beer (thanks to the best Christmas present ever from yours truly :)) and has been in a multitude of times to pick their brains and purchase supplies. We recently bought our first wine making kit and chose one by recommendation of the owner and we can’t wait to see how it comes out. Wine is much more up my alley, personally.
If you’re a brew or wine hobbiest, check them out!

With a new, larger store, this is the best brew hobby place in the area. The folks there are all helpful and knowledgeable. They are still upgrading their stock and equipment, and have announced that they may be offering classes to interested home brewers. They have beer and wine making supplies, from beginner to advanced. Also available is the specialized brewing and wine making equipment and books, required when a person brews, makes wine, or even mead
Just walking around is a treat, wherein you see arcane supplies like a wine thief, grain of paradise, liquid smoke, and the like.

What can I say?
I guess I could find a way to buy cheaper online, but it’s the rare business where they do such a good job that I want to buy local to make sure they’re supported and stay in business.
There is actually a closer homebrew store that I’ve been to, but travel a bit further as the Brew and Wine Hobby guys have a passion and share that with customers old and new. If you are looking to get in the homebrew game in the Hartford area, these are the guys to see… Seriously.

Having a drinking problem in a bad economy is tough. But, why resort to drinking mouthwash and cologne? The solution is simple. Brew your own! (Beer, I mean. Not mouthwash).
Long story short — I like beer but I have a tap water budget these days. The lady friend got me a nice brew kit for Christmas but I had absolutely no idea what to do beyond pulling it out of the box.
The nice, extremely helpful folks at Brew & Wine Hobby gave me a complete crash course when I went in there to purchase my first ingredient kit.
The brew just went into the fermenting bucket, so it’s hard to say for sure, but I followed their guidance (I’d have been pretty much lost without it) and I think everything went well… if I go blind in 6 weeks when it’s done I’ll be revising this review, but for now A++!

With a new, larger store, this is the best brew hobby place in the area. The folks there are all helpful and knowledgable. They are still upgrading their stock and equipment, and have announced that they may be offering classes to interested home brewers. They have beer and wine making supplies, from beginner to advanced. Also available is the specialized brewing and wine making equipment and books, required when a person brews, makes wine, or even mesw
Just walking around is a treat, wherein you see arcane supplies like a wine thief, grain of paradise, liquid smoke, and the like.

just getting back into home brewing and needed to pick up some supplies. i was lucky and everything was in stock here, staff was helpful and offered guidance with yeast selection and equipment. i had emailed some questions and they never responded so i just went in. website wasn’t very helpful. if you want to brew or make wine, this is a good place to start.

I have been going here regularly since the new owner took over and I started getting more into brewing. The owners keep the prices competitive with online retailers, but their knowledge and service put them over the top. If you are experienced, or new to brewing or wine-​making they can offer great advice and help with whatever your issues are. Highly recommended for anyone in the area.

This is easily the best homebrew shop I’ve been to. Rich is incredibly knowledgeable, and you would do well to listen to his suggestions! The shop has been almost completely renovated. I can’t wait until everything is completed. The website has also been revamped, complete with a blog by Rich. Don’t accept rude or condescending service from your homebrew store, go to East Hartford and be treated with respect.

This store has gone through unbelievable improvements! Rich has officially taken over as partial owner. They have renovated the whole place. There are now self-​serve grain bins. THEY HAVE SUPPLIES! Way to go Rich!
My first review is below…
This place is great! The only problem is their lack of supplies at times, but I just saw on their website that they are closed this week for renovation & restocking. Once this happens, this will the the ONLY place to go for beer & wine making supplies. Rich is by far the cheapest option, because he buys everything in bulk.
My first couple times going in there, I really had no idea what I was doing. He made recipes for me, coinciding with the type of beer I was looking for, & explained everythin read more «g I needed to know for that batch. He also answered any questions that had arisen from previous batches that I had made. I typically end up talking to him for about an hour or so about random things with brewing. We have also started talking a bit about wine-​making, which is more of his passion, but he still has over 50 brews under his belt.
I’ll never go anywhere else in the state for my supplies!