My Local HomeBrew Shop

Friendly and knowledgeable staff. They also have a good stock of everything you would need.

I called ahead and they assured me they were open. I arrive at the store and they were closed! As a person who works regular business hours in the DC area, I find this store’s hours impossible to deal with. I’m sticking with ordering online from Northern Brewer.

I still like this place, wish prices were a little lower. But that is NOVA for you. Bought Wyeast Scottish Ale yeast and the smack pack was made 13 days prior. Does it get any better? RDWHAHB! Staff there rocks! Keep up the great work!

I found this treasure trove back in 2010 when I moved here from out of state. I have been brewing since 1993 and this is the best all stop shop I’ve been to. Some are close but this place beats everyone with their customer service and willingness to offer advice. They have helped me with advice from the basics to advanced brewing to kegging.
Their staff is friendly, helpful and always available.
They are situated in a small plaza with plenty of parking.
My only advice would be to put a larger sign in the plaza directory so it’s easier to see from the road.
Thanks for the support through the years. My brew is better because of this store.

Horrible customer service. It was my first time there and they were extremely rude and talked behind my back at me as I was leaving. Just plain rude.

The customer service was amazing and so are the products. Jenica and the other worker there helped me out. They are very knowledgable and have great prices. Definitely will go to this place again and again. Definitely check it out if you have not.

Limited selection, mostly catering to partial mash and extract brewing. Good for small supplies in a pinch. Bad for getting materials or supplies for large all grain brews. They only let you grind small quantities of grain. And no, they don’t let you grind grain not bought there… not even at a fee. I’m not sure why a home brew store would deprive would-​be brewers of this service. Store hours are limited and I’ve been asked to «order ahead» if I wanted a lot of grain on Friday or Saturday.
This store knows it’s the only game in town and customer service seems like an afterthought. If you need bottle caps, hop pellets, or yeast in a pinch it’s fine, but outside of that I wouldn’t go here.

Best home brew shop in Virginia. They match their top quality ingredients with top quality customer service. The owner and employees are very knowledgeable and can answer any question even over the phone when you start the brew. From pilsner to porter they got it all. All grains too!

For all those aspiring home brewers or veteran wine makers…
Excellent customer service
I love this place. I mean, it’s the only one of its kind that I’ve been to, but almost every employee has knowledge and good advice and tips. Great place to go if you have questions about your first, second…20^th batch of beer brewing or wine-​making. I was helped to my car with my 36 empty wine bottles, and also offered encouragement (woo!) when I was super nervous about bottling for the first time. Pretty friendly and helpful staff. A+
Great selection & Variety
They have everything that I’ve looked for, and many different brands and types of the same type of instruments or ingredients, too. I don’t know too much about the beer world, but for instance they have many different stirring instruments, many different brands of sanitizer /​cleaners, and some really quality equipment. I got my awesome floating thermometer here (my kit came with a sticker…).
Loyalty & Perks
They also have a loyalty program where you get discounts if you reach a certain amount spent, which, if you have already invested in the equipment, you might as well keep brewing :) You can also get 20% off at Dogfish if you show them your lhbs receipt!
Don’t order online and pay shipping, just come here!

Well laid out, good selection. They get busy at times, so if you need advice or help piecing together a recipe you may catch some attitude from the older guy. I only mention that because when chatting with dozens of people around the area, the attitude topic always comes up. Not a big issue for me but a funny coincidence.

I’ve been coming here for over four years, so I’m surprised I hadn’t already written a review yet.
Part of the challenge of running a homebrew shop is that half your customer base knows exactly what they want and the other half has no idea what they need. Balancing those two communities is not an easy task. Before this store was expanded, you would regularly see people packed in like sardines every Saturday, trying to get the attention of the 2 – 3 people working their tails off. Every time, some hopeful brewer-​to-​be would carry an equipment kit and a box of some type of lager recipe up to the counter with a smile — only to be met by a flurry of questions:
«Do you have a pot? How big is your pot? Do you have a way to cool your wort? Did you realize that you picked up a lager recipe? Do you know the difference between an ale and a lager? No? Ok, do you have a dedicated fridge? And temperature control? So you can’t make a good lager, let’s pick out a different kit, and make sure it’s an ale. Are you bottling? Do you have bottles or do you need to buy some? 12oz? 22oz? No, it’s not going to taste anything like corona…»
My point of illustrating this scene is to suggest that when you walk into a homebrew store knowing nothing, you’re going to feel pretty dumb at some point. Just go with it, these guys will lead you down the right path. They will sell you whatever you want, but they will also advocate strongly for the products and ingredients they personally believe in and use.
When I first started coming in, I would clumsily assemble my purchases, ask dumb questions and feel lost in the fray of the store. Regulars would pop in to pick up a yeast or a few bags of hops and the staff would greet them by name and I would wonder how these guys were coming in often enough to be remembered by name. Years later, I’ve grown from extract kits to a full three-​tiered all-​grain operation servicing five taps and I’m slowly becoming one of «those guys».
Now that this store has expanded (and continues to expand), it feels downright luxurious and I think they’re even planning to have grain by the ounce soon (if it isn’t there already) with dedicated milling stations. There’s more room to move around, more products on display (that were previously hidden in the back somewhere) and more room for staff to assist on high volume days.
As others have said, they’re well stocked on just about everything, and can recommend solid alternatives on anything they’re out of on a given day. Even if you take the time to shop around, just about everything here will be competitive to most online retailers (and almost always cheaper than the big one), but you’ve got the satisfaction of supporting a small local business and having your stuff immediately.

Although the shop I previously purchased from in Virginia Beach was a larger store, this place has all the basics to get you going and also has a great staff. I primarily deal with Ryan and he hasn’t steared me wrong yet. They have a great selection of stuff for the size of the location. Anything I have needed for the couple of brews I have done they had. The yeast has been good to go… the add in items such as cansy suger, and grains of paradise are stocked. They have many different bottles including growlers, belgian bottles (including corks and wires). They have plenty of extract kits for those that are not fans of whole grain mashing.
Wine… yes they have wine kits and corkers and all the goods for your wine needs.

This morning I found out that the faucet on my kegerator had been broken. Ryan at My Local Home Brew Shop saved the day! Our party is now greenlighted for this evening… Thanks for saving the day!

Very helpful and knowledgeable Staff. been in twice now. I’m all for supporting local business if they make the effort to keep my business. This place has earned my business.
In a lot of gathering places for hobbyist (be it a cigar shop, golf shop, small local computer store etc) staff can come across as arrogant/​snobby/​holier-​than-​thou. The staff here was helpful without being condescending and honest (they certainly could have pushed more expensive options but were honest in appraising my true needs).
Had done my research on prices and certainly felt they were competitive to anything you could get most days online.

These guys are great. All of the staff members I’ve spoken with are experienced homebrewers, so you can count on good information whether this is your first brew or your hundredth brew. They’re expanding, and I can’t wait to see the new digs.

What has two thumbs, loves cerveza, cupcakes, long walks on the beaches AND supports local business?
This sexy bastid right here!
Yep, I’m a big fan of supporting local businesses! I was pleasantly surprised when I heard from my buddy Donald P that a local home brew shop existed just a quick car ride from my little adobe hut. The reason for my excitement is that I really enjoy brewing my own beer in the comfort of my own home.
Normally, I’d use one of two big online beer supply places… but having My Local Home Brew Shop (myLHBS) is quite handy. Although the online retailer prices seem cheaper, myLHBS’s prices are similar if not better when you factor in the cost of shipping for the online stores. Plus, the fact that you can actually talk home brewing with the staff of myLHBS makes all of my visits that much more fun.
Everytime I’ve visited myLHBS, the gentleman working there is not only very knowledgeable about home brewing, but he’s a very nice guy. Often time I have my monkeys with me who tend to be fascinated with shelves and «cool» looking beer making supplies (the love the bags of beer caps). I give the myLHBS dude some props because he wasn’t shy at telling my boys to be careful, but he did it in a very playful and polite way.
This little store has everything a home brewer needs:
— great selection of hops
— liquid Wyeast
— malt in the form of grains and liquid extract
— plenty of brewing supplies (hoses, bottles, airlocks, buckets, etc)
Honestly, you wouldn’t guess by the small size of the store that they carry almost everything you need. If they don’t have it, I’m sure myLHBS would be happy to order something for you. Don’t be fooled by the prices, they may seem a bit more that the online places but trust me… when you factor in the shipping costs of those other dot-​com stores, myLHBS’ prices are very competitive.
If you’re thinking of getting into home brewing, definitely stop by and chat it up with the staff. They also have a website and a Facebook page and are great at answering wall posts or email questions. Sometimes they also host demos/​interactive lessons on brewing for anyone curious to learn about brewing (and drinking) your own beer at home.
Glad to have such a cool place so close to my ‘hood. A toast to myLHBS! :-)

Small store, but excellent assistance. The crew there knows their stuff really well, and they’ll answer any and all questions you have about homebrewing.
Prices aren’t too bad, either, especially when you take into account that you aren’t paying for shipping.

This store will be fine for some people, but I won’t be back.
This simply isn’t worth the schlep out from DC, especially if you don’t have a car. If you live in the VA burbs or don’t mind a drive through suburban hell, this store will probably work for you. If you live in the city, it’s a lot more convenient to have your supplies shipped.
The selection here is fine. They had exactly what we needed for our recipe. The staff attitude was a little snobbish, but I kind of expect that from a homebrew store.
After pricing out the same order from Midwest Supplies, even with shipping, it would have been a little less money, and a thousand times less hassle. I wish DC proper had a homebrew store, but until then, options are limited.

Works for me. Their prices are reasonable, but given the small size of the shop, they mostly have the basics. They had a line out the door on Saturday morning, but Verizon had screwed up their internet connection so it was cash only that day. Not their fault, I’m sure that everyone can relate to having a problem with Verizon at some point in their lives.
They were out of the Wyeast that I needed, but were able to suggest an alternative. I checked the date on the package, and it was within the date range that Northern Brewer ships to me, so that was good. I’d get all of my supplies there if I lived closer, but for now it’s just odds and ends… or in this case when I smacked a smack pack with a bit too much force.
Overall, good store for all of the basic needs, and helpful/​friendly staff.

Gotta admit I was a little skeptical going in from reading all the sketchy reviews. I half expected to walk into a scene from the Soup Natzi (Seinfeld episode)…“No wort chiller for you! Come back, one year!!”
I was greeted when I walked in, the staff was friendly and knowledgeable. They answered all my questions, didn’t hover or try and pressure me to buy unnecessary widgets and techno-​giblets. Pretty steady stream of customers came in, and even though the shop is a little small, it had everything. If not, I asked and they had it in back.
I could have gotten a few of the items cheaper on the internet, but I picked up some brewing tips, saved on shipping, and got my gear right away. They call that convenience of something like that.
Dude even helped me carry my brew-​goods out to the truck. I’ll be back. Relax. Don’t worry. Drink a home brew!

First time there ever. I felt like they couldn’t figure out why i still was using the kits to make my beer. Listen, some folks simply don’t have room, time or space for a 5 gallon setup, ok?
The lack of personal feel at this place is what irks me. I much prefer Jay’s brewing in Clifton for my needs. At least when i go there, my questions and concerns are not taken lightly, i get more than short and dry answers and the reccomendations so far have been spot on.
The only plus that i can see is the bottle caps are way cheaper than other places, but its too far out of my way to go here and feel guilty for not running a big boy setup like some of these guys out here. You self-​righteous asses.
If i were in the area and knew what i needed i would stop in real quick. For customer service, it’s simply «bleh.» In my first experience, this is simply just «another» hbs.
Update: I went back for some stuff recently and was smoking outside. The guy came out and said, «hey are you gonna come in soon? I was gonna go to lunch.» What. The. Hell? You could’ve simply locked the door after I came in and shut the lights or something. Better still, you couldve brought a lunch. That whole situation was really rude and turns me off from shopping with these guys. While shopping after my smoke, he seemed antsy to leave, justifying his earlier actions with stuff like, «I usually don’t take lunch breaks, but today is different.» oh, that totally makes it all ok.
What a rude dude. Only will be coming back if it’s on my way and I know what I want without dealing with crappy customer service. Bottom line is customer service should be a bit more important to these guys and they really need to stop thinking about cash flow and start thinking about customer service. 1 extra star deduction.