Brew & Grow

I just went to my first beer making class. I thought it was informative and interesting.. The staff is very passionate and knowledegable.
I would suggest at least folding chairs next class. two and one half hours is a long time to stand for class.

Purchased craft beer product here for over a year now and thought they were helpful and legit. Needed a new WYeast for for a new batch. Unfortunately, I was sold an older lot and after 5 hours, the bag never swelled. Used it anyhow. After 2 days of fermentation, still no activity in the airlock. Went back to get a replacement Yeast and figured they would replace the bad bag at no charge. NOPE. He said to just wait as this particualr type may take a long time. I disagreed and he still charged me for a new bag (with a newer date code). I activated the new bag as soon as I got in my car. By the time I got home 1 hour later, the bag was fully swelled. (as it should). Never going back to a place that does not stand behind their product.

great for equipment and supplies

Home brewing is all the rage these days, especially with the craft beer boom. Experimenting with flavor profiles is fun… if you know what you’re doing. My fiancé really enjoys this latest hobby and we’ve made several batches of different beers. He’s mostly ordered kits from Northern Brewer online, but every now and then, we need a random something or other. That’s where Brew & Grow comes in.
Now, I’m not a big fan of this location. Not the store itself, but literally, it’s location. It’s in a weird strip mall next to a doll clothing shop (a whole damn store?) and a church that looks more like a coffee shop. Also across the parking lot is a very shady dog kennel with neon lights. I really don’t want to know what goes on there.
Anyway, the store itself is great. They have a bunch of kits that they sell, along with packets of yeast, empty bottles, bottle caps, the thingy you use to put the bottle caps on the bottles, etc. Basically everything you need for home brewing. The guys are really helpful. We have a kit that we bought 6 months ago but did not have the time to brew like we thought we would. Worried it might have gone bad, we asked the dude and he said it was fine, so we just bought some new yeast that had to be refrigerated. They do a good job of explaining everything to you and don’t make you feel dumb about it. They even rent out some of their bottling equipment if you have a big job to do and that little dinky bottle cap thingy you have won’t get the job done.
Overall, this store is a great one to have around. I just wish it wasn’t in this shady strip mall.

I’m between 3 and 4 stars on this one. Friendly staff and a good array of basic brewing tools and supplies. I suppose I wish they were bigger, with a broader selection and lower prices. For small tools, quick purchases, and perhaps for the bigger beer kits and specialty equipment this store has what you need. Certainly they are one of the best brew supply stores in the Chicago area. I just wish they offered more.

This place has a good selection of home-​brew equipment and ingredients. They turn over their ingredients, so the stuff they’re selling is fresh. They’re friendly, and will help you if you corner them. Decent place if you need some last-​minute brew ingredients or equipment. I bought ingredients to brew three batches from them last year and they all turned out great. Prices are OK. Bought my homebrew equipment kit from them some 15+ years ago when they were over on Barrington Road.
They’ve shifted their store hours a bit in the past year, so I always make sure to call before I run out there. If you go in on the weekend they sometimes have a batch cooking in there. The place seems aimed more toward the indoor gardener as a majority of the store space is allocated to grow-​lights and fertilizer.

If you like to grow stuff AND make beer (and cheese? there is a teeny tiny cheese making section too) then this is the place to be. The shop is pretty big and houses all kinds of stuff. If you don’t know what you are looking for the staff is knowledgeable but are just friendly enough. On both of the occasions that I went here, I was the one to ask questions and they did not seem interested in coming to me to see if I needed anything. However, when I did ask my questions, I got some answers. Supplies win and customer service draw?

I have been into this store a couple times. There were 2 guys sitting at the counter, working on computers. I looked around in the store a couple times, & wasn’t able to find what I was looking for. After asking for some help, I was told it was halfway down the isle on the left. I guess I was looking for more customer service than they were willing to give.