Homebrew Heaven

To those who have done business with Doug and have found him to be rude, I will say this.
I no longer live in Salem, but when I did, there were 2 supply stores. Homebrew Heaven and Aycock Knives and Homebrew. Curt of Aycock had better prices and a bubbly personality, but a horrible, terrible selection. He ran it out of a small bedroom in his house, and in the 5 times I visited him, only ONCE did he have what I needed. Never had the yeast I wanted (nothing exotic), almost every hop he would say «nope, I don’t carry that, it is crossbred», he didn’t have enough 2 row and I had to buy more expensive DME, and he was usually out of stock for common items. Well, it doesn’t matter how great he is and if the prices are better if he doesn’t have what I want. I never went back.
Enter Doug. Is he a great guy? It really depends on his mood. I have seen him get upset with one customer who said he is overpriced and told him his store sucks. A few times I told him I thought something was too expensive, and he told me that his cost went up and he needed to make money. I never felt ignored by him, but I wanted to be left alone. Some days when I went in it was obvious he was having a bad day. Doug is getting old and he should be retiring soon.
I can only speak for myself. I was his customer from 2005 – 2006, before I moved out of Salem. I personally (key words) never had much of a problem with him. He always answered my questions and provided good insight. I took my first mash tun to him when I was absolutely clueless, didn’t buy anything, and Doug gave me significant help. By the time I moved out of town, I quit going to Curt and I only went to Doug for my supplies. I was, and still am 8 years later, blown away by how much Doug knew about brewing.
Have other people had a problem with him? I’m sure they have.
If you don’t mind the drive, I would strongly recommend either Above The Rest in Tigard or Brew Brothers in Hillsboro. Both are nice and respectful. Avoid Kevin Stahr at Main Street Homebrew in Hillsboro. Myself and other customers have dealt with him, and he is an ass. Rude, arrogant, disrespectful, and talks down to those who aren’t at his level of experience. Total ass.
Homebrew Heaven has a good selection for Salem. I have been to supply stores in Portland and Seattle, and all have much more, but those are big cities compared to Salem. Given the size, Doug has a good selection. My biggest problem was that his grain mill was hand crank. I hate that. Maybe he runs it off a drill now? Otherwise, his selection of malt, yeast, hops, DME, and equipment is pretty good for a small store in a small city.

Doug is a nice guy and a great resource for homebrewers. It is surprising how much he knows about making beer, cider, wine and mead. He is a pleasure to talk to and has a lot of patience with me. He has a pretty good stock of typical homebrew supplies but not much in the way of hardware. He has a goof variety of grain, hops and yeast.

This place is terrible. Was in the store Saturday and had to nearly beg the guy at the desk to acknowledge that I was even asking a question. Absolutely terrible service. This was my third time in the store, never had a welcoming experience, but it was tolerable enough to pick up odds and ends. Not anymore, I will be driving to Portland.

There’s something about a proprietor that knows you’re looking for homebrewing supplies to make hard cider from gallon jugs of apple juice from Winco yet still talks to you with a smile about lambics and Cascade hops.
In my senior year of undergrad I started experimenting with making my own beer (the hard cider of the previous year being a complete failure due to our paltry understanding of brewing techniques). I immediately went to Homebrew Heaven for all of my supplies. From what I’ve learned since, the prices were comparable, and the selection was terrific. They had various malts and yeast strains and an abundance of hops in freeze-​dried pellets and leafy bags. I was able to buy everything I needed there including a glass carboy, tubes, cleaners, air locks and corks. The whole she-​bang.
And during my other subsequent trips, the owner told me what I needed for each of the brews I tried. Which hops that he had would be best, how long to let them ferment, and why I should really be making lambics. And all this through a surly but helpful air with knowing grumble. Probably one of the greatest resources in Salem that I regret leaving behind, it is indeed, a heaven for homebrew.
Note: I haven’t been back recently, as I have not been in the area, but I have heard mutterings through the grapevine that it is still excellent.