I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by the smaller local home brew store yesterday and was shocked and appalled to see that it was no longer there. The signs were down, lights off and the building was empty.

“Oh no!” I thought “the Brew and Grow closed up!” It is sad for me to see small shops close, no matter what kind of store they are. When I go shopping I try and keep it as local as I can supporting the little guy. This little shop doesn’t have a huge selection, but it beats driving half an hour to Midwest when all I need to do is replace a yeast pack or pick up an ounce of hops.

With downcast eyes I pulled out of the empty parking lot and took the kids home for lunch. During nap time I decided I’d search to see when they closed and maybe figure out why.

Lo and behold!

They just MOVED! Yeay!

This morning, after the kids played at the park for a while, I loaded them up and we drove to the store’s new location. The travel time and distance are near identical, they just move up and over a bit. Instead of being in a strip mall they now have their own building, nicely split with the brewing stuff down one side and the hydroponic growing stuff down the other.

Good for them, I’m glad they’re still in town! The down side is they no longer stock and sell their own recipe kits instead offering the Brewer’s Best line of kits. While I have nothing against Brewer’s Best, I’ve cooked and drank many of them, it is nice to get more variety. The reason given was the hop shortage. I’m glad my Cascade is doing well…

So, the long and short of it, I still have my close-by store for little stuff and Midwest for when I want to load up on creative original kits!

Cheers!
Tony

Incidentally, I’m still interested in reading about whats in your carboys, please, let me know!