June 30, 2009
One of my local homebrew shops. Excellent and expansive grain selection, anything you could need to brew, plus they make mead here. I’ve never taken any of the classes, but it’s definitely nice to have a hbs in the city.

December 29, 2008
I showed up at the meadery around 6 pm on the weekend. This location is actually a homebrew shop combined with an animal products store in a tiny shop along a 4 lane road. Long story short...dont go to the actual location. Nothing is sold here and the owner is super high and there is crazy -everything is happy- music playing in the background which makes me feel like I am at a cult meeting. Really weird experience, I stood there for 15 minutes while he kept telling me he would let me sample everything he made. I really had no idea what to expect and I just wanted to taste a few things and buy whatever I liked. The owned told me he does not like to compete with his retailers so he sells nothing there. He was friendly enough but it was extremely odd. I became creeped out and I was 82% sure I was going to be murdered. I gave up and told him I had to go because I was tired of standing there awkwardly while he helped some other dude who showed up after I did. I was told I could find a bottle across the street at

December 17, 2006
I went in for a bottle of mead and left with TWO bottles of mead, a glass carboy, a bottlecapper and several stoppers!

This little shop on Western was a pleasant surprise. Seems a bit dingy and crowded when you first walk in, but as you start to look around and ask questions you realize they have everything you (as a homebrewer) needs. Old copies of Zymurgy share shelf space with a plentiful variety of DME and LME. Brewing books are crammed into shelves alongside buckets full of stoppers, hydrometers, crowns, sanitizer, etc., etc. The grain closet was a real treat with over a dozen malts in hoppers available by the pound. There was a winemaking class being taught in the back, so service up front was a little slow yet very efficient. This place seems great for ingredients and basic setups but since it seems so small, I’d phone first if you’re looking for a specialty item.

Worth noting is that the shop opens up to the pet shoppe/groomer next door... so we find one-stop shopping for all of you beer-makin’ animal lovers! (Big ol’ dog came in sniffin’ my hand as I was checkin’ out some scales!)

January 8, 2006
Really dig this place. I ended up taking one of the beer brewing classes (they also have one for wine) and loved it. Greg and the rest of the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. A good amount of beer and wine making supplies, at a reasonable price. The guys are very willing to answer any of your questions, from amateurs to pros. Also, this place is the only meadery in Illinois, of which they makle some very good stuff (it can be found at the Clark Street Ale House). Check out a class, or stop in for questions and supplies.