American Home Brewing Supply

After spending some time in the Basque regions of France and Spain, I decided to attempt making a still farmhouse cider. With only a little wine and beer making experience, decided to visit all the local supply shops. Vance and American Home Brewing are my «best of «selections! Some of the shops I visited really did not have the time or interest for a novice attempting a small batch of an arguably, but growing, niche beverage. Vance has a wealth of experience and knowledge in all aspects of brewing and fermentation and as others have stated, he gauges what you know and need before making recommendations. He does not sell products, he gives you information and advice and then shows options based on your situation. Prices are competitive and the shop has a good range. As for one reviewer’s suggestion of trading in the shop’s hand grinder for a motorized mill, why are you going to the trouble of making your own cider/​beer/​wine in the first place?! These beverages are are available with little human effort at the local grocery store!

Vance who runs this business is a dream come true for home brewers. Great guy. Great sense of humor (needed for home brewing). And great help. He easily can recommend improvements and starting points for any level of home brewer. I really like going to his shop and getting stocked up for the next round of brewing.

My experience here is much different than the other Unilocalers, but it needs to be said. I’ve not experienced any of the helpfulness or experience of the brewers or benefited from their experience. Just last week, I went in there asking about making hard cider from cider I had bought in Julian and the very first thing I was told is that it was too bad that I had already bought the cider because he could have sold me a kit. A kit?!? Really? Not helpful.
Pros:
— Location. Just off the freeway.
— Website — lots of good recipes there. The website might be more useful than the store.
— Near beer tasting. Hey, when in Rome…
Cons:
— You have to grind your own grain, by hand. Like the Amish. Get a motorized mill.
— Inventory is lacking
— Inventory is expensive
— In my experience, owner is not helpful

Excellent store! Has everything you need and is a great help. Lots of information for those just getting started and a great conversation for those that have been around the block a few times.

I can’t say if this is the best store in terms of inventory, but I will say that they are 100% passionate about home brewing and incredibly knowledgable, informative and opinionated.
And by the latter, I don’t mean that as a bad thing. I was contemplating a potential big investment in a starter set of stuff (with friends and investors) and they suggested I try a simpler approach to begin with, then jumping in more should it prove interesting.
If you want to spend $ 100 to buy a basic kit to try out home brewing, or if you are a seasoned veteran looking for gear, grain or yeast… this is a great, locally owned shop worth your visit.

I have to agree with Patrick. This is an okay brewing store, and the owner is really nice, but what keeps it from being better than okay is the weird process of filling a grain bill. It is an awkward and clumsy process, particularly if someone else is trying to do the same thing at the same time. I can fill a grain bill in about 5 minutes at most brewing stores. Either they make the process easy for me to accomplish on my own, or they just do it for me. The process of weighing, milling by hand, and bagging grain takes me about five times as long here, and when attempting to work around other people trying to do the same, it can be quite awkward. And yes, the prices are a little high.
Still, if you need anything besides grain, it’s a pretty good store.

I visited American Home Brewing Supply for the first time yesterday and I’ve got some really conflicting views on it.
The shop is clean, stocked nicely and the owner, Vance, was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. His prices were a leeeeetle more than elsewhere but not enough to make a difference. My issue with American Home Brewing Supply is the process of getting your grains.
AHBS, as with a lot of shops, have their bins of grains around a table with a scale. Measure your grains onto the scale, dump them into a bucket and then dump them into the electric mill (some places like Mother Earth do the milling for you).
The problem I have with AHBS’s process here is that the bucket (s) you dump your grains into are small stockpots that hold about 5# of grain. If you have more than 5# worth of grains (which how many all-​grain recipes don’t?) you have to use more than one of their small pots. I filled up 4 small pots. The mill they have is a hand mill. While a hand mill isn’t the end of the world, but it did take me significantly longer to grind my grain from several small pots sitting around and having to crank it by hand instead of using an electric mill. Once you have all your grains milled, you don’t have the nice, big, proper paper bag to dump them into. There are small plastic bags that smaller than your typical grocery produce bag. They didn’t fit around the small pot. I had to be shown «the trick» to get them into the bag cleanly. I didn’t even see any twisty ties to seal them with, so I had to tie a knot in the top of the bag.
While this isn’t the worst thing in the world, the process took significantly longer than my typical stop to another homebrew shop would. In order to get 20# of grains into the small stock pots, hand grind them and then put them into 6 small plastic bags (instead of larger paper bags most shops offer) that I then put in larger plastic bags (similar to a grocery checkout bag), it took over an hour. I’m brewing almost exactly the same recipe that I brewed last time and it took me about 15 minutes to get the grains, yeast and hops at The Homebrewer in North Park.
When it comes down to it, if I need a few items to brew, I’ll swing by. If I’ve got the option to go to another shop that has larger buckets, proper bags and a powered grinder, I’m going to do that.

I had no idea this place was even around so I was surprised when it popped up in my Unilocal results.
I only came looking for a couple of carboy plugs but ended up getting some fermometers and a one-​gallon glass carboy for $ 6(!!!). Some of the other stuff looked a bit pricey compared to other places but I can’t complain.
The owner was nice to talk to. I don’t usually chit chat but decided to ask him about some stuff regarding my mead. He definitely knows his stuff. He has his firm opinions on some stuff but he was pleasant when he shared them.
I was glad I came here. Will definitely pop by again if I am in the area.

Admittedly this is the one and only homebrew shop that I have ever shopped in, but I’m not quite certain why you’d go anywhere else. Allow me to elaborate.
Vance (the owner) is simply an awesome guy. I’ve been in here twice now; once when I was toying with the idea of brewing and a second time to pick up the stuff I needed to actually do it. Both times Vance was helpful and friendly. You can tell that the guy knows brewing incredibly well. I read reviews before going in and was on the alert for condescension but there simply isn’t any. While Vance talked to me like a novice (I am one), there were two other customers in the store that had obviously been in before and he treated them according to their knowledge level. Additionally, when I did trot out my 2 – 3 brewing facts, he gave a look of acknowledgement and then adjusted his information accordingly. The dude is just friendly, there’s not other way to put it.
As for selection and prices, I’m not a great resource. Everything seemed in line with what I’ve found on the internet with the markup you’d expect for a «mom and pop» type operation. Getting on my soapbox again, I’m the type of person who will pay a few dollars more to support the local guy if I can, and nothing about the prices here turned me off to the store. As for the selection, they had everything I needed to get started so I was happy there as well.
If you’re thinking about brewing, go in and talk to Vance. He’ll make sure that you get started on the right foot. As I was leaving he encouraged me to get a notebook to write down not only a step-​by-​step accounting of what I did, but also any questions that I had along the way, as well as what I did and didn’t like about my beer so that he could help me the next time I stopped in. It’s like he already knows how bad I’m going to screw this up…

Really a cool shop. I got all the equipment I needed to start successfully brewing here, and after lovingly crafting a simple-​but-​hopefully-​delicious first recipe I was also able to get all the ingredients I needed to brew it. Sadly I didn’t find the Crystal hops I was looking for, but Hallertauer was a good substitute and most importantly I found the particular saison yeast and grains that I needed. I wouldn’t necessarily call the selection vast, but there is a good variety of grains and equipment. If you need any uncommon specialty grains you may want to call ahead of time to see if it is there, but they’ll have most of what you’ll need.
I found the owner amiable; he was very easy about exchanging a racking cane that I discovered later was cracked. He was also full of information — not condescending at all as some have said, just helpful. He assured me that I shouldn’t be in a hurry to go all-​grain; that if I controlled my processes well that I could brew very good beer with just extracts, and could brew most anything with a partial mash process. He isn’t trying to sell you a lot of expensive equipment you don’t need, he just wants you to succeed.
The prices here are generally what I’d call fair. Some items are on the high end, but I doubt you could find extract or grain ($ 2/​lb when I was there) for a better price online if you’re taking shipping into account. I might’ve been able to save a couple dollars by ordering a few of the miscellaneous items online, but the hassle of waiting for shipping and obtaining equipment piecemeal isn’t really worth the relatively small savings. Besides, the advice and direction more than makes up for it – I mean, the guy knows everything. Hell, I told him my ingredients and batch size, and he ended up guessing what the gravity of my wort was going to be more accurately than my brewing software. Hah!

I’ll be honest. I love Unilocal,but I don’t do reviews. I’m going against the grain (pun. Ha!) here by posting one this time around.
My good man Vance stands apart from the rest in terms of service, friendliness and sheer beer savvy. I’ve tried a few brewery stores in San Diego. I can confidently assert that none match the small-​business sort of congeniality and level of care that I get at American Homebrew Supply.
Vance has stocked the joint with everything you need to produce a finely-​crafted batch of beer, at reasonable prices. He’s also just as comfortable to chat about anything from yeast strains to thoughts on international trade– the true renaissance man of Miramar.
But come prepared amateurs; Vance is a practitioner of the true Socratic style. He’ll take the time to guide you to the answer you seek, rather than spew it at you. As I gathered from some of the (few) poor reviews, not everyone appreciates this more dynamic method of teaching (a good portion of the Athenians sure didn’t). For those of us that do, Vance is your man.

Vance is the man!
I consider my friend and I beginners when it comes to brewing. We’ve been here twice and each time Vance greeted us with a smile and a good attitude. He was so happy to give out tips and pointers. We looked up a honey wheat recipe he had online and when we went into the store and he walked us through everything we needed. It was more or less like a hands on course on how to weigh the things we needed and how to use everything. I had such a great experience here. always glad to bring him my business (even though sometimes he rings you up and it was more than you were expecting to spend lol but you are also paying for his experience and tips) I always ask him a bunch of questions every time I go!
Our first batch of beer was a great success, all our friends loved it. Working/​waiting on our batch of hef. Hopefully that turns out great also.

I’ve been brewing for about 3 years and Vance got me started. From day one he started me on the right path, I told him that this wasn’t going to be something that I tried a couple times and forgot about, and that I was serious and wanted to start brewing and perfecting my art so that after I retire I could do it professionally. He started me small and built me up from there, each time I went there I gained more knowledge and a greater insight in how to make true traditional beer. I drink like 6 – 10 beers a day, I try at least 5 new ones a week, and from what I’ve learned here I can pick out what hops, malts, and even yeasts that are in them, and over the years I’ve made many beers that are much better than most I’ve tried that were purchased. If you want to make beer, or if you are making beer, you need to go here. The prices are fair especially for a small business making it in this country, this state, and the knowledge you’ll gain is priceless. There’s nothing that I’ve learned here that I haven’t fully understood, there’s no question to minuscule, and there’s nothing that I gain that isn’t backed with experience. Even when I come here with a plan I get to lay it all out, discuss possibilities and other angles and leave there with everything I want/​need.

I met Vance as I was searching for a homebrew shop that can cater to wine enthusiasts, and the large HBM was not carrying what I needed, so I shopped around and found it here. Vance has a nice, clean, well stocked shop and is very willing to help customers.
I was tired of just being a number and inconvienience at a larger store, and although Vance is not a wine/​cider expert, he is sincere and willing to spend time with you to get it right. He is really knowledgeable about beer as well, willing to stay late without question, and will find answers for you, and it is a low pressure sales atmosphere that is quite with streaming customers that he is willing to sit and help/​talk to all. ANd he has as much wine supplies as anyone else.
I find myself expanding what I am doing and learning more with each visit. Regarding wine supplies, it seems less expensive than larger stores and is median priced.

Never going back, no matter how convenient it might be. Last time I stopped in because it was easy and on my way home from work. When I got out my debit card to pay, he said, «Next time can please bring cash to pay because the credit card companies charge ME to much?»
As a paying customer, that made me feel really uncomfortable. I felt like saying to the guy, «At least I am in here buying products and you’re making a sale.»
In my opinion, this is a «business» problem, not a «customer» problem. See ya bud! I’m never coming back and I’ll take my business to the other local home brew shops who are happy to have us there buying ingredients and equipment.

You have to respect an owner that pours his passion into his work. That’s what Vance does.
The store setup is by far the easiest to navigate among all HBS in SD. It’s well stocked. Prices are on the high side, but worth it for the service.
Did I mention the service? Vance is going to go out of his way to help make you a better brewer. Whether you buy anything or not, he wants to help you make great beer. How can you go wrong?
One slight negative is he’s only open M-​F.
Check out AHBS, you will not be disappointed.

I am a little surprised by some of the high ratings here. A friend recently got me into home brewing. I mentioned this store and he warned me away, as he had a bad experience there that ended with the proprietor telling him to go buy it on the internet.
Well, I decided to check it out for myself anyway since it was much closer to home. The small shop appeared to have a good selection of ingredients and supplies. I noticed the prices were notably higher than another local brew shop, and much higher than is readily available on the ‘net.
As I was browsing, two women came into the shop and asked the proprietor for help picking out a yeast for winemaking. He proceeded to belittle them with sarcasm and condescension to such a degree that I just left. I would consider this an «emergency-​only» place to shop.

Shop here, at least once. Vance is the Taoist Home Brew Master you’ll love to hate! He’s a good guy and has the capacity to help you think through a process or technique that you might be stuck on as he won’t just «give you the answer.» You might feel insulted but he’ll just sell you a drip-​tray to catch your tears! He is definitely anti-​internet when it comes to home brewing tips but his logic actually makes sense. Make sure to ask him about the difference between a «homebrewer» and a «home brewer.»
The shops prices are on the high end but you are also supporting a one-​man show, so have a heart. I would recommend this shop but I know it’s not for everybody.

My boyfriend and I have been brewing for a little while now and have been coming here to get some of our brewing supplies.
First off, I must say their selection isn’t the largest. Good selection of basic grains, hops and supplies, but they don’t have many of the specialty grains that we need. We usually end up ordering most of our supplies and grains online, but always like to stop by this shop to pick up the yeast, and to talk with the owner. We’re always happy with his yeast selection and quality (We’ve found yeast there that was packaged a few days from when we bought it – so we know it’s good!).
As for the owner, we’ve enjoyed the advice and conversations we’ve had with him. Most people who’ve reviewed said he is very opinionated on brewing topics, but I think that is probably the case with any other brewing store (or brewer for that matter). It seems like he has years of experience brewing and likes to share what has worked for him. Now, you can take his advice to heart or try it out and adapt your own technique. Being a newer brewer, I have found his advice useful. We are always learning new things!
Anyway, we’ll keep coming here for convenience, to pick up the occasional items and for the conversations about beer!

If you’re a beginning brewer, this is a good place. The guy who works there is a little opinionated on certain things, and hard to get his attention, but once you get it you’ll get some good help and some decent advice (maybe take it with a grain of salt).
The brew kits are high quality, although I’m past that. They have good variety, but low quantity. I would like to see a much better selection of specialty grains. Their prices are high, but I have gotten good service. I would recommend this place if you’re into making extract kits, and even if you need some accessories. They may or may not have everything you need if you’re making your own grain bill.