Home Brew Shop

Was recommended to go here from a friend who home brews all the time. Bought a home brew recipe kit as a gift for my dad. They had a good selection of ready-​made ingredient kits. He made the beer, following the recipe instructions closely, and the beer came out perfect. His friends also loved the beer, and some of them don’t really like beer normally.
We’ll be back for sure.

This is a great place to start! Super friendly staff. Always willing to help out and answer questions. Great pricing too! I will shop here for all of my wine & beer making supplies.

As far as I can tell, there aren’t a lot of homebrew supply shops in the burbs. Thankfully, this one isn’t ridiculously far (good excuse to also visit Geneva), and it’s definitely well-​stocked for the relatively small size.
We stopped in looking for specific supplies to try our hand at brewing a wintery porter. I thought it was cool that they have boxed-​up kits with most of the supplies you need for various standard styles, but you can also mix and match your own with various malts, hops, grains, yeasts, etc.
It was pretty easy to find what we were looking for, and the guy and gal behind the counter were happy to answer questions, shoot the breeze and generally be cool.
Parking in downtown St Charles can be a little challenging, but there are lots and street parking all over the side streets, so you probably won’t have to walk more than a block. Really, it’s OK; you park farther away at the mall.
I always like an excuse to visit the Tri-​Cities, so the next time we’re in the mood to brew, I believe we’ll be back.

This was FUN!
My husband has been dropping hints now and then about wanting to brew his own beer. Ok, that’s cool. He and I don’t know anything about it, but if he wants to take a whack at it, I’ll happily be the taste tester.
When we entered this shop we were greeted by a very friendly, enthusiastic man behind the counter. He offered us a sample of our choice: in-​house brewed cream soda, or a beer they call «banana bread». Cream-​soda me up, Scotty! NOT. Hell yeah I want to try a beer called banana bread! It was easily a half-​cup sample. Very delightful.
A gentleman by the name of Kyle approached us to see if we had any questions. Questions? Only about a million. My husband yapped this poor guy’s ear off for nearly half an hour while I wandered around the shop looking at brew-​at-​home books and marveling at all the different grains and seeds and flower-​like things that can be used to make beer. (I’m sure those ingredients have more technical terms, but they are lost on me.) I know nothing about this hobby, but it seems to me this shop has everything you need to brew your own beer. The more I looked around, the more I became interested in this whole thing. The recipe kits they sell are so cool! (I posted a pic) So, we walked out of there with the starter kit, which includes ALL tools and doo-​dads for brewing, including a huge-​ass book the size of War and Peace, and the Witbier kit. Kyle was incredibly knowledgable, friendly, and PATIENT. If you’re interested in this, go to Home Brew Shop and ask for Kyle. This guy knows his stuff!
So who knows? Maybe in 5 years when my husband and I have launched our own super-​successful brewing company and I’m sunning myself on the deck of our yacht while holding one of our own in a frosty chalice, I’ll look back upon this day, this review, and say…“It all started when…”

Not just beer and wine but distilling equipment as well. The owner Ed is extremely knowledgable in everything and very helpful. First time there and will be going back for sure. Don’t agree with the other comments. The staff was great as well & if he wasn’t sure of something is would say «lets ask Ed» !!

This shop is great. As a newbie home brewer, I have a lot of questions. I like to pretend that I’m the shit because I use all the terms and sound smart, but the truth is, I don’t really know what the hell I’m doing. Forums are cool, but it’s nicer to have experienced home brewers in «real life» to shoot the shit with about home brewing. THIS PLACE HAS IT. Times two.
I went in to get some supplies for my newest endeavor and I left with some sage advice about my past brews and hopefully my future ones as well. The guys here are totally accommodating and answer all of your questions. They give great recommendations for your brews and don’t just try to sell you expensive shit. It’s the kind of place that you want to shop at and would kill to work for.
I will be coming here for all of my future home brews. You should too.

Outstanding and knowledgeable staff! I have started my brewing adventures from this store and I have been coming back ever since. From advice on grains to opinions on equipment, Ed and his crew make sure you get off on the right foot and stay on course to make some great beer.

For the most part, the Home Brew Shop is a pretty good store. Fresh ingredients, all the basics pretty much always in stock, and they actually have some really nice pro-​sumer grade equipment available. So for that – they get good marks.
My gripe with the Home Brew Shop comes with their employee’s customer service. Every time I have been in (with the exception of once when I was actually helped by the owner) the employees have been… a bit off. For example, today I go in to buy a corker and the appropriate corks. I have a question so I go up to the register, where there is a man and a woman both working – they however don’t acknowledge me and just sort of sit there continuing on in their conversation. I blurt out my question in the hopes they hear me, which they do and then tell me #9 corks will work with the twin lever corker I’ve decided to buy. I give my thanks, buy the #9 corks and corker, to then get home and realize (after corking) that the corks did NOT work with that corker. I should have gone with the #8 (which I had previously selected, but was then told the #9’s would work by the lady at the register).
So yeah – that left a pretty sour taste in my mouth as I needed help picking the right corks to go with the specific equipment they sold, and it was in the end a pretty epic fail. I’ve had similar experiences with HBS in regards to their malted grain selections and asking employees for input, but have always went with my gut instinct and the research findings I discovered prior to going shopping. I only wish I would have gone with my gut instinct today, as I now have 30 bottles of wine (well 29 now, as I decided this whole experience needed a bottle of wine to wind down from) that I now have to re-​cork with the correct size corks and fish out the shredded pieces of #9 corks that are floating on the top of my wine…
So my recommendation is to come to the Home Brew Shop having done your research fully and don’t ask the staff for their input. You’ll be spared lots of stress and more than likely will get things done right the first time. Trust your gut and do your research! (Though – I had never seen a hand corker like the one they sell – so my advice to you is if you buy the twin-​lever styled corker they have [with the spring clamp inside the corker’s housing] please PLEASE get the #8 corks and spare yourself one heck of a mess).

I am a home brewer. How cool is that?!
Okay, so maybe I only did it once and it was more of a team effort but here’s how I feel about that…
The quantity of times I’ve brewed: Irrelevant
The quality of the beer I brewed: Indisputable.
Obvi, God gave me a talent and wants me to feel comfortable labeling myself as a home brew savant.
Okay, ‘savant’ *might* be a bit of a stretch beyond the ‘developmental disorder’ part, but I feel like I should earn some kind of superstar label for (what I would consider to be) only a minimal amount of bitching about how heavy things were, how cold it was outside, and how hungry sitting around watching stuff boil made me. So at the v. least, I defo earned my home brew gold stars… plus I came up with a great beer name and made the cutest beer label in the history of history so nanananabooboo stick your head in doo doo.
Anyway, I owe my home brew experience and expertise to the Home Brew Shop in St Charles. It’s where we got our supplies, picked out our beastly yeasties, and talked shop with Home Brew guru (and total hottie), Ed, about… errr, stuff. Okay, my beery wonderful and home brew experienced boss was the one talking shop while my home brew ladies and I giggled and looked at all the fun goodies, but the point is that they’re there to help get you started, answer any questions, and give you tips for making your home brew the very best it can be without giving off any kind of beer snob vibe.
One of the coolest things about the shop is that they offer home brew and wine making classes on the weekends. So if you’re like me and are the kind of person who goes to boil water, forgets about it because there’s a rerun of one of your top 100 favorite Law and Order SVU episodes on, and returns to an empty pot with all the water boiled out– this might be a neat little option so you can still partake in the joy of home brewing.
In conclusion, I’d like to leave you with one of my very favorite inspirational quotes:
«Mmmm… Beer» — Homer J. Simpson
Happy Brewing, Y’all!

Nice, knowledgeable and helpful yet not bothersome staff.
Good overall stock of things though the pricing on some items is a bit steep.
It wasn’t easy to find nor was the parking easy.
One really cool thing they do is offer classes for beer and wine making. While I haven’t taken either (already brew my own beer) my GF and her friend took the wine class and had nothing but good things to say about it.
If you’re in the area definitely stop by.

Well-​stocked.
Patient staff.
They walked me all the way back to my car with my load of beer-​making supplies.
Nice.
Now, if I could only get them to come out to my house and actually MAKE the beer…
sigh.

Overall, a great home brew supply shop.
This is a great shop if you are into home beer or wine brewing as they have virtually everything you will need. The staff is friendly and helpful, and pretty knowledgeable too.
This shop is friendly to well behaved children and dogs.
One gripe: parking is a bit limited in the area, so expect a short walk (read: a block or two, at most) to your car.