Great Fermentations Of Indiana

tsauce2

Indiana

4.64/5  rDev +2.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

A: Nice shop, everything is very clean and well lit. Shop has a nice set up and professional look.

Q: Everything that I have bought from this store is of excellent quality. Fresh grains (can be ground on site), fresh hops (both pellet and vaccum packed fresh), fresh yeast (Wyest & WL last time I went).

S: Owner is regarded as one of the local authorities in the craft beer community and is very friendly and knowledgable, willing and happy to talk with customers at legnth. All other staff is friendly and knowledgable as well.

S: Best homebrew supply selection in town. This place has just about everything that you could want for your homebrew setup. Books, ingredients, hardware, classes, etc.

F: Location does not serve food.

V: Everything was reasonably priced against my expectations. Location also offers educational brewing classes. Added bonus, just a shop or two down is Bierworks, one of the best breweries in the state.

12-22-2011 11:01:10 | More by tsauce2

baos

Indiana

4.86/5  rDev +7.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This is my first visit to a brew shop. Well, my first visit to a place that is only a brew shop. The service here was exceptional, I can't remember the gentleman's name that helped me, but he came right over and started helping me. I was able to fairly quickly, get all of the items I needed and get back on the road home. I would recommend that if you need any brew stuff go here. I purchased their Nutcase Brown Ale ingredients kit and am in the process of brewing. The fermentation smells great!

11-14-2011 04:05:09 | More by baos

spointon

Illinois

4.44/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Armed with a couple of gift certificates to Great Fermentations (prizes from home brew competitions) I finally made the pilgrimage to this fine store.

This place is located in an out of the way strip mall that also happens to be the home of Indy's "Bier" brewery. There was plenty of parking right in front of the store.

Upon entering, the wine making stuff all seemed to be clustered to the left, with the brewing supplies/equipment all to the right. This is a very well outfitted store, with an above average selection of gadgets and brewing aids. I was especially pleased to see the assortment of kegging stuff they carry in stock. The refurbed corny kegs looked like new, with all new seals, cleaned and flushed insides, and I swear the outsides looked polished. Easily the best looking used cornies I have ever seen in a home brew shop.

The grain room was to the rear and from the looks of things customers are allowed to buy both grain and hop pellets in odd quantities. They also had a good range of Wyeast smack packs and brewing literature at this store. Perhaps my favorite part of the store was the fact that I scored an over sized stainless steel hopper for my grain mill for a mere $30. Score!

Overall this is a great store with a very good selection and an exceptionally helpful staff. There were a LOT of employees there on the Saturday that I visited and each was friendly and helpful.

Great place and well worth traveling to visit.

10-04-2011 05:55:46 | More by spointon

mdvatab

Indiana

4.7/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Visited Great Fermentations first-thing on the morning of a Saturday brewday.

When I entered, a lady (who I later learned is a local home brewing authority (and possible owner of Great Fermentations?)) was lecturing a group of around 30 people in a beginning home brewing class. The store also sells winemaking equipment and ingredients, which held ample floorspace to the left of the entrance.

Along the right wall is a wide selection of brewing equipment, tools, etc. A few multi-level shelves in the middle of the store hold a variety of malt extracts (dried and liquid). As I walked toward the back I noticed a large bookshelf, which held, basically, any home brewing book one might want to buy. In the middle of the floor in the back of the store is a measuring table with a scale, and various reference sheets regarding hop varietals. In the far back-right corner of the store are hop freezers, holding a wide variety of pellet and whole-cone hops. I was there to buy ingredients for a Three Floyds Alpha King clone, and one of the employees (I believe Bill) was extremely helpful. The clone recipe he found in their BYO clone edition described a complex grain bill/hop schedule, but he quickly determined what all needed to be used, and noted the timing of when to add on the bags.

As I mentioned, the grain bill I was using was also complex. Another employee took my list from me, went back into a room where they hold all of their grain bins, and put all of the grains I'd be using in a brown paper grocery bag. (He also offered to crush them, but I decided to do so once I got home.)

In addition to the store having anything I could possibly need for brewing, it smelled fantastic--as if they had a number of their own brews fermenting. (I'm sure they did.) I don't see any reason why I'll need to go anywhere else for my home brewing supplies.

Oh--one other important positive point! My favorite LHBS in my old locale (St. Louis) had fairly inconvenient hours. (Only open til 6 on weekday evenings, til 3 on Saturdays, and closed Sunday/Monday.) It's such a relief to see that Great Fermentations is open SEVEN days/wk, and stays open til 7 on weeknights!

07-24-2011 12:34:34 | More by mdvatab

ModemMisuser

Indiana

4.36/5  rDev -3.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Not much to say about my LHBS (Local Homebrew Shop). They have everything you need, the prices are good, and the staff is very knowledgeable. Can get a bit rushed when it's busy, but, what else can you do - lots of customers! :)

They always have one or two beers on sample too, usually from their excellent in-house put together "kits."

Good selection of extracts, malts, hops, you name it. They also sell winemaking and cheese/yogurt making supplies, which is great for us, since we're into cheese/yogurt making as well, and might try making a wine or 2 someday.

Stock rotation seems pretty high (it's a busy shop, and one of the only HB shops around), which is nice (keeps ingredients fresh).

It's well worth the drive from Lafayette to Indy (vs. just mail-ordering the stuff). Though, it'd be awesome if we had a homebrew shop here in Laf.

06-27-2011 15:07:28 | More by ModemMisuser

adamb0719

Indiana

4.85/5  rDev +7.3%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I stopped by at the advice of some friends to get all the needed equipment to finally start brewing on my own. I was not disappointed. Right when I walked in I was greeted and I explained what I was looking for.

Brian was the person who helped me and he took his time to explain everything that I would need and showed me how to use it all. He was also able to answer any question I threw at him. Ultimately I left with the middle of the road brewing kit, and an extract kit to get me going. He took apart the extract kit and showed how to do the entire brewing process with the provided ingredients.

I was even given 10% for being referred by a friend, and my friend was given a $10 credit.

I was very impressed with their knowledge of brewing and their willingness to help out beginners. I will definitely go back for any of my brewing needs, and will likely be taking them up on their offer to call them with any questions while I'm in the middle of brewing.

09-04-2010 06:17:17 | More by adamb0719

cnally

Indiana

4.85/5  rDev +7.3%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

The foray into homebrewing is a scary, menacing, potentially life-altering experience. Without the proper guidance, you will wind up crying late into Summer evenings, trying to guess why life made you so utterly worthless even within your passions. If you do have the right guidance, you will be a shining saint amongst your drunks for friends, shelling out buckets of money to make fantastic brew to support the suckers on their paths to destroyed livers. So you better do it right.

This is the place to get it right.

My experience was awesome all around, and I cannot recommend highly enough the expertise, supplies, and mood of this place.

It was a Friday. I decided I was going to take the plunge. On Saturday night, I had everything I would need in my first year, brewing my first Imperial IPA (which turned out seriously amazing). How did I get here? With the specially designed Deluxe Brewer's Kit ($174), it was a cinch. It included two glass carboys (5-gal and 6.5-gal), plastic 5-gal bottling bucket, auto-siphon, thermometer, hydrometer, 2 airlocks, 2 bungs, bottle capper and bottle filling wand, brushes, sanitizer and the Papazian book. Whoa. Only things you needed past that were bottles (~$30), the "Thief" device to swipe fermenting brew to test Specific Gravity, a big plastic stirrer, and a stainless steel stockpot. I grabbed a kit, which they have a TON of. Any style you want. Oh, you don't want a kit? Yeah, they have build your own, too. Tons of hops in stock, grains, malt extracts and yeasts. I am not an expert yet, so I don't know how well they would support a 1) larger home brewer or 2) more advanced chemist of a brewer. But as a beginner, this place is Brewing Mecca.

Oh, and the experts. Every person there is a professional amateur brewer. You got a question, ask 'em. You freaking out about your for-sure-to-be-screwed-up-brew? Talk to 'em, they'll settle you down. Looking for a style reco or a recipe? Yep, ask 'em.

I love one Bob Dylan song line more than any other, and I use it to strive for perfection: "There's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all." Go to Great Fermentations, and you won't have to worry about living your life in paradox. Or failure.

06-29-2010 02:54:22 | More by cnally

oracle

Indiana

4.45/5  rDev -1.5%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I drove up from southern Indiana to find a temp controller for a fridge that was freezing my kegs of homebrew.

I found a well run shop with very good selection. It was well lit, clean, well laid out and staffed by two very knowledgeable and friendly folks (who I think owned the place, but I don't know that for sure).

I didn't buy any grains, hops or yeast, so I can't comment on the freshness of ingredients.

One of the local homebrewers was there with a bottle or two of Flemish sour ale he'd made, which was quite good. If he's any indication of the brewing culture up there in Indy, things must be going well.

05-27-2009 14:17:06 | More by oracle

cameraready

Indiana

4.15/5  rDev -8.2%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped by the store while visiting family in the area. They have a wide selection of equipment and ingredients as well as a decent library of books. They offer the standard malt extract and prepackaged ingredient kits as well as their own ingredient kits. Prices are quite reasonable and staff was helpful. Picked up a few items my local supply store didn't have in stock. Will need to consider attending one of the brewing classes they offer. Location is not far from any of the interstates surrounding Indy.

04-05-2009 04:21:29 | More by cameraready

FishHeadLover

Tennessee

5/5  rDev +10.6%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

My wife and I get all of our beer making supplies here. The family that runs this place knows so much about beer and wine and how to make both its unbelievable. They are always eager to help and offer advice. The prices are reasonable from the little I have seen other places. They always seem to have what you are looking for even through the hop shortage. For the beginner brewer this place offers classes for wine and beer, tastings and other help. We are about to move and I just hope the next place we get our beer supplies is half as great as this place.

01-02-2009 21:32:32 | More by FishHeadLover