Maltose Express

OatmattStout

Connecticut

3.4/5  rDev -22%
quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | $$

They moved into a new facility next to Ace Hardware and it was my first visit. Nice place and plenty of room.

The selection was solid and ingredients were extensive. I liked their own boxes for clone brews, great brew choices and all in one kits.

I was not however satisfied with the service. It wasn't very warm. I was asked if I needed a hand but other than that can't say much. When i asked a few questions at the counter I got really short answers. Not what I was expecting as most people I meet who are beer enthusiasts seem to have more passion and interest in talking about craft beer and brewing.

I will go back again as I was not at all offended but just not impressed with my service interaction. Maybe he had a bad day, which we can all relate to. Hell this economy is enough to make anyone a curmudgeon.

02-15-2009 22:05:37 | More by OatmattStout

jeffthecheff

Connecticut

3.5/5  rDev -19.7%
quality: 3.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I've been to this place two times while in the area. The good thing about this place is there are always different homebrews on tap in the store. Everything was very good, so whoever made them has some talent. The place is also gigantic. It's maybe 20 times the size of the place I usually go to. They have a really good selection of hops. The equipment selection is incredible. They have any equipment you can think of, including kegging equipment and carboys. They also have a ton of clone kits put together in the store.

The service was alright. They have a hand cranked barley crusher there and you have to crush your own grains. The staff wasn't very conversational, probably because the place is so big. I'm used to getting more advice and conversation with my store, which is part of the fun. Still a great store selection-wise, so it's a very worthy store.

02-26-2010 01:59:32 | More by jeffthecheff

geexploitation

Indiana

3.55/5  rDev -18.6%
quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I've got mixed feelings about this place. On the one hand, they have an excellent selection of stuff for brewing beer and wine. The owners have written a couple of books on cloned beers they've brewed, and they'll assemble all the ingredients for you for any of those beers, which is nice and convenient. And they've got some cool dogs.

On the other hand, the service here has been mixed for me. There's one guy who works there in particular who makes shopping for beer ingredients feel like a root canal. They also sold me a recipe book that they knew had a bunch of recipes in it that are incomplete... which is pretty bogus, if you think about -- how much use is a recipe book whose recipes may or may not be correct? (They did take it back for store credit, thankfully.)

On the neutral side of things, the prices are OK. Some are a bit high (probably a function of geography more than anything), but some are on the low side. Overall, I'd say this is a decent homebrew store, but a better one for savvy homebrewers who really know what they're doing, and also for those who observe the principle of "caveat emptor".

05-16-2006 02:01:16 | More by geexploitation

Durge

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev -4.8%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

First off, I'm not a home brewer. Maybe someday, but there is just too much out there on the market to try already, that i like, and there ain't enough time in the day to do it all. But I went to this place during a recent "Open House" beer tasting event with a few friends. The event was a complete overload, people packed everywhere, lines, exasperated employees looking like deer caught in headlights unsure of which direction to push next. A real mad house and not the most pleasant beer tasting type event I've ever attended. But then I realize that this was an extra special occasion and one that doesn't really apply to the day-to-day purpose here, serving the home brewing community. What I can say is that the place is very large compared to most home brewing centers I've encountered in the past. It is now in a fairly new & improved location with access to generous free parking (if you're not there during a special event) and inside is very new and clean (from what I could surmise under the circumstances). Although I am no expert in home brewing ingredients and equipment, I understood from one of my more knowledgeable friends that there was an excellent selection of ingredients. I know I was getting a case of the drools just eye-ing the stacks of hops and "pre-mixed" brew packages available. So I'm not entirely qualified for this review but I thought I would chime in to say that it is quite an impressive facility and I thought the idea of their Open House was a grand one. It just needs some rethinking given the crowd control issues that resulted in March. Having Captain Lawrence & BruRm there as high end local representatives of the craft was great, if only the beer didn't run out half way through. I have also seen Maltose represented at some local beer fests where they had samples of stuff they made on premises, and some of it was fine, and they did seem like very friendly folks. I wish them well and will give the next open house another try (next time I drink first and ask questions later!).

04-08-2009 23:19:59 | More by Durge

TasteTheWaste

4.29/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 3 | $$$

Edit: I just found out that they've reduced their grain prices to $1.60, so take that into account.

I'm not thrilled with how much people are absolutely praising this place despite some serious drawbacks, so I decided to post.

First with the good: Maltose Express is the absolute best homebrew store in the area (possibly all of CT) and easily the best homebrew store I've ever gone to in my life. The owners are so unbelievably friendly and knowledgeable and the selection of hops/yeast/grains is really mind blowing for such a small operation (compared to large online retailers). Yeast seems to move very quickly as well, which is great. They also host a variety of different classes on beer and wine making, which is always a great service to have.

I'm only posting this because they do have some serious problems, and I think it's irresponsible of people to not mention them.

The bad:

1) The place is expensive, there is no doubt about it. You will get everything cheaper online even after shipping. Hops are all priced at a flat rate regardless of type so if you were to buy 2 oz of low alpha american bred noble (ish) hops you would pay the same for 2 oz of high alpha proprietary american hops (citra, simcoe, etc). Malt is also a flat rate, which isn't quite as bad, but the $2 / pound is pretty ridiculous if you're buying 10 lbs of american 2-row that should be priced no higher than $1.35. You'd have to be insane to buy any equipment at this store - wort chillers that retail for $150 are sold here for $230.

2) Hops are bought in bulk and split in store into little ziplock bags and then stored in a bulk fridge that doesn't seem to stay very cold. This wouldn't be too great of an issue if they vacuum sealed their hops or kept them in a cooler fridge, but they don't. I understand buying hops bulk to try and save costs, but this cost saving still results in $4 / 2 oz hops so I'd hate to see how much it would be if they bought and resold hops by the packet. Also, I have yet to see any hop selections in packets less than 2 oz, which can be frustrating.

3) In addition to being just plain expensive across the board, they up charge you to crush grains if you choose for them to do it. They do have a mill available for public use that is free (hand operated, I believe), but if you want them to do it with a motorized mill, it costs something like $.35 per pound. This is a service that is pretty universally given for free.

4) Finally, and this is a minor thing, the location is very confusing. It's not really close to anything at all, so I can't imagine it's very convenient to anyone.

Again, I can't stress how great this place is, it just has a few things that rub me the wrong way.

08-09-2012 15:45:03 | More by TasteTheWaste

sulldaddy

Connecticut

4.3/5  rDev -1.4%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5

As I havent brewed in a few years I was a little antsy to get to this store. I wanted to make sure I would be able to make some brew with what I walked out with.
The store is on the left hand side of route 25 in Monroe. Only real complaint is they could use a larger sign on the road so it is not missed by first time customers. The employees were very helpful and explained how their clonebrew kits work. I ended up bringing one of these home today and hope to enjoy a tasty brew in a few weeks. It was also cool to actually be able to taste a brew that they made using their kits.
There was a great selection of beer and wine making ingredients and equipment. I saw mostly extract brewing stuff but I wouldnt be looking for anything else right now. I am sure that the staff would help you find whatever you would be looking for when you arrive at the store. I will definitely return to this store to get my future batches of ingredients.

01-24-2004 23:25:59 | More by sulldaddy

erosier

Connecticut

4.3/5  rDev -1.4%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I have searched homebrew shops around the state of connecticut and this one is my favorite. The owners really know their beer and are knowledgable about every aspect of it. My favorite part is the sampling the beers they have on tap. I went once a week during the summer and there was a new beer every time. I got alot of helpful hints about the whole homebrewing process which really improved my homebrew. One of my friends came with us one day and he wanted to do one of their clone brews on the black chocolate stout by brooklyn brewer. There was no kit, but they went in the back and 10 minutes later came out with a kit for him. This place is worth your while.

10-05-2007 05:09:16 | More by erosier

Squints

Connecticut

4.3/5  rDev -1.4%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$$

This place is easily overlooked - we drove by it a few times before realizing it's attached to Ace Hardware.

The place is big, and they had a lot of empty space when I went there. I went to buy bottles and a few odds-and-ends (it kills me to spend half the total price to ship heavy bottles).

I found their kits a bit on the expensive side - although I wasn't entirely sure of much hops/extract/grain went into every one, there were several dozen styles in the $44-55 range that I would usually see more around $35-$40.

I tried out two of their new beers they had on tap - banana stout and smoked maple. Smoked maple was way too smoky, but the banana stout was very nice (if you like banana).

The guy at the counter had a few helpful tips when I asked, and I wish I took up their sale on Witbier kits.

09-09-2009 15:13:48 | More by Squints

ThreeDimesDown

Connecticut

4.3/5  rDev -1.4%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

This is THE store for homebrewing and winemaking in the greater Connecticut area. I first found Maltose at their former location during a beer tasting, four years later I'm an active home-brewer.

The employees are always helpful and knowledgeable. Buying my first clone kit, the employees answered any questions I had, as noob as they might have been. Still today, any question I have is answered without any pretentiousness.

Above all, Maltose Express wants you to succeed and enjoy the process of home brewing. Their style of customer service builds a solid devotion from it's customers.

03-14-2010 04:52:26 | More by ThreeDimesDown

dbmcrorie

Connecticut

4.35/5  rDev -0.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

This is a great place to pick up some of the necessities of homebrewing, as well as browsing for specialties.

I will say that I was not overly impressed by the selection available, but I was not let down either. For basic recipes, they have a good selection of grains available (with an on-location grinder available for use), as well as a great selection of hops and liquid yeasts. I was pleased to see that they properly cared for their hops - vacuum packed in the refrigerator.

What got to be on the expensive end, was their equipment. A lot of homebrewing hardware can be purchased online for cheap, or home built for cheaper. Same for ingredients that can be bought at a local grocery store (honey, treacle, sugar, etc.) Maltose does provide everything you could possibly need (from books and recipes, to bottles, kegs, wort chillers, siphons, etc.), but at a bit of a price.

The service is helpful and friendly. They are willing to answer any questions you have and can guide you to what ever it is you are looking for.

My favorite part of Maltose Express is that they always have two homebrews on tap to sample for free, equipment for wine and mead making, prepackaged "beer clone" kits, and a couple of very cute dogs.

04-07-2009 15:02:01 | More by dbmcrorie