Brew Ferment Distill

This is the best brew supply shop in town and it’s not even close. Tim is incredibly knowledgeable and patient with first time home brewers. Prices are reasonable and the selection is outstanding. I will be coming here for all my home brew supplies!

The person I interacted with here was unhelpful and argumentative. I just left a few minutes ago. I was looking for a liquid out post for a ball lock keg to build this cool line cleaning system:
First he showed me ball locks after I asked for a post. Then he took me to the posts and asked what kind of ball lock keg I have. I said I didn’t know but showed him the coupler you can find in the link above. I had one in my pocket and explained I was building a line cleaning system. He said he cleans his lines by filling a keg with sanitizer and running it through the lines and tried to show me the sanitizers they sell. I told him I wasn’t shopping for sanitizer and he irritatedly told me I needed to explain what I was building. Bear in mind, this is after I showed him the coupler I needed the post to fit on. I walked out. I would rather pay for shipping with MoreBeer than deal with unhelpful jerks that lack the ability to listen to me.
By the way, running sanitizer through beer lines is a horrible way to clean them. Sanitizers do not clean, they sanitize. If the surface they touch isn’t clean, the product is essentially useless. To properly clean lines, one really needs to push line cleaner through it. This is the brilliant mind working behind the counter at a home brew store that I had the pleasure of dealing with.

Without a doubt the best brew shop in the Sacramento area. Even though there is another brew shop 1 mile away from my house, I still always go to BFD. Tim and his staff keep a great variety of ingredients, equipment, and educational materials in stock. Everyone is very knowledgeable and helpful, and every visit is a great experience.

I just moved into town & was looking for some tips on where to buy craft brews. My first call was not answered. I called again because I thought I had the number wrong. A woman (I thought) answered with «hello» so I asked if it was Brew Ferment Distill and she hung up on me. I triple checked the number, called again & (she) answered again and screamed (I’m not exaggerating) STOP CALLING HERE! «Your number appears on a web page.» (She) screamed, «CALL MIAMI!» and hung up on me. A few moments later, my phone rang. It was a man who said, «You keep calling, what do you want?» I told him I was looking for BFD. He told me I had the right place. «Why did a woman keep screaming at me?» «Sorry about that, what can I do for you?» «Is that someone who WORKS for you?» «No, that was my son.» I explained what I was looking for & he said «We help home brewers.» «I get that, but since I just moved here, do you know of any places to buy craft brews?» He hemmed & hawed until I said, «Do you ever go to a liquor store to buy beer and if so, what is the name of that store?» I’m not sure if he didn’t want to give preferential treatment to a store or just didn’t know but I will find other places to do business.

I swear I have review this place before but I don’t see it. Well here goes! This is by far my favorite place to purchase brewing supplies. They have everything we want and if they don’t we are able to find alternatives. Tim is always so helpful and nice. Everyone is knowledgeable and helpful. Love the new (well newer) location with more room. The puppies are a nice addition as well. I also enjoy trying whatever is on tap. We haven’t gotten a chance to brew for awhile but look forward to doing in soon and visiting BFD. Its still worth the drive now that we moved to Galt.
NOTE-​I did review is previously, apparently there is a separate Unilocal page for this location and the old location.

These guys are incredible! Very knowledgable, friendly and helpful. We had a cheese making class upstairs and Tim and Mike made it an even more enjoyable experience. Go, chat, shop and enjoy yourselves… maybe even learn something!

BFD also have a good supply for cheese making. Great knowledgeable people!

Very helpful and knowledgeable folks!

When you absolutely positively want to know how to put together some incredible stuff. I was told about this place by a friend who was just getting back into beer making. I was just starting wine making.
It’s a bit of a drive for me (I live in Rocklin) but when I got there, they had a 50 gallon container of zinfandel open fermenting in the store. We talked for a while about the wines I was making and what I would need, even going to the extent of researching out which yeast strain would give me exactly what I was looking for. I’ve been there six times since. The staff is very friendly and they’ll talk to you about every aspect of beer and wine making. I still have my eye on the still. Maybe next year.

I moved to Sac recently from Indianapolis, where we had a great brew shop that had a really great selection of everything from brew kits to kefir cultures. That was the experience I was used to.
As soon as I stepped into BFD, I could tell it wasn’t going to be the place I was hoping for. After tripping on a cord strung across a warehouse floor, I asked if they had brew kits. They did not… so the guy handed us a worn magazine and said, «I guess you could look at these recipes».
I like to use kits because a) I’m not *that* into brewing– I’m happy brewing other people’s recipes because the beer is better than anything else I can get at that price and b) I make very little money and need to comparison shop. I totally get that it might not be very profitable to have pre-​made kits ready all the time, but I’ve been to tiny shops that prepare them as ordered. I was also disappointed they didn’t have any brewer’s best kits– they are always within my limited budget.
So I picked out something that sounded cheap enough and the kit came to about $ 50. I went to another brew store and they had kits that included everything for a batch that were more than $ 20 cheaper. I could have accidentally picked out a kit with particularly expensive hops or something but my impression is BFD is more expensive than other shops around.
Personally, I would skip BFD and visit other shops in the area.

So went in there tonight (about 6:10) to see about bpttles for bottling Kombucha for secondary ferment. Guy at counter talking to a woman apparently about their accounting. I stand there at the counter and neither one acknowledges me. I’m the only customer in the store. This goes on for a while. I’m standing there directly in front of them and the counter and they continue to talk to each other about their accounting or software or some such thing. After a while, I’m starting to feel kind of silly standing there. Their sign said they were open but maybe really not? So finally I interrupt «so are you open for business?». The guy finally looks up and (shockingly, bizzarely) actually has the nerve to get pissy with me! He says «are we open?» sarcastically. I’ll be with you when I’m done” and goes back to talking to the woman.
I know, it’s hard to believe, but I’m completely serious! I was astounded, dumbfounded.
So obviously, I said never mind and started walking back out. Turned half way around as I was walking to explain «you obviously have more important things to do». No acknowledgement. They didn’t even look up.
Truly amazing! The biggest shopping week of the year and a small local business couldn’t bother with the only customer in the store!
By the way, I need about 60 — 32 oz containers. It will not be a really small order. Now I’ll get them online…

Can’t believe I never knew about this place. Tim is a great guy and crazy smart with brewing. I’m starting cider this month and after I get that down I’ll be back to learn about ale brewing. If you’ve never been go slow, it’s hard to see sign.

This place is AWESOME (cap locks intended). Ya gotta be careful though. They will get you to start your next brewing project, even if you hadn’t planned on it when you walked into the store. My first visit was to stave off an emergency… I didn’t have enough bottles to finish bottling! I walked in with the intent of picking up bottles only… I walked out with bottles… and a bag of ingredients for my next brew… Along with detailed instructions from the staff. (it was a complicated brew).
Oh…one other thing… this visit took almost 2 hours… and required me to summon a lyft… you see… while shopping you can also sample brewing creations from the owner and staff. I can say with a degree of expertise that these guys are good at both explaining brewing equipment, and brewing themselves.
No longer will I shop for my brewing equipment online.

So far this place is a big, fat «no.» Though clearly posted both on their door and this site and no phone message staying to the contrary, we drive deep into 40 acres just to be greeted by a closed and locked for dieting their posted hours of operation. Bad. Freaking. Dereliction.

Wow, SUPER helpful and knowledgeable! And just look at the malt variety. Oh did I mention the hops room?
Yeah, they have a whole room full.
Cheers!

90% of the time I get my brewing supplies online. With the beer megastore in Concord being so close and offering free shipping for most items, I can expect the package to be delivered in 1 – 2 days and save some serious $$$ vs the physical homebrew supply stores. However, once in a while an emergency comes up and something is needed right away, or it doesn’t qualify to be shipped for free. At those times I am very glad that places like Brew Ferment Distill exist.
In a desperate need for bottles I stopped by the unassuming location in certainly not the best neighborhood of Sacramento. Stepped inside, not expecting much, but got pleasantly surprised. Yes, they were out of 12oz bottles but I wasn’t looking for those anyway. Only 22 oz from now on and they had them in stock. The customer service here is superb, they will make sure to show you around and have a good chitchat about the brewing experiences and how to make things better. So while I was there I picked up some fresh Citra hops from their hop fridge and also added some new caps. As stated, the prices at Brew Ferment Distill are higher then two homebrew megastores online, but not so much to wait for more than few days if you need an item immediately.
I will stick to ordering most of my stuff online but if in Sac and needing something «like now», BFD will be my top choice. If you happen to be a novice homebrewer make sure to visit this place. BFD’s knowledgeable staff will be able to answer all of your questions and help you make the right purchase. There is no way to get this online…

Brew Ferment Distill has gone above and beyond what I expected. When I first stepped foot through the door I said I had never home brewed before and they set me up with everything I needed, both equipment and ingredients. They answered all my questions and even said I could call them if any problems arose during my first brew! Staff is very friendly and full of useful information. Haven’t come across an ingredient that they didn’t have. I’ve purchased the ingredients for four 5 gallon batches of beer there so far and can say the quality of the ingredients is top notch.
Love the store dog. Other brewers’ creations are available to sample.

I love coming to BFD. The staff are so laid back and are totally excited to help you get what you need. I always learn something new every time I go. This place is heavily involved in community events, and are a great local business to support.
Mike helped us out this past time, and helped us gather our own unique ingredients for our next batch. He was knowledgeable, and very enthusiastically about helping us. The staff was great, selection was great, and the overall vibe was very good.
The whole experience gets an A+.

Owner is FANTASTIC. Extremely knowledgeable and helpful, willing to give advice and help form recipes no problem.
Also– great supplies for making homemade soda, other alcohols, cheesemaking, winemaking, and curing your own meat!

This place is awesome! Tim and Mike are the chillest, most down to earth guys you’ll ever meet, and they are expert brewers. They definitely know their stuff, yet won’t make you feel like a total noob!
Plus one star for a HUGE selection of hops, grains, malt, yeast, and equipment. They let you sample the grains (if you’re a chocoholic like me, you’ve gotta try the chocolate malted grains… seriously). They also have their very own hops room (which smells AH-​MAZING) and a big yeast fridge with tons of varieties of yeast to brew all the beer styles you could ever think of. They also have a ton of supplies for making your own wine and cheese, and they sell home-​made ravioli, jams, and preserves. Yum!!!
Plus another star for prices. Very fair market value prices, especially if you’re buying in bulk. They don’t do «special custom» orders, which is pretty standard, but they’ll go the extra mile to give you advice and show you the materials for building your own custom home brew system. They definitely have every other home brew store in the Sacramento area beat in terms of prices.
Plus a third star for atmosphere! Super laid back. It can get busy during lunch hour and toward the end of the day, but mornings and mid afternoons tend to be less busy. There’s plenty of street parking in front of the shop and in the private lot right next to the store. Upon arrival you’ll be greeted by Sasha and Torie, the sweetest, friendliest shop dogs you’ll ever have the pleasure of meeting. Be prepared for lots of welcome licks :) The shop is a huge warehouse with a very open layout. Inventory is well-​stocked and logically placed, and it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. They don’t sell home brew kits yet, but the owner said he is looking into it.
Plus a fourth star for the crew. The shop guys are very helpful, and they really listen to what you’re trying to do before they give you advice. Whether you’re a beginning brewer or a seasoned pro, they’ll steer you in the right direction and give you the help you need. Oh, and they won’t talk down to you if you’re a girl!!!
Plus a fifth star for the FREE SAMPLES of homebrew you can sip at your leisure while perusing the shop! They have a rotating selection of beers and ciders on tap that you can try for free. The pear cider and Mad River Pale Ale were my faves :)
Did I mention they do BRUNCH on Sunday mornings??? Bacon, sausage, eggs, potatoes, etc. It’s delicious. Seriously, go there, drink amazing beer, eat scrumptious food (cooked by the owner himself), and chat about brewing, sports, life, etc.
They have some upcoming workshops and tasting events that I’m definitely looking forward to. If you’re thinking about getting into home brewing, or if you’ve been doing it for a while, then you need to check this place out. Best home brew shop in Sacramento, hands down!

I have been interested in fermentation in making probiotic rich sodas, and have been getting my supplies from BFD for awhile now. I just had the pleasure of touring Tim’s new location, which is awesome. He has a room dedicated to hops, and his knowledge of beer making is great. I was scared to graduate from ginger bug sodas into beer making, however Tim took his time describing the beer making process and how it really is not as scary as I was worried it was. Also his library of books is impressive, and when I told him I was interested in ancient celtic folklore, he recommended an amazing book about healing and sacred beers that I am now in love with, and so excited to try to make.
So glad to have this great local resource in the area, and now in a bigger location.