Beer & Wine Hobby

Generally have good experiences when in the store but when ordering online beware that the inventory is not updated and receive calls for almost every order for a substitution. Also, they never send tracking information which is bad especially when ordering yeast so you know when items ship or are expected to be delivered even though you get an email saying an email with tracking will be supplied and their website doesn’t show it when you log-​in to your account. No other online retailer I use fails to provide tracking numbers.

I went down to the store after hearing from others about how great it it. I have only just started homebrewing so I am very much a novice. I went there looking to see prices and ask questions about everything, including the transition to all grain brewing. They were extremely helpful and answered all of my questions thoroughly. I am very glad that I was referred to them, and as it turns out, most of their kits actually are cheaper than others locally as well. I will definitely be returning to them for all of my homebrewing!

Great fun and most educational! Took the cheese making seminar and learned how to make mozzarella. The instructor answered every question, explained the process in regular terms and the end product was delicious. The store also has supplies for cheese making at home, a basic kit is available at the end of the class, included if you use a Groupon! I am going to give it a shot at home and see if I can duplicate the results!

Just started making wine again after a break of a few decades. Went to Beer & Wine for a starter kit and «stuff». The owner came over and introduced himself, was very helpful, knowledgeable and pleasant. Gave me a lot of confidence that they will be able to assist me with any problems or questions.

These guys are absolutely awesome! Helped me huge with all my questions and was able to help me get my kegerator up and running.
Very knowledgable, and willing to work with someone new to the hobby with all my silly questions. Gennaro was a HUGE help… thank you!

Hello, id like to let others know about my experience with this beer and wine making store. I went down there spoke with an older woman who was very very knowledgeable and helpful and i very much appreciate all the personal time she spent with me helping me understand the hobby. I really felt like she truly cared about what i was doing and tried to help me along the way even though i was going an old country route which they highly discourage.
The only thing i was a bit disappointed with was the lack of knowledge in the old county ways without adding anything but grapes. they say it should not be done this way due to wild bacteria and mold fungus and what not and they are correct no doubt its way easier to not mess up with all the chemicals.
But if i want wine with high ppm sulfates ill go buy it, i want natural wine made from what mother earth provides, something im sure you just cant buy anymore. Anyway thats the only reason it didnt get 5 solid stars.
Dont get me wrong they are very helpful and super knowledgeable when it comes to kits and chemicals and wine and beer and even cheese… yes cheese, but not very helpful when it comes to those of us tring a natural old country approach with home grown carefully cared for grapes. Understandable why it would be discouraged but im sure im not the only one with this frame of mind.
Did they have chemicals 300 years ago when wine was the primary beverage of europe? i think not.

I attended the cheese making class using Groupon and really enjoyed it. Gennaro, the instructor, is very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about cheese, wine and beer!!! Class was both fun and informative. Looking forward to making cheese at home and possibly going back for more classes. His store also has just about everything you can possibly need! Definitely recommend.

First experience was great.

I’ve continued to come here for my homebrewing needs. The owner has been responsive to my concerns. If you can get these guys in person, they are extremely helpful and knowledgeable. And their kits are pretty good. It’s convenient and the store is easy to navigate. Prices are also pretty reasonable.

I’ve only gone to the store, never worked with them online, so I can’t comment on that, but the store is fantastic. Pretty much anything you want for beer, wine, cheesemaking. Prices are very reasonable. They have a ton of prepackaged kits, which are generally good; I like to create my own recipes, and they have everything you need to do that. And now the swap out CO2 tanks which is another big convenience.

Another victim of groupon ‘deal’ here. I was unlucky to oversee when my groupon has expired, but hoped to used the value I spent on the groupon. First, although I paid $ 30 for the groupon (and therefore had $ 30 credit), they required me to spend $ 60. After that, they added $ 25 shipping on top of that, saying that cheaper $ 8 usps shipping is not available for my case. They argument was that I get a discount (although I didn’t get any, since groupon was expired) and therefore should pay more for shipping. When I tried to explain, that I do not get any discount, they didn’t listen. When I offered to pay a bit extra for usps shipping (it should cost $ 12, according to
), they didn’t listen. My solution didn’t cost them anything extra, I didn’t receive any discount, but apparently they get a cut from ‘standard $ 25′ shipping, so they we not interested. On my question if customer satisfaction is important for them, I didn’t get a positive answer. Apparently what is important for them is ripping off customers and groupon deal is a way to do it.
As for the store experience: slightly higher prices than competitors have with very limited selection. MoreBeer or MidwestSupllies offer way better selection for same or lower prices.
Apparently the company gets a cut from each shipment which is already a red flag.
Groupon deals are a scam — don’t go for it since you’ll end up spending more money than groupon ‘discount’ offers.
P. S. In response to owner’s reply ( Unilocal does not allow to post another comment in the thread):
Owner: Hi Sergio, you are clearly upset that we honoring the exact deal that you purchased from Groupon!
Me: I’m upset that I wasted a lot of time on badly worded deal and dealing with customer service that doesn’t care about clients. I’m also upset that I got caught by business that use services like Groupon to hook customers on technicalities, rather earn their respect by providing good service. Unfortunately businesses like yours spoil the value of Groupon and other businesses who use Groupon the right way by offering discount once and providing exceptional service so customers would love to go back and pay full price.
Owner: You agree to Groupon’s requirements before making the purchase — however on several calls to us you wanted Beer & Wine Hobby to honor more value than what you purchased.
Me: First of all, I did not want Beer&Wine to honor more value. I paid $ 30 for the groupon and I had to spend another $ 30 out of pocket, because of how the deal is worded (and it took Groupon representative an hour of consultation with management to understand why your require $ 60 purchase to redeem $ 30 value). I did not get and did not ask for any discount, all I asked is for shipping cost to be fair. I checked on
website — the cost of shipping for the package was $ 11, so even considering you do not have a company discount from usps all ‘subsidized’ value was $ 3 while you wanted to charge me $ 23. When I offered to cover $ 3 – 4 difference in ‘shipping subsidy’ you did not listen and still wanted to take advantage of customer on the hook.
Owner: Groupon offered $ 60 worth of merchandise for $ 30, an unprecedented homebrew deal. The Groupon clearly stated that regular shipping rates would apply — not our promotional rates which we subsidize for many products. We explained that you could go back to Groupon for guidance, however they would not refund you, as we were honoring the Groupon as is required.
Me: And you’ve just explained why I recommended others to stay away from your company: you keep referencing to small details that even Groupon representative don’t see when you ask them and do not listen to your customers. In my case there was no deal, it was $ 30 for $ 30, but knowing that your customer can’t refund money, you were greedy and wanted to take advantage by charging double for shipping. And that’s probably the reason you use Groupon while being in business for many years — your don’t have enough regular customers who would be your regular clients.

Good prices and recipe kits.

Sam Adams endorses this place, pretty sure they buy kits from her for all their employees. Place has good prices for equipment and I think beats lots of online offers. Beer making supplies as others have mentioned could be better but you will get everything you need for a batch no problem, but I would like to see an electric mill, hand cranking 10# of grain then trying to pour it back into the bags was a PIA. Extract brewers will be in heaven, plenty of extracts and grains for PMs. Staff is also very friendly. I go here out of convenience and for speed, its rarely packed and the staff are not acting pretentious.

Not the best homebrew store, but not the worst either. I’ve come here off and on for the past few years and have never been blown away, but have never really been given a reason to walk away and never come back.
My biggest complaint is that all the grains except base malts are pre-​packaged. Not everyone needs their specialty grains in one-​pound, three-​pound, or five-​pound increments. Same for hops. A lot of times I like to smell the hops before deciding on a variety, and in the pre-​sealed packages this just isn’t possible.
Their selection and inventory is definitely a plus. A ton of recipe kits, lots of yeast varieties to choose from, and lots of equipment options. They’re a very clean store as well.

I have been a frequent customer of Beer & Wine Hobby for the past couple years using them for a number of purchases for beer equipment and supplies. I have always been a satisfied customer and will continue to use them for most of my supplies (although the one suggestion would be to cater more to the all-​grain brewer, offer a mill, weigh station, etc).
I decided to write this review after a fantastic class offered for cheese making. My wife and I attended the class and found it to be very informative, and found the instructor/​owner to be interesting and very approachable. He took a great amount of pride in the subject and took us through the process of making fresh mozzarella. We were able to sample the cheese with both a very good olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I see that some of the reviewers were expecting more a hands-​on experience, which this wasn’t. However, it was entertaining, informative, and worth the time/​money for us. We left with a lot of excitement into making our first artisan cheeses.

Overpriced, limited selection, no customer service, unfriendly staff, limit to the amount of hops one can purchase. Very disappointing.

The cheese making class was the biggest farce i’ve ever encountered… If not for the 3 other people I went with, I think I would’ve walked out in the middle. They were my sanity, as they were rolling their eyes along with mine.
This class was A JOKE!!! It is not a ‘cheese making’ class, it is a demonstration! I noticed after we went, they have now changed the wording in their description to read ‘you will watch’.
The class was taught to us like we were all children, and we felt embarrassed for the demonstrator/​owner.
The entire façade was a sales pitch of their products/​accessories etc. I have heard they have a good assortment of beer making needs, but I think they are trying to ‘ride the wave’ with the cheese making. It was a horrible waste of time!
Buyer beware!!!

I went to the cheese making class with my sister on a Groupon date and had a really good time. I believe the gentleman leading the class was the owner and you could tell he was very passionate about his wine, beer, and cheese. It was a fun class, I learned a lot, and I’m excited to try making my own cheese in the future. I’m also very excited to try their wine and beer making classes, too.
Overall, fun experience and friendly staff.

The great thing about Beer & Wine Hobby is actually the classroom setup. There are a bunch of beer and wine supply places around MA but most aren’t really set up for a class environment.
My novice beer making setup kind of died (my fault in storage) so when I feel upon a deal that would give me a little reminder class and a whole new setup I jumped at it. YAY!
Still, there’s a place by me that blows this place out of the water when it comes to supplies, so, you know, there’s that.

This may be a great location to go to, however I would NEVER EVER think of doing a deal they do through Groupon! I finally completed my groupon order there were 3 dates that had openings for their class between now and April 2013 none of them actually fit into my schedule so I probably will not be participating in that. Then as I ordered my beer kit it first told me the shipping would be 7.99. not too shabby. As I completed checkout it bumped that up to $ 15.73. Needless to say I will never be ordering from here again and will make sure to spread the word to fellow homebrewers to stear clear of their Groupon deals!
I can not speak for the store in person as people seem to be satisfied with that however I do know this is my worst experience i’ve had with a groupon business as well as with any homebrew supply store.