Hamilton Hops & Grapes

The crew here is great! Started homebrewing a few months back, and they really made it easy to get into it. Quick service on getting grains milled, and always helpful advice.

Love Hamilton Hops and Grapes! Have been brewing for only a year and a half, and strangely, when I began, I was both skeptical of the store (would it be big enough to have what I want?) and intimated by it (would the people be really judgemental of a beer noob?). Thankfully, both concerns were largely unfounded. In terms of availability of supplies, they've consistently had 99% of the ingredients that I wanted (though my 2-cents comes from someone who exclusively deals in extract-plus brews). Perhaps the only place it can be a bit more hit-and-miss is in terms of yeast selection. They'll order whatever you want, but if you just walk in the door, you're going to select from whatever Wyeast options they have (which normally, are great in terms of selections and freshness). I've started to see more diversity in Yeast there, so this might be changing/improving. The only thing I would say you might want to consider elsewhere is equipment--there are some okay starter options, but if you have any aspirations of upgrading beyond ye ol' plastic bucket/glass carboy, your equipment options are more limited. I don't see this as a shortcoming of the business; it's a small storefront, and I think they are more interested in wine anyways. Want to peruse fancy kettles or fermenters or kegging supplies? Then you're probably best planning a trip to the mainland. Service-wise, I am completely and totally without complaint. Everyone is very knowledgeable, friendly, and not at all judgemental. You can get really technical advice, or ask really silly noob-ish questions without worry. Everyone here comes across as very down to earth, and just excited to talk some fermenting geeky talk. They're also great helping you roll with the punches of brewing (e.g., changing recipes depending on what's in stock, alterations to get particular qualities [e.g., hire ABV]). All to say, while I'm a bit surprised Victoria has only one dedicated home-brewing store, we are very lucky to have the one that we do!

I always have great service here. My husband gets all of his supplies for making beer every time we are in the city. The owner is very knowledgable and accommodating. If you want to get into brewing beer, I would definitely come here.

"The owner is so GD nice" quote from someone im close to. They have treated me very well every time i go in. They remember advice as if it happened yesterday. If youre not making homemade wine, go in and learn why you should start.

Best of the best! As far as I know it's the only store in victoria where you can buy all the home brewing and wine making supplies. I've never made wine, however I've been home brewing for over 24 years. This is the best store I've come across in all those years. Any style I could want to make is easy to find the ingredients for. The owner is highly skilled, interested in teaching and will wholeheartedly answer any questions you may have.

These guys are the best. They have helped me numerous times to get everything I need for a brew day, including substituting hops/malts for me when they didn't have the ones I was looking for. Most recently I came by to pick up everything I needed for a smaller BIAB all grain set up and within 15min I was ready to Brew the following day! It's so nice to have a homebrew shop so close by with friendly, knowledgeable staff and a solid selection of ingredients!

Friendly and knowledgeable assistants for all my home brewery. Cheers!

Without a doubt, the only place I will go to get any home brewing supplies! Shane & Melanie (and their staff) are fantastic, no-nonsense, knowledgeable people. I have gone in dozens of times with strange questions and they are always helpful and honest.