When I first moved to Fort Wayne, I was disappointed in the home brew stores because I was spoiled by Indy stores. I went to both and looked around and it seemed like I wasn't going to get much of a selection at either. But after a conversation with both stores, I realized Brewer's art actually had pretty much everything I needed.
They have a pretty large selection of grains, hops, yeast, and wine making materials. They pretty much stick to the most common of ingredients, but will special order items for you if needed. I have yet to have the need to for them to special order anything.
They sell white labs yeast. No WYeast. But their selection of yeast is pretty robust. The other store only carried about 4 varieties. They also don't carry 5 star PBW, but they have a powdered alkaline wash that honestly works just as well. They also have a container refill program. when your container runs out, bring the container back in and get it refilled. I can't remember if it's slightly cheaper for the refill or not, but it cuts down on a lot of waste.
They are helpful, give good advice, and will help adjust your recipe if the alpha for the hops you ordered aren't what they currently have in stock. You just need to be receptive of advice.
They can get a little bogged down on the days they get deliveries or have a lot of orders, so if you're worried about how long you will have to be in the store to grab what you need, give them a call or shoot them a message on facebook.
My only real issue is there is no website to go look at current inventories or a list of their ingredients. I have been told this is in the works. In the mean time, they will happily give you a print out of that months current ingredient stock.
They also have a rewards card so don't forget to get that puppy stamped. read more
