hoofy said:
I'm wondering what effect this sale is going to have on all the small home brew shops.
I always used my lhbs with Wherry at £22 even though I knew I could get it for £18 at Wilko's but at £9 I just couldn't really justify my loyalty to my lhbs.
I stocked up with about 6 months worth of kits so that's one customer my lhbs isn't going to see for a long time and I bet there are plenty of others who have done the same with the offer being talked about on all the brewing forums.
I don't really have a LHBS - just an internet shop that doesn't have a great range but it is near my mate's place. The only other option is in Ealing and is really overpriced for stock that doesn't look that new and whose range is pretty poor.
If LHBS want to survive, they have to go not for price, but quality/quantity. Wilko doesn't do Wheat beers that I want to drink, so I'll have to order online (in lieu of going to a shop). Same goes for different yeasts etc. I'd prefer to buy from a shop rather than online, as I can ask someone in person, rather than asking on here, waiting for an answer, seeing a debate unfold that disputes the first answer, making my mind up, ordering it, paying for postage and waiting 3 days for the post office to lose it.
Wilko has been great for me, as I'm a new brewer, but I'm the kind of person who likes to push the envelope as soon as I can. Hell, my fourth brew had added extras in it, so going to a shop and getting loads of choice to improve my brews would be amazing! In reality most people will be 99% happy with the stuff Wilko is selling and are more likely to take a risk on home brewing if the kits are cheaper. In the end the result is a bigger pool of carp for LHBS to fish in, so I'm not convinced it will be a problem for them in the long term.
</2p worth>