Hydrobrew

These guys are awesome. I stopped by on Father’s Day seeing if they had items I needed to build a keezer. Both gentlemen were knowledgeable and helpful. Whether your building a kegerator or brewing your first batch of beer, this is the place to go in Oceanside. Don’t delay, act now!

Solid homebrew shop with decent prices and great selection of grains, hops and yeast. Staff has always been very helpful and even let you taste someof their homebrews! This is my go to shop for supplies. Oh yeah they also sell supplies for growing tomatoes ;)

Good place. Nice selection of products; however, today was a first in that both guys were really hitting the brew. I get, you work at a brew shop, but you don’t have to blatantly sauce it up and reek of brew. Sneak one in here and there, but don’t guzzle down the brew like your drinking it out of a water fountain. Plus, it’s clear you’re buzzing and it does effect your professional image and your ability to help customers. You guys are classier than that.

Was very happy with the helpful staff at this shop. We are just beginning to brew and we had a lot of questions. Not only did they offer a lot of helpful suggestion on what to buy, they also gave us free samples of their beer. We will definitely be using this location for our home brew supplies even though it is so far from us.

Awesome store to have in oceanside, and what great staff! Went in there looking to start a hobby and had the best experience with everyone there. They were very knowledgeable about their craft and super helpful when I asked what I needed to get started making Mead. I felt very welcomed there and they didn’t mind my random assortment of questions. They even said to give the store a call if I had any problems starting off. Will definitely be going back.

Limited supplies on both ends. Expired & discontinued products on shelves. Way overpriced and the staff wasn’t very helpful.
Upon checkout, after waiting 15 min for another employee to come from the back area, the employee tells me $ 195 for my purchase… The look on my face alone prompted the employee to discount me on the fly with an almost immediate «how about $ 175…» This to me is really poor business ethics. Where I always appreciate a discount. The price was still nearly twice as much as I usually pay elsewhere. I feel as though if I didn’t have a look as though I was about to walk out, the discount wouldn’t have been on the table. Where was the $ 20 really going ???
I’ll second the MotherEarth brew supply as a better choice !
The one star is for location, lol.

I have a home kegerator that had not been used in years so I decided to stop by Hydrobrew and get some advice. The gentlemen behind the counter were able to get me new hardware components and hoses so that my setup was brand new as my original equipment was now twelve years old. They were very knowledable and helped my primary goal which was to get the beer flowing again !!!

The one star is for having some product in their store that is useful. I’ve been here three or four times for brew supplies but every time I go in none of the employees are helpful and seem like they could care less if anyone came in at all. After trying to get a co2 tank exchanged and getting a load of B.S. about how they can’t trade it in anymore im calling it quits. Mother Earth brew supplies is well worth my drive from Oceanside to vista.

My nephew shared some delicious sparkling hard cider with me over the holidays and told me how easy it was to make, so I decided to give it a go. I decided to go to Hydrobrew for at least my carboy, willing to pay more at a local brick-​and-​mortar as I was concerned about breakage in shipping. I spent some time asking questions and browsing their wares and ended up getting my carboy, handle, bung, airlock, Iodophor, and yeast while I was there.
I found the staff to be exactly what I wanted – not pushy, but not afraid to make suggestions, either. There when I wanted them to be, otherwise not breathing down my neck. They asked what my plan was, and although they had what I was asking for they suggested a couple of changes (different yeast and bigger carboy), explaining their reasoning which reflected what I’d told them about my plans. I felt they would not really mind if I did not do as they advised, but that they wanted me to succeed. Upon further research, I was glad I let myself be persuaded by their suggestions.
Back at home, I ran my purchases by
, and found that I would have paid significantly more overall buying from Amazon including shipping (in spite of being a Prime member), though I would have saved a few cents on this or that individual item.
As a result of this buying experience, I intend to shop regularly and with confidence at Hydrobrew for my homebrewing needs.
Helpful info: Hydrobrew’s front door faces the parking lot to the south. It is a simple steel door set into a cinderblock wall, with no display window; at first I thought it was a back door or something. The parking lot is accessible from Coast Highway. More parking on the west side of the store.

After going to 2 other homebrew supply shops in north county that were pretty much useless I ended up here. I am glad I did! Hydrobrew had everything I was looking for to keg my homebrew. The guys that work there were also very helpful and friendly. If you live in the north county and are looking to homebrew, start here!

Been here many times, and I drive 40 minutes from Valley Center to do it. The staff is super friendly and have no problem walking me through anything. I have also called them more times I’d like to admit for advice on stuck fermentations and such. Their prices are also very competitive, and the recipes make everything fun, convenient, and easy. Highly recommend!!!

I love this! Wonderful Selection! Brace is a pretty kickass Employee :)

I’ve been in the store twice and will continue to shop from Hydrobrew. Killer prices on everything in stock, I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about, or wasn’t willing to give helpful hints on your brewing. They even ask to let them know how the batch comes out that you’re working on. They have pretty much everything you need or willing to find another wholesaler to get what you need and prices are always competitive. I’m looking forward to see the variety of grains that they carry or can get, but so far a really great shop to buy and chat beer talk.

Thanks for the great deal on hops!
We’ll be back when we are in the area :)

Very good selection and some of the better prices I’ve found at a store. The only issue is the service has a snobby vibe when you ask questions. But that also seems to be par for the course with these stores.

I’ve visited Hydrobrew a few times and the service is really hit and miss. Sometimes i get great service, and other times the brew snob attitude comes out. For brew hardware the staff is only familiar with commercial gear and they have no experience nor interest in helping you with DIY hardware. They have a decent selection of grains and ingredients, the prices are average. Lower than Ballast but higher than American HB.
I wish they were more consistent in their service, i may head over to MEBC from now on.

yeah Im a fan of this place when i do head to do oceanside to brew with my buddy! they have a huge supply of grains and hops. they sell malt by the lb which is awesome! i give you guys 5 thumbs up.

I have a bit of a hard time with the concept of a brew shop/​hydroponics store– yes, it’s all about DIY intoxication, but it seems that stocking supplies for two such different activities would lead to deficiencies in one or both. I can only comment on the homebrew aspect of this business: the supplies are adequate but not spectacular.
There was a decent supply of brewing equipment at relatively reasonable prices.
I’d have liked to have seen a larger variety of grains, but they seemed to have had at least the standard ones.
I’m not positive but I think the yeast and hops were in fridges behind the counter, which isn’t ideal; I like to be able to browse the current selection without feeling like I’m in the way.
The store’s organization could be better: there’s no clear delineation between plant and beer supplies.
The staff seemed helpful, knowlegeable and enthusiastic.
I’ll probably go back there for supplies from time to time, but when I want brewing ingredients, I’ll make the trek down to Home Brew Mart.

I LOVE this place! Today was my first visit, but I can’t wait to go back. All the guys working were super friendly and helpful. i just stopped in to get some growler caps but by the time I left I felt like a regular. I found a few other things I «needed» while chatting with the guys and I even got to sample a fantastic belgian sour beer they had brewed.
This is exactly what a home brew shop should be like, it’s only drawback is that it’s so far away from me. I would seriously consider moving to north county if it meant I could frequent Hydrobrew more often.

I really, really adore Hydrobrew.
I’ve only got a passing interest in hydroponics (I’m a crusty, compost and dirt loving organic gardener).
That said, I have a deep love for homebrewing, and while I don’t get to indulge in this hobby as much as I’d like, Hydrobrew is a GREAT place in North County for all your homebrewing supplies. I’ve had the pleasure of talking to the owner and staff– very friendly, very informed, more than happy to help and most of all, very passionate about the craft of brewing.
If you’re a homebrewer, stop by and say hi to these enthusiastic folks to talk shop and do some shopping.