Heart’s Home Brew Beer & Wine

It looks like some fellow home brewers have had a relatively positive experience shopping at Hearts. I truly wish I could say the same. It seems like everything is simply a hassle for the owner, from having to mill the grain to having to get you some hops. He literally hates customer interaction and its glaringly obvious.
I try to support local business before going to
or
but in this case, Ill have to find the time to drive out to Sanford or wait for my orders to be shipped.
I’m obviously frustrated with the level of customer service but to be objective, I do think that the prices are in line with the industry and the selection is fine. However, the selection doesn’t do much good when you get different yeast or hops than you ordered. WLP300 is not WLP320. But they don’t seem to care.
I’m a pretty experienced (12 year) all grain home brewer so I don’t need to be the guy’s best friend or get any kind of tips or lessons. I simply won’t be treated like an inconvenience when spending my money.

i am amending my review to a complete 180, i love this shop its amazing, they have amazing tellers there but one, my previous experience was on one person, and we must not let one person destroy a whole business. i did the follow up work and Heart’s has better prices than Northern brew, they actually have more grain selection and variety, and price, i actually saw that before my visit today as to why i visited to day, let me tell you what happened…
today i had a batch of dried cherries soaking and ready to boil, and i went online to look up a recipe, and found out i was missing allot per my research i calculated $ 95 worth of stuff, avoiding heart’s i mad an order on eBay for the best price for one of these items and though the price was amazing till i said to myself i said «LOL» check heart’s JIC and an item i ordered for 10.00 on eBay was 1.99 for 3x as much, 4oz eBay 10.00 Vs 1lb Heart’s $ 1.99 Bentonite clay, look it up yourself, so i canceled my eBay order and then checked everything else on heart’s and it was $ 40 for everything i wanted, called them up made an invoice and went down there. on the way i said to myself i said… «do you really need all of these things, why not ask», but i was afraid that the curmudgeon would treat me like an ass so i nix’ed that thought, but when i got to the door i mustered up the courage to want to ask, then i walked in and a friendly guy was there, so i felt no fear and i laid it out, i have dried cherries soaking now for two nights nor like 30 hours ready to boil, what do i need, i have ample yeast a better bottle some nutrient, and an airlock what do i need, and he was more than helpful my price went down to $ 16 so i got a few other items that i also needed and left with a bill of $ 20.98
C’mon you can’t beat that half the price plus more stuff to boot, please shop Heart’s and ask for anyone but the «curmudgeon/​grump» or what happened below may happen to you
this rating went from one star to five in one week
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i was warned by a friend that they were not friendly people, and when my friend and i both very gregarious people and easy to get along with, we were immediately met with a smug condescending demeanor of the clerk, assuming our ignorance and incompetence, not a place to shop you better of going to Norther brew online prices are better and you don’t need to deal with ass holes, eBrew is also way cheaper, with Northern you only need to worry about 7.99 shipping if you price compare you’re still making out better on somethings adding shipping plus there kits are better, «Heart’s» does not carry wide mouth carboys and again you don’t have to deal with assholes… fyi he treated the other people in the store as if they belonged, and looked down his nose at us. not saying he was racist, but two separate incidence dealing with knowledgeable black people and we both walk away with the same experience, says something so save your time and spend your money someplace worth shopping at
go here instead

Been brewing beer just under a year now. I’ve shopped online from MoreBeer, Northern Brewer and also been to Central Florida’s two BrewShops — Hearts Home Brew & Sanford Home Brew.
In all honesty, I was skeptical about Hearts Home Brew due to the overwhelming negative comments and here-​say, but my recent visits/​experiences have been nothing but good. The first time I visited, there was a middle-​aged gentleman at the storefront counter who greeted and asked what he could do for me. I was brewing a clone of Founder’s Breakfast Stout, so I needed quite a bit of grain & hops. The gentleman was professional and not rude in the least bit in assisting me with what I needed.
After he got all of my ingredients together, he cashed me out at the register. He did advise before leaving the store that, if I wanted to in the future, I could go to the online website, place my order, and just come in to pick it up. I acknowledged the information and thought to myself, «that’s actually very convenient», considering I can end up spending 45 mins just going in to pick up grain, waiting for it to be milled, etc. Not only can I take my time on the website ordering everything, the prices are competitive with that of all the major Brewing Websites (ex. Northern Brewer).
So my second experience was just that. I ordered a few supplies for my next bottling session, paid online, and drove to the store to pick up. Again, the same gentleman was there and professional. The plus of the online site is not only being able to take your time and shop, but you don’t have to pay the tremendous shipping fees if you can just swing by the store and pick up your supplies.
Maybe the previous reviews were met with a different employee, but I can honestly say that ‘Hearts Home Brew’ is a Brew shop. I didn’t feel out of place or mistreated. I just had a normal shopping experience.

Since my last couple bad experiences, … I’ve been back. Out of convenience really, though I prefer Sanford home brew. I haven’t run into the bitter old pecker that was here before. I don’t know if he still work here or not, but the place is better off with out him. now there’s an older guy, who I think is the owner, and he’s a really nice guy. He’s answered all my amature questions and given me advice happily. If he’s the face of Hearts Home Brew now, I’d gladly recommend them.

The shop is great. I order what I need online and my order is ready when I get there. This is a professional shop and the guys running it have always been pleasant. They keep a well stocked shop and always seem to have what I need.

I will validate all the negative experiences other reviewers have shared. They too have had my experiences. Shame that Orlando only has this one cold as cod brew supply store.
These guys could care less if you have had a good or bad brewing experience. That is if you can get toe to toe with them. YOU WILL SEEK THEM OUT. Horrible «storefront» attitude (un person-​ably rude is pretty spot on IMO) but I’ll presume great for an on line business.
I said screw this place for good when putting together a brew batch I had asked for 1 oz. of Kennington hops, and they choose to substitute some other chit w/​o even advising me cause they were out. Yep. like who would know the difference?
Nah. This customer service is a bad as it can get in my experiences.

Well, I went in expecting the worst. Braced myself to interact with a big grump and come out feeling annoyed. But I needed supplies for my boyfriend’s birthday and this is it (unless I wanted to drive to Sanford).
So I walked in to a ‘hallway’ of boxes — being the supply warehouse this made sense. I asked the clerk (owner?) for a recipe kit. Be it known I was armed with no information besides I wanted ingredients for a beginner to make an IPA. Guy asked me a few questions. Deadpan. No smile. Then he decided he knew what I needed and directed me there. Told me the price, got me some hops… aaaaand I paid. I cracked a joke and guess what?! He kinda sorta laughed.
All in all, it was a fine experience. People should go here because they likely have what you need and the guy is knowledgable. No, you’re not gonna sit down with him and discuss the weather but I could see him making beer talk with regular customers and he was nice to me. And patient. So I’m satisfied.
I have never written a Unilocal review before but I felt I wanted to for this business because I think it’s been unfairly reviewed. Know what you’re going into and it’s fine.

Easy online ordering

I don’t usually order my supplies online so I was a bit scared to trust a small vendor but they surpassed all expectations. First the order arrived early, they sent emails keeping me updated, the shipping cost less that posted so my card was charged less than I authorized. The product was in great shape and nicely packaged. I will be ordering from them again and again :)

This place is one of those hidden gems of Orlando. Hearts Home Brew in the Edgewater area (nice and close to me) is nestled in one of those semi-​industrial strip mall/​office parks. It’s a tiny place and when you walk in you are immediately greeted by the high shelves full of brewing supplies and narrow aisles you must navigate. The owner is usually busy doing other things and is a serious, serious man. There is a full line of brewing supplies and literature for making your own brew.
For those that want to enjoy a cold beer now, there is two walls of coolers full of singles from all over the world. It’s great to be able to grab a sixer of beers to try different types of beers and different brewing styles from around the world. Prices are close to those at the bar ($ 6 for a 12oz beer is not abnormal) but the variety is what you pay for.
4 stars for variety; minus 1 star for prices. If you brew your own, then plus 1 for the selection and prices of ingredients and cookware.

Meh, been in there twice. Both times, I was completely ignored. Once he was with another customer, once the place was empty. I asked a question (he seemed to be doing inventory or something) and was given a short, curt answer. «It’s all on the sheet over there».
I realize that the bulk of their business is probably web driven, but I went in there and was prepared to spend a couple hundred dollars. I’d rather spend that money elsewhere now. I’m 100% sure I could receive better customer service from another web site.
Unprofessional, to the point of rude. Not interested in giving them my money.

Ok, I have to give it 5 stars cause it’s the only home brew store we have in the area, however I’d still give it a high rating comparing it to all the home brew supply websites. Granted, the place is set up much like a warehouse so if you’re expecting to be able to walk in and browse around you may get a little lost. The shop owner does most of his sales via the internet so you’ll always see him measuring out grains and packing boxes while you’re there.
Here’s how it works:
The best way to go about this is to go to the website–
Pick out all the things you need and complete your order. You can select a pickup date and time and he’ll have you entire order ready for you when you get there. Very easy.
He also has a few coolers full of good beers if you feel like having a cold one right when you get home. I love how he has a few standards (miller, bud light and some other bad ones) on the very bottom all covered in dust, out-​casted like the island of misfit toys. Makes me laugh every time.
All in all it’s a great place to get all your home brewing supplies and the prices are awesome. Especially since you don’t have to pay shipping if you’re picking up.

… and on second thought maybe it just takes them awhile to warm up to you.
The quality is there, this place is a place where you might want to become a regular for the staff to warm up to you.