My Local Homebrew Shop

As far as I know, there are three homebrew shops in the city of Chicago proper. (One of them has a handful of locations, so technically there are six or seven actual "storefronts".)

However, there's one which very recently opened up and definitely stands out from the rest. Brew Camp (in the Lincoln Square neighborhood, which happens to be really close to my neighborhood) does some things differently from the other options and does them well.

They engage with their customers on both Facebook and Twitter and actually respond to questions and comments that people post. I'm still not entirely sold on the overall impact social media has on a business, but the guys here are definitely using it to their benefit.

They teach brewing classes for beginners at their space. This has to be one of the best ways to get people over the initial learning curve and into the hobby.

They are working with my local homebrew club to put on a competition this January and hosted the last meeting in their space.

In short, they're engaging with the brewing community here in Chicago in ways other than simply letting people come in to their store and ask for advice. In a small niche business like this one, it absolutely sets them apart from their competition. I'd much rather shop somewhere that I know my dollars are going to support people who are ambassadors for the brewing community and truly passionate about beer.

(I don't have any connection to Brewcamp, nor do I have any commercial interest in writing this post. I'm simply someone who's been really impressed with them thus far and thought they deserved another positive mention.)