For the latest Main Street updates, and a constant source of new information from the store,
you can now follow me on Twitter. If you are unfamiliar with Twitter, it allows me to send very short, quick bits of information about new things happening at the store, used equipment that we are getting in, or just spontaneous updates on deliveries and happenings. It's actually pretty cool and allows me to post quick messages alot more easily than updating the website.
Just click on the Twitter icon above left and get ready to receive all of the up-to-the-minute Main Street information directly to your computer or smartphone. Let me know if
you have
any troubles or questions.
You can also see all of our recent Tweets in the window to the right. Thanks for checking out the
Mainbrew up-to-date info and check back often, we plan on sending out a steady stream of up-to-the-minute news and quick Tweets about anything that happens here at Main Street or in the beer and wine world in general...
Now you can follow us on Facebook, as well as Twitter, to find all of the latest updated Mainbrew info. We will post all of our updated news, and blog posts on Facebook and Twitter - instead of this page - for an easily updated easily found source of new info. Become a fan and stay tuned.
Download the Winter 2010 Newsletter here
All of our latest updates are now in our Twitter feed. Sign up to follow us on Twitter.
Or see all our up-to-date news in the Twitter feed up above!
July 29, 2009
We finally have the Blichmann Top Tier Brewing Sculpture in stock!!
July 9, 2009
Well the newsletter is done and ready for download. You can download it here. It was actually finished a week or two ago, but things were held up on account of the Belgian Candi Syrup we talk about on the first page. There was a shortage of it and we could not get the importer to give us any information about if and whe he would be able to provide it to us. But as of yesterday, he pretty much promised delivery sometime around July 15. We'll see.
We are looking for part-time help at Main Street Homebrew Supply. We are looking for someone that is very people-friendly, with a fair to good knowledge about beer and/or winemaking. I would be willing to train the right person who did not have extensive brewing knowledge. Must be able to life heavy items, carry things, etc. and - very important - must be able to work in the store on Friday, Saturdays and/or Sundays, as well as maybe extra days during the week. This would be partly seasonal work, with more hours between now and New Year's Day. Please leave me an informal resume (or extensive e-mail) about your prior experiences and any other important info if you are interested, or stop into the store and talk to us.
We are expecting our newest delivery of Cornelius kegs to arrive any day now - this is the best time to stock up on Corny kegs because you will have the "pick of the litter" soon after the truck arrives.
We are also expecting our first deliveries of Blichmann's brewing sculpture, Top Tier, to arrive in early July. We are really looking forward to seeing how this compares to other more expensive sculptures out in the beer brewing world.
That's it for now - have a great Summer, see you at the store...
June 10, 2009
Hello, boys and girls. It has been a bit of time since the last blog update, but we have been busy behind the scenes here at Main Street. The Summer newsletter is almost finished, I'm actually ahead of schedule on that; historically it comes out sometime around Fourth of July, but we expect this issue to come out sometime around the third week of June.
We are also getting ready to start taking reservations for our Fall Grape Buy. If you are unfamiliar with what we do, here is our web page about it. We expect to sell out very quickly this year, as more and more people are becoming aware of the high-quality of the grapes we bring in, and how easy and cost-effective we make the whole deal. If you want to be involved this year, please be sure to sign up as soon as we start reservations. As of today, we are just waiting for the grower in Washington to give us 2009 prices and estimated quanities. Once we get his OK, I'll send off the e-mail announcement.
I have aslo been rebuilding all the Blichmann pages on the the Main Street website, trying to better organize all of his groovy beermaking tools into an easier-to browse-format. I should be able to upload the new pages in a week or so, right around the time that he begins to sell his new Top Tier Brewing Sculptures. Be sure to check back onto the website soon for updated Blichmann info, The latest ETA for the sculptures is July 1.
That's it for now, we have some new stuff ready to be announced in the new newsletter, but you will be able to read all about it next week. For now, happy brewing and we'll see you at the store...
February 19, 2009
We are gearing up for our hop rhizome purchase. We are now accepting pre-orders for hop rhizomes - you can check out our prices and availability on our rhizome page. You can e-mail or call the store to set up any pre-orders.
Note: February 28: Hop rhizomes have already begun to arrive!
In other news, we are doing another web-only special. For those that read the Kev-blog, here it is: For the entire month of March, it is Loyal Customer Appreciation Month: wear your Main Street t-shirt into the store and get 10% off your entire purchase.
(Excluding CO2 kegging systems, CO2 bottles, Spagnols "Restricted Quantity" Wine Kits and all Blichmann hardware. Sorry, my margins on those items are way too slim....) (Good news: Cornelius kegs, themselves, and the standard Spagnols wine kits are included in this deal!)
Another way we like to say,"Thank you" to our loyal customers who help promote Main Street.
That's it for now. This is a busy time of year for me (working on taxes and paperwork - bummer), but the new newsletter will be coming out in early April - as soon as I can get through my tax work. Thanks for checking in - see ya at the store...
December 29, 2008
The recent weather here in Portland and Hillsboro has been great for that good, old-fashioned, stay-at-home traditonal Christmas (we have been buried in the worst snowstorm in forty years), but it has terrible for the frenzied pre-Christmas shopping rush that retailers hope for. We were actually shut down a few days over the worst of it, but with the temperatures now pushing 50 degrees, most of the snow has converted into good old Oregon mud and I have to say: as bad as the storm was for business, the snow gave us a beautiful - and very rare - white Christmas season. Hopefully all of you who were in it were able to stay at home and enjoy your stouts and porters by the fire, or crack open that 2007 Cabernet that has been aging gracefully, and have a slow, calm Holiday season with friends and family. Like people used to do before Christmas became synonymous with maxing credit cards.
Peace and safety to everyone, and a Happy New Year you, as well!
In other news, Douglas, here at Main Street, has spent a lot of time and energy building a website that details tons of stuff on making traditonal mead. It is very thorough and describes much of the information that he has figured out through the years. Doug has really stepped up into quality meadmaking and his meads are turning out exceptional (luckily, I get to sample them and taste the occasional fruits of his labor). Check out his site for a great view on how to make high-quality traditional mead.
Traditional Mead.com
Our new 2008 hops are mostly here. We have had some trouble finding some high-alpha (bitter) varieties, but by going to two different sources, we were able to get almost everything. There is no Columbus hops available this year, but we were able to find what is basically a clone of them - called Zeus - that is up above 16 alpha this year. We also have a good stock of Chinook, Magnum, Centennial, Nugget, Simcoe and all the rest. Next year (basically by August 2009), hop availability and pricing should be back closer to historical levels. Yay!
Carboy prices will be going up in the next few months. Mexico has stopped production of glass carboys, so they will need to now be imported from Italy. This will raise prices an unknown amount - but definitely raise them. If you need glass carboys, buy them in the next few months.
That's it for now. Have a great New Year. Be safe and don't drink and drive. Drink and stay home.
Happy New Year!
December 2, 2008
The Winter Newsletter is now available for download. Get it here, hot off the digital presses. In other news, wine and cider season is finally starting to slow down, and the beermakers are once again filling the store with requests for beer. This is a great time of year to be fermenting!
Our new 2008 hops should be arriving within a week or two. We usually see them sometime in mid-December, so 
the Winter Holidays are a perfect time to brew up some nice hoppy pale ales. Fresh hops are full of aromatic oils and sticky resins, making beers extra-hoppy and flavorful. And with the weather turning colder, it is also time to brew up a nice cold lager. We have recipes in the store for almost all of them: Oktoberfests, doppelbocks, bocks, pilsners, dunkels - whatever, we can help you.
We recently got in our once-a-year shipment of our cobalt blue bottles. We only get these once per year, right before Christmas. When they sell out, they sell out until the following year, We have them in 500 ml (one pint) and 1000 ml (one quart). These make great Holiday gift bottles and can be used for everything from beer to wine to Kahlua to any type of liqueur. Check them out while you arein the store.
We also have received our latest delivery of Cornelius kegs. This latest shipment is nicer than normal and all the kegs are in extra-clean condition. They are sold fully cleaned, inside and out, pressure-tested and fully guaranteed. They sell for $44.95 apiece or three for $42.00 each. Buy a keg during the month of December and get a complete (five-pack) O-ring rebuild kit for free!
That's it for now -- have a safe and Happy Holiday season....
September 15, 2008
Well, we found part-time help for the store. Woohoo! Patrick is now with us on Saturdays and Sundays to help move things along alot more quickly, and he also may be with us on Fridays and some weekdays, depending on how crazy wine season is for us this year. Be sure to say hello when you see him and make him feel welcome.
The new Fall newsletter is ready to be sucked off the Internet. You can get it HERE. Wine season is going strong right now. Thanks all of you who are participating in our Fall Grape Purchase from eastern Washington. We brought down a bunch of grapes yesterday and a lot more will be coming down this Sunday, the 21st. The quality this year is looking tremendous, so I think we are all going to be pretty happy.
In the World of Beer, now is the time to start brewing Holiday Winter Ales. We have a few tried-and-true great recipes at the store, or - for you adventurous brewers - feel free to throw in the usual assortment of festive spices - nutmeg, vanilla, etc. - and see what you get.
That's it for now -- I am trying to send off the newsletter to all of you e-mail recipients, as well as organize this Sunday's grape delivery, so time is preciously short this week. Have a great early Fall! More news coming soon.
August 10, 2008
Hey, me droogs, sorry about the slow updates -- I have been busy gearing up for the upcoming Grape Harvest as well as working long hours answering e-mails and starting the rapidly approaching Fall Newsletter.
I am currently looking for some Part-Time help in the store for the Fall and Winter season - and possibly beyond. Some overall knowledge of beer and wine-making would be beneficial - as would some retail experience - but I really need (more than anything) somebody friendly and communicative who can also carry and move heavy objects if necessary. MUST be able to work Saturdays and Sundays, and if you can come in on occassional weekdays as well, that would be even better. Basically, I'm pretty flexible on some things, but you must be people-oriented and easy-going.
E-mail me or stop by the store if you are interested in the position or if have any questions.
We also were recently able to eliminate ALL restrictions on hop sales. If you are out-of-state and have had a hard time finding fresh leaf hops at your local homebrew store, we, here at Main Street, have lots of hops, in almost all varieties and will ship them anywhere in the country. We have a special on-line price: eight bags of hops (that equals one pound), shipped anywhere you live in the US over two-day mail for $55.00. Tell your friends and family: Hops are back!
June 12, 2008
We are now taking sign-ups and deposits for our Fall Grape Purchase. Please be sure to sign up soon. We are already getting close to selling out several of the varieties.
We recently came across a nice supply of freshly harvested New Zealand hops. We were able to secure about nine or ten very cool, very interesting varieties - ones that we normally never see here in the Pacific Northwest. With the local and global hop situation being as crazy as it is, we are trying to lock in as much of these hops as we can. Although my supplier is limiting how many of each type I can buy each week, I am being told that I will continue to be able to get a steady trickle of them for a long time. This is good. See our hop page for a complete listing of all of these hops. (Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page.)
We also have a very cool new oil extractor coming out of New Zealand. Although it is illegal to distill alcohol beverages in the United States without Federal ATF and local state licensing, many of you from outside of the US may find this device very interesting. It does not need water as a cooling mechanism. It operates as easily as a coffee pot. See our distillation page for more information, or download the stillspirits pdf flyer to read about this amazing new machine.
That's it for now. The Summer newsletter needs some working on. It should be released into the wild sometime around June 21 or so.
May 28, 2008
Sorry for the LONG, LONG lapse in website updates (two months!). I've been busy behind the scenes with lots of stuff, though, and I am ready and rarin' to update a bunch of pages with new information. The store has been really busy this Spring, and that has also kept me overly occupied away from the computer. The new Summer newsletter is also half completed - expect that to come out around June 15.
Our Fall Grape Buy is gearing up, too. We will be beginning to take reservations next week, on Monday June 2. Please sign up early this year, we expect to sell out quickly.
More updates this weekend -- stay tuned!
March 5, 2008
I have been working on taxes this month, so I have not been able to update very much -- it is my classic February schedule - but that should soon end, and I'll be able to throw up a couple of more pages that are half-completed. In the meanwhile, I posted a new hop rhizome page. We will be selling hop rhizomes for the garden this year, and are accepting pre-orders right now. We should have them in by the end of March.
The Page of Yeast and our Sterilizer Page have been uploaded. I'll be fine-tuning them in the next few weeks, but most of the info is accurate and valid...
The next newsletter will be out in a few weeks, too, so keep your eyes open for that. There are lots of new things coming up that will be announced in the newsletter.... Untl then, Cheers!
February 3, 2008
Hey, all -- just finished watching a great SuperBowl -- what an ending!! And just finished uploading some new stuff.... Blichmann Engineering has just released a great line of brew kettles. Called the Boilermakers, these are state-of-the-art boil pots, and pretty competitively priced for everything that is included in them. See the Blichmann Page here for the definitive information, and then go to our catalogue page for pricing and availability...
I also have been working on updating some of the Winexpert pages, and built this **pretty awesome** (if I do say so myself) image map to help navigate to all the different levels of kits that they now have. I am still working on fine-tuning some of the deeper wine kit pages, with all the descriptions of the wines, but give me a little more time.
I am also working on my Page of Beer Yeasts, for all of you that called in to mention that it doesn;t exist.....
January 15, 2008
I just finished re-reading, re-writing and updating ALL of the information pages on the website. Whew! It took me awhile, but some of them were written almost ten years ago and although the information never goes bad, I think I was able to re-word alot of the stuff to make it more clear. I am also working on uploading some Quicktime videos about the beermaking process. Stay tuned for those! I hope to upload the first of them in February.
December 2, 2007
The Winter newsletter is finally done. I have been working hard on it for a few weeks and I'm happy to announce it is right on time. I try to have it done and e-mailed out around December 1. If you are not on the e-mail mailing list, feel free to sign up here and you will start receiving the Spring newsletter; for now you can download the Winter newsletter directly from this link.
We are flush - once again - with hops. A few days ago we were down to about three or four varieties, and about ten or fifteen 2-ounce bags of hops TOTAL but we received about 120 pounds of hops on Friday, so the Main Street hop coolers are maxed out right now. We do not expect to see any further lapses in our hop stocks for awhile, although prices have gone up slightly.
For the average five-gallon batch of homebrew it is fairly negligible, but - if saving money is paramount - the thrifty brewer can "downgrade" to a dried yeast (if you were using liquid strains) and save $5.00, or use more powerful varieties of hops, so you have to use less of them. Either of these switches could more than save you the extra few dollars that hops will add to your bill this next year or two. Bottom line: homebrew is still less expensive than commercial beers, and will be even more so when the hop prices start to be reflected in microbrews you buy from the store.
Anyway -- all you can do is drink and forget how bad the world is getting.
More news coming in a few more days -- I need a break after getting this newsletter out! See ya at the store...
