By Sue Moore
The South County Homebrew Supply store has almost 450 items in stock and is adding to the inventory all the time. It aims to be a one-stop shop for home brewers to get whatever they need, said Dane Bosel, co-owner of the store along with Andy Clouse. They are also the owners of the next-door Distant Whistle Brewhouse.
“We love beer and we love talking about beer. We can spend hours just talking about the craft, and this store is a great way to pass on the things we have learned,” Bosel said. “Having started out as home brewers, we felt like we needed to encourage and grow the ability for others to brew at home and make good beer.”
It appears that they do make good beer; the Distant Whistle has a loyal following, having just celebrated its second anniversary this summer. Nov. 24 saw the grand opening of the homebrew store at 116 S Main Street with a ribbon cutting sponsored by the South County Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We are catering to homebrewers and home winemakers,” Bosel said. “The store contains supplies, ingredients, and books to help home brewers create their best crafts and creations. “The store stocks 60 varieties of hops, 20 strains of Omega liquid yeast and several dry yeast strains, over 50 different grains, as well as several different varieties of dry and liquid malt extracts and kits.”
The only other store in this area with home brewing stock is at Bell’s in Kalamazoo, Bosel noted.
Being a well-stocked supply store, South County Homebrew Supply is suited to offer competitive products at competitive prices comparable to other local home brew shops, Bosel said. South County Homebrew Supply plans to encourage networking and socialization between brewing enthusiasts by offering brewing competitions. The store can be reached on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SouthCountyHomebrewSupply or by phone: 269-475-5447.