The Wine & Hop Shop

I am new to the Madison area. Before I visited the shop for the first time, I exchanged emails with Ben, the owner, regarding a question about their website. Ben responded almost immediately and was very helpful. The next day I visited the shop and found the staff to be amazingly friendly and helpful. I also felt that The Wine & Hop Shop had the most well selected assortment of high quality brewing equipment, supplies, and ingredients I have ever seen in one place. In a relatively small retail space, you can find virtually everything you might need, and the highest quality of each. Great products. Great service. What else do you need?

Needed some wine yeast. Had a nice selection and had reasonable shipping. Wish I had the time to visit in person, they are very helpful.

They have literally everything you need to brew your own beer at home. Their staff is really knowledge and helpful.

They have all-in-one kits for a *nearly* foolproof option. The instructions that come with are really detailed. There are a lot of steps, but they are easy to follow.

They also have a large supply of grains and barley if you want to make your batch truly from scratch.

If you're still on the fence, they offer classes to help walk you through the process.

Moving this review up to 5 stars. Their products are diverse, prices are more competitive, and staff remain helpful.

Nice homebrew shop that has become more competitive as time has passed. Grain cards are a good value and staff is friendly and knowledgeable.

These folks are kind, patient and knowledgeable, and their customer service is second-to-none. We've been going to the Shop for many years, every Xmas we pick out a piece of gear or an extract kit for the beermaker in the family and ship it to his location. This year was the first I used the Shop's shipping services, it seemed so convenient and easy online. Ordering was a snap, the packages was shipped the next day (with a note explaining some hop substitution due to a late growing season) and arrived in St. Louis two days later. Unfortunately, the malt extract container had ruptured somewhere in the shipping process, and my relative had a sticky mess on his hands. He called me, I called the Shop and explained what happened... a one-minute phone call. The person on the phone located the order details and assured me a replacement would go out that afternoon, and sure enough, it arrived 2 days later in perfect condition. No fuss, no hassle, and no blaming the shipping company. It was easily the best customer service I've ever received, and I guess I'm really not surprised because of the caliber of people who have helped me out over the years. Well done!

Had a little trouble with the website early on, but the staff has been great about fixing any problems that come up. Excellent customer service! I'd highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to get started with home brewing.

They go to great lengths for even an $8 sale to help you out. I'm a hack brewer/soda dispenser. My cobbled system started to have issues for which the shop helped me trouble shoot the problem and find the solution. And I could do all of it while wearing my pajamas via email and their website. If I wasn't so cheap they would even deliver it. Instead I will pick up parts at Working Draft because that is closer than the store for me.

Staff members are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. The store is relatively new and well laid out. Several parking spots in the alley are devoted to the store and you can enter the store from the alley, so those are ideal if they are available. Prices here are comparable to their competition in town, but the staff expertise and customer service are what keep me coming back to this shop. After living in a town with no homebrew shop for the majority of my time as a homebrewer, I can fully appreciate having a store like this in Madison. I hardly ever have to order from an online store, unless I need rare grain/hops for a recipe or parts/equipment they don't stock.

Stopped by today with beer I brewed from a Mr. Beer kit from online and got great service. They taste tested my brew, giving helpful feedback and pointers. Never really pushed product on me, but let me know what it would take to get the beer I'm looking for.

A must-stop for all people thinking about or starting out brewing. Great place to check out a bunch of grains/hops/ingredients/etc. I'm probably going to end up buying one of their starter kits even after receiving a Mr. Beer one for x-mas.

I'm a huge fan of this place. They have a wide variety of available inventory, their staff is incredibly knowledgeable, and (most importantly to me) their staff has always shown an above-and-beyond willingness to offer help/advice. If you're a Madison area homebrewer, The Wine & Hop Shop should have everything you need.

One of the friendliest places you could ever find for home brewing, wine, and cider making. Incredible selection of supplies, both ingredients and hardware. Useful resources, including handouts, books, and classes are available as well. The most helpful resource is the staff, who can always help you with your problem, whether it's finding the right stopper or picking a substitute hop because the one you wanted is all sold out. Excellent place for anyone fermenting anything, whether it's before your first time or you've been doing it half your life.

Awesome place to get started brewing. They have starter kits and a large variety of everything you'd need to make your first batch or your 75th. Prices are reasonable. You can even try a brew or wine that the staff have made while you're there. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable.

As COMPLETE novice wine makers, we found the Wine and Hop Shop to be a great source for all things needed to get going. And the folks are knowledgeable and friendly. From novice to expert, you won't find a better place!

Have been a customer for a few years now and W&HS is the absolute best place for homebrewing supplies. Very knowledgeable staff, like seriously, they know their stuff. For example, I randomly wanted to make a Dandelion wine, but had no idea how to bottle and keep wine. The guy at the shop had done it before so he was able to walk me through the steps in order to get a good batch the first time. We also source all our grains for our one barrel setup from W&HS. Good people=good beer.

The folks who work here are always very helpful. As a home brewer who has brewed a few extract batches I always find what I need here. I also have no problem asking for help here - they seem to know what they are talking about. The prices on yeast are around what you'd find online and the selection is fantastic. I thought my high-yield Trappist liquid yeast would be hard to find but they had quite a bit of it.

I'd recommend this place to any homebrewer. Support local and get good advice - what more could you want?

Great place to go to get all your brewing supplies. The employees are friendly and all have experience brewing in one way or another.

When I visited I had a few newbie questions and I was never given the impression that I was annoying the employees with all my questions. Excellent customer service which is rare these days.

You have two options for local brewing supply stores and The Wine & Hop Shop has earned my loyalty over the shop that is both closer to where I live and open later (which, all other factors being equal should make it my favorite). Primarily I like the Wine & Hop Shop more because they hops are fresher, hands down. I've never experienced the cheesy aroma from the hops they sell, unlike multiple experiences with the other store in town. Higher quality ingredients = better beer. The staff is friendly, interested in helping you find the right thing, and knowledgeable about brewing. Plus, you may get a beer when you come in. And it's hard to beat their grain club -- ask them about it.

Love it.

One of only two homebrew shops in town. As with the other (unaffiliated) place, if they don't have what you want here, you probably don't need it. Small but very accommodating. Plus you have direct access to the yeast and hops, a plus in my books.

Update: As of early 2018, this is the ONLY homebrew shop in town. Fortunately, it's a very good one.

Love this place! Everyone is very friendly and helpful, and there's a good selection of ingredients. Wish there was a location out more towards Verona / Middleton, but they will ship to other bars for free.

The two guys working when I came in were extremely helpful and very polite. I was very impressed with the customer service and I will definitely be going there for all of my home brewing needs from now on. Plus they are a local company, so it's a win win!