Unsurprisingly, Brooklyn is the epicenter of New York City's homebrewing scene. Especially ever since the Bowery Whole Foods shut down its homebrew center earlier this year. Whether it's where to buy supplies, take a quick three hour intro class on how not to do permanent damage to your apartment, find some friendly competition to pit your beer again, or even where to take a tour of homebreweries--yep, you guessed it, in people's apartments. 

While lugging a ten pound bag of grain up a three-floor walk-up is no fun, Brooklyn's trio of top notch brew shops offer a little something extra in-store with their keen staff. Whether it's getting all the supplies or just which hops to use with which grain, think of it as a mini-course. But of course, they all deliver too. 

Brooklyn Homebrew:
This Gowanus superstore offers everything from equipment and ingredient kits to get the beginner started to spices to add to your brew like Birch Bark and Elderflowers. They also lead classes monthly for less than $50. F train got you down? Like all good things (at least related to food) in New York, they deliver. (163 8th St., Brooklyn, 718-369-0776) 

Bitter & Esters:
With a wide-ranging, specialized selection like Citra, Chinook, Nugget, Centennial and Cascade wet hops while they're in season, this Prospect Heights location is ready to help advanced brewers. And for the novices? There are weekly classes—and even Kombucha supplies. (700 Washington Ave., Brooklyn, 917-596-7261) 

Brooklyn Brew Shop:
Perfect for the non-aficionado looking to make something not-so-basic, Brooklyn Brewshop offers bags of supplies for one gallon or five gallon batches exotic brews like Jalapeno Saison and Bruxelles Blonde. The bags contain all the main ingredients: grain, hops, yeast and spices (when the recipe calls for it). But when you're craving something more traditional like Oatmeal Stout or an Everyday IPA, they've got you covered too. There's no storefront, but you'll find them online or at Brooklyn Flea on the weekends. (Brooklyn Flea: 176 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn)