Eric is right, some LHBS owners/employees have no clue what they are talking about. I used to have to bite my tongue so not to be rude. My current LHBS is pretty solid.
So much great advice! Keep it coming! 
My kit comes in tomorrow! I can’t wait!
Does anyone know of a good LHBS in the Boston, Worcester MA? I ordered a few things online to get me going, but I would much rather buy local.
erockrph and thedarkside may be able to recommend one or two.
The kit has arrived! The beer brewing will now commence! ;D
Have fun and watch out for the boil over. ;D
Now that you have your kit remember:
- Sanitize
- Take notes
- Be patient
- Buy some good beer to help you follow through on #3 until yours is done.
- Relax
- Go buy your next kit.
Paul
Homebrewers Emporium in West Boylston is pretty good. All the employees are homebrewers so no cluelessness. They seem knowledgeable enough to help with ingredients, equipment etc. and generally friendly( there used to be a grumpy guy there but he’s gone). Never had a problem with them not having what you would expect them to have. Bruce, the owner or manager, has been there for many years and listens to suggestions. I agree with those who say that a lhbs is not necessarily the best place for advice though as you will get one point of view. Its much better to ask for advice here. I find that there are always multiple people on this forum who know exactly what you mean when you ask a question because they have experienced the same situation.
I’ll pile on with the others about being careful about the advice given in shops. I’ve never seen a shop where the employees didn’t try to help as much as possible but I’ve been in a few shops where people were given some pretty bad advice. Sometimes it’s old advice (e.g. “must secondary”) but not necessary bad advice and other times it’s just straight up awful advice.
Then again, there are plenty of places online with really bad advice too. Several forums where bad advice flows like, well like beer.
+1. Sometimes the advice is just plain bad and wrong. But aside from that, the LHBS people have a juggling act - trying to attract and keep new brewers by not discouraging or intimidating them with advanced level info/advice, as well as giving enough advice to intermediate brewers. I think most advanced brewers don’t really need a lot of advice from their LHBS, just assistance.
My favorite was when a buddy told me the LHBS recommended Caramunich as a replacement for Munich.
I’ve heard 1056 recommended for nearly every style of beer at an old (defunct) LHBS that only sold Cooper’s extracts and a few specialty grains. Luckily my LHBS is very, very good.
Steve (smkranz) and I purchase home brewing supplies from the same suppliers. I can attest that new brewers will generally receive good advice in these shops because they have the benefit of a large community in which many members have two decades or more of brewing experience. I rarely encounter the blind leading the clueless types of exchanges that I saw during the early days of the homebrewing revolution.
I’m over loaded with info which is a good thing
Thanks for all the info guys I really appreciate it!
In addition to all the good advice in this thread, the biggest lesson you need to learn is that yeast work on their own schedule, not yours. Give them all the time they need to finish up their jobs. Your job is to provide them the right environment for them to do so. They will, as long as you give them the sanitary environment, enough oxygen up front, the right temperature, and enough time. They will then reward your patience with a delicious beer! My point is that rushing a beer will usually result in one that’s mediocre at best. They yeast continue to work their magic even after the krausen (foam that forms during fermentation) falls. This is the time for the patience, as it LOOKS like they are done, but they aren’t.
Good luck and keep coming back to this forum any time you have a question. We all were newbies once.
Steve