MoreBeer Vs. AHBS

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

hopsalot

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2007
Messages
1,553
Reaction score
18
Location
Corpus
MoreBeer seems to be much cheaper but they nail you with shipping prices. I found AHBS to be 1 dollar more expensive when calculating EdWorts IPA. Does MoreBeer mill their grains? I am getting a dollar difference in prices but if they don't mill I will go with AHBS and spend the extra dollar.
 
morebeer has the supersaver (or whatever) shipping for uh... $0 if you buy enough stuff.

Yeah, doesn't work on some bulky or heavy stuff, but cant beat it for bulk grain and ingreedients. I have ordered from both, have had problems with my order with both, and both have good customer service.
 
How much is shipping from More Beer? $7.99 Flat Rate?

Honest question...Don't beat me!

Yeah, it is kinda sneeky, order $60 worth of stuff that is not too heavy and shipping is free. That just makes it that easy to make a $30 kit order turn into a $90 kitchen sink order because "well I am getting free shipping". It sucks as I have to pay tax though, stupid California.
 
morebeer is a good store, but i am not a fan of their crush. it grinds the **** outta those poor little kernels.

also, if you're buying specialty grains, they've probably been stored already crushed for weeks. i would buy uncrushed specialty grains and just roll a bottle over them.

EDIT: i know this because i've been to their showroom/warehouse many a time. i've never been to or ordered from AHS.
 
Both AHS and NB have the $7.99 shipping and if you cannot spring the $60 from B3 I would go with them. I do think NB is too high on there hops but I do order other stuff from them and have been very happy. Midwest also has treated me well in the past too.
 
Austin Homebrew has $6.99 flat rate and NB has $7.99. We don't charge extra to mill grain, but B3 and NB do charge for milling.

Forrest
 
I simply buy two brews at a time at B3... so I get free shipping. I am also not buying anything that I normally wouldnt, I just buy two brews at a time. Doing so I have found a 25%-30% savings over most stores, Midwest Supplies is the closest in pricing. Basically, if you plan your brew sessions, you can save A LOT at B3, if you dont plan your brew sessions, then you can basically shop anywhere, but Midwest Supplies has good prices and shipping, they are almost always #2 in price when I order.
 
Sometimes price isn't as important as supporting awesome businesses, for the 1 dollar or 2 dollar difference, or for the better ingredients...
 
Sometimes price isn't as important as supporting awesome businesses, for the 1 dollar or 2 dollar difference, or for the better ingredients...


What if for (2) brews it was a $20 difference? Id have to say, I have ordered from ALL of the BIG 4 and I have not noticed any difference in the quality of thier ingredients of the beers they produce. They are all top notch stuff.
 
Dude, Keep Austin Weird! Support Local Businesses!

117896-0-0-2.jpg
 
morebeer is a good store, but i am not a fan of their crush. it grinds the **** outta those poor little kernels.

also, if you're buying specialty grains, they've probably been stored already crushed for weeks. i would buy uncrushed specialty grains and just roll a bottle over them.

EDIT: i know this because i've been to their showroom/warehouse many a time. i've never been to or ordered from AHS.

Great, I just finished pressing the "Place Order" button that included grain to be crushed by B3 and includes a couple pounds of specialty grains.

I guess if my expectations are down, maybe they will come through :tank:

Oh well, I got a bunch of other stuff of course, ya know had to get to that $60 barrier and went way beyond, they do have too much good stuff.
 
they're probably fine. i've used grains that were weeks old (crushed) with no problems.

it's just that whether i am cooking or brewing...it's usually best to use the freshest ingredients possible.
 
I've never ordered from b3, but I can attest to ordering from austinhomebrew.com. They have quality products and their prices are in the same range as most online suppliers. Lately though I've been ordering from The Grape and Granary.

It used to be that I could place an order at AHS on Monday and have it in plenty of time to brew with for the weekend. Granted, I have most of what I need already in stock, but if, on a whim, I decide to do a couple of styles that I need yeast for I either need to look elsewhere or allow for at least 6-7 days if I order from AHS.

Of course I realize that I'm in a standard 3 day shipping zone from Austin, but that's not the issue. It seems like orders used to take a max of 1 day to get filled and now it's just about a 2 day minimum on the last few orders that I've placed. Sometimes that day makes all the difference in the world when you have a wife and 4 kids and need the stars to align just right sometimes for you to get a brewday in. :D

The Grape and Granary charges actual shipping, but if you compare the total cost of the order vs. anyplace that offers flat rate shipping it works out to be relatively the same for me since I'm in OH and being in OH, I typically get my orders the next day if I order before 1pm.

Having said all that, there are just some things that no one else carries and must be purchased from Forrest. His inventory is quite amazing.
 
I simply buy two brews at a time at B3... so I get free shipping. I am also not buying anything that I normally wouldnt, I just buy two brews at a time. Doing so I have found a 25%-30% savings over most stores, Midwest Supplies is the closest in pricing. Basically, if you plan your brew sessions, you can save A LOT at B3, if you dont plan your brew sessions, then you can basically shop anywhere, but Midwest Supplies has good prices and shipping, they are almost always #2 in price when I order.

I am with you on this, I just made a order and upped my fermentation equipment and ingredients for the Orange APA that you have in your secondary, oh and a few other little things too.

If I am happy with this order, I think this may be a common thing to just get 2 batches worth, I can't keeping buying buckets, carboys and BBs each time :)
 
I normally order from Midwest Supplies as an extract brewer. I’m almost finished building my single tier and will be going AG soon. I moved to Vegas and am looking for a supplier that won’t kill me on shipping when I start ordering a lot of grain. Any suggestions?
 
I normally order from Midwest Supplies as an extract brewer. I’m almost finished building my single tier and will be going AG soon. I moved to Vegas and am looking for a supplier that won’t kill me on shipping when I start ordering a lot of grain. Any suggestions?

vegas has a new homebrew shop. i just moved from there, so go figure, but i've heard its a decent little shop.
 
vegas has a new homebrew shop. i just moved from there, so go figure, but i've heard its a decent little shop.

I joined the local homebrew club and the previous owner of the only homebrew shop in town is a member. His shop closed, unless there is another that I haven't found yet. Do you remember the name or location?

Thanks...
 
I've ordered from both. I stick with Austin Home Brew Supply because their shipping gets to me way quicker. I've also not had any negative experiences with their products or service.
 
I just doubled the shipping crew this week. Orders will be quicker now. Thanks for your support.

Forrest
 
Awesome Forrest! Was this because of the holiday season, or were you in need of a larger crew anyways?
 
I live in Canada and have ordered from both N.B and Morebeer and I find that more beer is always a little cheaper but for me the shipping is a lot quicker going through N.B since its in Minnesota and i'm in Manitoba 8 hrs away.

Also N.B has cheaper beer kits
 
Awesome Forrest! Was this because of the holiday season, or were you in need of a larger crew anyways?

The shipping department is busy all year round. The sales floor is more seasonal.

Our internet business is up 40% over last year and a 1/3 of the customers are new. We need to keep up with the growth and make sure the orders leave quickly.

Forrest
 
I tend to prefer Austin Homebrew Supply simply because they are easier to deal with IF somethig goes amiss.

Every order I have placed with B3 has resulted in something not getting shipped, only a few times has that been a result of low stock.

B3 has a great selection online for certain. But unless I am planning a large order I tend to go with AHS.
 
I tend to prefer Austin Homebrew Supply simply because they are easier to deal with IF somethig goes amiss.

Every order I have placed with B3 has resulted in something not getting shipped, only a few times has that been a result of low stock.

B3 has a great selection online for certain. But unless I am planning a large order I tend to go with AHS.

I just made my first order from B3 yesterday. I am only about 100 miles from them. I ordered at 8AM, they open at 9AM, so I was sure they would get it out of the warehouse in the same day and I would have my ingredients for a weekend brew session. Well...... the status is still the same as the moment the order was placed 24 hours later: "In Warehouse, Not Picked" I just hope it goes out today. So far, not so good with B3 in other words.
 
Well today is the 3rd full day my order has been placed and they are just starting to "Being Picked" status of the order. So far AHBS is looking a whole lot better.

I really figured I could have this order by the weekend being so close, doesn't look like that is the case :mad:

P.S. Their website says that they ship orders out in 1-2 days, but the person on the phone says that it is 3-4 for their free shipping, which was NOT mentioned on their website.

I am feeling a bit mislead.
 
P.S. Their website says that they ship orders out in 1-2 days, but the person on the phone says that it is 3-4 for their free shipping, which was NOT mentioned on their website.

I am feeling a bit mislead.

Don't shoot the messenger, not trying to be a jerk or anything but...

MoreSaver!™ Shipping - Free shipping on most orders over $59.00, orders ship out of our doors in 2-4 Business days.

It's the first thing on the page, and it's in bold.
http://morebeer.com/free_shipping

Also, when you choose your shipping method the free shipping option is 2-3 longer than the standard shipping. 6-8 rather than 4-5
 
Don't shoot the messenger, not trying to be a jerk or anything but...



It's the first thing on the page, and it's in bold.
http://morebeer.com/free_shipping

Also, when you choose your shipping method the free shipping option is 2-3 longer than the standard shipping. 6-8 rather than 4-5

Alright fair enough, I have to eat my words, but I could have sworn, when I was checking out and choosing the shipping method, it said 3-5 days on the free. I guess if you combine that with the 2-4 days of fullfillment time, you get 5 - 9. ouch...

lesson learned always order on a Thursday, to get it by the next weekend.
 
I absolutley prefer Austin Homebrew Supply. While I was deployed in the Gulf, Forrest allowed me to purchase a bunch of stuff and then he held it in his warehouse for a few months, yes months, until I got home from the deployment. I was able to buy stuff during a pretty darn good sale and get more bang for my buck.

A couple of questions I think everybody should ask themselves before they pick an online supplier:

1. Who spends a lot of time on this forum answering questions, offering advice, and generally being very helpfull?

2. Which online retailer offers HBT only sales, discounts, and insider information on upcoming changes to the industry?

3. Who can you depend on to fix things when mistakes are made?


In my limited 9 month experiences with this, only Forrest and AHS fit all three questions. Sure, I occasionally pop into the local store when I decide to brew on a whim, but I always return to AHS when I have the foresight to plan my brew more than an hour before I start.

AHS and Forrest have demonstrated their commitment to HBT and all of us here.
 
I prefer Austin Homebrew. B3 usually has a lot of backordered inventory, and I've had more than one negative experience with their customer service. The prices at AHS are competitive, the customer service is outstanding, and I live close enough to Austin that even the $6.99 shipping usually results in 2 day service.
 
Back
Top