Must be my lucky day

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neumann

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Little Rock
So I got my shipment from Midwest Supply today for my 5th batch of beer including a shiny new 6 gallon Better Bottle. I noticed that I got two sets of tracking numbers but didn't think too much about it. Thought they had shipped the Better Bottle by itself because it was too bulky or whatever. When the 2 boxes arrived today it was pretty obvious which box had my Better Bottle in it, but that box had also had my ingredients. So what is in this mystery box? I open it up and there are two more ingredient kits, an all-grain Big Ben Pale Ale and a Belgian Grand Cru. I was confused to say the least. Was I Midwest's 1,000,000th customer? Was it some kind of customer loyalty? Or was it all a mix-up?
Occam's razor; I had received someone else's order and there on top was the pick list with her name and address. I briefly contemplated keeping it, even though I'm not equipped for all grain, but decided against it. I always believed in karma and this seemed like a good time to gain a bit in the right direction. So, I called and they are shipping out a pre-paid FedEx label and back from whence they came. In the end, it wasn't really my lucky day, but if you placed an order like that on Midwest Supplies and live somewhere in Washington state, I've got your stuff and Midwest should be calling you.
 
Yikes, that's quite the mess-up. But am I alone in saying that Midwest certainly has a track record of SNAFU-d orders? So far I've recieved a dented brew kettle, about ten missing items that I had to call to get replaced, an open bottle of sanitizer that got all over a batch's worth of ingredients, and a couple extra ounces of hops that I didn't order.

Has anyone else had problems with their orders from Midwest?
 
Welcome to HBT!
We've ordered probably 20+ times from Midwest and never had one item missing or damaged. They are one of four online stores that I recommend without hesitation.
 
UPDATE:
Just got a call from Midwest. They offered to sell me both kits for $25! That's nearly $90 worth of beer for $25! I couldn't turn it down. One of the kits is extract and I can brew that pretty soon but the other is all-grain. Seems like a good excuse to do my first all grain kit ;). How quickly do I need to use this stuff before the grain will spoil?
 
Make sure the grain is in an airtight bag and toss it in the freezer. It'll keep for weeks. (I've kept crushed grain this way for several months, actually.)
 
If the grains are uncrushed, it will keep for a long time. If crushed, seal and put in a freezer as stated above.
 
I've never had problems with Midwest (the lid to my economy brew kettle was a little dented, but it's economy for a reason, so I'm not that concerned).

Don't want to hijack the thread, but since you're talking about it, I got a bag of grains from Austin on Monday, and it seems the vacuum sealer didn't quite seal well, because the half of the seal was broken, effectively making the bag open. Fortunately, no grains were lost. Will the grains stay fresh until my brew day on Sunday?
 
The grains are crushed. That's one reason why they offered to sell me the kits at such a reduced price. When I get home they will go into a ziploc bag and into the freezer.
 
I had received someone else's order and there on top was the pick list with her name and address. I briefly contemplated keeping it, even though I'm not equipped for all grain, but decided against it. I always believed in karma and this seemed like a good time to gain a bit in the right direction.

+1 for Karma.

I've gotten lots of good karma learning about bad karma.
 
Find a local brew club in little rock. Send them an email and see if any of their members will help you brew the AG batch. Split the finished product with the brewer.
 
Glad you did the right thing, that is what I would have done. Often times they will thank you and let you keep the stuff anyway so you don't feell guilty either if you did keep it. I know some people (who I choose not to be friends with) that would have kept it, no second thought.
 
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