best/cheapest online store

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Irish1225

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not sure if this is the "correct" place to post, but i'm a noob and will give it a try

i'm in chicagoland and want to get ready for my next brew but don't want to travel 30 miles to the nearest HBS. I don't need the materials immediately so i thought waiting for shipping would be no problem.

in anyone's experience, what's an online shop where i can buy quality individual ingredients (looking for some DME and steeping grains - nothing special) and yeast, along with cheap shipping? found A LOT of sites through a yahoo search, but wondered what has been good to people in the past.

i greatly appreciate any feedback. HBT is by far the most informative and friendliest forum i've used...ever!
 
I look at morebeer.com and northerbrewer.com

Those seem to be the cheaper ones that's I've seen. At least at my level
 
I have already used MidWest Homebrewing and Wine Making Supply. Ordered a few things from them so far and they have cheaper prices than my local HBS and they only charge you what FEDEX charges them for shipping! They are in Minnesota so your shipping costs should be pretty inexpensive.
MidWest Supply

Before you go there....I do support my local HBS. I get all my ingredients and misc stuff there.
 
i like Midwest but Fedex is bull, expensive shipping and they deliver it to the wrong house twice before i got it... i had to buy a new yeat pack from the LHBS because the one they sent me was burst because it froze... i hate fedex

cheers
 
i like Midwest but Fedex is bull, expensive shipping and they deliver it to the wrong house twice before i got it... i had to buy a new yeat pack from the LHBS because the one they sent me was burst because it froze... i hate fedex

cheers

Damn... that's why the only ingredients I would consider being shipped to me is grain... and like 50 lbs of it at a time for me and my buds.
 
What local store have you used? I hate my local store Wine Maker Supplies in Elmhurst, love Fox Valley Home Brew but they are in Aurora and the prices are a little high but a good bunch of guys. Brew n Grow in Roselle is ok but they did piss me off when I called to check on stock then drove out only to find out oops sorry we don't have that!

As for online I like Austin Home Brew for my ingredient kits but Midwest has better equipment prices or at least they have for everything I needed. I also price compared Northernbrewer and they seemed to be in-between the two on prices.
 
Here is a link for quite a few online stores. It's found in the Ingredients/Recipes section of this forum. I didn't see Brewmasters Warehouse mentioned in that thread, but that is the one I use.
 
This is yet another shameless plug for my store, but here it goes anyway.

Brewmasters Warehouse has good prices and a large selection to choose from. There is $6.99 flat rate shipping for an order, no matter how much you order. Our Brew Builder application is one of a kind for an online HBS. You can choose the style of beer you want to brew and pick your ingredients, and can buy your entire recipe with 1 click.
 
What local store have you used? I hate my local store Wine Maker Supplies in Elmhurst, love Fox Valley Home Brew but they are in Aurora and the prices are a little high but a good bunch of guys. Brew n Grow in Roselle is ok but they did piss me off when I called to check on stock then drove out only to find out oops sorry we don't have that!

As for online I like Austin Home Brew for my ingredient kits but Midwest has better equipment prices or at least they have for everything I needed. I also price compared Northernbrewer and they seemed to be in-between the two on prices.

I use Fox Valley...and yes, it's out of the way (from LaGrange anyway). So, figuring I have about a week until i have a primary available, might as well just online order.
 
Here's another plug for Austin Homebrew Supply several times, and found the price, service, and shipping policy to be very good.

The one time I had a problem, it was due to an out-of-stock ingredient. Austin Homebrew let me know quickly, and we resolved the problem within a day. Their $6.99 flat fee shipping policy is a big selling point to me.

No affiliated, just satisfied. I'd probably order from Brewmaster's Warehouse too, except that the shipping time from Texas to Colorado is better than from Georgia (most likely), and for most of the year, I have to worry about yeast either cooking or freezing.
 
I use Fox Valley...and yes, it's out of the way (from LaGrange anyway). So, figuring I have about a week until i have a primary available, might as well just online order.

Yea same here 32 miles each way:-( But I just picked up everything I needed to brew both Boom Boom Vanilla and the Caramel Cream Ale that cheesefood posted and it cost me $115 at Fox Valley. I then looked up all the same ingredients at midwest and AHB and both were about $90 shipped. So if you figure in gas its about a $30 difference easy. I wish it wasn't so, I would rather support my local brew supply shops but we not talking about 2-5% we talking around 30! Don’t forget amazon.com has some cheap kits. They don’t have a big selection but they are pretty cheap and I don’t know if anyone in the other thread tasted one yet so quality is ?
 
well i placed an order at northernbrewer.com and it came to under $50. not much cheaper (if it all) to fox valley (got a kit or two there previously at $45).

just hope this one turns out the way i imagine it :)
 
If there were a consensus, it would probably be that Midwest has the best prices and AHB has the best service. I have ordered from both, and from NorthernBrewer and a few others. And basicsciencesupplies.com for test tube racks, stoppers, and other yeast geek supplies.
 
I like brewmasters warehouse number one they really pay attention to detail. For example putting the custom name of you beer on the grains you order. Plus shipping takes usually 2 to 3 days max.

Number two austin home brew.
 
I've done a review of the four largest online stores: NB, MoreBeer!, Midwest, and Homebrewing.org

MoreBeer! is the clear winner. Check this link.

There's a table looking at the prices for various goods over there. It's a good slice of what you'll need to brew.

It's incredibly difficult to say one company is a 'clear winner' when the metric is cheapest price. It all depends on what you are looking to buy and I tend to check 5 or 6 places and calculate an out the door price. Unsurprisingly, it's different depending on what you are buying, but it's especially variable when you are looking at equipment.
 
+1 for AHS free shipping on orders over 100.00 plus there kits are amazing.
 
I've done a review of the four largest online stores: NB, MoreBeer!, Midwest, and Homebrewing.org

MoreBeer! is the clear winner. Check this link.

There's a table looking at the prices for various goods over there. It's a good slice of what you'll need to brew.

I don't have any preference between stores- I buy what I need at whichever store it's cheapest at but I don't see how Morebeer wins this comparison, especially as their price is the highest after shipping: that's not a cost you can discount.

Statistically, apart from homebrewing.org, the differences in price are negligible and spread out across the thousands of items each carry, they can't be that different (which is what I've always found).
 
I personally like northern brewer. I however throw an order together on all the major sites and order from whichever is cheaper delivered to my door for that particular order!
 
I'm happy with my local shop, but I can't always get there, so going to cast a vote for Brewmaster's Warehouse -- great prices and fast shipping.

Being able to purchase prepackaged grains through the Recipe Builder is a major plus.
 
I love Austin Homebrew, Northern Brewer, MidWest Supplies, Brewmaster's Warehouse, Williams Brewing, Label Peelers for most everything. Each has certain items that are cheaper than the other, so helps to shop around a bit, but these are all quality all-purpose online homebrew stores.

Farmhouse Brewing is the BEST for bulk hops, IMO.

Bargain Fittings for hardware fittings.
 
I like that you can put your own kits together at Brewmasters' Warehouse without buying half a pound of a specialty grain you only need 2 ounces of. You can't buy hops in quantities less than an ounce, though, so if you're buying multiple recipes that use the same hops in smaller quantities, edit one recipe so you don't end up with extra. My first order from them should arrive tomorrow.
 
As has been said, it really depends upon what you're ordering.

If you're looking to place a one-stop order for brewing ingredients and maybe a few odds and ends of equipment, MoreBeer comes out the clear winner as long as you're qualifying for their over $59 free shipping (which isn't hard to do). Their liquid extracts are repackaged Briess - the foil ziploc bags are definitely kinder on landfills, but I find after a few uses that I prefer the plastic jugs that Northern Brewer sells theirs in - they also have a solid range of styles, including the new Rye LME. Both MoreBeer and Northern Brewer have a solid selection of grains, hops, and yeasts - both having a few options the other doesn't. Northern Brewer also has some great recipe kits - although you can assemble them yourself by looking at the recipe/instructions on the web under each kit and ordering elsewhere. It's worth noting that Northern Brewer is a huge financial supporter of the homebrewing community, supporting amongst other things, the Brewing Network's programming.

If you're willing to separate your order, it can be more difficult to time orders out to arrive together and you may pay more in total shipping costs, but great deals can be found - particularly if you're planning to buy in bulk: hops by the pound, grain malt by the 55# sack, extracts by the drum, etc.....this bears some shopping around, but if you've got the need for bulk, this is the cheapest way to go.

Equipment is simply all over the place. It really REALLY depends on what you're ordering (and where you are).
 
Don't look just at prices but keep shipping in Mind. I live in N CA and order from More beer wihich is also in N CA because it is close and my product spends less time a truck. This is a big help if you have liquid yeast. Those ice packs only keep it cool for so long.
 
Brewmasters Warehouse said:
This is yet another shameless plug for my store, but here it goes anyway.

Brewmasters Warehouse has good prices and a large selection to choose from. There is $6.99 flat rate shipping for an order, no matter how much you order. Our Brew Builder application is one of a kind for an online HBS. You can choose the style of beer you want to brew and pick your ingredients, and can buy your entire recipe with 1 click.

There's a lot of good things I could say about these folks. Ingredient selection is great, they sell in volumes I'll use (some stores require you to buy a pound d of a grain I only want a few ounces of), the brewbuilder is pretty cool, and if you're a brewing network listener you know the discount code for 10% off of every order (which for me is a 15-20$ savings on every order). A year ago I'd never heard of them, now I seldom order anywhere else. They also actually pick up the phone and call you or email if they have any questions about your order. My one complaint... no muntons dme.
 
Brewmasters is my favorite, even though their inventory integration is becoming more of a necessity for me (sorry, Ed). Their prices are always the lowest, they carry just about everything I need, and their customer service is great.

Second choice us Austin, with midwest and northern brewer also getting the nod from time to time.
 
mikeysab said:
Brewmasters is my favorite, even though their inventory integration is becoming more of a necessity for me (sorry, Ed). Their prices are always the lowest, they carry just about everything I need, and their customer service is great.

Second choice us Austin, with midwest and northern brewer also getting the nod from time to time.

Forgive my ignorance, but, what does "even though their inventory integration is becoming more of a necessity for me" mean?

PS. I use brewmasterswarehouse almost exclusively. They ship fast, their prices are cheap, and I like that I can buy grain by the ounce crushed for free.

PS. look for coupon codes in Ed's signature. 10% off anytime.
 
It means that you can't tell from the website if something is in stock or not. My last 3 out of 4 orders had something out of stock. The strange part is, if everything is in stock, my order will leave their warehouse same or next day. If something is out of stock, I usually don't get an email for 3 or 4 days asking me if I want to send the out of stock orders seperately or wait and ship everything together. It's probably not that big of a deal for some people, but it annoys me. I've been assured by Ed that the next version of the website will reflect inventory.

Other than that, they are the quickest to ship, and closer than any other HBS, so I get orders in 4 days sometimes. They have the best prices, and best shipping rate. I ordered from them exclusively until recently, and I will again when the website is updated.
 
I use Homebrew4less in Chambersburg Pa. I found them to be cheaper on most things, but I do not mail order. I pick up from the store so I do not know what they charge for shipping.
 
I use Homebrew4less in Chambersburg Pa. I found them to be cheaper on most things, but I do not mail order. I pick up from the store so I do not know what they charge for shipping.

I just wish it didn't smell like cigarette smoke in there. No offense to them but there are plenty of products in there that can absorb odors and it would be great if that smoke smell didn't exist...that and your own clothes smelling like that if you are in there for more than 5 mins. It's a bummer because they are very reasonably priced....just wish they would have liquid extract sold by the pound via a drum. I despise cans...and 33lb containers are too big.
 
I like Morebeer. They have the lowest hurdle for free shipping and their prices are competitive on most items.
 
Apex Brewing (apexbrewwares.com) is my choice all day long. Unbelieveable fast shipping and jeremy is fast to answer questions and seems to have endless amounts of time to answer. He even answered during the holiday from his family get together. Prices are fair and if it is not on the website he will get it for you.

Also takes paypal.

Sent from my Galaxy S 4G using Home Brew Talk for Android
 
Yeah I know HB4less is a little messy, but they are pretty nice guys in there. They been very helpful. The last time I was in there a person payed with rolls of dimes. I don't know why they did that, but I think it was Kevin working day. He said those coins were actually the silver dimes, and could be worth $300 or more. He told me that he was going to wait a few weeks to see if the guy came back in to exchange regular money for them before keeping them. You know not many people would do that this day of age.
 
I was checking a few sites yesterday - Midwest is definitely cheaper on grain than NB. Too bad - I just placed an order with NB a few days ago.
 
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