Northern brewer or Midwest ?

Going to Minnesota to visit family and will be spending a day in Minneapolis before flying back east. Givin I will only have a couple hours which brew shop would you go visit Notheren Brewer or Midwest???

Midwest just moved and it is much larger than previous one. They both are great. I live right in the middle of them both and I usually go to midwest as the route is a little shorter and the prices are usally a little cheaper depending on what you are buying. The staff at norhtern brewer I found is a little more knowledgable

I've only ordered from Northern and have had a great experience. However, I've heard good things about both. I'd probably go to whichever was closest.

Ive kinda noticed that midwest is cheaper. My last order I got a free upgrade of my DME as well, cant beat free stuff!

I've been to and know people who work at both of them, and they're both great stores. The gear at Midwest tends to be a little cheaper, but I like the kits at Northern a bit better. Also, the staff at Northern seem a bit more knowledgable or at least more inclined to chat. I think what'll influence your decision most is where you're going to be in the Twin Cities. Midwest is over on the west side on Minneapolis and Northern is in St. Paul (east of Minneapolis). So I'd say map 'em out and hit whichever one is closer to where you'll be staying.

Hate to dig up an old thread but I figured this was related so why not: what are people's online ordering experiences with these two suppliers? I've placed several orders from both and NB seems to be a lot faster with order processing and shipping than Midwest. I live fairly close to Minneapolis/St Paul (relative to the rest of the country) and I've always received my NB orders in a day or two (with their standard $7.99 shipping). Midwest is never that quick.

Grubba said:

Hate to dig up an old thread but I figured this was related so why not: what are people's online ordering experiences with these two suppliers? I've placed several orders from both and NB seems to be a lot faster with order processing and shipping than Midwest. I live fairly close to Minneapolis/St Paul (relative to the rest of the country) and I've always received my NB orders in a day or two (with their standard $7.99 shipping). Midwest is never that quick.

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I live in the Chicago area and I have ordered from Midwest. Just went with the standard shipping and I got my order 2 days later.

NB has always gotten me things in two days (southern IL), Midwest takes up to 5 days.

Time of day ordered and other things get taken into account when shipping. I live right by both places so I rarely get things shipped but when I do they are the same for me timewise

Northern Brewer's new store looked awesome on Brewing TV, so my vote is for going to them!

jdauria said:

Northern Brewer's new store looked awesome on Brewing TV, so my vote is for going to them!

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midwest ships and the store is the same location.
NB has the new store the store in mnpls and in st paul and then the warehouse where shipping is done is in roseville

I would go with Northern Brewer. I would use Midwest more, if their shipping wasnt so high. I dont understand why they dont have atleast a flat shipping rate like NB or free shipping with orders over $100 like Austin.
That is the only reason I dont use them more often.

Update: I just got off the phone with Midwest customer support and apparently they're having issues with Paypal not notifying them that payments have gone through, so that could explain the delays. I also requested to drop an item from my order and add another and the guy on the phone was most helpful, apologized for the delay, and said that my order would get to me by tomorrow. So huzzah, hopefully I can still stick to my plan of brewing two batches this weekend.

SevenFields said:

I would use Midwest more, if their shipping wasnt so high. I dont understand why they dont have atleast a flat shipping rate like NB or free shipping with orders over $100 like Austin.
That is the only reason I dont use them more often.

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Ya the Midwest shipping costs more than NB, but you also have to take into account that Midwest's prices for ingredients and equipment are cheaper in a lot of cases. Flat rate shipping is hardly the great deal that it seems on the surface. It all balances out somewhat.

I like them both. NB ships quicker and cheaper, but there prices are a little bitter higher. In the end, the prices tend to balance out. So, the only difference is you get your order maybe a couple of days earlier with NB.