Favorite online Homebrew Supply store?

Where do you guys order from most and why?

Just to answer my own, I have pretty much done all my ordering from Austin and Northern over the years. But always willing to try someplace new!

I'm surprised to see that Midwest wasn't included on this list. I pretty much only order from Austin or Midwest.

llazy_llama said:

I'm surprised to see that Midwest wasn't included on this list. I pretty much only order from Austin or Midwest.

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I was hoping to make the list as well, but if a major like Midwest can't make it then I guess I can not feel too bad.

I grab stuff at Sicilianos Market when I'm down that way, but when I buy online, I do Northern Brewer. They've done me well so far.

Austin Homebrew Supply - I've never ran into any problems, usually have what I need in stock, and fast cheap shipping! My nearest LHBS is 25min in the direction with the most traffic in NJ at all times and is expensive. I choose AHS because I order what I need and it shows up at my doorstep, beautiful, w/ great prices. Only downside is I can't do any spur of the moment batches!

Crap I forgot about Midwest, not woke up enough today! I just tossed this up quickly for fun this morning out of boredom.

If you put "other" just list it with a link if you guys will. And as far as "Brew masters warehouse" I had not heard of it, but it would be a good opportunity for those who haven't to check it out. That goes for any vendors that hang out here.

I think whether you're AG or not might make a difference. It seems some places are more geared towards beginners than others. One place might have a great selection of 'kits' where another focuses on a wider selection of grains and at better prices.

An example of each could be Austin HB and Midwest. I usually get grain at Midwest because their prices are good and I know exactly what I'm getting (i.e. I know I'm getting Weyermann German Pils instead of just 'German Pils')...and that makes a difference to me. But Austin has that cheapo shipping and I take advantage of it when I can.

I've tried some others and none were bad but they just didn't have a certain something I was looking for (I think this most recently happened with Dark Munich malt...Austin doesn't seem to carry it). Never used BW and I need to...heck they're the closest to me...and I just checked and they have Dark Munich.

Brewmasters Warehouse said:

I was hoping to make the list as well, but if a major like Midwest can't make it then I guess I can not feel too bad.

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Oh wow, BMW should definately be on this list. I haven't ordered from you guys yet, but I do love to play around with the brew calculator.

Midwest. My LHBS is 60+ miles away and I stack up on bulk grain and 5lb portions of specialty malts. Midwest usually gets all my yeast, ounce hop orders and any specialties I'm missing.

Hops from HopsDirect.

I'm voting Brewmaster's Warehouse. It's a tightly run ship and I get my stuff 2 days after ordering with flat shipping.

Cheers to BMW and HBT!

I had to vote for "other" as Brewmaster's Warehouse was not listed. Good pricing, good service, prompt shipping.
Cheers, Ed.

I've ordered from BMW, Austin, Williams and Northern, and Nikobrew for hops and Bargain Fittings for a ball valve and had very good experiences with all of them. However, I try to support my local guy for as much stuff as possible. Cost for grain locally is just a little more than what I would pay with shipping from elsewhere, so it is worth it for me.

MO Malt Supply for bulk extract/grain and spices. Probably liquid yeast too, but I haven't bought any of that yet.

Midwest Supplies for dry yeast, specialty grains, and equipment. So far they've been the cheapest for me even though they don't do flat rate shipping. Also very friendly and helpful with orders - quick to fix any problems (like a hydrometer that arrived broken) or add to/remove from existing orders.

Probably Hops Direct for hops though so far I've gotten all my bulk hops from HBT users.

Unfortunately, I have no LHBS so it's all by mail or picking up in St. Louis (MO Malt).

Budzu said:

I'm voting Brewmaster's Warehouse. It's a tightly run ship and I get my stuff 2 days after ordering with flat shipping.

Cheers to BMW and HBT!

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+1

great people to talk with, fast delivery, 3 days flat ship rate to Chicago.

tom

BrewMasters Warehouse, hands down, case closed.

I have at least one issue with every other OHBS, but I can't say enough good things about BMW and Ed.

I've ordered from austin, midwest, northern brewer, and B3 in the past, my last 3 orders have been from brewmasters warehouse, they're my goto online retailer now, hands down.

DanVader said:

I've ordered from austin, midwest, northern brewer, and B3 in the past, my last 3 orders have been from brewmasters warehouse, they're my goto online retailer now, hands down.

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I'm really pleased with all the positive mention BMW gets. I love their website and the Brew Builder ap...I think I'm ordering the ingredients for Biermunchers Centennial Blonde for my next batch.

On deck is the first kit I've ordered over the internet from Northern...those guys ship quick and cheap-- they'll stay on my shortlist too.

Henry Hill said:

BrewMasters Warehouse, hands down, case closed

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Cased opened just to say - +1 - now it is closed, again.

Mod, fix this poll so that we can vote for BMW.

I've ordered from a lot of them, and I have strong feelings on the matter...

Morebeer sucks donkey schlong. Sorry, boys, but until you fix your inventory system, I won't even log onto your site. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to place an order there, and the stuff says it's in stock, and I place the order, and then I get an email days later telling me that the entire order was held up because one of the items wasn't in stock.

Midwest doesn't have flat shipping, which kinda sucks, but I recently was putting together an order that was mostly specialty grains, and I did a side-by-side comp between them a few others (BMW, NB, AHS), and due to their relatively cheap grain prices and excellent selection, Midwest was still cheaper after the $13 shipping, and they had everything I needed. Most other places didn't have all the brewing salts I needed (AHS, BMW), or, in the case of NB, their per-pound grain prices were so high that it negated their flat shipping.

However, back when I was building my recirculating whirlpook IC march pump setup, I did some serious comparisons between all major online retailers, and Northern Brewer had the best selection and the best prices, at least on the stuff I was ordering.

AHS's selection is alright, but they always seem to be missing some odds and ends that I really need, and it kills the order.

I have to say, NB and Midwest are my go-to simply because their selection is usually all-encompassing---when choosing between the two, it usually comes down to the final price on that particular order. I'll create identical shopping carts at each place (and even include other places if the order is big enough, until they don't have a few of the items I'm looking for, then they get knocked off the list)...then I'll just choose whichever is cheaper including shipping. This past time, due to the grain prices, Midwest happened to be cheaper. But that's not always the case...and they don't have quite the selection of equipment that NB does.

I'm partial to my local, which is also mail-order: Rebel Brewer

Like Midwest, they don't have flat shipping, but their prices are supremely low to make up for it. Price comparing orders lately for my personal needs, they usually win out, even if I factor in shipping.

Gotta stay local: Perfect Home Brewing Supply, Home Brewing Made Perfect

Good store, nice people, great prices, no shipping (for me). You can't beat that.

I voted Morebeer, but they're local and I avoid shipping. I order bulk grains and pick them up on my way home from work.

I usually shop The Grape and Granary Norther Brewer and Midwest. The Grape and Granary has good prices on 5 and 10# bags of specialty grains and a great selection over all. Plus they are very close so shipping is quick.

Norther Brewer has good prices on wine kits, honey and other mead supplies that combined with flat rate shipping make it hard to beat.

Midwest has a great selection and usually saves me money on beer ingredients even after paying shipping.

The most local HBS is a beer store with limited selection and high prices. I do pick up some things from them but I'm not impressed by the age of the liquid yeast or the fact that the hops are hanging on the shelves (not in a cooler). However bags of Maris Otter are cheaper than I can get delivered from other stores.

Leeners and the Grape and Granary are within a reasonable drive but I don't usually make the trip when I can sit at my computer and casually pick out my order with much less effort.

Craig

HopheadNJ said:

Austin Homebrew Supply - I've never ran into any problems, usually have what I need in stock, and fast cheap shipping! My nearest LHBS is 25min in the direction with the most traffic in NJ at all times and is expensive. I choose AHS because I order what I need and it shows up at my doorstep, beautiful, w/ great prices. Only downside is I can't do any spur of the moment batches!

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+1 on LHBS challenges in NJ. My neck of the woods of North Cental NJ has one expensive place with an ok selection of grains/malt, and the other is run out of the closet of a brewpub (check you scales, boys!) - both 20+ miles away.

- Northern Brewer is my go to sight
- Have ordered from Midwest, particularly great for grain selection and prices (for smaller orders due to shipping)
- Williams Brewing in CA is good too, just too far away shipping wise (got my first setup from them)

McKBrew said:

Mod, fix this poll so that we can vote for BMW.

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I tried to change it myself, obviously I can't. I really thought the first 4 were the most popular, I had no idea BMW existed and now it seems I was missing out.

I will defaintly give them a shot!

Austin allows me to tweak a small mixed amount of cracked grains. I don't have a crusher and sometimes order tiny amounts, do the other places allow this?

BMW has the most awesomest feature of any site in their Brew Builder. That thing is just awesome. Major Kudos deserved on that one, and I will be placing an order after I get back from vacation.

Williams for my Perlicks, but on ingredients they seem high.

AHBS was the first store I ever ordered from online, but I've been buying less and less from them as they went through a slump of not having what I wanted when I wanted it and others did.

Midwest has never disappointed me, and I order from them if they have what I need and others do not.


Northern and More Beer I have never ordered from, but I've never looked at their sites and seen anything I couldn't get cheaper somewhere else.

Local shop is HomebrewHQ and they have an online site. The store is decent, the folks are friendly. It is in no way convenient for me to get there as it is 15 miles from work and almost 70 from home. There are shops closer to my home, but they seem to be mostly crap (the closest of which being Fort Worth Homebrew which actually buys a good bit of their stuff from AHBS and either leaves it packaged as AHBS or slaps a sticker over the AHBS sticker and marks up the price, why wouldn't I just deal with AHBS directly? Not trying to bash the local guys, but come on and put some effort into it fellas.).

I actually just made my first purchase online, until then I used my homebrew shop. I used Midwest and being 1/2 the country away from me I'll be receiving my supplies in today from an order I placed monday.

Will probably branch out a bit, but this was a good topic because I get to see what else is out there with the pros and cons.

Thanks

I don't have a local hbs ,so I've been trying to order at least once from all the online stores. So far I've had good luck with all the ones I've tried.
One thing that I would like to see in the stores listings is better descriptions of the kits and grain bill. Northern brewer seems to have the best descriptions and ingredient lists.

Aleforge said:

Austin allows me to tweak a small mixed amount of cracked grains. I don't have a crusher and sometimes order tiny amounts, do the other places allow this?

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I am in no way taking away from Austin on this feature, they are obviously sucessful and deserve the business they get. My website allows you to order any grain in any quanitity down to the ounce. There are no preset amounts that you have to order for any grain. As far as I know we are the only website around that lets you purchase grains as if you were in a LHBS in getting the exact quantity you want. If you want 7 ounces of something you are not forced to order 7 1 ounce packages, or 1 8 ounce package and have the extra grain left over.

Is it that time of the month again (for a thread like this)?

BMW > *

Midwest.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/979783-post95.html

Other . . .

Was Midwest, but now use Brewmasters Warehouse for most of my stuff.

Brewmasters Warehouse said:

I am in no way taking away from Austin on this feature, they are obviously sucessful and deserve the business they get. My website allows you to order any grain in any quanitity down to the ounce. There are no preset amounts that you have to order for any grain. As far as I know we are the only website around that lets you purchase grains as if you were in a LHBS in getting the exact quantity you want. If you want 7 ounces of something you are not forced to order 7 1 ounce packages, or 1 8 ounce package and have the extra grain left over.

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That is the one thing I always liked about AHB is they also allow you to order exactly the amount you need by the ounce. The plus about your company is the neat build feature that keeps everything in line. I will defaintly be trying it out and glad to see you guys also allow precise ordering!

Midwest ships very quickly and corrected a small error they made on an order with a free ounce of hops. My LHBS, Brewers Apprentice seems to be hit and miss in terms of helpful and knowledgable staff though last time was much better than the first.

Brewmasters Warehouse said:

I was hoping to make the list as well, but if a major like Midwest can't make it then I guess I can not feel too bad.

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For what it is worth, I ordered my first all-grain recipe kit from you folks about a month ago (Edwort's Haus Pale Ale...enough for 10 gallons) and I was very impressed with the service I received and the way everything was packed etc. I will definitely be a repeat customer!

Austin Homebrew Supply, very fast flat rate shipping

Allow me to say +1 to BMW and kiss Ed's butt too. He deserves it.

I'm lucky in that i have two shops in town, so there is no reason for me to shop anywhere else but local.

Midwest. Even with shipping they beat the LHBS in pricing.