What's the thinking on Austin's new AHS Advanced ?

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originalben

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"The Advanced Recipe Kits are for the all grain homebrewer that buys their base grain in bulk. These kits make 5 gallons of beer and are based on our top selling recipes. Each recipe includes specialty grains, hops, and flavoring when needed, but do not include base grains. You will need 10.75 lb of 2-row for this recipe (not included)."

I have been experimenting with yeast and my own recipes, but this seems like a genius idea from them, eh?

What say the masses?

:rockin:
 
I like the idea. Especially if it saves a bunch on shipping. I haven't ordered from them in awhile, but my last 2 all grain kit orders from other companies, that don't do flat rate, have cost me about $20 in shipping. That's almost enough to buy a whole kit!
 
I find it interesting, because technically they will be taking money out of their own pockets by not requiring you to buy the grain from them in kits. Maybe they will pick up some new business from people who wouldn't normally buy from them, but still seems like there is a possibility for losing money overall.

Otherwise, I think its a good idea. A lot of people do buy in bulk, and/or have LHBS with good grain prices they like to support, or just simply don't want to pay shipping on 10+ pounds of grain.
 
I looked at it on their website because of this thread. I like the idea but I do not get the pricing: $10 for 2.25# of specialty grains (flaked corn) and 1 oz of a common hop (brewer gold)? Referring to Texas ale.
super pricey.
 
You hit on what I was thinking- it seems a good deal if you're used to paying extra shipping for that 10# of 2row, but if the shipping is fixed and the discount from the norm kit$ is <$2 per lb of base grain, is it a deal?
Not so much, is my thinking.
 
I guess it's a good idea if you don't have a LHBS and can get bulk grain. I just don't order yeast online in the warmer months, so the kits aren't that attractive to me.
 
I find it interesting, because technically they will be taking money out of their own pockets by not requiring you to buy the grain from them in kits. Maybe they will pick up some new business from people who wouldn't normally buy from them, but still seems like there is a possibility for losing money overall.

Otherwise, I think its a good idea. A lot of people do buy in bulk, and/or have LHBS with good grain prices they like to support, or just simply don't want to pay shipping on 10+ pounds of grain.

Or they might be saving money since they have flat rate shipping.
 
Double Chocolate Stout looks like a good deal.

Not to hi-jack the thread, but I brewed AHS's Double Chocolate Stout last year and it was awesome (partial mash kit).

I order from AHS a lot and have been very pleased.
 
I think there are advantages on both sides of the purchase: you save about half the cost of the base malt, but they are charging you a lot for what remains. I can see the specialty grains at about $2-3 and the hops another $3-4 (retail prices) depending on the recipe. I guess consider the remaining $4-6 a convenience charge for putting those specific items together and you not having to fret your pretty little head. However, if you're already buying bulk grains, you're likely buying bulk hops and possibly growing a yeast bank too. In which case all you need is the recipe to do the kit yourself for < 50% the cost. But then you're also not their target market. Just sayin... ;)
 
"Advanced" means homebrewers who've advanced to bulk 2-row purchases.
If you all are buying that much 2-row, then you might very well be buying more than one advanced kit.
The shipping price gets divided by each additional kit.

I expect that AHS will be rolling out advanced options for all their AHS designed kits.
Theoretically, they could/should do it for all their clone kits too.

Eventually they could include the advance into their regular kit options:
Extract liquid
Extract DME
Mini-Mash liquid
Mini-Mash DME
Milled All Grain
Unmilled All Grain
Advanced Milled Grain
Advanced Unmilled Grain
 
Advanced usually refers to the need for all grain equipment and knowledge.

I have been buying in bulk and making my own recipes. If I was to want to do a particular beer, and not source the individual ingredients, I might go for one.
 
"Advanced" means homebrewers who've advanced to bulk 2-row purchases.
If you all are buying that much 2-row, then you might very well be buying more than one advanced kit.
The shipping price gets divided by each additional kit.

Sooo advanced enough to buy bulk grain but still need really basic kits?
 
Sooo advanced enough to buy bulk grain but still need really basic kits?

How are their kits basic?
I look at it like this my closest HBS is 2.5 hours away were I can get base grain for. 85¢. Then for my special grains I will built my kits online. With a recipe like thier stout were there are alot of diffrent ingredients it would be easier and about the same price to order thier advance kit and 10.00 cheaper then ordering the regular kit. So for me it would be a good deal.
 
This seems like an idea where YMMV is the key factor. For those of us with a LHBS that is 5 minutes away, where we can obtain specialty grains for roughly $2/lb and hops for roughly $2/oz (not bulk prices), this probably isn't a great deal. For those who would be spending $30 in gas to drive to the "L"HBS I think this could work out well.
 
How are their kits basic?
I look at it like this my closest HBS is 2.5 hours away were I can get base grain for. 85¢. Then for my special grains I will built my kits online. With a recipe like thier stout were there are alot of diffrent ingredients it would be easier and about the same price to order thier advance kit and 10.00 cheaper then ordering the regular kit. So for me it would be a good deal.

But there is most likely a premium built into the kit price, which means you're basically just paying a premium for their recipe. If you are going to order specialty grains and hops online, why not just build the recipes yourself and cut out the premium? It's not like these are super-secret recipes or beers you can't find recipes for online.
 
I don't believe AHS adds a premium into their kit prices. They don't prepackage anything, just pull the ingredients when orders come in. Their kits seem to be enticements to use their service. I found them when googling for a Redhook Double Black Stout recipe. Plus AHS seems to be beer geeks that enjoy coming up with the kits.
I suspect the Advanced option is to facilitate customer requests.
 
If you want to buy bulk base grains, but not keep tons of specialty malts on hand, it might be a good idea. I don't have room to store a big variety of bulk grain and bulk hops, and if you want a large variety, you could split the difference between bulk base grains and kit specialty stuff. But this is where BMW shines--flat rate shipping and you can make your own kits with 10% off and still save on the base grains.
 
I don't think there's a premium on their kits. I was also under the impression that the price of the "kit" is exactly the price of buying the component ingredients individually. They're just unpublished recipes, right?
 
The shipping must be killing him on the bulk grain component of the kits. It's a somewhat interesting idea, although I'm not particularly overwhelmed with the recipes. Does seem a little spendy for the ingredients you are getting; the Irish Red Ale is charging $12 for a pound of malt and I can't imagine too many hops (given the beer style).

Wondering why he didn't just make the "Advanced Recipe" an option for any of the all-grain beer kits he sells? If they're all made-to-order, why not just offer an option to buy any of the recipes without the base malt? The "Advanced American IPA" doesn't look particularly interesting; why not let me buy something like the 06-06-06 Vertical Epic clone (or any of the other recipes you can buy) without the base malt?
 
Ding ding ding- that's the ticket, bird, offer the AR option on all kits- the shipping is the same so AHS wins for not having to pay smaller margin on fixed rate shipping w/ added weight...and make the mark up less flopsided for the specialty grains and hops vs. normal $.
 
I think this is one of those times where it depends on the brewer and how local a store is, I have 3 places I can get ingredients from relatively close to my house. This is how I usually do it, I buy my grains in bulk and buy specialty grains, hops and yeast (if I need it) for my recipes when I make them.

If you are looking at it from a dollars and cents point then it's prob a break even with shipping (depending on what you already have on hand) it might be a bit more, but if you want a tried and true proven recipe it might be worth a few more dollars for that recipe.
 
I hadn't heard of these kits, but like the idea. Agree with The Bird about making this an option for all kits. Maybe just include info on what base grain the recipie is made with. Pricing does seem a bit on the high side, but had to say without knowing exactly what specialty grains and hops you're getting.

I'll be getting first bulk bag of grain this weekend and plan to get hops and specialty grains at LHBS. This "advanced" option would be a viable option if priced competitively.
 
I've ordered quite a few kits from ahs. All have turned out very tasty. They do add about a five dollar premium for the kit price.
If you order the kit it gives you the recipe and then you can order the ingredients on their own your next time. Usually it is around $2-5 more for the kit. Not too much more but still a recipe premium price.
The new advanced kits look a little pricy to me but when you subtract the $2-5 premium the price for ingredients returns to close to normal (at least on first glance).
Just my two cents. I think it is a good idea, think about it as paying for a proven recipe as well as the specialty grains/hops and the price isn't as hard to swallow. I personally probably won't be ordering them as since free shipping went away brew masters warehouse always comes out cheaper for me.
 
scone said:
I don't think there's a premium on their kits. I was also under the impression that the price of the "kit" is exactly the price of buying the component ingredients individually. They're just unpublished recipes, right?

Wrong. One example is the Pliny kit, which when released was ridiculously priced and they lowered it when people complained. Obviously they didn't lower the price to a loss, and the recipe is widely available.

Forrest has said he pays people just for to formulate recipes, and I believe that is factored into the price, maybe not every recipe but for some.

I also hate buying a kit blind, like when I ordered one of their kolschs and it came with a **** load of English hops.

Kits are good for beginners. But if you're advanced, man up and formulate your own recipes
 
Wrong. One example is the Pliny kit, which when released was ridiculously priced and they lowered it when people complained. Obviously they didn't lower the price to a loss, and the recipe is widely available.

Forrest has said he pays people just for to formulate recipes, and I believe that is factored into the price, maybe not every recipe but for some.

I also hate buying a kit blind, like when I ordered one of their kolschs and it came with a **** load of English hops.

Kits are good for beginners. But if you're advanced, man up and formulate your own recipes

Interesting... I've only bought a couple of them but the ones I got (double choc., northumberland brown, and a few others) didn't *seem* to have a premium over the ingredients, but then again I didn't calculate the cost of the ingredients separately.
 
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