He's (maybe) baaaack...Brewster Brown may have resurfaced with a new name

I randomly found an ad for discount brewing equipment, brew kits, wort chillers, brew kettles, beer supplies on HBT and wanted to give him props. Ordered a few things from him (two Wort Chillers, and others) and they got here quick and look great. His name is Eric, and I have not heard much talk of his site on HBT.

Very pleased and wanted to let others know, pretty cheap stuff and low shipping. Looks like he carries most stuff for beginners.

I ordered a pot with a valve and a chiller from him earlier this week. I guess there was a problem with the quality on the valved pots and they accidentally sent me a pot without a valve. Eric contacted me to let me know about the mistake ahead of time (shipment hasn't even gotten here yet). He is working with the supplier to get the quality under control, and told me to keep the non-valved pot with his apologies. I am really impressed with his proactive communication and desire to make things right.

Someone please tell me why I shouldn't buy a 50' IC from him for $30! Is it 3/8" OD tubing or something?

Menschmaschine - I bought two of those IC's. They look like 1/4" OD tubing (rather small), but at $30 I got two and you can just get a splitter for the input hose, and use two at once.

I knew it had to be too good to be true.

If it turns out it does not work well, I can always use the tubing to make a counterflow chiller...

I have one of those coming myself. I figured it was 1/4" since for a larger diameter the copper alone would cost that much. I've looked around the forums some and it seems like people who have actually used 1/4" for a IC don't seem to be unhappy with the results.

I got the chiller in today and took it for a test run, boiling up five gallons of water then using the chiller. The flow rate is low on such thin tubing, but Took it from boiling to 140 in 5, 100 in 10, and 75 in about 20 minutes. With my tap water coming out at around 66, I can't complain. Only hassle was that it came with an output side longer than I needed and an input side too short for a comfortable fit in my sink without buying extra hose. I just took off the old input and cut a foot or so off the output to replace it. For $30 and a 50' chiller I'm pretty happy.

I just ordered the chiller.

Thanks

menschmaschine said:

I knew it had to be too good to be true.

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You could make one at home very easily for just a tiny bit more....

I ordered one of these wort chillers a week and a half ago and all I got was less money. He took my money and never shipped it, never answered emails and the number listed does not work. BEWARE OF THIS GUY!!!!

If anyone has good contact info for this guy I would appreciate it!!

Same story here. Ordered a chiller on the 19th of August, not a shipment, email, or word since.

Kremer said:

I ordered one of these wort chillers a week and a half ago and all I got was less money. He took my money and never shipped it, never answered emails and the number listed does not work. BEWARE OF THIS GUY!!!!

If anyone has good contact info for this guy I would appreciate it!!

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How did you pay? I used paypal and opened a dispute. He has till Sept 7 to reply to them. I'm sure he won't and I don't know what will happen after that.

Well Paypal found in my favor, however, they were unable to recover any funds.

Has anyone else had any luck contacting this guy?

Same story here, I ordered a Wort Chiller and some yeast about a month ago and haven't heard anything since. I filed a Paypal dispute yesterday, doubt I'll get my money back though.

Campbell said:

Same story here, I ordered a Wort Chiller and some yeast about a month ago and haven't heard anything since. I filed a Paypal dispute yesterday, doubt I'll get my money back though.

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I didn't, I hope you have better luck. This guy is obviously stealing from people and I didn't know who to report it to. I tried looking at the FBI site and found a place to report it and all they did was send me an email saying that they don't handle it and gave me a link to a site that does. Why they didn't send it on themselves is beyond me.

Anyway, everyone steer clear of Brewsterbrown.com and go with one of the reputable places.

I don't think that anyone needs to worry about him. I tried for a week to order his 50 foot wort chiller, but it wouldn't go past the order screen, it would not connect to the payment processor (PayPal). I sent several E-mails to him without any responses. I finally looked on this forum and found all of the people that he had ripped off. It seems to me that PayPal shut down his account. I ended up ordering a 50 foot 3/8 wort chiller from Ebay for $60, more than what he charged, but it's also 3/8 inch and I already have the tracking information.:fro:

Alright, I am another satisfied customer of his, but not without a bit of worrying before I was satisfied. I ordered the Super Chiller XL from him about two months ago. I was a little concerned b/c of other experiences on the web. My motto is, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is and that was the case with this guy. First of all, the pictures are deceiving. I couldn't really tell what diameter the copper was, but I knew it was cheap, too cheap to be a large diameter even if the web site was a legitimate one, which it is. Even though I was worried, I still ordered it knowing that if it was fake, paypal would give me my money back. I ordered the IC and sent him an e-mail asking if I would get some sort of confirmation e-mail, but I got no reply. Well, about two weeks after my order I had a brew day and couldn't wait on this guy anymore, so I went to Home Depot and bought the stuff to make my own using BobbyFromNJ's video on youtube. Long story short, I got my TINY IC about a month after I placed my order, and never received any e-mail’s from him. I now put that IC in an ice bath which is connected to my other IC in my brew pot. Cools from boiling to 75* in about 15 minutes (I live in Texas and my hose water is about 90*.) I guess I would order from this site again, but keep this in mind, IF IT LOOKS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS!

I was attempting to purchase replacement equipment and found, what I thought was a good deal, the vendor was Brewster Brown. They advertised a super sized wort chiller for $29.95. I made the order and paid for it and unfortunately they said the shipment was sent via Fedex and delivered to my doorstep. Fedex stated the vendor would have to file a claim for the missing order, I have attempted to contact the vendor 3 times via email, which is the only means they have available. They choose to ignore me. Therefore, take heed from my warning and beware. If you want to know their address it is

Brewster Brown
8972 Indian Rd NW
Rice, MN 56367

The Better Business Bureau has no knowledge of their existence.

Is it impossible that the box was delivered, and shortly removed.

It happens bro'. Which is why boxes don't go to my house anymore. I once had $200 worth of hop plugs taken from my porch within 30 minutes of delivery.

Gila...not sure that's the point he's trying to get across. He/She is saying the order may be showing as delivered, but he does not have the item. Brewster Brown as the shipper is the only one that can file a claim with FedEx for the item. And according to the OP they have ignored his requests to do so. I've never dealt with FedEx but UPS has been a breeze to work with in these cases. Just 5 mins of paperwork.

If they did indeed not deliver as they said, call your credit card company and have them reverse the transaction. It's under $50, you should not have any trouble getting your money back.

The aspect of the missing items is not at issue, I am fully aware that packages often find their way to new owners. The problem is with the vendor's lack of customer service, it is something they should have been willing to take at issue with Fedex and filed the claim. According to the person I spoke with at Fedex, they only needed to call and provide the necessary information over the phone and the claim would be processed and payment rendered by Fedex for the replacement. The vendor has simply chosen not to take action. This proves they are not a vendor who has the home brewer's interest at heart.

I saw this wort chiller advertised through google ads and was surprised at how cheap it was! Seemed too good to be true, but I almost ordered one a while back. Thanks for the heads up and I hope they get back to you sooner or later.

How long has it been since your last email?
After reading your post again, I think you are over-reacting. Email is a piss poor communication method if you hope to have a problem fixed. Maybe their server is down, maybe they are having a company party, maybe a rat chewed through their LAN cable.
Not doing what you want in the time you have decided it should take is not inaction.
Did you really join this forum just to talk about this guy?

There are several posts on this company's bad customer service and lack of delivery. I ordered and never got a thing; no chiller, no e-mail, no call, nothing. I submitted claims with AMEX and Paypal. This guy is running a scam and taking peoples money.

I filed a dispute with my bank, as I didn't go through PayPal. I'm not holding my breath, but I suppose it could have been worse--I only ordered the one chiller. I actually called the place listed in his email on the receipt (Central State Insulation) and was told her no longer worked there.

machinelf said:

I filed a dispute with my bank, as I didn't go through PayPal. I'm not holding my breath, but I suppose it could have been worse--I only ordered the one chiller. I actually called the place listed in his email on the receipt (Central State Insulation) and was told her no longer worked there.

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Lol I bet he got fired for stealing copper refrigeration tubing.

I ordered the ciller equipment on Aug 31st. Must have been one of the last ones as his ebay account started receiving complaints right after that.

Talked to Paypal and opened a dispute and they sided in my favor but no money.

i really hate the idea of being taken. I might persue other means including small claims court.

You can add me to the list of people who got taken by this site. Couldn't get any refund from Paypal either.

I posted about this loser (Brewster Brown) a couple of months ago. I got my chiller but it was nothing like I thought it was and he wouldn't take it back. I'm sorry to those that never got anything but trust me, you aren't missing much.

I don't get it, the guy was great for me. And I got my stuff quick, then shortly after everyone complained about him. Really a bummer for you guys. Sorry to hear you got taken. I obviously was very pleased, I created a topic praising him! You'd think this would help business...guess not.

Gmail just popped up an ad for cheap wort chillers on me...I clicked on it, and it's SURPRISINGLY similar to the Brewster Brown website....now called Sauk River Brewing Co.

Both located in Minnesota. Of course, Brewster was "located" in Rice, and Sauk River is "located" in Coldspring...and those ARE 25 miles away from each other....lol

Exact same pictures on both sites.

Maybe he's changed his ways and isn't screwing people over any more, (search Brewster Brown on HBT), or maybe this isn't even the same fellow...but just thought I'd post a buyer beware....

www.brewsterbrown.com
www.saukriverbrewing.com


Edit: As posted below:
http://whois.domaintools.com/saukriverbrewing.com

Saukriverbrewing.com is owned by Eric Brown. Of Brewster Brown.

This guy has ripped off many in the past...just sayin'.

I noticed that as well. If it's the same guy, he's a real slimball.

Stay far away from Brewster Brown and any other alias he may be going by. If you don't you'll lose your $.

www.saukriverbrewing.com

I love the contact info on this site....lol 555-555-1212....

Jesterday said:

www.saukriverbrewing.com

I love the contact info on this site....lol 555-555-1212....

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Well, that's because that line is only available between H a.m. and H p.m. time zone.


I like this little line he forgot to edit.

enter text to welcome users and describe your business to your customers

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Well, now that I look at it, the whole page is like that.

HTMFail

OK, I take away the "Maybe".

http://whois.domaintools.com/saukriverbrewing.com

Saukriver.com is owned by Eric Brown. Of Brewster Brown.

Now that I know I'm not perpetuating a case of mistaken identity: Stay away from saukriverbrewing.com and Eric Brown.

LOL. I love HBT , only on HBT can we get the word out about great sales and dumbsh*ts like this.

Oh wow, I never saw the "Beware of Brewster Brown" threads before.
I was looking at his chillers before I decided to make my own.

Good to know.

Great catch! Give that man a cigar!