midwest kits vs. northren brewers kits?

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oildude

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Any one have an opinion?

I have brewed one midwest kit and want to brew a cream ale next.
I see NB kits come with wyeast activator for about the same $ as
Midwest kit with dry yeast?

I have never used wyeast is it better than dry.

I only live 50 miles from both brew shops so dead yeast wont be a prob here right?
 
I never bought one of NB kits but have bought Midwests and was happy with it.
I would try NB if your get liquid yeast it does really make a difference. I would go for it and see how you like it.
 
I just brewed that exact kit. The yeast was very fresh and the fermentation is going great. It was my first time using liquid yeast and I am pleased and will not go back to dry. It also will allow me to wash the yeast and reuse a few times.
 
Mr. Mojo Rising said:
I just brewed that exact kit. The yeast was very fresh and the fermentation is going great. It was my first time using liquid yeast and I am pleased and will not go back to dry. It also will allow me to wash the yeast and reuse a few times.

yeh the yeast is the selling point for me. Now that I know how to wash yeast (I think) it will
help when I need it.
 
I've done several kits from NB and I was very happy with the kit/yeast, just wish they had free shipping...
 
Lonek said:
I've done several kits from NB and I was very happy with the kit/yeast, just wish they had free shipping...


Free shipping would rock. MW has some good kits, NB has some good kits. Shipping and the time from order to door is what gets it for me. Midwest I can order sunday night it will show up by friday. NB I order Wednesay morning I have it by friday. Most my bits and parts are from NB where my first kit and brew pot came from Midwest.

I am on my 7th kit from NB tonight - German Alt. The mild ale is absolutly great, can't wait for the Cream ale & English bitter. But so far my year round beer is looking to be the Mild Ale from NB.

If I had to vote : Northern Brewer
 
not sure shipping wise but I live about 20 minutes from either place and have noticed NB is usually a couple bucks more for the kits.
 
Every kit I have got from NB came with luqiud yeast, one even came with yeast I had to build a starter for. Where the kits (2) I have got from Midwest both came with dry yeast but for upgraded pricing you can get luqiud.


English Bitter Kit:
Northern Brewer - Luqiud Yeast (pitchable) $22.05 Crushed grains
Midwest Supplies - Dry Yeast $22.95 (upgrade to pitchable luqiud $26.95)

I am sure with other kits the pricing can vary, I just picked this one as it is the one I just boiled.
 
not sure shipping wise but I live about 20 minutes from either place and have noticed NB is usually a couple bucks more for the kits.

NB offers flat rate shipping while MW charges you for shipping. If you buy a few kits the shipping can be $20+ and thats how all the stores that offer flat rate shipping make up for it. Most MW kits come standard with Muntons yeast which I am not a fan of. Would be nice to have an option to substitute.
 
I never tried anything from Midwest. I regularly buy my ingredients from NB, and brewed their Irish Red Ale kit last winter. It came out great. Their liquid extract is very high quality.
 
i have the cream ale from midwest bottled right now... and it is great!

i ordered the lemon weiss from MW. showed up in one day.. boo ya.

both with wyeast liquid yeast

avg. $31 a kit

I am going to try Northern in the future though. Instead of paying for shipping I think I might throw the saddlebags on and take the bike since i'm only 1.5 hours away from the cities.

:rockin:
 
I bought stuff from MW, NB and AHS. All 3 of them are my favorite stores but I will be buying mostly from AHS due to their membership perks. I recently purchased 4 kits from NB before it got really hot and it will last me a few brews during July / August. After that I am buying another AHS membership and buying their PM and eventually trying AG recipes. AHS offers all their recipe either as extract, PM or AG which is totally awesome. I like NB because they have limited edition recipes as well as recipe from known industry people.
 
I have bought from Northern, Midwest, and Austin.. I think pricing is not way off for any of them, but Austin usually is the most expensive for me. They take the longest to ship it as well. I have been very please with Northerns kits, but lately I find my cheapest option is going over to Bell's general store and buying the ingredients I need. No shipping, just the cost of gas to get there.
 
I've been very happy with the few midwest kits I purchased before I went AG - their red ale is pretty good, and they have a great Imperial Stout (which is pretty solid after 15 months of aging, just opened one the other day).
 
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