Brewmasters Warehouse

[SittingDuck]

@jukas

Just a quick response from another Brewmaster's customer. I can't speak to their customer service or responsiveness on the phone or email (which are legitimate gripes), since I do all my shopping there in person. But that brings me to my point. It seems unfair to tag a company like BMW for not having the same to the minute inventory list as Amazon or Newegg, because those sites do not have brick and mortar stores. It is impossible to ensure that the item you purchased is actually in stock, because when you order it, the system shows it in stock, but I have the last one in my hand wandering the store and just haven't checked out yet. If they pull your order in 24 hours or so, they are pulling from the same shelf inventory I and all their customers pull from. Very different situation than Amazon.

Also, I may be wrong, but I never see a huge inventory of Blichman stuff in the store, or in fact any. I think they get that inventory to order on demand (hence the noted delay) so any delay on the pot is probably at the manufacturer. Again, unfair to peg that on BMW.

Now, how they address those issues and how they alert their customer is a different issue, and one I've never dealt with. You have a legitimate issue there. I just think it might be unfair to compare BMW to Amazon on inventory issues and such. It's apples and oranges.

 

[bottlebomber]

I would be curious to see what the lag times are like on the Blingman's from other vendors. Most of the time I'm betting it would be pretty similar. I remember about 6 months back they were so back logged I think the wait time was like 8-10 weeks

 

[Dolomieu]

I've ordered from them. It was delayed they responded to my email to let me know what the situation was. I understood. I will order from them again. May even visit while in ga next week.

 

[Jukas]

@jukas

Just a quick response from another Brewmaster's customer. I can't speak to their customer service or responsiveness on the phone or email (which are legitimate gripes), since I do all my shopping there in person. But that brings me to my point. It seems unfair to tag a company like BMW for not having the same to the minute inventory list as Amazon or Newegg, because those sites do not have brick and mortar stores. It is impossible to ensure that the item you purchased is actually in stock, because when you order it, the system shows it in stock, but I have the last one in my hand wandering the store and just haven't checked out yet. If they pull your order in 24 hours or so, they are pulling from the same shelf inventory I and all their customers pull from. Very different situation than Amazon.

Also, I may be wrong, but I never see a huge inventory of Blichman stuff in the store, or in fact any. I think they get that inventory to order on demand (hence the noted delay) so any delay on the pot is probably at the manufacturer. Again, unfair to peg that on BMW.

Now, how they address those issues and how they alert their customer is a different issue, and one I've never dealt with. You have a legitimate issue there. I just think it might be unfair to compare BMW to Amazon on inventory issues and such. It's apples and oranges.

I don't disagree with you, which is why at the end of that 'con' I said "Even if that can't be accomplished, I'd settle for a vendor initiated email notification when an item has been backordered"

Trust me, as someone who deals with supply side inventory daily across multiple distribution channels I fully understand the challenges faced by small to medium sized businesses. When technology fails it's the human interaction, or lack there of that is usually remembered.

As for the Blichmann stuff they've very clear on their site (and so is every other vendor, including my LHBS) that Blichmann gear is drop shipped directly from Blichmann. That's 1000% Fine and I knew to expect delivery in 1-3 weeks which is what BMW's site stated. My gripe, which I think is very reasonable is that the item wasn't listed as backordered when I purchased it on Feb 13th and I wasn't even told about the delay until I inquired from them today, on March 5th when the item should have been delivered by their own published schedule.

I wrote that review in what I hope was an objective manner, and if you re-read it you'll see the only comparison I made to Amazon/Newegg was in regards to the customer service aspect, which I think is the biggest area that BMW fell down in during my two interactions with them.

 

[erikrocks]

BMW is great. First of all, enter BNARMY in the coupon code and get 10% off (which usually equates to free shipping). But more importantly, they're the closest of the flate rate/big HBS to the East Coast, so shipping is fast. It's my go-to.

 

[free2scour]

I placed a grain order from BMW last Thursday afternoon and received my order at Noon on Saturday.....Flat Rate Shipping can't be beat!!

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

I see that there is the Hop RHIZOME preorder going on. It says up to March 1st to preorder. Does that mean I can just order now that it is past march 1st and it will ship with my order?

Sorry but we have already presented our rhizome orders to our vendor.

Ed

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

I wrote that review in what I hope was an objective manner, and if you re-read it you'll see the only comparison I made to Amazon/Newegg was in regards to the customer service aspect, which I think is the biggest area that BMW fell down in during my two interactions with them.

I agree there was one portion of your latest order that we did not do what we should have and that is proactively contact you about the additional delay. I have responded to your email you sent last night. I kind of wished you would have waited for a response prior writing your email as the situation is much easier to see after reading my explanation.

Ed

 

[TRainH2o]

From my experiences, they have AWESOME customer service. On my last order one yeast was temporarily out of stock. I promptly had an email that notified my of the situation and also offered my the option to substitute another yeast, hold the order until the correct yeast came it or they would split the order and ship what they had.

I like options when something like this happens.

They are also super at taking my phone questions about recipes and general brewing questions.

 

[theveganbrewer]

Finally got to stop by the brick and mortar store after nearly a year of ordering only online. Nice guys, great customer service, and nice location. Wish I lived a bit closer.

 

[brettwasbtd]

Hey Ed - I was looking for info on the lovibond of Crisps Pale Chocolate. I found on Brewers Supply Group website they show Crisp Pale Chocolate at 350L. On the individual ingredient page on your website there is no info listed and under brew builder it is listed as 225L. Trying to formulate a recipe and would like to know which is which. Thanks!

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

Hey Ed - I was looking for info on the lovibond of Crisps Pale Chocolate. I found on Brewers Supply Group website they show Crisp Pale Chocolate at 350L. On the individual ingredient page on your website there is no info listed and under brew builder it is listed as 225L. Trying to formulate a recipe and would like to know which is which. Thanks!

The 225 could possibly be a little low for Pale Chocolate, but the 350L is way too high. I use pale chocolate in a lot of my recipes and if it was truly 350L then I would never make anything that is not pitch black. BSG also has Crisp Chocolate malt listed at 600L which would make it darker than Carafa III, lol.

Ed

 

[MikeG]

Finally got to stop by the brick and mortar store after nearly a year of ordering only online. Nice guys, great customer service, and nice location. Wish I lived a bit closer.

Should have waited until 6:30 when we have a homebrew meet at BMW (first Tues of the month), had some great beers last night.

 

[erikrocks]

BMW's customer service and time from order to shipment puts MoreBeer to shame.

 

[Hulud]

Love BMW, great customer service.

Ordered some stuff today, 1 hr later got an email that it was ready to pick up so I did on my way to work.

Everyone there is super friendly and helpful. Whenever there has been a problem with an order they send me an email and call me on top of that which is awesome.

 

[InsipidMonkey]

Just received my first order from Brewmasters Warehouse. Shipped fast and everything looks great. Love the ability to order exact quantities of grains/malt, and have everything crushed and combined into one bag. The brew-builder feature is great also.
Thanks again, I'll definitely be ordering more!

 

[flipfloptan]

Ed,

Any update on shipping times for the pre-order rhizomes. Spring has come early in Charleston, SC. I want to beat the heat that is right around the corner.

Thanks.

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

Ed,

Any update on shipping times for the pre-order rhizomes. Spring has come early in Charleston, SC. I want to beat the heat that is right around the corner.

Thanks.

It will be soon but still looking like end of March till the beginning of April.

 

[brettwasbtd]

The 225 could possibly be a little low for Pale Chocolate, but the 350L is way too high. I use pale chocolate in a lot of my recipes and if it was truly 350L then I would never make anything that is not pitch black. BSG also has Crisp Chocolate malt listed at 600L which would make it darker than Carafa III, lol.

Ed

I agree, the BSG Lovibond ranges for Crisp roasted malts are absurd. 700-800 for Roast Barley. All of their roasted malt values are higher than ANY other maltster. I emailed Crisp via their contact form. They replied and CC'ed Brewers Supply Group (Whose email addresses are all Rahr) and said that BSG could answer my question as they are the U.S. distributor. BSG (after 2 weeks of waiting) Pointed me to their website! What a circle!

Anyways, I was able to find Thomas Fawcett's listing of their Pale Chocolate which is 185-250 range. I think I am just going to assume 225 or so for Crisp Pale Chocolate and move on.

 

[Minjin]

Good info.... I just put in an order in their recipe calculator and was ready to process. I think I will place my order else ware.

If you reading this BMW.
Change your website to not allow items that are back ordered or not in stock....

 

[Layne]

This is so weird.
I order from them maybe once a month, and never have issues like this.
I'll still reccommend them to anyone.

 

[stratslinger]

Despite the issues I've had when ordering equipment from them, I'll absolutely continue to order ingredients from them. I just did so a couple weeks ago and SWMBO just rolled her eyes at me and made a snide remark about playing roulette... And sure enough, 3 days later a box with all my ingredients was waiting on my front porch for me when I got home from work.

I'd just caution folks that if they're going to order anything time-sensitive and it's more than just ingredients, that they call in the order just to be on the safest side.

 

[fuzzybee]

Are you still running the "preferred customer" sweepstakes? Haven't gotten an email in some time.

 

[cardinalsfan]

I had the exact same experience with BMW as the OP. Ordered on a Monday, no emails or any communication about the order at all. They sure charged me for the order from the start though. Come Wednesday I'm wondering whats going on so I email them for the status and they say it will ship the next day. Thursday comes and goes with no change in status. I wake up Friday and decide I've had enough. I wanted this stuff to brew that weekend. I email and cancel my order and order from Austin. Ships monday, here on Wednesday, about the same time the order from BMW would have been here. Yeah it was a little more but who cares, at least they communicate and ship on time.

I wanted to update this post. I ordered from them again. Used their recipe maker and built up an order. Placed the order on Thursday, it shipped Friday and I had it Tuesday. Much better this time around. Price really is hard to beat with the 10% off code. Still never got an email until the order actually shipped but I will use them again.

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

Are you still running the "preferred customer" sweepstakes? Haven't gotten an email in some time.

Sent out an email today. Sorry for being so crappy at sending them out lately.

Ed

 

[MrNic]

Do you have a mailing list? If so, I'd like to join.

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

Do you have a mailing list? If so, I'd like to join.

Sure thing send me a PM with your email address.

Ed

 

[FermentedNovice]

BMW is generally my go-to for online ordering. Still haven't broken down and purchased a mill, and their crush has always been fantastic. I placed a big order last night, realized this morning I screwed it up, and they were more than happy to help me fix it (thanks Steve).

Love this place.

 

[r2eng]

Just had my first bad experience, though.

Out of stock items (no problem), quick e-mail about it (thanks), in-stock grain left whole (thanks), but the late-arriving grain was crushed despite my ordering saying not to (oops). Contacted to ask what happened, got a "sorry, someone crushed it accidentally".

Bummed :?(

 

[bottlebomber]

Just had my first bad experience, though.

Out of stock items (no problem), quick e-mail about it (thanks), in-stock grain left whole (thanks), but the late-arriving grain was crushed despite my ordering saying not to (oops). Contacted to ask what happened, got a "sorry, someone crushed it accidentally".

Bummed :?(

I got my stuff today ordered Easter weekend. A little late? Maybe. But you have to figure Rey probably have processed hundreds if not a thousand order in the last couple weeks so everything is fine. Still the best online HBS by far.

 

[r2eng]

I don't care about late, I was notified in a timely manner.

I do care that it's "tough crap" about crushing a bunch of grain that I am not using for awhile.

 

[bottlebomber]

I don't care about late, I was notified in a timely manner.

I do care that it's "tough crap" about crushing a bunch of grain that I am not using for awhile.

Stick it in the freezer. I've kept crushed grains in the freezer for months with no noticeable decrease in quality.

 

[MalFet]

I don't care about late, I was notified in a timely manner.

I do care that it's "tough crap" about crushing a bunch of grain that I am not using for awhile.

Did you ask them to replace it?

 

[Nateo]

I've been ordering from a bunch of different places lately. In the last month I've used Midwest, Northern, AHS, and Brewmaster's for the first time. I've used Rebel in the past. From my experience:

#1 AHS and Rebel - shipped really quickly, everything was perfect.

#2 Northern - Shipped a little slower than AHS, but only maybe a day or two longer. Order was perfect.

#3 Midwest - shipped out quickly, with 1 wrong item, but they were apologetic and sent out the correct item promptly, and told me to keep the mis-shipped item for free.

#4 Brewmasters - out-of-stock of half the order, they did send out the half they had in stock at no extra charge, and sent the rest of the order when they got it in stock. I ordered on Saturday, and didn't hear from them about the out-of-stock items until late Monday.

I just placed another order on Wednesday, and the order is still "pending" today on Sunday. I won't need the stuff for a week or so, but compared to every other vendor I've used it's not great. I'm not really sure I'll be using them in the future. I know they're the cheapest, but at this point I'd rather pay more and not worry about whether my stuff will arrive when I need it.

 

[Nateo]

I definitely won't use Brewmaster's again.

Still no word on my order today (Monday, order placed on Wednesday). I called them to check on it. They're out of the yeast I ordered, again. They offered to sub a different strain, but didn't seem apologetic, or seem to care about the delay.

I own a retail store that does a lot of mail order. What I expect from myself:
1) Every order is a rush order. It shouldn't take me longer to pack and ship your item than it takes FedEx to drive it to your doorstep.
2) It's called "flat rate" shipping, not "cut rate" shipping. See #1
3) Communication is prompt. I wake up at 5am, start answering emails. I answer emails all day, and then all evening until I go to bed around 10pm. I don't think it's acceptable for someone to wait more than a day to hear back about an out-of-stock item or some other delay or issue with an order.
4) If I drop the ball on 1-3, I apologize. Apologies are free, and are usually all people need anyway.

If a vendor can't live up to the standards I set for myself, they don't deserve my money.

 

[BWN]

I placed an order with them recently and when it came some of the items were damaged. I sent an email at 6:45am and they replied to me at 10:16 am. They apologized, offered a solution and made it right. I feel that this is excellent customer service and they have kept me from going somewhere else with my business.

 

[theDeutscher]

Hey, Ed. Do you know if you'll be getting any Amarillo any time soon? Thanks!

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

Hey, Ed. Do you know if you'll be getting any Amarillo any time soon? Thanks!

Amarillo is pretty much impossible to find and we sold out of what we had in stock.

Sorry,

Ed

 

[MrNic]

Hey Ed,

I just wanted to let you know that this is the second time I've placed an order for something that was in stock on the website only to find out that it wasn't in stock. I strongly suggest keeping the website updated so that out of stock items can't be ordered.

Thanks,
Nic

 

[Poobah58]

Gotta vent some steam. Getting ready to brew Friday night and while getting my ingredients together I noticed my 3# jar of LME has mold in it. WTF? Got it from Brewmaster's Warehouse about 7 weeks ago. Looks like they package it themselves. They put 3# in a quart jar. That's about half full. That's a lot of O2 for the bugs to breed. I'm guessing their sanitary practices leave a little to be desired. Anyway, I sent them an email and hoping they do the right thing....