Do You Buy From Northern Brewer?

[Kwitty]

I try to buy from local suppliers first. I try to buy from reputable homebrew shops close to my region of the country second. However when Northern Brewer was bought out by the big guy I had a tough time buying from them again. I know it seems silly but it broke my heart a little when they sold out. Brewing is personal for me, Inbev is big business. There have been a few sales and interesting new items I've seen in their ads since but I just haven't gone back.
Am I silly? Is it just me? What does everyone else think? What does everyone else do?

 

[mongoose33]

I go look once in a while; they have had a few things I thought were good deals, including a 2-gauge regulator, used ball-lock keg, picnic tap, and hose and QDs for them, for $99. All you'd need is a tank and you'd have tap beer.

Originally I thought their prices were high given the supposed free shipping included. Those prices have come down.

I do have the issue, as you do, of buying from InBev. I'd rather support my LHBS or other independent vendors like Ritebrew.

 

[Abrayton]

I buy from NB often. Free shipping along with frequent 20% off deals are hard to pass up. Plus I don’t have a LHBS nearby. And as long as the powers that be and those that elect them continue to support unfettered capitalism, InBev is what we get.

 

[SEndorf]

Perhaps being from Erie, PA the online aspect makes it colder.
I'm in a suburb of Minneapolis. Northern Brewer is in neighboring St. Paul. I go to their store and buy stuff from them because the employees there are brewers - damm knowledgeable brewers. When you're up close and personable, the In-bev thing becomes irrelevant. The brewers there certainly don't give a sh*t who their paycheck comes from. They still have good inventory and helpful advice.
Buy from who makes sense to you, but for me, the In-Bev issue has not affected their service, inventory or pricing.

 

[lump42]

No LHBS. It hurt a bit for me too and I quit buying from them and Midwest. Saying that it was an easy switch to other online retailers.

 

[trevelynzx]

I buy from NB often. Free shipping along with frequent 20% off deals are hard to pass up. Plus I don’t have a LHBS nearby. And as long as the powers that be and those that elect them continue to support unfettered capitalism, InBev is what we get.

zzzzz... vote with your dollars then?

 

[day_trippr]

I have a solid lhbs 15 back-road minutes away and I try to give them as much of my purchasing as they can manage. On the occasions over the years that I needed something they didn't have I've bought a few items from morebeer, but I've never bought anything from NB or Midwest. No prejudice against either, just never came up...

Cheers!

 

[Kwitty]

Perhaps being from Erie, PA the online aspect makes it colder.
I'm in a suburb of Minneapolis. Northern Brewer is in neighboring St. Paul. I go to their store and buy stuff from them because the employees there are brewers - damm knowledgeable brewers. When you're up close and personable, the In-bev thing becomes irrelevant. The brewers there certainly don't give a sh*t who their paycheck comes from. They still have good inventory and helpful advice.
Buy from who makes sense to you, but for me, the In-Bev issue has not affected their service, inventory or pricing.

That's good to hear. My local homebrew shop small and a bit pricey. I still give him buissines when I can.
I know the employees at Northern Brewer aren't bad guys. I guess I don't like the corporate side of things. I have irrational fears of inbev trying to take over homebrewing and all we can now brew is Budweiser. Like I said, irrational! But I am curious why they are now diving into the homebrew supply bussines? I don't think they do anything without a plan. And I could be wrong but I don't think they're active in the AHA. So what's the endgame?

 

[Kent88]

I don't think I have a LHBS that is open more than a few days a week within a 45 minute drive. I'm trying to order mostly from morebeer, but I bet I'll be ordering from NB again someday.

 

[verboten]

I’m kind of lucky that adventures is about 25 minutes away. I’ll stop in on my way home from the office to pick up orders or ingredients. There are some times when the price elsewhere is better, and that’s where I go. Most of the time they are inline with other prices and I’ll still go with adventures, and if I don’t want to go to the store I get $6 flat rate.

 

[Mitch S]

So I have been using NB for the last 2 years. Before that, I used Monster Brew and a LHBS (one in Fredericksburg, MD and one in San Antonio when I lived in those cities). When I moved to the DFW area, it seemed that the nearest options were over 30 minutes away or were closed permanently. Add traffic and you're looking at a 3 hour trip (2 hours driving and an hour perusing the shop). NB became a go-to for me. When I joined HBT, I started to see where everyone else was and fully intend to branch out. Morebeer has some good stuff it appears and I fully intend to use it. When the wife says I'm done with the house projects.

My two cents on NB being owned by InBev:
1. It sucks to see a corporation suck up/destroy small businesses
2. With a large corporation's financial backing behind them, at least we will have somewhere to go for our supplies.

 

[Dland]

No local supplier here. I get most of my ingredients from Morebeer.com, not a small company, but not inbev, and the free shipping on orders over $50 is pretty easy to attain.

 

[kh54s10]

When I started, I found NB. Their Deluxe Equipment kit was the most complete ione available at the time. Not so any longer, they took out things like the hydrometer and some other items. I used them exclusively for about a year. I have since found that I can find almost anything I need, less expensive, on other sites. I shop around. I have not ordered from NB in almost 6 years. I don't really get too worked up about the InBev thing, though, and would order from them.

I also have an excellent LHBS not too far away and a not so great one close by.

I use the cart when I am placing a bigger order. I put everything in the cart on a couple of sites, calculate for shipping or is it free, then order from the one that saves me money. Unless there would be a delay. I don't order from California (the other side of the nation) unless it is something I cannot find elsewhere since shipping takes a week or more.

 

[JimRausch]

My local HBS is 45 minutes away, and the next closest is about 2 hours. I do my best to support local. I'll call Josh and see if he has what I want, special order bulk grains, and drop in anytime I'm in 'the big city'. But there are still some things that I can't get from him or if they have it it'll be old (yeast). So I do place orders from NB about once a quarter. NB has always been good to me. They have the ingredients, which are fresh because of their volume, have specialty items that I didn't even know I needed before ordering. If I have a question, they are prompt and helpful. Prices are a little better than local, but that's not a huge issue. The only problem I have is that it often takes a week to get things shipped from Minnesota to rural Maine. Owned by INBEV? I don't care. Heck, I've even been known to drink a Bud while eating a Pizza Hut pizza. Sacrilege!

 

[brewbama]

I buy from others not because the whole David and Goliath deal but because I prefer to buy grain in lb and oz fractions. With NB you have to buy the whole pound. I buy just what I need when I need it. Let them bulk store it.

 

[tegman]

I buy most of my bulk ingredients from the LHBS. I typically order Kits from NB or Morebeer when they run the Kit Specials. I prefer to always have a kit in the house incase I feel like brewing spur of the moment. I buy equipment wherever I can get the best deal. I can say I'm becoming a huge fan of Morebeer. With the distribution in PA I usually have my items within a day on their standard shipping.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

Free shipping on 50lbs sacks of grain + , 20% off often + , superb selection + , They gaurantee you will like their beer kits or replace them free + , free shipping over $30 +, they do good business so I was able to look beyond the InBev thing even though I did not like it, my LHBS has terrible hours and the selection is mediocre. I use Northern Brewer, MoreBeer, and Adventures in Homebrewing typically in addition to my local guy who is only open Sat from 9-12 and a few hours during the week when I am working

 

[Jayjay1976]

I don't buy from them. Unless they have a great deal on something I really want and I can't get it elsewhere, then I might.

 

[beernutz]

I buy the vast majority of ingredients and consumables from my LHBS, The Winesmith. The owner, Dennis, is a friend and I want him to stay in business even though I know I'm paying more buying from him than from a large online retailer.

I have been a morebeer customer since 1999 (holy crap that's almost 20 years and I can't think of a single bad experience with them) and still buy from them when LHBS doesn't have something in stock or I'm too busy to make the 30 minute each way drive to LHBS.

I've bought from NB prior to their buyout but not since mostly because of my loyalty to morebeer for online supplies as opposed to an InBev boycott. I still buy Hoegaarden, Negra Modelo, Leffe, Spaten, and Goose Island so I would be a hypocrite to boycott NB.

 

[lump42]

For ingredients, Atlantic Brew Supply has been cheaper with $8 flat rate and plenty of 15% coupon codes from podcasts.

 

[devilssoninlaw]

Like many here, there is no local shop near me. NB has good prices and just about any kit comes with free shipping. I'm still a newby, so kits it is.

I've also found their help resources are great, I can ask a question and get immediate feedback from some great employees.

I don't really care for their parent company and am not going out and buying their beer. But until I can get the same bang for my buck from someone nearby or another on-line company, I'll do business with them.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Got my start on a NB starter kit and haven't gotten anything from them since, I'm off of kits and all that so bye bye NB (unless they put out some deal that is to not be missed).

 

[kevink]

Free shipping on 50lbs sacks of grain

I didn't know anyone had free shipping on grain. Does this make NB the cheapest on-line vendor to buy grain from?

 

[DromJohn]

Yes, I buy from NB.
There is no LHBS.
I used to buy from a regional HBS as much as possible, but Barley & Vine closed.

SWMBO wants organic. I want LME. Since Seven Bridges closed, NB/MW are the only suppliers of homebrew quantities (6 lb and 3.15 lbs) of organic LME. NB seems to have the best variety of organic grain.
Many other OHBS have stated they don't have the market for organic LME (and many don't have much organic). I believe if one would carry AND ADVERTISE organic, then they would have a market, and I might switch.

So, I start with NB. If they can't fill an order completely, then I go elsewhere, usually for just the missing ingredient.
FWIW, my last order went completely to AHS because NB had discontinued Vienna LME (not organic), while AHS could handle the entire recipe.
My next order looks like it will be 100% NB.

Too my surprise, customer service, particularly prompt shipping, improved after InBev took over.

 

[jmarkkaufman]

Northern Brewer was my LHBS. My brewing buddy and I have had to get creative to avoid them. He feels more strongly about it than I do, but we also have enjoyed sourcing ingredients more creatively (truth be told I make him do it[emoji41]) and reduce costs by buying by the bag.

 

[MaxStout]

NB and MW are close to me, about 20 miles or so, but I rarely go there, as their prices are high and they are on the other side of the metro from me. But my LHBS (Brew & Grow) is closer--only a few miles--so I go there for many supplies. Some things I like to buy local, like yeast. I usually order grain from More Beer as it is much cheaper than the LHBS and Northern. Free shipping if >$59--doesn't include sacks, but I don't use that much anyway and buy 1lb and 10lb bags.

 

[pantherburn]

I noticed the fine print on NB’s last few 20% off sales does not include grain...

 

[kh54s10]

I haven't bought a sack in a while, and I have moved since. The last time I bought Rahr 2 row, about 2 years ago, my LHBS charged about $45. NB has it for $54. I haven't checked with my new LHBS. Keep your eye on the shipping rates. NB has changed the cut off for free shipping several times in the last few years, even eliminating it for a while.

 

[bleme]

I don't really care who owns them, but I haven't bought from them since they took 2 freaking weeks to ship my order (before the buyout). That isn't to say that I wouldn't buy from them again if they had the best price on something I didn't need for 3 weeks...

 

[Pappers_]

FWIW, I buy Pilsner and Pale malts by the sack via a club group buy. Given enough leeway, I usually order other grains, hops and yeast from Farmhouse Brewing Supply, which is close to me - its just up the interstate from Chicago in Janesville WI, so it arrives usually in one or two days. I love his selection and the closeness.

I buy occasionally from my LHBS and have spent significant money there on equipment - most recently a beer gun. But, they are not close to me, and most of the time I do not use a car and getting to them isn't convenient. UPS delivers my orders straight to me, extremely convenient.

I tend to buy Briess malts, because they are the most local to me - again, just a little bit north of Chicago in Wisconsin. I have begun to buy Omega yeast more, because it is local in Chicago. I really haven't found any local hops growers who sell to homebrewers, but its been a while since I looked.

 

[DromJohn]

but I haven't bought from them since they took 2 freaking weeks to ship my order (before the buyout).

The poor turn around (and bogus reasons) before the buyout, almost lost me. But InBev corrected that problem by my next order. New ownership has done several things I don't like (new website, emptying my cart, charging for milling), but shipping has improved significantly.

 

[applescrap]

Oh no not another one of these threads. I've said it once, I've said it twice, and I'll say it again. Inbev employees 230,000 people. Most of them are nice honest hard-working red-blooded Americans just like you and I. I just don't get it. All these red-blooded Americans are somehow bad people in light of the prick who owns the lhbs by me. One of the lhbs by me is owned by a bunch of a-holes, how is supporting that jerk any better. A lot of the Brewers at the small Brewers by me are super chumpy, what's so cool about supporting these jerks. Nah I got no problem with people named Carl who have their name written on their shirt that work for inbev. I got no problem with the fact that they have a lot of mouths to feed. I know as a company they do some bad things but they are not alone.

How about my buddy who won't shop at companies like inbev. He's got no problem wearing shoes that came from countries that still have gender mutilation and or slave labor. It's hard to be American and not be a hypocrite. Don't believe me take a look at where your clothes were manufactured or anything else in your life. My friend drives a Volkswagen. They were in direct Cahoots with Hitler. Wasn't the bug his idea. I think I read somewhere that they used to make women give birth kill their babies and then send them back to work. He won't eat at Subway or wherever because a guy shot a lion or something but he'll drive a Volkswagen. We have spent a lot of time discussing this and it's a long discussion but in the long run you will have a hard time convincing me of your righteousness because you don't shop at Northern Brewer.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/1999/may/06/iantraynor

 

[MaxStout]

Oh no not another one of these threads. I've said it once, I've said it twice, and I'll say it again. Inbev employees 230,000 people. Most of them are nice honest hard-working red-blooded Americans just like you and I. I just don't get it. All these red-blooded Americans are somehow bad people in light of the prick who owns the lhbs by me. One of the lhbs by me is owned by a bunch of a-holes, how is supporting that jerk any better. A lot of the Brewers at the small Brewers by me are super chumpy, what's so cool about supporting these jerks. Nah I got no problem with people named Carl who have their name written on their shirt that work for inbev. I got no problem with the fact that they have a lot of mouths to feed. I know as a company they do some bad things but they are not alone.

How about my buddy who won't shop at companies like inbev. He's got no problem wearing shoes that came from countries that still have gender mutilation and or slave labor. It's hard to be American and not be a hypocrite. Don't believe me take a look at where your clothes were manufactured or anything else in your life. My friend drives a Volkswagen. They were in direct Cahoots with Hitler. Wasn't the bug his idea. I think I read somewhere that they used to make women give birth kill their babies and then send them back to work. He won't eat at Subway or wherever because a guy shot a lion or something but he'll drive a Volkswagen. We have spent a lot of time discussing this and it's a long discussion but in the long run you will have a hard time convincing me of your righteousness because you don't shop at Northern Brewer.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/1999/may/06/iantraynor

I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

 

[jmarkkaufman]

Oh no not another one of these threads. I've said it once, I've said it twice, and I'll say it again. Inbev employees 230,000 people. Most of them are nice honest hard-working red-blooded Americans just like you and I. I just don't get it. All these red-blooded Americans are somehow bad people in light of the prick who owns the lhbs by me. One of the lhbs by me is owned by a bunch of a-holes, how is supporting that jerk any better. A lot of the Brewers at the small Brewers by me are super chumpy, what's so cool about supporting these jerks. Nah I got no problem with people named Carl who have their name written on their shirt that work for inbev. I got no problem with the fact that they have a lot of mouths to feed. I know as a company they do some bad things but they are not alone.

How about my buddy who won't shop at companies like inbev. He's got no problem wearing shoes that came from countries that still have gender mutilation and or slave labor. It's hard to be American and not be a hypocrite. Don't believe me take a look at where your clothes were manufactured or anything else in your life. My friend drives a Volkswagen. They were in direct Cahoots with Hitler. Wasn't the bug his idea. I think I read somewhere that they used to make women give birth kill their babies and then send them back to work. He won't eat at Subway or wherever because a guy shot a lion or something but he'll drive a Volkswagen. We have spent a lot of time discussing this and it's a long discussion but in the long run you will have a hard time convincing me of your righteousness because you don't shop at Northern Brewer.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/1999/may/06/iantraynor

You have a point about consistency. I try to do what I can to vote with my dollars, but still buy stuff at Amazon. I bike to work but that means clients often drive to me. I don’t shop at WalMart but I do at Target, and there’s probably not a big difference. Ultimately it means I am a little more informed but still pretty spotty in my info. This one feels like InBev kinda stepped on my toes though.

 

[Soulshine2]

I have bought from NB. I've bought from Amazon ,I've bought from a LHBS (but there are none by me here in N.AL) ... I'll buy from whoever has what Im looking for and if theres more than one selling it , I'll buy from the one with the best deal whether it be price, free shipping or if I need it soon or it can wait.

 

[NeoBrew]

I love to see these threads pop up and spread the word. I feel we should all do our part and shop with our dollars. To dismiss what we do as consumers as not relevant to what happens in business, is to abdicate any say you have in how the world of business works.

Even after a few years nobody seems to know what AbInbev is up to. That in itself should concern us all. As someone said above, they don't do things like this without a plan. And if you are wondering "what's the harm?", consider the story of what happened in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area where NB is headquartered.

NB and Midwest supplies started well before my homebrewing started. By the time I hit the scene they had merged into one company. They were good, no doubt. They were so good that our metro area of over 3 million people had only one other viable homebrew store in business. (Brew and Grow). There were a few others on the periphery when I started, all gone now because of NB/Midwest dominance in our market. This left us vulnerable when they reached a deal with AbInbev. One possible scenario for them is that they spend a few years perfecting the business, and then start buying up or opening LHBS across the country. When they put their $$ to work on that it will push out the little guys. And because of the hypocritical nature of all of us as pointed out by applescrap above, it could happen like Wallmart, HomeDepot, etc. and kill selection, quality, and variety for everyone. Did we not see them do this to beer over the last several decades?

Don't get me wrong, Brew and Grow is a good store, and thankfully they are pretty close to my house, but many in my area have to drive all the way across town and past NB/Midwest to get to the north side. And they can't always keep up with stock. When the takeover first happened NB/Midwest was the only place locally to get White Labs yeas for instance.

I know I can sound a little paranoid, but it became very personal for me due to my allegiance to them before the buyout and the lack of options I have here.

 

[kh54s10]

I love to see these threads pop up and spread the word. I feel we should all do our part and shop with our dollars. To dismiss what we do as consumers as not relevant to what happens in business, is to abdicate any say you have in how the world of business works.

Even after a few years nobody seems to know what AbInbev is up to. That in itself should concern us all. As someone said above, they don't do things like this without a plan. And if you are wondering "what's the harm?", consider the story of what happened in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area where NB is headquartered.

NB and Midwest supplies started well before my homebrewing started. By the time I hit the scene they had merged into one company. They were good, no doubt. They were so good that our metro area of over 3 million people had only one other viable homebrew store in business. (Brew and Grow). There were a few others on the periphery when I started, all gone now because of NB/Midwest dominance in our market. This left us vulnerable when they reached a deal with AbInbev. One possible scenario for them is that they spend a few years perfecting the business, and then start buying up or opening LHBS across the country. When they put their $$ to work on that it will push out the little guys. And because of the hypocritical nature of all of us as pointed out by applescrap above, it could happen like Wallmart, HomeDepot, etc. and kill selection, quality, and variety for everyone. Did we not see them do this to beer over the last several decades?

Don't get me wrong, Brew and Grow is a good store, and thankfully they are pretty close to my house, but many in my area have to drive all the way across town and past NB/Midwest to get to the north side. And they can't always keep up with stock. When the takeover first happened NB/Midwest was the only place locally to get White Labs yeas for instance.

I know I can sound a little paranoid, but it became very personal for me due to my allegiance to them before the buyout and the lack of options I have here.

I don't quite get the message here. You are complaining that NB and Midwest merged and drove out other LHBSs. You also said this happened before InBev bought them. I have not seen any difference in NB or Midwest since the buyout. In fact some said customer service had gone downhill in the time before the buyout and has since returned to the good reputation it had early on. I have seen no evidence that they are trying to force other stores out of the market. I will reserve judgement until there is some evidence, rather than condemning them because Budweiser was a very successful brand.

 

[RPh_Guy]

For many reasons I'm happy to use my buying power to support homebrew suppliers not owned by AB InBev.

Also, I don't always buy beer, but when I do it's from independent breweries.

Cheers!

 

[NeoBrew]

I don't quite get the message here. You are complaining that NB and Midwest merged and drove out other LHBSs. You also said this happened before InBev bought them. I have not seen any difference in NB or Midwest since the buyout. In fact some said customer service had gone downhill in the time before the buyout and has since returned to the good reputation it had early on. I have seen no evidence that they are trying to force other stores out of the market. I will reserve judgement until there is some evidence, rather than condemning them because Budweiser was a very successful brand.

I think we would tend to divide along belief systems in how the world works on this one.

It's true, nothing bad has apparently happened since NB was bought out. I have no evidence of it anyway.

I am one to think that consolidation into fewer and fewer companies is overall not great for us in the end. It has a nice effect of reducing prices in the short run, but in the long run it leads to less variety, stifles innovation, and pushes independent organizations out of business. You can look to Wall Mart, Home Depot, car manufacturers through most of the 20th century, and on and on.

One that might hit closer to the topic at hand would be the consolidation of beer into the hands of only a few companies. 4 companies produce almost half the beer in the world. They have demonstrated over the years many attempts to use their power and finances to inhibit competition.

The question is only whether they see the homebrew supply market differently than they see the beer market? That seems unlikely to me as it is a natural tendency of any business to want to grow and push out the competition. That's just how the forces within companies work. So I'm of the mind that their involvement in the market will hasten the consolidation of the industry. And the nightmare scenario would be that they gain an overwhelming part of the market and then decide to start dictating what we all have access to.

 

[MaxStout]

I get what you're saying. It's sad to see the market held by fewer and fewer players. Lots of industries are becoming oligopolies: beer, record companies, airlines, etc. I like to find what I need from the indie vendors when possible, but I have to strike a balance between that, and my consumerist tendencies. I might be willing to pay a little more to support the little guy, but I'll order from the big guys if the savings is significant.

Being a large corporation, in and of itself, isn't enough reason for me to boycott it.