Minnesota NB and Midwest Stores Closing (Potentially affecting MN People)

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And, once again, for those in the Twin Cities area who are interested in the possibility of local pick-up, group buys, (or a new local store), connect with the local home brewing community.
 
Full disclosure: I am currently not a member of any of the local Twin Cities home brew clubs nor do I have any professional relationship with Northern Brewer or Midwest Supplies.

http://sphbc.org/traditional-norwegian-farmhouse-brewing-demonstrations/

Step back in time as Northern Brewer hosts a unique brewing experience: a full day of traditional Norwegian farmhouse brewing demonstrations and conversations about the history and use of kveik at our World Headquarters in Roseville, Minnesota. This is a special opportunity to participate in an international celebration of brewing featuring two Norwegian farmhouse brewers, Ivar Geithung and Johnny Ottar Pedersen.


With support from Northern Brewer, St. Paul Homebrewers Club, and other local homebrewers, Geithung and Pedersen will coordinate multiple simultaneous brewing demonstrations that showcase brewing techniques from four regions of Norway:


  • Heimabrygg: Voss-Style Hard-Boiled Ale
  • Stjordalsøl: Stjordal-Style Alderwood-Smoked Raw Ale
  • Konnøl: Northwest Norwegian Style Raw Ale
  • Eastern Norway Style Boiled Mash Semi-Raw Ale
Date: Saturday, September 16th.
Location: Northern Brewer World Headquarters – 2221 MN-36, Roseville, MN (Northern Brewer HQ -- Shipping Warehouse · 2221 MN-36, Roseville, MN 55113)

Stay tuned to this Facebook Event Page for more details as we get closer to the brew day.
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There is a recent topic in /r/homebrewing (link) with some idea(s) for those in the "west metro" (or willing to drive to the far west edges of the "west metro"). eta: Note that my travels around the "north coast" of the USA do not take me into that area of the Twin Cities.

also eta: in my experience, situations like this (local home brew store closing) can take 3, 6, or 12 months to return to 'stable' / 'normal'. If you are trying a new physical or on-line store and it doesn't work out, consider giving them a 2nd chance in the future.
 
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Wanted to get one of those "indestructible" hydrometers (aka herculometer) from Northern Brewer... Price was not so bad, $8.79 after the "FALL20" discount. But shipping - OMG are they insane? There's two options: UPS ground ($21.50) and UPS next-day ($34.64). For the record, I live a whole 33 miles away from their warehouse in Roseville.
 
Yeah I'm just a few miles away, it'd be even closer than either of the stores were.

Just placed a 2nd order with Ritebrew for ingredients, and am expecting a couple fittings from Brewhardware to arrive soon too.

I'm not protesting or boycotting, it's that the NB option simply doesn't have the best price / selection / delivery speed for things right now. In fact it's not just one of those things but I'd argue for ingredients or small bits like fittings it's all 3 of those things.
 
I'm in the Twin Cities, too. But with no more LHBS nearby, I'm now online only. Ritebrew seems to be the best for the things I tend to buy. Their grain selection could be better but they are close enough for what I need.

Sometimes, Amazon works, as I just got a bunch of dry yeast from there.

When shopping I open browser tabs for several vendors, populate the list in each, and go to shipping. Best availability and price wins.
 
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Ritebrew has "Briess 2-row brewer's malt" back in stock! With Speedee delivery to Mpls area, a 50 lb sack costs $71.02 (or $1.42 per pound). If you buy enough other items to get over $50, there's a further $5 discount applied.

Meanwhile, the geniuses at NorthernBrewer are selling 50 lb sacks of "Briess 2-row brewer's malt" for $65, but with no more local pickup, cheapest shipping is another $43, for a total of $111. If I shipped it from NB's loading dock to NB's loading dock, it'd only cost me $37, lol...
 
It may take a year for the "ripples" (from the physical store closings) to settle down.

One of the "ripples" may be occasional "out of stocks" at other "cyber space" stores - and it may take some time for those stores to adjust to new purchasing patterns. Given a choice, I'll take occasional "out of stocks" over stale ingredients.

In 'physical space', those following local club web sites and local competition web sites should be seeing some positive news in recent and upcoming events. It seems plausible that attempts at local group buys or local pickup services could be run as quite trials through the clubs.

edited for typos and such.
 
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I noticed something else that has happened since the retail stores closed. On the MW site, the prices have now increased. Previously, each of the two stores had their own pricing, and MW was cheaper on most items. No more. Prices on MW are now aligned with those of NB. Makes sense, as the distribution for both "stores" comes from the same place, and with no more retail stores, it's truly single-source.

I've always considered NB's prices too high, but then again, I'm a cheapskate. :)
 
Hoochin'Fool said:
Man I wish there was a place to get "in-person, let me pay cash so the missus doesn't see what my beer actually costs" grain closer than Medina! Midwest's grain room was amazing!
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Not sure how far it would be from you, but there's a small LHBS in Mankato. It's been a few years since I've visited, but they carried most of the essentials. My wife has family in Mankato, and we visit a lot (less than 2 hours drive for us), so I might have to drop by the store.
 
MaxStout said:
Not sure how far it would be from you, but there's a small LHBS in Mankato. It's been a few years since I've visited, but they carried most of the essentials. My wife has family in Mankato, and we visit a lot (less than 2 hours drive for us), so I might have to drop by the store.
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Mankato isn't great for me (also, their website Beer... | Brew-N-Wine Creations is a bit lacking in usefulness): google maps says it's twice as long a drive as beermeister is. I do visit La Crosse (Wisconsin) semi regularly, and Tiki Hut Home Brew Supplies | Onalaska, WI | tikihuthomebrew is on the way. Have been there a few times, prices were a little high on specialty grains (all pre-packaged LD-Carlson stuff, of unknowable age), but overall prices didn't seem outrageous.
 
I frequently found Midwest's in-store pricing to be cheaper than the website. I loved that, but it always kind of hinted at the disconnect between the 2 stores and perhaps further their website(s) as well.
 
Hoochin'Fool said:
Mankato isn't great for me (also, their website Beer... | Brew-N-Wine Creations is a bit lacking in usefulness): google maps says it's twice as long a drive as beermeister is. I do visit La Crosse (Wisconsin) semi regularly, and Tiki Hut Home Brew Supplies | Onalaska, WI | tikihuthomebrew is on the way. Have been there a few times, prices were a little high on specialty grains (all pre-packaged LD-Carlson stuff, of unknowable age), but overall prices didn't seem outrageous.
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Yeah, that Brew n Wine page is pretty spartan. Has that 1996 look going. ;)

When I was there a few years ago, their specialty grains were pre-packaged in 1 pound bags. Don't recall if they had packaging dates. If not, I would pass. No idea how fast they turn over stock. I'd probably swing by just for yeast, hardware items, etc.

I think there's a shop in St. Cloud, but never been there.
 
For those in the Twin Cities area, where do you source your CO2 from now? I always just got it from NB in St. Paul because it was close and I wanted the shop to stay open, so much for that, oh well.

I know Beermeister out in Plymouth or Hamel (they keep moving) has some supplies and they’ll fill tanks, but it’s a good 45 minute drive for me.
 
I use Linde on E Hennepin, it's just SW of where 35W and 280 come together if you know this area at all. As a bonus it shares a parking lot with Insight. Linde isn't cheap ($40 for 10 lbs) but it's close to me so I deal with it.
 
tracer bullet said:
I use Linde on E Hennepin, it's just SW of where 35W and 280 come together if you know this area at all. As a bonus it shares a parking lot with Insight. Linde isn't cheap ($40 for 10 lbs) but it's close to me so I deal with it.
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Yeah that is steep, I think NB was $26 or something for a 20lb swap. Convenience definitely has immense value. I do know that area. I’m on the east side of the metro, but get over that way pretty often. Thanks for the tip.
 
There's also an Airgas store in that vicinity, it's right around where Hwy 280 ends on its north side, nearish the NB HQ building. You can get to it from 280 if you're traveling north, or from 35W & C exit and backtracking. I kind of quit using them because they were about 1 time in 3 being out of tanks. After I had to next drive to Linde a few times, who always had stock, I just started going straight to them instead. Airgas was pretty close to that price IIRC and so I started to think of it as normal. Silly enough I never bought CO2 at NB or MW stores in town. In retrospect - duh!
 
Most any welding/gas supply place will do swaps. If you want to fill your shiny aluminum tank and get it back, not all locations have filling stations, and even if they do, there is likely a wait. that's what happened to me. one advantage to doing swaps is you never have to pay for hydro testing...

For Minnesota and surrounding areas, these are the major players. there are probably some small single location places that I'm not aware of:
Oxygen Service Co
Minneapolis Oxygen
Mississippi welding supply
Praxair/Linde
Airgas/Air Liquide
Central McGowan
Toll Welding
Huber
AOx
Weldstar
American Welding and Gas
 
Cloud’s bee closed awhile. Or at least The Hop Shop has been. Used to stop there while taking my dad to the VA.

Saw Kato mentioned a few times. If you’re going in for dry yeast, a few popular white labs yeasts, or basemalt, they’ll have you covered. 55# bags were more than reasonable to me.

And if you’re in a bit of a beer desert like me, MGM is only a couple blocks away to stock up on all sorts of beers.
 
So has anyone been to Beermeister's new store in Medina? Work is taking me that direction (Plymouth), wondering if it's worth the 15 minute detour...
Things I need: a new spigot or three, some hops that I'd like to see in-person (website doesn't list AA% for anything), and maybe a 50 lb sack of base malt.
 
Hoochin'Fool said:
So has anyone been to Beermeister's new store in Medina? Work is taking me that direction (Plymouth), wondering if it's worth the 15 minute detour...
Things I need: a new spigot or three, some hops that I'd like to see in-person (website doesn't list AA% for anything), and maybe a 50 lb sack of base malt.
Click to expand...

I haven't, but am curious. It's a bit of a hike for me, but would like to have it as a backup if I needed something pronto.

If you decide to run over there, please followup in this thread with your thoughts.
 
Luckily, for me, in their latest move, Beermeister moved to Hamel/Medina - which is closer to my house. This is the third move they have made in my short brewing history. One, maybe more, of their owners used to work for NB and MW. Customer service is not their strong suit, store perusing and self service is not nearly the experience it was at MW - but they are a brick and mortar store offering some quality products. Maybe things will change with this new location...maybe? I will continue to use them as long as I can keep their address updated ;)
 
orono said:
Luckily, for me, in their latest move, Beermeister moved to Hamel/Medina - which is closer to my house. This is the third move they have made in my short brewing history. One, maybe more, of their owners used to work for NB and MW. Customer service is not their strong suit, store perusing and self service is not nearly the experience it was at MW - but they are a brick and mortar store offering some quality products. Maybe things will change with this new location...maybe? I will continue to use them as long as I can keep their address updated ;)
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Thanks for the reconnaissance! I'm not too worried about "customer service," as long as they let me browse and not hover.

Since you've been there, and you're really local, a few questions for enquiring minds:

Do they have a grain room, or do they just sell pre-packaged bags of malts like so many other small outfits?
Hops and yeast--are they stored in freezers and coolers?
How's the selection? Do they have a wide variety, or just the "top hits"?

I've been meaning to run over there, but it's close to an hour drive each way for me. If they have decent hops and yeast selections, and things are fresh, it might be the place for me to drive to in warmer months when I don't like to risk having those perishables shipped. I realize brewing ingredients isn't their primary line. Maybe they'll see the vacuum in the brew supplies market and step up to be the Twin Cities only LHBS.

I do miss Brew & Grow, which closed up in 2019, due to flagging sales (and the owner wanting to retire). I sometimes wonder if it would thrive today, given the MW/NB move out of retail.
 
MaxStout said:
I do miss Brew & Grow, which closed up in 2019, due to flagging sales (and the owner wanting to retire). I sometimes wonder if it would thrive today, given the MW/NB move out of retail.
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Kevin was great, I was shopping there back when they were by Northtown Mall and my roommate was working there. If you ever had their "American Dream" kit, that was our recipe. Looking back it probably wasn't that great, but we did actually brew it a dozen or so times to get it where we were happy regarding the ingredients - canned syrup (John Bull, I think), yeast (Wyeast 1056) and hops (Cascade). Funny that looking back it was such a simple American Ale recipe, but at the time none of these things were obvious like they are to many of us today. No beer forums yet or anything much other than try, try again.
 
MaxStout said:
Thanks for the reconnaissance! I'm not too worried about "customer service," as long as they let me browse and not hover.

Since you've been there, and you're really local, a few questions for enquiring minds:

Do they have a grain room, or do they just sell pre-packaged bags of malts like so many other small outfits?
Hops and yeast--are they stored in freezers and coolers?
How's the selection? Do they have a wide variety, or just the "top hits"?

I've been meaning to run over there, but it's close to an hour drive each way for me. If they have decent hops and yeast selections, and things are fresh, it might be the place for me to drive to in warmer months when I don't like to risk having those perishables shipped. I realize brewing ingredients isn't their primary line. Maybe they'll see the vacuum in the brew supplies market and step up to be the Twin Cities only LHBS.

I do miss Brew & Grow, which closed up in 2019, due to flagging sales (and the owner wanting to retire). I sometimes wonder if it would thrive today, given the MW/NB move out of retail.
Click to expand...
Sorry for the confusion. I have not been inside the new location yet. I'm going to be by there tomorrow morning and I'll swing in and report back - don't know if they are open on the weekends at the new location and I'll ask specific questions (how many grains, yeasts, hops, etc. do you stock) to get the answers to the rest of your questions: Here's what I do know from their location off of 6 and 494: Zero ingredients were able to be obtained on your own. You could buy full sacks of grains and yes you could get smaller bags of pre-packaged grains - they stock(ed) Briess, Avangard, Swaen; yes their hops and yeast were in a cooler (in another room that you could see from the checkout). MW's and NB's selection dwarfed theirs (BM's) selection at their last location. Their retail space was literally a small 20 x 30 space. I never made it in to any other area in their space. If history repeats itself, they will not hover and will leave you alone. One of the things I liked that they did during Covid was that they offered to package your order and then all you had to do was swing in there and pick it up. That was very convenient and I hope that may still be an option going forward. I'm hoping that I can get in there tomorrow. If not, I'll be a "window peeker" - so if I call any of you from jail please accept the charges
 
orono said:
Sorry for the confusion. I have not been inside the new location yet. I'm going to be by there tomorrow morning and I'll swing in and report back - don't know if they are open on the weekends at the new location and I'll ask specific questions (how many grains, yeasts, hops, etc. do you stock) to get the answers to the rest of your questions: Here's what I do know from their location off of 6 and 494: Zero ingredients were able to be obtained on your own. You could buy full sacks of grains and yes you could get smaller bags of pre-packaged grains - they stock(ed) Briess, Avangard, Swaen; yes their hops and yeast were in a cooler (in another room that you could see from the checkout). MW's and NB's selection dwarfed theirs (BM's) selection at their last location. Their retail space was literally a small 20 x 30 space. I never made it in to any other area in their space. I'm hoping that I can get in their tomorrow. If not, I'll be a "window peeker" - so if I call any of you from jail please accept the charges
Click to expand...

Don't get thrown in jail. :D

I was trying to pick your brain, thinking you'd already been in there. Don't want to send you on a wild goose chase. But if you ever stop in there, let us know your thoughts.
 
MaxStout said:
Don't get thrown in jail. :D

I was trying to pick your brain, thinking you'd already been in there. Don't want to send you on a wild goose chase. But if you ever stop in there, let us know your thoughts.
Click to expand...
It's the weekend - at least I wouldn't miss work.
 
I went there earlier today. The new place is in the same building as a mattress company. BM is on the west end of the building and you access it by a single service door - My first impressions were that this space was way larger and way better than their other locations I had been to. One of owners that was there still needs social and customer skills. That being said, there was an employee that I recognized from MW and he and I chatted for a little while. He's very social and fun to chat with, too. There were a couple customers in the store while I was there. The gentleman that I was speaking to said that "at one time BM was in this exact building just in another corner of the building. They do offer self serve grains now - along with call in orders if you wish to do those. Their grain selection was more than adequate (see pics I took while I was there). Their plan is to keep the hops and yeast quantities and brands similar to what they had prior. That could change if they see an uptick in business. There was (1) - 3 door fridge that these were kept in that was semi-self serve. The hours of operation per their website are: Monday: 10am-4pm, Tuesday: 10am-4pm, Wednesday: 10am-4pm, Thursday: 10am-5pm, Friday: 10am-6pm, Saturday: 10am-4pm, Sunday: 11am-3pm. Although the message on their recording (I called before going this morning) says differently.

Overall I was impressed by the new much larger retail space, the newly hired MW guy that in now working there and their grain selection. It's very expensive to relocate - and with the amount of relocating that BM has done - wowza! Hopefully they stay here for awhile.

BM 1.jpg
BM 2.jpg
BM 3.jpg
 
I've been shopping at Beermeister the last few years (3 different locations of theirs). I didn't know about the "Spend $50, get 10% off" deal. I'll try to remember that next time.
Beermeister has good prices on most everything. I recently exchanged a 5lb CO2 cylinder for about $23 after tax.
I think they only sell Wyeast brand liquid yeast.
They've always been friendly and helpful.
I liked it when they were closer to the metro, but it's still not a far drive from the west side (I'm in Plymouth).
Since the homebrew ingredient/supplies/gear seems to be a side-business for them, I've always wondered if they'd drop that and stick to the Kegerator business. I hope they don't. I'll do my part to keep them going.
 
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Had to do a tank exchange yesterday so I ended up at brew n wine in Kato. Side note, that new four lane from new ulm to Mankato is amazing. Twenty minutes? Are you kidding me?!? Anyways, I didn’t see any liquid yeasts (which I don’t use anyways but I used to pick up if it was fresh) but I snagged a bag of rahr 2row for 65$. Prices still going up but I didn’t think that was too bad. It’s a shame they’re as small as they are but I’m grateful for them.
 

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