Northern Brewer goes to "Free" shipping.

[mongoose33]

And....There's no such thing as a free lunch.

"Free shipping" on orders over $30. And oddly, the new prices reflect that.

 

[oldwhiskers]

I kind of rolled my eyes after seeing the change myself, especially after them advertising the lowest grain prices anywhere. I just received a large order from them that included some bags of bulk grains that I placed just before the change. I repriced it using the new prices and policy and it actually slightly beat what I had just paid when you include the shipping in the price of the order which is after all part of the cost.

 

[dlettow]

Well this sucks. NB was my go to lhbs, where I was able to pick up bulk grains for about $35 a bag. Unless they now have different prices in there store than online, $55 for 2 row is not worth the 35 minute drive (one way). I guess I'll be ordering bulk grains from Ritebrew as well from now on like I had been for nearly everything else.

 

[catdaddy66]

I have loaded my shopping cart with $35 worth of ingredients and will check out on Friday!

 

[Nemanach]

Well this sucks. NB was my go to lhbs, where I was able to pick up bulk grains for about $35 a bag. Unless they now have different prices in there store than online, $55 for 2 row is not worth the 35 minute drive (one way). I guess I'll be ordering bulk grains from Ritebrew as well from now on like I had been for nearly everything else.

Midwest made this change online a while ago. Midwest’s in store pricing is lower than it is online, it all matches Northern Brewer’s pricing. I would imagine both Midwest and Northern Brewer in store pricing will stay lower than their online pricing.

 

[Oldskewl]

Have their shipping times improved? Taking 3-4 days to ship an order is ridiculous when other online supply stores ship in 24-48 hours. I can tell you how many time I placed an order that didn’t ship til a Thursday or Friday and my yeast sat over the weekend. They should know better than this.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

Some of the price changes are absurd. I placed an order on February 20th for 6 extract kits. If I bought the same 6 kits today, it would be $59 more money, even after the shipping changes.

Excluding any discounts (they're offering 20% off now, and I also got 20% off in February), and including dry yeast:

American Wheat: $23.50 -> $33
SMASH: $26.50 -> $36
Extra Pale Ale: $22.50 -> $37
Sierra Madre: $28.50 -> $43
Phat Tyre: $28.50 -> $43
Conundrum session IPA: $32.50 -> $37
Shipping: $8 -> $0

So one kit is $4.50 higher. Two kits are $9.50 higher. And three kits are $14.50 (!!) higher.

I'll be using Ritebrew for my kits from now on.

 

[Smellyglove]

I guess this is the result of the takeover? those changes are pretty drastic.

 

[mongoose33]

Some of the price changes are absurd. I placed an order on February 20th for 6 extract kits. If I bought the same 6 kits today, it would be $59 more money, even after the shipping changes.

Excluding any discounts (they're offering 20% off now, and I also got 20% off in February), and including dry yeast:

American Wheat: $23.50 -> $33
SMASH: $26.50 -> $36
Extra Pale Ale: $22.50 -> $37
Sierra Madre: $28.50 -> $43
Phat Tyre: $28.50 -> $43
Conundrum session IPA: $32.50 -> $37
Shipping: $8 -> $0

So one kit is $4.50 higher. Two kits are $9.50 higher. And three kits are $14.50 (!!) higher.

I'll be using Ritebrew for my kits from now on.

Used to be $8 flat rate shipping for all of it.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Well this sucks. NB was my go to lhbs, where I was able to pick up bulk grains for about $35 a bag. Unless they now have different prices in there store than online, $55 for 2 row is not worth the 35 minute drive (one way). I guess I'll be ordering bulk grains from Ritebrew as well from now on like I had been for nearly everything else.

That's (the drive) what I've been doing for over a decade. That's why I usually pick up more than 1 bag.

 

[phishheadmi]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I dig the free shipping deal. I'm kind of over buying kits, I order hops in bulk from other suppliers so I really only need NB for yeast and malt.

I don't see a change in yeast pricing, and 50# sacks of grain are significantly cheaper than anywhere else mail order. Heck, my closest lhbs is over an hour away, but NB prices are waaayyy cheaper than them. I'd love to support my lhbs more, but I can't afford to drive an hour to spend over $70 for a sack of grain.

Just a week or so ago, I compared prices all over the web, and NB new grain prices with free shipping are the best deal out there.