WOW! No LME @ Northern Brewer or Midwest Supplies

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kartracer2

kartracer2

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Just doing some price updating in BeerSmith last week and I went to NB & MS to see if the prices had gone up much lately.
Much to my surprise Midwest didn't even have a LME page any more and Northern's posting Out of Stock on all of theirs, every one of them.
So I popped an e-mail and got this back:

Hi Joel - I'm sorry for the late reply, we've been playing catch up from the holidays. That said, we're currently experiencing some supply chain issues regarding liquid malt extract. We're hoping that they'll be available as soon as possible. However, on each product page, you click "notify me when available" and you will receive email indicating when they're back in stock. We apologize for the inconvenience, but if you have further questions or concerns, let us know.

So I then asked if they were using DME in the kits now, I had a discount code I was going to use and stock up on a couple of kits if they were going to be all DME:

We had to make adjustments to our supply just to ensure that we have enough to build our kits. The LME is unavailable a la carte, at the moment.


🤔Sounds like something is a little fishy in the "Land 'O' Lakes" to me.🤔

Cheers, :mug:
Joel B.
 
hotbeer said:
Why fishy?

Because they are saving some for their kits? I don't see anything fishy about that.
Click to expand...
OK, not to you, but when they run out of 8 varieties at the same time I will say it looks odd then. Sure I could see a couple of style sell outs during/after X-Mass but even organic & sorghum? I guess to me that sounds like they have a problem of some kind. I do a lot of shopping with them guys, I'm not picking on them at all, just wonder what the situation is. AIH and Rite Brew have LME so It doesn't seem like a supply issue with them. (yet anyway)
Cheers,
Joel B.
 
I don't know that anything is fishy, but these days when folks say, " supply chain issues," I wonder if they f%cked up in some other way and have an easy excuse.
 
soccerdad said:
I don't know that anything is fishy, but these days when folks say, " supply chain issues," I wonder if they f%cked up in some other way and have an easy excuse.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I should have used different verbiage. I was trying to be cute with the "fishy in Land'O'Lakes" deal. Some times humor doesn't type out well. (Northern Brewer, from Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes, fishy, get it?) Sorry.
But yeah, it could be something like a packaging issue. I'm not sure where they get their LME from, I assume Briess as they claim that, and I don't know if it comes to them packaged or they do it them selves. Could be a container issue or maybe a machine (filler, sealer, etc) broken down also, I just thought it odd, all sizes and variety at the same time. (no longer fishy, LOL)
Cheers, :mug:
Joel B.
 
kartracer2 said:
Northern's posting Out of Stock on all of theirs, every one of them.
Click to expand...
I noticed that about a week ago.
I ordered some DME just to have on hand for emergencies.
DME has better shelf life anyhow.
Morebeer seems to have a good variety. They also stock Breiss ~(like NB) so it doesn't appear to be a supplier issue.
Maybe Morebeer ordered ahead and took all on-hand??
 
This past year those supply chain issues have been real. I have 2 truckloads of construction materials (53’ semi) we’ve been trying to ship this week, and can’t get drivers, tough time. Containers too, steel and poly drums and poly totes were unavailable. I believe they use those in the food industry too. Plus the pricing models are all out of whack, with the freight and materials surcharges it’s hard to keep up with weekly price increases.

Makes sense to prioritize whatever they have in profit-making kits rather than selling off and depleting their bulk supplies to big users, without companion materials sales you would get selling kits.

Earlier this year for example, users of polyurethanes were pulling all supplies from all vendors in whatever packaging was available all the way down to 5 gallon off-spec materials to supply manufacturing uses.

Similarly, it wouldn’t surprise me if all LME was purchased up by major users to keep production rolling. Manufacturers that might use LME in food production would use the bulk of things I would think, home brewers exist on small quantities as compared to that used in industrial production.
 
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The industry I work in is seeing shortages because of labor. Raw material is ok.
 
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Yeah the supply chain issues are real.
Starting at docks to local warehouses labor is short.

Don't think that Amazon is not feeling it either. How many items are out of stock or have a lead time of 3-6 weeks?
We tend to think that Amazon has this beat but they just have so many other options to fill their voids that it is easier to look past.
Having freinds in 2 of the local depots here i can confirm they are having the same issues...
 
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Brew_Dude41 said:
Yeah the supply chain issues are real.
Starting at docks to local warehouses labor is short.

Don't think that Amazon is not feeling it either. How many items are out of stock or have a lead time of 3-6 weeks?
We tend to think that Amazon has this beat but they just have so many other options to fill their voids that it is easier to look past.
Having freinds in 2 of the local depots here i can confirm they are having the same issues...
Click to expand...
Main difference with Amazon is that they are building automated warehouses at insane rates. I work in that side of the industry and see it. It’s scary. Not only can they afford to pay the increased wages (unlike small businesses that are being destroyed), they just continue to invest in reducing human labor altogether.
Its frightening…
 
kartracer2 said:
OK, not to you, but when they run out of 8 varieties at the same time I will say it looks odd then. Sure I could see a couple of style sell outs during/after X-Mass but even organic & sorghum? I guess to me that sounds like they have a problem of some kind. I do a lot of shopping with them guys, I'm not picking on them at all, just wonder what the situation is. AIH and Rite Brew have LME so It doesn't seem like a supply issue with them. (yet anyway)
Cheers,
Joel B.
Click to expand...
Ritebrew has three pounds of dme for the same price as 3.3 pound liquid extract. Both are $9.19, which is $3 less than the best price I see anywhere else and as much as $8 less than some. Two or three save enough to cover shipping
 
RickyBeers said:
Main difference with Amazon is that they are building automated warehouses at insane rates. I work in that side of the industry and see it. It’s scary. Not only can they afford to pay the increased wages (unlike small businesses that are being destroyed), they just continue to invest in reducing human labor altogether.
Its frightening…
Click to expand...
The automation part is amazing, and I am in awe of it.
We are able to employ a little automation in some of our facilities but nothing like Amazon. Given the shift in the labor market you will need to automate or face the fact that prices are going to skyrocket to pay the labor to move them.
 
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If supply chain issues are really a thing in the brewing / Homebrewing industry, this is an area where the Brewers Association could launch an educative program to specifically address supply issues.
Who makes the LME or DME that we use?
Where do they make it?
How do they package it?
Where does the packaging come from?
How do tariffs factor in?
What sort of containers does English malt or German malt or Belgian malt come in? 20 foot? 40 foot?
What ports do they come to?
Are trucking issues more significant at east coast ports or west coast ports?
How free is the trade in Barley, Hops and Yeast between the US and Canada? Or in the EU after Brexit?
 
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hey @kartracer2 , how does the price to your door on ebay compare to what you were getting your LME from NB for? out of curiosity?

i saw it was like $17-$19 on ebay for a 3.3lb jar...seems spendy, but want to know?
 
Brew_Dude41 said:
The automation part is amazing, and I am in awe of it.
We are able to employ a little automation in some of our facilities but nothing like Amazon. Given the shift in the labor market you will need to automate or face the fact that prices are going to skyrocket to pay the labor to move them.
Click to expand...
Agreed, it is really amazing. I get so see automated facilities daily, work with vision/motion/robotics/you name it, it’s crazy cool stuff. I have some mixed emotions on it as you can tell.
 
bracconiere said:
hey @kartracer2 , how does the price to your door on ebay compare to what you were getting your LME from NB for? out of curiosity?

i saw it was like $17-$19 on ebay for a 3.3lb jar...seems spendy, but want to know?
Click to expand...
I haven't bought any LME by it's self in a long, long time, I prefer DME because of the ageing/storage factor. So the only LME I get is in a kit.
As far as DME goes, last I bought from Midwest Supplies (12/6/21) was $14.00 for 3 lbs. of Briess Golden light. As far as shipping, I always make sure I meet the "FREE*" shipping minimums. (* free shipping is a whole can of worms by it's self). Northern's "free" shipping is a lower # @($49) but Midwest's @ ($125) prices are better. Same for same, Midwest is a cheaper.
I got to laugh, I "buy" food, but I "shop" for beer stuff! (LOL)
Cheers, :mug:
Joel B.

(*EDIT* Northern Brewer is $17 for the same DME.)
 
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Supply chain issues are real. Every Monday and Thursday, when I order for my restaurant, I have from 3-8 outs. I can only get Smucker's raspberry jam for almost three months. Other flavors not available. We could not get 16oz clear plastic cups and lids for like a year. Deli turkey over Thanksgiving was a huge issue. Right now, cream cheese is on a restricted list If you hadn't ordered it previously, you aren't getting it. Many companies are cutting back to core items. Did I mention price increases? Like nothing I have seen in almost 30 years.

Edit- This Thursday no soy milk till January 11
 
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Ha, wife wanted to make banana pudding, needed box of vanilla wafers. Shelf at local Walmart was empty. 3 boxes of mini wafers was the only thing in stock, including cheap walmart brand... . Other random stuff is hard to find. Changes every week. Dog food even. Ain't nothing fishy, just fewer folks working, and the country is still working through shipping issues. I'm looking for more if the same during most of 2022
 
kartracer2 said:
I haven't bought any LME by it's self in a long, long time, I prefer DME because of the ageing/storage factor. So the only LME I get is in a kit.
As far as DME goes, last I bought from Midwest Supplies (12/6/21) was $14.00 for 3 lbs. of Briess Golden light. As far as shipping, I always make sure I meet the "FREE*" shipping minimums. (* free shipping is a whole can of worms by it's self). Northern's "free" shipping is a lower # @($49) but Midwest's @ ($125) prices are better. Same for same, Midwest is a cheaper.
I got to laugh, I "buy" food, but I "shop" for beer stuff! (LOL)
Cheers, :mug:
Joel B.

(*EDIT* Northern Brewer is $17 for the same DME.)
Click to expand...
Ritebrew has it for $9.19, buy two or three and you've more than covered the cost of shipping.
My last order through Ritebrew weighed around 20 pounds and with the $5 shipping credit for a $50 order ($10 shipping credit for a $100 order) it cost a bit over $8. The three packs of dme saved me close to $24 which way more than covered shipping.
 
I keep telling my self to try that place but it just doesn't seem to happen. Shipping time to me would probably be the same as NB/MS. Maybe next time, I have enough stuff to get me by for a while, I stocked up before the X-mas rush to avoid any issues. Glad I did now.
Cheers, :mug:
Joel B.
 

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