Adventures in Homebrewing (aka Homebrewing.org)

[MaxStout]

I’m sure someone more in the know will reply but I heard from a friend in Ann Arbor that they were recently sold and they fired everyone who worked at stores in Taylor and Ann Arbor on short notice. Every thing is now being routed through some place in another state (i thought they said MN)? He too had placed an order recently which was now delayed.

@Knightshade

Interesting. Maybe they're piggybacking their distribution through MW/NB?

 

[fun4stuff]

Yes. Apparently the Michigan stores are closed permanently. Bummer. I used to live near the Taylor store and would frequent their store around 2005. I don’t think they had been open very long when i started going. I’d go in there and have conversations with the owners.

 

[deere322]

Friend order from AIH last week.

Order arrived today.

Shipped from Roseville, MN.

I.E. Northern Brewer.

 

[Transamguy77]

The points are available but you have to contact them, this was literally just a few mins ago.

 

[user 299976]

My AIH order was placed on 3-22 with card charged the same day. Order remains unfilled as of today. I called last week and was told orders placed prior to April 1st were being reassigned to a different warehouse. It was expected those orders should start shipping this week. So now it’s Thursday and mine is still sitting. They also said orders placed April 1 and later were shipping normally. For what it’s worth, I’ve had good success and fast shipments with AIH in the past.

 

[Transamguy77]

I was always happy with them they have been my go to for at least 5 years now, it would be nice if they released some sort of statement as to what happened and how they are handling things now and may what we can expect going forward. Clearly whatever happened happened fast and possibly unexpectedly and I get it but then say something about what we can expect as consumers.

 

[davidabcd]

Wondering if anybody has ordered from them lately. I had to recently re-register my account, which seemed kinda weird but whatever.

Their website is the problem. I'd give it a C/D+ from what I've experienced. It's glitchy to be nice about it. But once you get the order in, it's a good place to shop.

 

[davidabcd]

I think if they focused on inventory and kept their site in present time, a lot of the disappointment could be averted.

 

[davidabcd]

To amend my above comments, maybe I don't know the full picture now about AIHB.
Hope they can bounce back.

 

[D.B.Moody]

To amend my above comments, maybe I don't know the full picture now about AIHB.
Hope they can bounce back.

They won't.
They were bought by Northern Brewer, which is owned by Blackstreet Capital Holdings. They will probably maintain their online presence, but they will be in lock step with Midwest Supplies as the highest priced places to buy supplies except for Northern Brewer itself. I recently (Mar. 25th) priced 3# of Briess Light DME:
Norther Brewer $20.99
Midwest Supply $17.99
Adventures in Homebrewing $17.99
Austin Homebrew Supply $17.99
Atlantic Brew Supply $11.99
Label Peelers $10.92
Rite Brew $10.09
Find a new place now!

BTW, this is discussed on "Did Northern Brewer Purchase Austin Homebrew Supply AND/OR Adventuresin Homebrewing?" in the General Homebrew Discussion Forum.

 

[davidabcd]

They won't.
They were bought by Northern Brewer, which is owned by Blackstreet Capital Holdings. They will probably maintain their online presence, but they will be in lock step with Midwest Supplies as the highest priced places to buy supplies except for Northern Brewer itself. I recently (Mar. 25th) priced 3# of Briess DME:
Norther Brewer $20.99
Midwest Supply $17.99
Adventures in Homebrewing $17.99
Austin Home Brewing $17.99
Atlantic Brew Supply $11.99
Label Peelers $10.92
Rite Brew $10.09
Find a new place now!

BTW, this is discussed on "Did Northern BrewerPurchase Austin Home Brew AND/OR Adventuresin Homebrewing"? in the General Home-brew Discussion Forum.

DME did jump $2/pound, upon inspection. Bummer. At that time when I followed the thread you mentioned and went to the site, prices hadn't changed. Oh, well. Is the jump in price just because of the power grab? I live in the metro Detroit area. Any suggestions?
Thank you for the info.

 

[fun4stuff]

They won't.
They were bought by Northern Brewer, which is owned by Blackstreet Capital Holdings. They will probably maintain their online presence, but they will be in lock step with Midwest Supplies as the highest priced places to buy supplies except for Northern Brewer itself. I recently (Mar. 25th) priced 3# of Briess DME:
Norther Brewer $20.99
Midwest Supply $17.99
Adventures in Homebrewing $17.99
Austin Homebrew Supply $17.99
Atlantic Brew Supply $11.99
Label Peelers $10.92
Rite Brew $10.09
Find a new place now!

BTW, this is discussed on "Did Northern Brewer Purchase Austin Homebrew Supply AND/OR Adventuresin Homebrewing"? in the General Home-brew Discussion Forum.

i will not be shopping there anymore it if principle. They fired everyone without notice.

 

[MaxStout]

First off, if you have a nearby LHBS that you like, then try to patronize them whenever possible. Unfortunately, I don't anymore and it's a long drive across the city to get to MW or NB.

For online, when it's price that matters and I'm not in a hurry, I gather my shopping list and check several vendors. I open a browser tab for each, plug in the stuff I want. Calc the shipping and compare the total costs. Lowest price wins. I've mentioned this method a few times on other threads.

Of course, not every place carries everything on my list, but I have to count out those vendors that don't have what I need. And vendors that are shiatty go on my no-fly list. Treat me like crap, play head games, or don't respond to my communication? I'm done with you.

 

[kartracer2]

i will not be shopping there anymore it if principle. They fired everyone without notice.

Before you all throw rocks at NB/MS, for what ever reason, I would put some of the blame on the owners of AIH/AHS. A deal of this scale could not have happened over night. I still contend that there was a reason for them selling that we will probably never know.
They were probably offered an insane amount to sell out or not doing as well (read profitable) to resist a sale before the ship sunk. Could be they just took the money and ran.
"Only the shadows know and they ain't talking."
Cheers,
Joel B.

 

[matt_m]

It didn’t happen overnight. It happened a couple months back. Then they fired their employees with a day or two notice last week and skipped town in the middle of the night. People drove out to Ann Arbor on Saturday morning to AIH to find a sign on the door. They still haven’t updated their social media. Probably fired the guy with the password.

 

[ksmax]

I placed an order on March 31st and my card was charged but it is still has not shipped. The website now has the physical address of the Northern Brewer warehouse in Roseville, MN.

 

[timm59]

Wondering if anybody has ordered from them lately. I had to recently re-register my account, which seemed kinda weird but whatever. Looks like they got rid of their Reward Program.

and..an order I submitted back on the 31st is still sitting as Unfulfilled. Just sent them an email asking for an update, but they've never taken this long.

Got a order from them yesterday 4/7/22
All my items but 3 had northern brewer labels I ordered 2 week ago sent them a email they were moving in a new building and as soon there in my order would be shipped so if I need stuff I'll oder from Northern brewer in mn am only 90 miles from them and yes it look like I lost 200 points in reward
but saw some talking about northern brewer buy them on this site so I use up my 800 points

 

[kylewag]

I just switched to AIH on my current batch because they’re the only online brew supplier that I found that sells steeping grains in fractional pounds. My first order went perfectly. A couple items were on sale, shipping was fast and inexpensive. I plan on making them my go to supplier now.

 

[hout17]

I just switched to AIH on my current batch because they’re the only online brew supplier that I found that sells steeping grains in fractional pounds. My first order went perfectly. A couple items were on sale, shipping was fast and inexpensive. I plan on making them my go to supplier now.

I hope this continues on but with NB at the reins now I don't see this continuing you may soon lose that option.

 

[D.B.Moody]

I just switched to AIH on my current batch because they’re the only online brew supplier that I found that sells steeping grains in fractional pounds. My first order went perfectly. A couple items were on sale, shipping was fast and inexpensive. I plan on making them my go to supplier now.

Rite Brew sells grain by the ounce.

I hope this continues on but with NB at the reins now I don't see this continuing you may soon lose that option.

I agree, and the prices are already up. I posted some back at #20. Northern Brewer is very high.

Here are some prices for Nottingham yeast, EKG hops and per gold bottle cap (packaging amounts on caps vary):
Northern Brewer $6.49 $3.99 .044
Adventures in Homebrewing $5.49 $3.49 .036
Atlantic Brew Supply $4.49 $2.49 .031
Label Peelers $5.30 $1.96 .021
Rite Brew 3.39 1.59 .024

BTW, my order for my next 9 batches is being split among Rite Brew, Label Peelers, and my LHBS Missouri Malt. Rite Brew carries only Briess DME, but is lower in regular pricing and has cheaper shipping; Label Peelers carries both Briess and Muntons DME, but is only lower in pricing when they run a sale, and it has more expensive shipping and a clunky web site. Trying to wait for a sale at Label Peelers can be aggravating, but they're having one right now where 3# of Briess Light DME is 9.22 instead of the !0.92 I quoted on post #20.

Edit to add: Atlantic Brew Supply selsl grain by the decimal fraction of a pound if you enter that as the amount.

 

[Mr. Vern]

I live in the metro Detroit area.

Me too.. in the metro area I only know of 1 LHBS, Wine Barrel Plus on Plymouth Road, they have a good variety of DME/LME on the shelf and grains in the back room. I do their CO2 exchange. Their liquid yeast has been non-existent the past year but they have a decent variety of dry. Random fittings and goodies to browse, and right now they have a bunch of brewing books at 70% off, I bought 6-7 of them.

For Hops, I use Michigan Hop Alliance about a block away! Of course Yakima does well but we have Michigan grown hops that are nice, homebrewers do not get premium lots anyways.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Rite Brew sells grain by the ounce.

And their web site includes a "Grain Quick Select" page!

 

[Yooper]

I hope this continues on but with NB at the reins now I don't see this continuing you may soon lose that option.

Ritebrew! That's my go-to anyway, and I can buy 3 ounces of things if I want.

 

[hout17]

Ritebrew! That's my go-to anyway, and I can buy 3 ounces of things if I want.

Fortunately I have a great LHBS about 15 minutes down the road from me and I can get almost anything I need and they do grain by the .05 lb.

Online though I agree Ritebrew looks like the best option.

 

[matt_m]

I just switched to AIH on my current batch because they’re the only online brew supplier that I found that sells steeping grains in fractional pounds. My first order went perfectly. A couple items were on sale, shipping was fast and inexpensive. I plan on making them my go to supplier now.

Great Fermentations is another great option in the region in addition to the ones mentioned above.

Me too.. in the metro area I only know of 1 LHBS, Wine Barrel Plus on Plymouth Road, they have a good variety of DME/LME on the shelf and grains in the back room. I do their CO2 exchange. Their liquid yeast has been non-existent the past year but they have a decent variety of dry. Random fittings and goodies to browse, and right now they have a bunch of brewing books at 70% off, I bought 6-7 of them.

For Hops, I use Michigan Hop Alliance about a block away! Of course Yakima does well but we have Michigan grown hops that are nice, homebrewers do not get premium lots anyways.

Cadillac Straits in Madison Heights is another great option. And you can have a meal and try their beer in the brewpub. Never heard of Michigan Hop Alliance--need to check them out. There's a hop farm in Monroe, Mr. Wizard's Hops as well. I could practically walk there but haven't bought much from them as they weren't really set up for small sales when I first heard of them a few years back but they are getting better each year so I really need to try them first going forward.

 

[Mr. Vern]

@matt_m Thanks... Ill have to check out Cadillac Straights, you had me at brewpub!

Mr. Wizard Hops will be on my list to check out as well, I really want to do a wet-hopped IPA this harvest season! (paranoid wife + family dog means we do not grow hops at home)

 

[gencinjay]

I've been to Cadillac Straights once. It was a pretty decent store. Smaller than AIHB was though. I'll be making them my new place. There is also Cap N Cork in Macomb. Kuhnhenn Brewing has a store in Warren too, but I think they don't take walk-ins. Need to order in advance.

AIHB Taylor was really close to me. The Ann Arbor store was only 20 minutes too so it wasn't too bad. I'll miss just going in and walking around looking at all the stuff they had in store. At least I was able to use my rewards before this all happened.

 

[matt_m]

Last time I was at Cadillac Straits the gentleman I assume is the owner said they were expanding the supply shop in the unit on the other side of the brewery and turning the old supply shop into event space. Not sure if that means they'll carry more inventory or just make it more of a store feel and less of a warehouse.

 

[Dancy]

I hope this continues on but with NB at the reins now I don't see this continuing you may soon lose that option.

I live close to Midwest Supplies and a bit of a drive to NB. During the worst of COVID, I was very isolated (live alone) and I mail ordered grain so I wouldn’t have to go out. I ended up NOT ordering from either one because they don’t do fractions of lbs and they won’t double crush. Atlantic Brew Supply did both and terrific service. Very responsive - had questions by email — prompt, friendly. I’ve since bought a grain mill and can purchase fractions of a pound by going to MS in-person. I’ll definitely use ABS again though. Bought a good BelgianDark Strong Ale AG kit from them.

 

[Alex4mula]

I just found out about this today when I called to check why my order was taking so long when usually I got it in 2 days. So sad. It was 30min from home and most of the time I would drive there to patronize plus their prices were good. Knew the people by name. Was nice to buy fresh liquid yeast without worrying about shipping. Also was my CO2 source. I guess from now on I'll order from Morebeer or other places. Will also need to check the LHBS mentioned above. As I mentioned I do not like to order liquid yeast online specially in the summer. Oh well. :-(