An appeal to Northeast U.S. Homebrewers

[csantoni]

My rule is if I need equipment or even a small part/adapter from brewhardware.com then I buy my ingredients for my next batch too. Shipping to CA is pricey but it’s worth it to me to support a business I like and trust.

 

[lumpher]

I'd like to be able to support, but for now I have to go the other direction. I'm in BFE Texas, and 10 lbs grain for $15 costs $21 shipping.

 

[cfrazier77]

I have spent a lot of money at brew hardware and have been happy to do so. They have products that no one else has, and they work well. I am glad they are still around.

 

[jdauria]

I'm in Mass and with my LHBS closing 2 years ago, I do my shopping online now and have to say BrewHardware has always been a great site to buy from!

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

As I actually mentioned to Bobby in-store yesterday: My closest LHBS (<10min away) closed down during Covid. Saddened, I then switched to a less-local LHBS in Pennsylvania (~50min away), and grew to really like them. A few months ago, they switched owners and move even further away. I was sad to have to switch LHBS yet again, but Brew Hardware was now the closest store to me so I gave them a shot.

I've now been in-store three times and have been very happy with the switch. Their customer service is top-notch. The prices are also way cheaper than I got at my previous LHBS, I'm sure partly because of the true-cost shipping Bobby mentioned, and I benefit from the free local pickups. I am now making 100% of my homebrew purchases through Brew Hardware.

Bobby, I hope you stay open. Thanks for your service to the homebrewing community.

 

[Airborneguy]

I was there today and had to *try* to convince Bobby that this post was a good thing. He’s that humble.

 

[lumpher]

I was there today and had to *try* to convince Bobby that this post was a good thing. He’s that humble.

I definitely think the post is a good thing. I would like to see him not only thrive, but do very well for himself. He's earned it both personally and professionally. It never hurts to make sure people know you're out there, and without a little advertisement, you can get buried under the big-box stores. None of us want to see that happen to him.

 

[Cameronl]

I just compared More beer to Bobby’s shop for grain and for 40 lbs of 2 row shipped to me it’s $64 from More Beer and $102 from Bobby. Either More beer has special shipping rates or they are losing money selling grain. If I was in the area, I’d buy whole sacks of 2 row from Bobby’s store for $52.

Don't go by the initial shipping estimate. IIRC you can't get to the shipping options until you enter payment info, but in all my past orders, I've been presented with significantly cheaper options than what was originally suggested, and for me in CT, a final total competitive with the "big boys".

Bobby, if you could let shoppers see the actual shipping options and costs before entering a CC#, you may not scare off some potential customers.

 

[TheCache]

I just went back to my last order and did stare and compare with a few online places - I order grains for 2-3 recipes at a time, milled BIAB for 4G batches. My last order was around 25lbs of grain plus yeast, hops, and a few other things I needed. Even with the Brewhardware shipping I still came out at or below the costs from several other well known sites. Usually I see grains at $1-2 less per pound. Liquid yeasts $3+ less per pack, and hops at 25 cents or so less per ounce. Just for a few recipes my ingredient costs were $25-30 less which covered the higher shipping. In the end it was about equal and I had my order in about 4 days. I don't usually do liquid yeasts because of the distance, but otherwise it's been great.

I would probably get different results if I was ordering large quantities like whole bags of grain, but ordering enough for 3 or so recipes at a time Brewhardware really works for me and I appreciate the mill quality (BIAB) since I don't have my own mill. The milling is a big deal for me. I emailed several suppliers and while some would double mill on request, some did nothing different for BIAB vs traditional mashing. Brewhardware does a great job for BIAB brewers who don't mill their own. Plus, if I have a question I usually get an email back from the owner, how cool is that.

I'd say, keep it up Bobby and while I know your post was focused on Northeast area brewers who would likely see the most savings, don't forget about the rest of us. You are still competitive beyond your local area.

 

[redrocker652002]

I just went back to my last order and did stare and compare with a few online places - I order grains for 2-3 recipes at a time, milled BIAB for 4G batches. My last order was around 25lbs of grain plus yeast, hops, and a few other things I needed. Even with the Brewhardware shipping I still came out at or below the costs from several other well known sites. Usually I see grains at $1-2 less per pound. Liquid yeasts $3+ less per pack, and hops at 25 cents or so less per ounce. Just for a few recipes my ingredient costs were $25-30 less which covered the higher shipping. In the end it was about equal and I had my order in about 4 days. I don't usually do liquid yeasts because of the distance, but otherwise it's been great.

I would probably get different results if I was ordering large quantities like whole bags of grain, but ordering enough for 3 or so recipes at a time Brewhardware really works for me and I appreciate the mill quality (BIAB) since I don't have my own mill. The milling is a big deal for me. I emailed several suppliers and while some would double mill on request, some did nothing different for BIAB vs traditional mashing. Brewhardware does a great job for BIAB brewers who don't mill their own. Plus, if I have a question I usually get an email back from the owner, how cool is that.

I'd say, keep it up Bobby and while I know your post was focused on Northeast area brewers who would likely see the most savings, don't forget about the rest of us. You are still competitive beyond your local area.

I did much the same thing. I input one of my basic SMASH beers and noticed right away that Brewhardware was much cheaper with their grains and S05 yeast that I typically use. The end result of the order minus shipping was that they were about 5 bucks cheaper. Now, if they were more expensive, would that matter? Not really. I am lucky enough where my "accountant" does not do annual audits of the crap I buy. LOL. So, for me, if it cost a few bucks extra to support a small independent business, I am in. I will input my next order of probably two recipes and use Brewhardware. Only suggestion would be, I hope to see BRY97 on the yeast list,, but if not, there are plenty of others to choose from. Rock On!!!!!!!!

 

[Bobby_M]

Don't go by the initial shipping estimate. IIRC you can't get to the shipping options until you enter payment info, but in all my past orders, I've been presented with significantly cheaper options than what was originally suggested, and for me in CT, a final total competitive with the "big boys".

Bobby, if you could let shoppers see the actual shipping options and costs before entering a CC#, you may not scare off some potential customers.

That's a great point. I know that I disabled that feature a while ago because it was causing some kind of problem, but since I forgot what that was, I just enabled it again. Edit... I remember now. People were picking something in the dropdown menu thinking it would stick through the entire checkout process and it doesn't. Displaying is probably the lesser of two evils, but I know I was incorrectly accused of bait and switch a couple times.

 

[sibelman]

Displaying is probably the lesser of two evils, but I know I was incorrectly accused of bait and switch a couple times.

@Bobby_M, yes it's disturbing to be falsely accused, even by morons who apparently lack knowledge about how web shipping calculation works. But...

As a general rule, I steer clear of sites that don't provide shipping info early in the purchase process. So, yes, best to show it - not evil at all.

fwiw, I'll keep buying from you either way.

 

[mashdar]

Don't go by the initial shipping estimate. IIRC you can't get to the shipping options until you enter payment info, but in all my past orders, I've been presented with significantly cheaper options than what was originally suggested, and for me in CT, a final total competitive with the "big boys".

Bobby, if you could let shoppers see the actual shipping options and costs before entering a CC#, you may not scare off some potential customers.

If you hit cash, you can proceed to see shipping. (It says that somewhere on the checkout page.)

 

[fphredd]

Just chiming in with support. I've posted before about how lucky I am that brewhardware happens to be my LHBS. There was another about equidistant previously but I settled on brewhardware as my go-to pretty darn quick. Not that the other place was bad, but walking into Bobby's shop I always knew I would walk out with great ingredients, sold at a great price, by people providing great service. Idt a visit has gone by that I haven't learned something. I would urge everyone to at least give them a shot for the same money or just a few extra $. I'm sure you've gotten the extra value from all of Bobby's participation in this forum.

I live 20-25 min away, and when I felt the earthquake a few weeks ago they were my first call. It was great to hear Sue tell me things were copasetic!

Cheers to everyone in the shop!

 

[Airborneguy]

Haha same here! I made a post about the earthquake a few minutes after I calmed down.

 

[Bobby_M]

We started tweaking our UPS rates a bit this week. We just got a pretty good bump on our discount structure and we're working on getting the live rates displaying. If you've already shopped for a sample shipping rate or two since I posted this thread, try again, you might be surprised by the UPS ground rate.

 

[mashdar]

We started tweaking our UPS rates a bit this week. We just got a pretty good bump on our discount structure and we're working on getting the live rates displaying. If you've already shopped for a sample shipping rate or two since I posted this thread, try again, you might be surprised by the UPS ground rate.

FWIW, shipping for my test of an AG kit was cut in half. Nice!

 

[BrewZer]

Understand, if you will, that I still have relatively close access to two LHBSs, and I want to help keep them in business.

If I have to go internet order, I'll give you first shot.

 

[Bobby_M]

Understand, if you will, that I still have relatively close access to two LHBSs, and I want to help keep them in business.

If I have to go internet order, I'll give you first shot.

Yeah for sure. I'm not asking anyone to participate in the demise of a local small business.

 

[bike2brew]

I sent in an inquiry about the backorder status of the Spike condenser lid. Have yall heard back from them yet?

 

[Bobby_M]

nothing from Spike yet

 

[VTMongoose]

We started tweaking our UPS rates a bit this week. We just got a pretty good bump on our discount structure and we're working on getting the live rates displaying. If you've already shopped for a sample shipping rate or two since I posted this thread, try again, you might be surprised by the UPS ground rate.

With the changes you made, you are now cheaper (including shipping) for grains than me driving to Raleigh to my "new" local homebrew stores when you factor in the cost of gas.

Also, those chumps don't have Weyermann Barke.

The addition of the shipping estimator in-cart is greatly appreciated.

 

[Yooper]

I ordered this past weekend, and my order was packaged and shipped on Monday. Shipping was not cheap....BUT the grain was not marked up to account for 'free shipping' like the big guys (morebeer). I compared side by side, and brewhardware.com was very competitive. Today, my order came well packaged, in a sturdy box, and in perfect shape. That's fast from NJ to Upper Michigan.

Obviously, sometimes 'free shipping' is a great come-on, but it's paid for by overpriced ingredients. Thanks @Bobby_M for being upfront with pricing and doing such a great job.

 

[Bobby_M]

I ordered this past weekend, and my order was packaged and shipped on Monday. Shipping was not cheap....BUT the grain was not marked up to account for 'free shipping' like the big guys (morebeer). I compared side by side, and brewhardware.com was very competitive. Today, my order came well packaged, in a sturdy box, and in perfect shape. That's fast from NJ to Upper Michigan.

Obviously, sometimes 'free shipping' is a great come-on, but it's paid for by overpriced ingredients. Thanks @Bobby_M for being upfront with pricing and doing such a great job.

Thanks! Even better, we refunded 30% of what you paid for shipping because we were able to find a cheaper method. It doesn't always work out that way, but we have no intention of profiting on shipping.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks! Even better, we refunded 30% of what you paid for shipping because we were able to find a cheaper method. It doesn't always work out that way, but we have no intention of profiting on shipping.

Thank you! I wondered why when paypal let me know of a refund and I appreciate that. My grains, yeast and hops are already used- I brewed a German pilsner earlier today.

I did check the prices at Morebeer, and your prices were much lower (I guess to pay for morebeer's 'free shipping') so it really was a good deal for the ingredients I bought, and it came FAST.

 

[SkyPilot]

I have been out of brewing for several years and just got back into it. I recently picked up an AIO system and need a AG kit to brew. I will admit to initially being blinded by the free shipping bug.
After looking around I ordered two all grain kits from Brewhardware. They shipped same day and even with shipping were cheaper than any of the major free shipping online folks. The boxing was perfect and the grans looked and smelled great.
I got delayed in brewing but one is finally in the fermenter now and looks perfect. This also meant I needed to look at my neglected keezer. What a mess. Based on comments here and elsewhere I have embraced EVA tubing, and Duotight fittings. In looking, Brewhardware’s prices were lower on the pieces than the free shipping folks, but what about the shipping costs……
Well damn but even with shipping Brewhardware was still cheaper than big store with free shipping.
In fairness by the time I finished my wish list I hit Brewhardware’s free shipping level but that is a personal problem I guess and before I added the last item to put me over the free level the cost with shipping was still below the others with free shipping cost.
I am hoping that all my stuff will get shipped out today so I can play and keg over the weekend .
I will add that during all this Bobby and his staff have been quick to answer email questions.
So bottom line I did learn that fair product prices and fair shipping costs resulted in a good deal for me.
As always YMMV
Bill

 

[bkboiler]

Just placed an order to get things back up and running after taking a "life is busy" hiatus from brewing.
Thanks for running such a great business Bobby. No annoying pop ups or over the top marketing/gimmicky products. Just really good quality stuff picked by a knowledgeable guy and sold for an honest price. Thanks much!

 

[Draft Master Flash]

I'm coming a little late to this thread. I do think Brewhardware is indeed a very cool shop! But as I remember before were the shipping costs. I've read a few of the other posts that say that actual shipping costs are not calculated until you actually go to pay but to be perfectly honest I was scared off tremendously when I recently went to buy a 55 lb sack of Avangard Pilsner Malt. I know the shipping cost is going to be high anywhere for this item and I expect that but when I went to buy it the shipping cost was INSANELY HIGH! Now I don't know if this was an error in the shipping calculator or what but it was enough for me to run for the hills! I truly appreciate that Brewhardware carries a lot of parts that are extremely hard to come by and that alone puts it on the list of the top homebrew stores out there!

I wish the best of luck!

DMF

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm coming a little late to this thread. I do think Brewhardware is indeed a very cool shop! But as I remember before were the shipping costs. I've read a few of the other posts that say that actual shipping costs are not calculated until you actually go to pay but to be perfectly honest I was scared off tremendously when I recently went to buy a 55 lb sack of Avangard Pilsner Malt. I know the shipping cost is going to be high anywhere for this item and I expect that but when I went to buy it the shipping cost was INSANELY HIGH! Now I don't know if this was an error in the shipping calculator or what but it was enough for me to run for the hills! I truly appreciate that Brewhardware carries a lot of parts that are extremely hard to come buy and that alone puts it on the list of the top homebrew stores out there!

I wish the best of luck!

DMF

Rather than speculate, give me your city/zip and I'll calculate the current shipping cost via UPS for a sack of grain. There was a couple month span where the UPS rates were not being sent to my website properly so it may have been in that period of time. We also just got much better discounts and everything on the shipping estimator is working.

 

[Draft Master Flash]

Thanks! But no longer needed.

DMF