Brewmasters Warehouse

[cyanmonkey]

Former employee here.

Brewmasters Warehouse is effectively closed at this point.

There has been a serious attempt at an employee buyout for the last two months or so, but the negotiations have broken down to the point that it is nearly impossible to envision terms.

For several years, most of the employees have been very unhappy about certain aspects of the business. Several have left over these issues. The employee buyout was designed to bring some life and a bit more integrity back into management. In the last two weeks, three out of the four employees have either simply walked away or put in their two weeks notice. This leaves (in about a week) one part timer and an owner that is occasionally in on a Saturday.

The employee that was heading the proposed buy-out is now exploring options to open a shop in the Marietta/Smyrna area. He would be bringing at least one other long-term BMW staff with him, probably more. He is estimating 6-12 weeks before opening.

The employees do appreciate all of our customers. We have had our hands tied with all of the inventory issues, the shipping issues, and the incredible institutional inefficiency. The new store will take most of the good things that were in place in BMW, fix most of the more serious issues, and offer the services that BMW was known for 3 or 4 years ago. We know how much our service has slipped in the last 2 years or so, but there was not much that the employees could do while being out of 2-row, extract, and/or US-05 most of the time and being given information that was nowhere near reality. I still believe in the business, but it sometimes seems like the employees are the only ones who still do.

As of now, we are still open, but not operational. No employee has access to the code of the website, so we can't make a statement on there. I frankly expect us to be officially out of business on Monday.

When the new LHBS is nearly opened, the announcement will be made on HBT. If the thread still is up at that point, I will post here as well. In the meantime, I really have enjoyed helping you as much as I could, and I hope that some of the customers will at least give us the opportunity to let us serve them. Thank you all for being customers in the past, and I look forward to having some of you as customers again.

Sam
Brewmasters Warehouse

I've been wondering what the take is of the employees there. It sounds like you guys really do care and I'm sure they'll take that passion to the new store. Hopefully they'll put together something equivalent to the Brew Builder software because that was what set BMW apart from the rest of the competition.

 

[fuzzybee]

Well, damn.

 

[stevo155]

That is sad to hear, but I'm so glad you posted this so we can all know the deal.
Obviously that means that my order from January isn't ever going to ship, so what do you think I (and others in the same boat) do about getting a refund?
Hopefully the website gets taken down soon; I just now heard an ad for BMW on the Brewing Network..

Based on some of the responses here, I think you best bet is to have the credit card company reverse the charge. If it is true that they expect to be closed by Monday, it will be nearly impossible to contact them or worse, they will claim bankruptcy.

P.S. I just posted mysteryshrimp's post on the BN forum

 

[mysteryshrimp]

That is sad to hear, but I'm so glad you posted this so we can all know the deal.
Obviously that means that my order from January isn't ever going to ship, so what do you think I (and others in the same boat) do about getting a refund?
Hopefully the website gets taken down soon; I just now heard an ad for BMW on the Brewing Network..

My guess is that the easiest way to get any refund going forward is to do a chargeback on your card. I wish that I could do more for you.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

Former employee here.
...

Sam
Brewmasters Warehouse

The website was a key part of why I loved BMW. I know Ed said he put a lot of money into that up front but i think it was a huge part of BMW taking off from the get go. See if you can buy that!

 

[broadbill]

I'll let you know it is near impossible to contact them at this point as I have been trying for the past few days.

For the past couple of months I have been trying to use up a $100 gift card and get something, ANYTHING shipped. The latest attempt was a burner which I knew would get shipped direct from factory, betting that I would have a better chance of getting it shipped. No luck.

I even got Ed on the phone was Tuesday (3/17/15), and he offered to either refund my money or try to get it shipped by Thursday (3/19/15). I stupidly gave them one last chance to make good. By Thursday, no one was picking up the phone. Guess I can kiss that $100 goodbye, I'll dispute the rest of the order that went my my credit card.

So not only did I get ripped off by them, but I continued to defend Ed/BMW even when the writing was on the wall. What I'm particularly upset about that he had no problems with continuing to take peoples' money, put pending orders on his website, and not ship anything. Hell, this website is STILL active and accepting orders. Crook.

So Ed Meyer...enjoy my $100. I'll be googling your name every month or so to see if ever get back into a business, any business. I'll make sure your customers know you treated us and my opinion of what will happen to them, too.

Edit to Add: the employees there seemed very good, when I spoke to them on the phone (especially Scott)...I wish them luck on their new venture.

 

[Pilgarlic]

A new LHBS, with or without BMW's employees, will likely be undistinguished without BrewBuilder.

 

[kh54s10]

A new LHBS, with or without BMW's employees, will likely be undistinguished without BrewBuilder.

Not necessarily. There are plenty like me that use Beersmith or other recipe builders, but in bulk etc. That would never use the BrewBuilder. I never used Brewmaster Warehouse because I got better prices elsewhere at the time.


Good inventory, good prices and great customer service are the keys.

 

[Pilgarlic]

Good inventory, good prices and great customer service are the keys.

Agreed. And they're ubiquitous.

 

[broadbill]

Not necessarily. There are plenty like me that use Beersmith or other recipe builders, but in bulk etc. That would never use the BrewBuilder. I never used Brewmaster Warehouse because I got better prices elsewhere at the time.


Good inventory, good prices and great customer service are the keys.

I agree here. Brewbuilder was nice and shiny, but it was a pain as you had to have recipes saved on their site which was another thing to manage. Making changes to recipes was cumbersome, which you had to frequently because they need had stuff in stock.

Why I bought from them was good prices, you could order partial amounts, and they delivered in less than a week. That was back in the glory days.

 

[itsme_timd]

Damn. Good luck, Sam!

Scott and Sam are good guys and helped me out a lot at BMW, I know of some of the struggles they went through there in recent months. I would 100% support a new LHBS close to me. Like others I would be looking for good inventory and friendly staff. I've got several smaller shops near me and they are great and I support them when I can, but they frequently don't have all of what I need to brew a recipe.

I agree that the BrewBuilder wouldn't make a difference for me, I personally never used it and I know none of my friends that shopped there did either.

 

[stickrod]

I've lived in both atlanta and Nashville. I will take rebel brewer over BMW any day hands down! Anyone who used to use BMW, switch over to rebel. Great everything!

 

[pointcity-homebrew]

I've lived in both atlanta and Nashville. I will take rebel brewer over BMW any day hands down! Anyone who used to use BMW, switch over to rebel. Great everything!

I use them, although shipping is a little more. If I order one day, I will have it the next. Great customer service as well.

 

[brianhewitt]

Former employee here.

Brewmasters Warehouse is effectively closed at this point.

There has been a serious attempt at an employee buyout for the last two months or so, but the negotiations have broken down to the point that it is nearly impossible to envision terms.

For several years, most of the employees have been very unhappy about certain aspects of the business. Several have left over these issues. The employee buyout was designed to bring some life and a bit more integrity back into management. In the last two weeks, three out of the four employees have either simply walked away or put in their two weeks notice. This leaves (in about a week) one part timer and an owner that is occasionally in on a Saturday.

The employee that was heading the proposed buy-out is now exploring options to open a shop in the Marietta/Smyrna area. He would be bringing at least one other long-term BMW staff with him, probably more. He is estimating 6-12 weeks before opening.

The employees do appreciate all of our customers. We have had our hands tied with all of the inventory issues, the shipping issues, and the incredible institutional inefficiency. The new store will take most of the good things that were in place in BMW, fix most of the more serious issues, and offer the services that BMW was known for 3 or 4 years ago. We know how much our service has slipped in the last 2 years or so, but there was not much that the employees could do while being out of 2-row, extract, and/or US-05 most of the time and being given information that was nowhere near reality. I still believe in the business, but it sometimes seems like the employees are the only ones who still do.

As of now, we are still open, but not operational. No employee has access to the code of the website, so we can't make a statement on there. I frankly expect us to be officially out of business on Monday.

When the new LHBS is nearly opened, the announcement will be made on HBT. If the thread still is up at that point, I will post here as well. In the meantime, I really have enjoyed helping you as much as I could, and I hope that some of the customers will at least give us the opportunity to let us serve them. Thank you all for being customers in the past, and I look forward to having some of you as customers again.

Sam
Brewmasters Warehouse

Sorry to hear that. I wanted to like the place, but every time I visited, it felt like walking into a going out of business sale. I hope you guys are successful in opening up a new shop.

 

[cyanmonkey]

I use them, although shipping is a little more. If I order one day, I will have it the next. Great customer service as well.

Rebel or BMW?

 

[pointcity-homebrew]

Rebel or BMW?

Rebel

 

[Disintegr8or]

I knew this day would come.

I placed my last order with BMW April 2013. It took them almost 10 days to get it to me back then (american wheat recipe plus US-05 hardly anything uncommon)

After spending hundreds, probably thousands of dollars with them, I sucked it up and started driving 75 minutes to my "LHBS" instead. They more than appreciate my business.

 

[BigFloppy]

A new LHBS, with or without BMW's employees, will likely be undistinguished without BrewBuilder.

BrewBuilder functionality is easy enough to replicate and expand on so it can take a BeerSmith or other recipe file

 

[tdiowa]

I too have probably spent thousands of dollars with them. I mainly stayed with them because I always bought my recipes in bulk so timing was not a issue. I finally gave up last fall and began buying supplies at Homebrew Shop 30 minutes away.

After reading all the positive reviews I made my first purchase with Rite Brew last week. They have basically a striped down all in one bag function which is nice for your recipes. I ordered on Friday morning and was shipped by noon.

Arrived on Monday. Will be using them again.

May even start my on thread on Rite Brew.

TD

 

[douglasbarbin]

I too have probably spent thousands of dollars with them. I mainly stayed with them because I always bought my recipes in bulk so timing was not a issue. I finally gave up last fall and began buying supplies at Homebrew Shop 30 minutes away.

After reading all the positive reviews I made my first purchase with Rite Brew last week. They have basically a striped down all in one bag function which is nice for your recipes. I ordered on Friday morning and was shipped by noon.

Arrived on Monday. Will be using them again.

May even start my on thread on Rite Brew.

TD

I use them a lot and they are excellent. Good prices and great service. They are my go-to online shop now.

 

[schoolhouse]

I am sorry to hear this also. However, If anyone needs a LHBS in the Marietta come check out. www.schoolhousebeer.com on Whitlock Ave.

 

[ram5ey]

Does schoolhouse keep hops cold? I hate how few shops in ATL don't keep all their hops cold.

 

[fuzzybee]

BMW was closed today for "unforeseen circumstances". The sign on the door indicated they'd be back open Monday. Shelves were virtually empty inside.

 

[EHV]

Looks like I'm going to be out 40 bucks on a 2 month wait. Classy move on his part.

 

[cyanmonkey]

Looks like I'm going to be out 40 bucks on a 2 month wait. Classy move on his part.

Could be a potential class action suit if someone decided to pursue it.

 

[Gringo_Bandito]

I stopped by on Saturday to ask about my order since nobody replies to emails or answers the phone. I saw a sign on the door that "Due to unforeseen circumstances" the store was closed for the day. I plan to stop by Monday to get my order cancelled.

This is sad for me because as a local, I have always been able to place an order online and pick it up in store then next day at the latest.

 

[shetc]

Could be a potential class action suit if someone decided to pursue it.

Good luck - the lenders, suppliers and lawyers get first dibs; if there is anything left (doubtful) then the employees and customers might get something.

 

[cyanmonkey]

Good luck - the lenders, suppliers and lawyers get first dibs; if there is anything left (doubtful) then the employees and customers might get something.

Class actionable, not particularly worth it.

 

[mikerunsmountains]

I've had the same experience with BMW as pretty much everyone else. I stick with LHBS, MoreBeer or Northern Brewer now.

 

[IslandLizard]

Looks like I'm going to be out 40 bucks on a 2 month wait. Classy move on his part.

Again, this was voiced several times before, contact your credit card company and request a charge back.

A few years ago I had an issue with an eBay purchase that was never shipped. After going through the eBay and PayPal rigmarole of filing a "claim" and waiting for over a month for a "resolution," it yielded absolutely nothing more than 2 canned replies, without resolving the issue. I then suddenly realized I had used my CC for that purchase, not my attached bank account.

A 3 minute call to Discover got me full credit, instantly. No questions asked, no other proof necessary. He said "is this regarding that PayPal charge?" Done!

 

[IslandLizard]

Class actionable, not particularly worth it.

Not large enough case for class action, besides, only attorneys stand to gain from that, consumers not so much.

As the owner, Ed should be held responsible for business misconduct and fraud. That's a punishable offense. Charging upfront with no intention to send the merchandise off.

 

[jbb3]

I stopped by on Saturday to ask about my order since nobody replies to emails or answers the phone. I saw a sign on the door that "Due to unforeseen circumstances" the store was closed for the day. I plan to stop by Monday to get my order cancelled.

This is sad for me because as a local, I have always been able to place an order online and pick it up in store then next day at the latest.

+1

After a wasted trip, I took my BMW recipe list (logo and all) to BrewDepot. They were glad to see me and filled my order right away.

Such a shame...

 

[broadbill]

Good luck - the lenders, suppliers and lawyers get first dibs; if there is anything left (doubtful) then the employees and customers might get something.

+1...as I mentioned in my post I was trying to purchase a burner which is shipped direct from Bayou Classic. When I spoke with Ed, he mentioned that "he could either get it shipped in 1-2 days, or not at all"...this leads me to believe he owes his suppliers money as well. I know Bayou is still in business and shipping product. Just not to Eddie-boy.

 

[IslandLizard]

+1...as I mentioned in my post I was trying to purchase a burner which is shipped direct from Bayou Classic. When I spoke with Ed, he mentioned that "he could either get it shipped in 1-2 days, or not at all"...this leads me to believe he owes his suppliers money as well. I know Bayou is still in business and shipping product. Just not to Eddie-boy.

Yeah, that was probably the reason why his stock was always low, his supply lines had dried up. Most wholesalers/distributors will not extend credit for more than a month. After that, it's COD.

It's a sad case, and many consumers will lose their money. So go get those CC charges reversed ASAP. Don't wait!

 

[Gringo_Bandito]

+1

After a wasted trip, I took my BMW recipe list (logo and all) to BrewDepot. They were glad to see me and filled my order right away.

Such a shame...

I like the guys at Brew Depot. I work fairly close to there so it's not too bad to hop over there on my lunch break. Still, BMW was way more convenient for me.

 

[Newsman]

The few times I shopped at BMW, it was because you could get amazingly cheap shipping in Georgia. That being said, there is a local HBS about 30 minutes away that I use for most of my supplies (mainly yeast. I mainly do cider these days.)

 

[itsme_timd]

Brew Depot is great, I'm in Woodstock so it's not exactly close but I've yet to need an ingredient they didn't have and they are all super helpful there.

Someone on one of the local forums said they went by BMW on Saturday and there was a sign on the door saying they were closed. I haven't heard yet if that's permanent, but it seems to fit with what we've heard here.

 

[broadbill]

Brew Depot is great, I'm in Woodstock so it's not exactly close but I've yet to need an ingredient they didn't have and they are all super helpful there.

Someone on one of the local forums said they went by BMW on Saturday and there was a sign on the door saying they were closed. I haven't heard yet if that's permanent, but it seems to fit with what we've heard here.

It permanent by the sounds of it; its just Ed playing some more games. Just like he is playing games by removing posts and tweets. Some guy last week asked him on Twitter if BMW was closing and that tweet has mysteriously disappeared. NOTHING has been mentioned on social media about this? Weird.

 

[Gringo_Bandito]

I'm headed over there in a little while. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

 

[Pappers_]

NOTHING has been mentioned on social media about this? Weird.

Except our little bit of brewing social media here.

I'm seconding the advice above about contacting your credit cards for any outstanding purchases - this is by far the best approach and most likely to get you your money back.

Businesses go out of business all the time, and its almost always sad and usually messy. Its easy to make a moral issue of it, but I think that's usually a mistake. It's enough to be sad for former customers, employees, and owners. And hope for better times for all of them.