NB - still working?

[BrewnWKopperKat]

PE shouldn't buy high service specialty providers. They'll ruin them every time.

Consider looking beyond NB to find regional-based online stores (or other national online stores) that provide the products and services you're looking for.

It is likely that every region of the US has a RiteBrew (WI region) or a Brew Hardware (PA region & tagging @Bobby_M).

And each region in the US likely has a number of additional HomeBrewTalk sponsors (e.g. Farmhouse Brew Supply, Home Brew Ohio?; sorry, not aware of other HBT sponsors in the PA region).

It looks like you are in FL.

If there isn't a "RiteBrew" or a "Brew Hardware" in your region, raise the question in a fresh topic. It's likely that there are regional (to you) online stores that currently are not getting enough online attention at HomeBrewTalk. And those regional stores are likely to deliver the service you are looking for at a price that is beneficial to you and to them.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

via an /r/homebrewing topic; screenshots from the SC governor's web site - link.

 

[day_trippr]

Bizarre.

 

[matt_m]

https://gardenmediagroup.com/client...erations-with-acquisition-of-northern-brewer/

 

[matt_m]

Atlantic Brew Supply might be a good option for Florida.

https://www.atlanticbrewsupply.com/


Moving to a new warehouse though lol.

 

[Yesfan]

Another Northern Brewer acquisition? Man, how many does this make now?

 

[matt_m]

From Wikipedia:

Today, Jackson & Perkins is a division of Jackson & Perkins Park Acquisitions, which is a subsidiary of publicly traded Western Capital Resources.

https://westerncapitalresources.com/

 

[MaxStout]

A friend just passed this along to me. If a Reddit thread is to be believed...

 

[jschein]

A friend just passed this along to me. If a Reddit thread is to be believed...

Yeah they had a job recruiting last month in SC per their jobs board

 

[BongoYodeler]

Looks like I won't be seeing my order anytime soon.

 

[johnsonpvb17]

Yeah they had a job recruiting last month in SC per their jobs board
View attachment 857405

 

[johnsonpvb17]

After 50+ years in that business, warehouse moves are generally a disaster, but they eventually get ironed out.

Purchase from bean counter Private Equity to a private business operator is a definite +++.

Good news for me, now that NB has moved to Hodges, SC, this makes them very very local for my purchases.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Looks like I won't be seeing my order anytime soon.

Well 15 days after placing my order I finally received word that it shipped. Seems the order was being held up due to one of the eight items I ordered being out of stock. After an email exchange they will ship the back-ordered item separately once it's back in stock. Oh, and everything is shipping from their new warehouse in South Carolina.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Well 15 days after placing my order I finally received word that it shipped. Seems the order was being held up due to one of the eight items I ordered being out of stock. After an email exchange they will ship the back-ordered item separately once it's back in stock. Oh, and everything is shipping from their new warehouse in South Carolina.

And it just keeps getting better....

 

[MaxStout]

I love the "You're seeing what customer service agents would share with you."

In other words:

 

[Yesfan]

And it just keeps getting better....

View attachment 857881

Man, that sucks. Sometimes, I just want to say screw it and cancel when orders keep going that way. I ordered an ARB air compressor for my Jeep a few years ago when all the supply chain issues were going on. It seemed it took forever for me to get it. I almost cancelled that order and would have if was just that retailer and not everyone else that was having issues.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

Vote with your money. Cancel the order, tell the credit card company to reverse the charge, and order from someone else. Lost revenue a smart business understands. Otherwise your just a statistic in their long list of key indicators telling them they need to do better.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Vote with your money. Cancel the order, tell the credit card company to reverse the charge, and order from someone else. Lost revenue a smart business understands. Otherwise your just a statistic in their long list of key indicators telling them they need to do better.

I would have, except NB is one of the only places in the US I can find that sells First Gold hops, and the only place I've found that sells them by the ounce. I plan on brewing a small test batch of Bitter and need less than an ounce.

 

[Yesfan]

I would have, except NB is one of the only places in the US I can find that sells First Gold hops, and the only place I've found that sells them by the ounce. I plan on brewing a small test batch of Bitter and need less than an ounce.

I'm with John D. I would cancel my order and then go with a First Gold substitute myself.

 

[BongoYodeler]

No, the First Gold hops are the main reason I'm re-brewing this recipe to begin with. I really don't want to cancel the order, even though I admit it's frustrating. But this may very well be the last time I order from them, so I'll still be voting with my (future) wallet.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

background: most /r/homebrewing topics are 'done' after they fall off the 1st or 2nd page of "new" topics. PSA: Northern Brewer et al. sold and moving to S. Carolina : Homebrewing (link) is 7 days old, on page 5 of 'new' topics, and still delivering interesting insights.

After 50+ years in that business, warehouse moves are generally a disaster, but they eventually get ironed out.

In your experience, how long (it's a range, not a single number) is eventually?

---

Personally, I like competition for my hobby money.

I hope that NB, under new ownership, will to return to being competitive for
1) commodity products (base malts, ...),
2) 'value added' products (kit recipes, ...),
3) 'innovative' products (like 'Flash Brewing') and
4) order fulfillment.

 

[BongoYodeler]

And it just keeps getting better....

View attachment 857881

Finally arrived, 22 days after placing my order. NB had my order for 15 days, (shipped out a day after I sent an email I sent inquiring on status), before they shipped it, and it then took an additional 7 days to arrive via UPS Ground from their new warehouse in SC to my home in CA. As a comparison, the last time I ordered from MoreBeer my order was at my front door 22 hours after I submitted it. Granted, it only had to travel 4 hours or so.

 

[Snuffy]

Finally arrived, 22 days after placing my order. NB had my order for 15 days, (shipped out a day after I sent an email I sent inquiring on status), before they shipped it, and it then took an additional 7 days to arrive via UPS Ground from their new warehouse in SC to my home in CA. As a comparison, the last time I ordered from MoreBeer my order was at my front door 22 hours after I submitted it. Granted, it only had to travel 4 hours or so.

I sense the slow-working mechanics of evolution at play...

Hard to go for that timeframe again. You're talking hauled-over-the-Rockies-on-a-mule-train kinda delivery times there.

 

[Snuffy]

wrong thread... sorry

 

[mashdar]

As a point of comparison, I ordered a "flash" kit from MoreBeer, and it arrived with the hops pack popped open. I submitted a "contact us" form, and 6 minutes later I got an apology and a $0 invoice for a replacement. And this shipment came from their new KS warehouse with no delays.

 

[Yesfan]

As a point of comparison, I ordered a "flash" kit from MoreBeer, and it arrived with the hops pack popped open. I submitted a "contact us" form, and 6 minutes later I got an apology and a $0 invoice for a replacement. And this shipment came from their new KS warehouse with no delays.

So you got a second flash kit at no cost?

 

[mashdar]

So you got a second flash kit at no cost?

No, just the hops. That's all I wanted - the rest of the kit was fine, but the hop pack had popped and the hops were scattered throughout the box. They smelled OK, but I'd hate for it to negatively impact the batch.

I figured wiritng at 6PM EST I'd get a reply the next day, but they must still do customer care in PST!

 

[Yesfan]

No, just the hops. That's all I wanted - the rest of the kit was fine, but the hop pack had popped and the hops were scattered throughout the box. They smelled OK, but I'd hate for it to negatively impact the batch.

I figured wiritng at 6PM EST I'd get a reply the next day, but they must still do customer care in PST!

I got excited for a minute there thinking you got a free kit. It's still awesome they done that though.

 

[Steveruch]

I would have, except NB is one of the only places in the US I can find that sells First Gold hops, and the only place I've found that sells them by the ounce. I plan on brewing a small test batch of Bitter and need less than an ounce.

Annapolis home brew has a good variety of British hops.

 

[mac_1103]

Got an email today saying that they've lowered the threshold for "free" shipping to $59. Probably not a coincidence that this matches MoreBeer's. I'm still not going to order from them unless it's something that's on sale and not time sensitive, but perhaps the new owners are attempting to make something of an effort?

 

[BongoYodeler]

Got an email today saying that they've lowered the threshold for "free" shipping to $59. Probably not a coincidence that this matches MoreBeer's. I'm still not going to order from them unless it's something that's on sale and not time sensitive, but perhaps the new owners are attempting to make something of an effort?

I got the same email. Note the "limited time only"

 

[mac_1103]

Note the "limited time only"

Not on the website FWIW.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

perhaps the new owners are attempting to make something of an effort?

Time will tell. In late Oct 2024, I'm optimistic.

Got an email today saying that they've lowered the threshold for "free" shipping to $59.

I didn't get that email (yet?). I have no recent on-line orders, so apparently "brick & mortar store" purchases didn't matter for the recent "email campaign" -- but what ever.

---

I noticed (about a week ago) that NB's shipping page was updated to reflect the warehouse move to SC ...

... because I'm curious if the new "NB (et al)" is willing to compete with MoreBeer.

At the moment (late Oct 2024), item prices (including items I can't find elsewhere) are still more than I'm willing to pay.

So I'm currently waiting for price/or and product availability to be "better" than MoreBeer.

And ("next level"), if NB becomes "better" than MoreBeer, they need to compete with the "regional" stores that I use.

When suppliers compete, both suppliers and customers (aka ... us) "win".

"Game On".

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

MoreBeer - Update October 2024: Our New Warehouse!

"Game On"

---

https://www.morebeer.com/about/warehouses

As the leading supplier for beer and winemaking supplies, MoreFlavor! is proud to offer a selection of over 20,000 products. We also serve a variety of industries with commercial processing equipment, hardware, and ingredients.

We're excited to announce that we're consolidating our warehouses into a single, state-of-the-art facility in Kansas City, to ensure fast shipping to the entire USA.

While shipping times to the coasts may be slightly longer, the good news is that we’ll soon be processing orders faster, which will keep overall delivery times to the coasts quite similar. Midwest delivery times will improve. Previously, managing nearly 20,000 SKUs across several smaller coastal warehouses created challenges, but with everything centralized in a new warehouse built for exactly what we do, we’ll have shorter processing times and no more split shipments from different locations.

As we approach our 30th year, we want to express our sincere gratitude to all of our customers. It’s been an incredible journey, and we couldn’t imagine being part of a better industry!

 

[Kirkwooder]

Well, this explains why they have next to nothing in stock. I used to love NB. Everytime I have ordered from them I would recieve my order within a couple of days. I haven't brewed in a couple of years and recently lost a lot of my brewing equipment to a flood. I wanted to brew a lager kit that they do to get back into brewing and went on the web site to order a few things and the kit, and was SHOCKED to see the have next to nothing in stock. I hope management at the new company is watching this thread and corrects the issues. I really do not care fore More Beer and the closest HBS is over 60 miles away.

 

[Broothru]

Well, this explains why they have next to nothing in stock. I used to love NB. Everytime I have ordered from them I would recieve my order within a couple of days. I haven't brewed in a couple of years and recently lost a lot of my brewing equipment to a flood. I wanted to brew a lager kit that they do to get back into brewing and went on the web site to order a few things and the kit, and was SHOCKED to see the have next to nothing in stock. I hope management at the new company is watching this thread and corrects the issues. I really do not care fore More Beer and the closest HBS is over 60 miles away.

I do like MoreBeer and have ordered much from them in the past 30 years or so. I ordered my first brew kettle from them (still have it), and I really liked when they opened the Pittsburgh facility a few years back. Less than 80 miles from my front door, with UPS and FedEx transshipment facilities less than an hour away. It was almost as fast as ordering from Amazon while living next door to a fulfillment warehouse.

Even though I grew up in K.C. and am happy to see MoreBeer open a facility there, I hate loosing their warehouse so close to where I’ve lived on the East Coast for 35 years. Hope they finally start selling all the different grains (Weyermann) that have been “out of stock” for so long.

 

[mac_1103]

NB is currently offering 25% off sitewide, free shipping on orders over $59 and guaranteed delivery by Christmas on orders placed by 12/17. Might have to place an order just so I can post some actual recent data in this thread to balance all of the ranting. The data wouldn't necessarily reflect well on NB, but it would at least be data.

edit - trouble is, I don't really need anything...

 

[BongoYodeler]

When MoreBeer had their California presence they were about 4 hours from me. When I'd order from them I'd usually get my order within 2, sometimes 3 days tops, and I once had an order delivered to my front door less than 24 hours from placing it. I have a current order with them at their new location that I placed two weeks ago.....still waiting. I'm willing to cut them some slack since they've recently set up in the new location, plus it is the holiday season and delays are inevitable. But if this 2+ weeks becomes the norm I'll be looking elsewhere.

 

[PCABrewing]

NB is currently offering 25% off sitewide, free shipping on orders over $59 and guaranteed delivery by Christmas on orders placed by 12/17. Might have to place an order just so I can post some actual recent data in this thread to balance all of the ranting. The data wouldn't necessarily reflect well on NB, but it would at least be data.

edit - trouble is, I don't really need anything...

I have some recent data for those interested.

Order for 1 sack of grain placed Saturday evening, 7-Dec.
Filled Monday morning before 1100 CST, UPS acknowledged possession of package at 1456.
Received UPS Ground at 1200 on 11-Dec. Three (3) business days.
I am satisfied with that timing.

Note: Order filled out of SC, I am in IL.

 

[Broothru]

NB is currently offering 25% off sitewide, free shipping on orders over $59 and guaranteed delivery by Christmas on orders placed by 12/17. Might have to place an order just so I can post some actual recent data in this thread to balance all of the ranting. The data wouldn't necessarily reflect well on NB, but it would at least be data.

edit - trouble is, I don't really need anything...

At the intersection of ‘wants’ and ‘needs,’ wants always seems to win, especially when the other side of the equation is ‘beer’ and ‘me.’