NB - still working?

Homebrew Talk

Help Support Homebrew Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I usually tolerate the HB spam and delete them after a glance. I've caught a couple of goodies in there before. Discounts codes, BOGOs, etc.
 
This fall I started getting email from a has-been major department store chain. The unsubscribe wouldn't work and required a sign on. The password recovery wouldn't work either. I suspect someone used my email because its happened a few time (one signed me up for TV service and even paid the bill, one used me as the recovery account for another email service.) Customer service wouldn't help and it eventually got escalated to someone in the CEO's office after I told them they had a week to remove me or I'd file a complaint with the attorney general. We went a few rounds and it didn't stop so I asked Chat GPT to write me a cease and desist letter. Within a week I had confirmation I'd been removed from all their lists.
 
I made the mistake of leaving an item in my shopping cart. I started getting daily emails from them saying, "Your cart looks lonely". Daily.
It is a common practice for ecommerce sites to remind you that there is something left in the shopping cart. In turn, it's a common practice for shoppers to either order the items or empty the cart.

Seems silly to trash talk NB for something that's a common practice. But, as they say, "you do you".

Next I followed a Google link to NB for a yeast that I wanted specs on.
Next time, find the yeast lab link. You will get the most current information and less tracking.

I use firefox for general browsing
Windows 10 + Firefox + uBlock Origin works well for me.
 
It is a common practice for ecommerce sites to remind you that there is something left in the shopping cart. In turn, it's a common practice for shoppers to either order the items or empty the cart.
Sorry, but I disagree. I have items in my cart at a number of sites and this is the first time I've ever been hounded to address them. An occasional reminder wouldn't be so bad but a daily occurrence is over the top. Most sites do honor their unsubscribe option but NB's link is non-functional (web page errors). And their own people were unable to shut it off. They have issues.
 
I've used the tactic before when I know I want something to put it in a cart registered to my email address and wait a few days. Half the time I get a 5% off discount code or free shipping.

I don't even bother marking things as spam anymore. I just view the emails I want to view and every few months sort by unread and delete the couple thousand emails that pile up.
 
.. looks like today's winner of "embrace and extend the internet" will go to shoengine ...

I've used the tactic before when I know I want something to put it in a cart registered to my email address and wait a few days. Half the time I get a 5% off discount code or free shipping.
:yes:

I don't even bother marking things as spam anymore. I just view the emails I want to view and every few months sort by unread and delete the couple thousand emails that pile up.
:yes: (although I tend to delete the 'junk email' every couple of days).
 
Sorry, but I disagree.
That's fine.

I've worked on e-commerce sites in the past.

In my experiences in the industry (ecommerce sites) it's a common practice for ecommerce sites to remind you that there is something left in the shopping cart.

There's another e-commerce site concept (A/B testing) that, so far, no one seems to have noticed on the various sites (NB, MWS, AIH, AHS). I haven't gone looking for it yet - as I'm waiting for the large number of "out of stocks" (and prices) to decline.
 
I've been seeing a lot of ads for N B lately. The more someone has to advertise the less likely I am to buy.
 
Had $10 worth of Rewards at AHS (NBs little step brother) and decided to order a kit and use it up. Of course, all the European Clones are "Sold Out", so I put a White Shield together from scratch. It arrived in 5 days just fine but with a note scrawled on the Pick Ticket "IYA09 will ship later". O...k. How soon is later? It's not a huge deal cause I'm not brewing this immediately, but now I'm in foot tap mode watching the mailbox. I guess I should have just used the Notty I keep on-hand, but I wanted to try Imperial Pub. I wonder if the liquid yeast gods have heard me rooting for dry and now I get the finger...
Got a response from AHS today regarding my missing Imperial Pub yeast. It's expected by the end of the week and then will ship. They offered to let me pick something else but I opted to wait. I assume this is an issue for all 3 sites - NB, AHS and AIH. Hope this stuff is worth the wait. And I hope it doesn't freeze solid during shipping. Cold AF around here now.
 
Something I mentioned up thread is putting items in the site's wish list, if they have one. Not sure if NB does, but some others do. It helps me keep track of stuff I'll probably need later.

My Amazon list has stuff that's been sitting there for a year. I should probably clean some of that out, and pull the trigger on a few things I do want.
 
I like to add items to my wish lists and I make a note of the current price. This lets me keep track of the price fluctuations and decide if I am ready to buy. Sometimes I keep track of the number of reviews to see if I can catch a "batch" that is good or bad.
 
Got a response from AHS today regarding my missing Imperial Pub yeast. It's expected by the end of the week and then will ship. They offered to let me pick something else but I opted to wait. I assume this is an issue for all 3 sites - NB, AHS and AIH. Hope this stuff is worth the wait. And I hope it doesn't freeze solid during shipping. Cold AF around here now.
Well. Still no Pub yeast from AHS. End of last week was the expected arrival of re-supply, but I have heard nothing. Sent my second WTF? message yesterday. No response yet. I hope they send me another survey about service.
 
Well. Still no Pub yeast from AHS. End of last week was the expected arrival of re-supply, but I have heard nothing. Sent my second WTF? message yesterday. No response yet. I hope they send me another survey about service.
Ok. Last inquiry to AHS about the IYA09 Imperial Pub yeast drew no response. It's now shown as "Sold Out" on the site but was not so when I ordered it on Jan 10th. Probably could have propagated my own from bottle dregs by now. Sent another "lil help here" message via the contact page. Not being a d*ck about it, I know stuff happens, just requesting some guidance as to whether it truly exists or is merely an illusory concept intended for frustration only. I guess I'm going for refund or credit now. Not sure I want to be hooked back in for more by a $15.99 credit tho.
 
Ok. Last inquiry to AHS about the IYA09 Imperial Pub yeast drew no response. It's now shown as "Sold Out" on the site but was not so when I ordered it on Jan 10th. Probably could have propagated my own from bottle dregs by now. Sent another "lil help here" message via the contact page. Not being a d*ck about it, I know stuff happens, just requesting some guidance as to whether it truly exists or is merely an illusory concept intended for frustration only. I guess I'm going for refund or credit now. Not sure I want to be hooked back in for more by a $15.99 credit tho.
Sounds like a chargeback situation.

edit: Do give them a 2 day warning or something; chargebacks are a PITA for vendors. They should bend over backwards to refund the yeast if they're thinking straight.
 
Sounds like a chargeback situation.

edit: Do give them a 2 day warning or something; chargebacks are a PITA for vendors. They should bend over backwards to refund the yeast if they're thinking straight.
I may just wait it out. I've looked around and everybody (that I've checked) is backordered on the Pub yeast and most styles of the Cellar Science dry as well. Maybe it's just a supplier thing. I just picked up some S-04 from Morebeer to use instead. I'll live I guess. Sooner or later I wanna try the Pub tho. I have had orders where a vendor was out of something before - but they contacted me before filling the order and asked if I wanted to remove it or substitute. Never had a vendor just fill it 1 item short and leave me hanging. Communication is the bit that keeps a situation like this from becoming a relationship breaker. If you keep me posted, I can hang. If you leave me confused and trying to drag details out of support, I'm not camping happy. I'm sure the volume of orders makes keeping up with this stuff a full-time job for somebody. If not, it should be. If I walk into a LHBS and they ignore me, I'm outta there. This feels like that. Except I already paid.
 
I started homebrewing in about 2008. Haven't brewed in about 7 years and am getting back into it to feed my creative side.

Back then I got EVERYTHING from Northern Brewer. They had a good youtube channel, good gear, good ingredients etc.

I am well aware of Chip, Dawson, Jake moving on etc but today I was on Northern Brewer's site and they're basically out of stock of every all-grain recipe kit.

Is NB still in business and I just happened to catch them at a bad time or are they basically a zombie company and I need to find a new retailer?
I saw the same thing over the last few days. There were literally almost no all grain 5 gallon IPA kits. I've never seen it like that on the NB site. I am wondering what is going on there. I never saw it like that before on their site.
 
I saw the same thing over the last few days. There were literally almost no all grain 5 gallon IPA kits. I've never seen it like that on the NB site. I am wondering what is going on there. I never saw it like that before on their site.
In Maryland you may want to check out Maryland Homebrew on the west side of Baltimore. Chris still seems to be making things work, and she has a strong fan base. Sad news is that Annapolis Homebrew has shuttered the doors. If you're near the central part of the state, check out The Flying Barrel. It's a good store, right next to Monocacy Brewing which is the main brewery for Brewer's Alley restaurant in downtown Frederick. The 'Barrel has been my go-to LHBS for 25+ years, and will continue to be so as long as James can keep the doors open. I know Monocacy Brewing and he have a bit of a mutual support relationship. The 'Barrel has a successful brew-on-premises setup, and Monocacy has local brews available at the brewery with live entertainment on the weekends. Worth a visit to check it out.
 
here were literally almost no all grain 5 gallon IPA kits.
Reminder: NB/MWS/AIH/AHS has a new owner as of Sept 2024.

At the moment, I see 11 of 32 kits in stock. I scanned the list of kits in stock and kits out of stock. I'm surprised that some of the "out of stock" kits are still being listed.

It may be that "they" have chosen to focus on delivering the most popular kits while providing mechanisms (e.g. "add to wish list") to track slightly less popular kits.

Feel free to quibble about the definition of "literally almost no". IMO, "literally almost no" is much much lower than 11 of 32.

  • 1738361227894.png
 
Last edited:
Support local, of course, but Bobby & BrewHardware are the jam.
For those in the upper midwest, there's also RiteBrew, Farmhouse Brewing Supply (HBT sponsor), and HomeBrew Ohio (HBT sponsor).

For those along the west coast, there's Williams Brewing (HBT sponsor) and a couple of other online stores that are mentioned over in /r/homebrewing.

For those in other regions, what's your 'go to' online store that provides a combination of good prices and fair shipping costs?
 
Reminder: NB/MWS/AIH/AHS has a new owner as of Sept 2024.

At the moment, I see 11 of 32 kits in stock. I scanned the list of kits in stock and kits out of stock. I'm surprised that some of the "out of stock" kits are still being listed.

I have never understood the concept of "Out of Stock" as it relates to beer kits. Every ingredient on the futzing recipe sheet is available on the site. Is it impossible for someone to measure out grain in a plastic bag, stuff it in a box and then toss in a couple packs of hops and yeast at the time the order is received? Do the ingredients require proximity and shelf time to be considered a unit? Are the kits picked by robots that can only grab a kit as a single box with a barcode on it? I guess it's possible I am trying to apply common sense where it doesn't apply, but that just seems ridiculous to me.
 
I have never understood the concept of "Out of Stock" as it relates to beer kits. Every ingredient on the futzing recipe sheet is available on the site. Is it impossible for someone to measure out grain in a plastic bag, stuff it in a box and then toss in a couple packs of hops and yeast at the time the order is received? Do the ingredients require proximity and shelf time to be considered a unit? Are the kits picked by robots that can only grab a kit as a single box with a barcode on it? I guess it's possible I am trying to apply common sense where it doesn't apply, but that just seems ridiculous to me.
I agree 100%. If they do show out of stock then just make up an order of what ever was in the recipe. I just went to their site and the Blue Moon was out of stock, but they give kit instructions stating all the ingredients. 🤷‍♀️
 
Communication is the bit that keeps a situation like this from becoming a relationship breaker. If you keep me posted, I can hang. If you leave me confused and trying to drag details out of support, I'm not camping happy.
Totally agree, and this applies for any merchant. Had a bad experience a couple years ago with some furniture. I love the furniture, but the experience with the delivery and a post-delivery service call makes me hesitant to ever do business with that company again.
 
I agree 100%. If they do show out of stock then just make up an order of what ever was in the recipe. I just went to their site and the Blue Moon was out of stock, but they give kit instructions stating all the ingredients. 🤷‍♀️
I build the clone kits that AHS says are "Out of Stock" all the time on their site - and other sites. Of course, they were never listed "Out of Stock" when AHS was actually in Austin and run by sensible beer-loving locals. As soon as they became just another portal to NB, the entire European Clone catalog went dark. I just build the kits from the recipes I still have and Bob's your Uncle. ( :)always wanted to use that term). Usually slightly cheaper too. Of course, with AHS you have to do some research into other clone recipes to find out what the bittering hops should be because of their annoying "HBU Packs" phenomenon. I try not to use mystery hops if I can help it, but those recipes can make great beer.
 
I build the clone kits that AHS says are "Out of Stock" all the time on their site - and other sites. Of course, they were never listed "Out of Stock" when AHS was actually in Austin and run by sensible beer-loving locals. As soon as they became just another portal to NB, the entire European Clone catalog went dark. I just build the kits from the recipes I still have and Bob's your Uncle. ( :)always wanted to use that term). Usually slightly cheaper too. Of course, with AHS you have to do some research into other clone recipes to find out what the bittering hops should be because of their annoying "HBU Packs" phenomenon. I try not to use mystery hops if I can help it, but those recipes can make great beer.
I was looking at Farmhouse Brewing and they used the hop packs also. I emailed them and asked what they were and to my surprise they wrote back and let me know what hops they used. Pleasant surprise.
 
I build the clone kits that AHS says are "Out of Stock" all the time on their site - and other sites. Of course, they were never listed "Out of Stock" when AHS was actually in Austin and run by sensible beer-loving locals. As soon as they became just another portal to NB, the entire European Clone catalog went dark. I just build the kits from the recipes I still have and Bob's your Uncle. ( :)always wanted to use that term). Usually slightly cheaper too. Of course, with AHS you have to do some research into other clone recipes to find out what the bittering hops should be because of their annoying "HBU Packs" phenomenon. I try not to use mystery hops if I can help it, but those recipes can make great beer.
Your post just reminded me of the color catalogues all the mail order beer suppliers used to send out to customers. What was that, maybe 15 years ago? I'd lust for those babies, just like teenage boys in the 50s who couldn't wait for the next Sear's catalogue.

Anyway, I'd pour over those catalogues (the beer ones, not the Sears ones) trying to decide what wonderful elixir I'd try next. I swear it was those adverts that got me hooked on this hobby all those years ago. Somehow the Interweb sites just are as 'tactile' or engaging. (Uh, still talking about the beer catalogues, BTW).
 
Is it impossible for someone to ...
Impossible to do so? no.

Like I said above: It may be that "they" have chosen to focus on delivering the most popular kits while providing mechanisms (e.g. "add to wish list") to track slightly less popular kits (that are marked out of stock).
 
Last edited:
I was looking at Farmhouse Brewing and they used the hop packs also. I emailed them and asked what they were and to my surprise they wrote back and let me know what hops they used. Pleasant surprise.
I think usually it's just hops they need to move that will work as substitutes for bittering. I have never made bad beer using them, but I am more interested in trying to get as close as I can to a clone style by using the traditional hops. If your recipe is for something generic like "Summer Fresh IPA" I can see going with any bittering hop because there is no standard to measure that against, but if you're trying to clone something like Saison Du Pont, the traditional ingredients would seem important.
 
Last edited:
In Maryland you may want to check out Maryland Homebrew on the west side of Baltimore. Chris still seems to be making things work, and she has a strong fan base. Sad news is that Annapolis Homebrew has shuttered the doors. If you're near the central part of the state, check out The Flying Barrel. It's a good store, right next to Monocacy Brewing which is the main brewery for Brewer's Alley restaurant in downtown Frederick. The 'Barrel has been my go-to LHBS for 25+ years, and will continue to be so as long as James can keep the doors open. I know Monocacy Brewing and he have a bit of a mutual support relationship. The 'Barrel has a successful brew-on-premises setup, and Monocacy has local brews available at the brewery with live entertainment on the weekends. Worth a visit to check it out.
Thanks. I've been to The Flying Barrel and they do usually have the supplies I need. I suppose it is just a matter of convenience (i.e. laziness) to me, ordering from supply houses. I know you can re-create/modify any of the recipes that are listed and are 'out of stock.' Didn't know about Maryland Homebrew, will have to look into that.

Also I forgot about Kettles and Grains in Leesburg. They seem to have good supplies and brewing ingredients. You can also brew onsite but do not know the cost for that.
 
I have never understood the concept of "Out of Stock" as it relates to beer kits. Every ingredient on the futzing recipe sheet is available on the site. Is it impossible for someone to measure out grain in a plastic bag, stuff it in a box and then toss in a couple packs of hops and yeast at the time the order is received? Do the ingredients require proximity and shelf time to be considered a unit? Are the kits picked by robots that can only grab a kit as a single box with a barcode on it? I guess it's possible I am trying to apply common sense where it doesn't apply, but that just seems ridiculous to me.
Totally agree. To add to that, they used to separate the grain bill for me if I asked, and don't do that anymore (well maybe some supply places do). Never understood that either. Just gets back to the point you made about order the ingredients separately.
 
I may just wait it out. I've looked around and everybody (that I've checked) is backordered on the Pub yeast and most styles of the Cellar Science dry as well. Maybe it's just a supplier thing. I just picked up some S-04 from Morebeer to use instead. I'll live I guess. Sooner or later I wanna try the Pub tho. I have had orders where a vendor was out of something before - but they contacted me before filling the order and asked if I wanted to remove it or substitute. Never had a vendor just fill it 1 item short and leave me hanging. Communication is the bit that keeps a situation like this from becoming a relationship breaker. If you keep me posted, I can hang. If you leave me confused and trying to drag details out of support, I'm not camping happy. I'm sure the volume of orders makes keeping up with this stuff a full-time job for somebody. If not, it should be. If I walk into a LHBS and they ignore me, I'm outta there. This feels like that. Except I already paid.
AHS emailed today. Apparently they will get no Imperial Yeast in until late Feb due to a "packaging issue" at the Imperial facility. They wanted to know if there was something I would want instead or would I wait. I requested the Omega 016 Extra Special that Bobby M suggested (Thanks for that) a few posts back. His price was 7 bucks cheaper than AHS, BTW, but I need to close this order out and move on. With great prices like that, shipping is not such a big deal.
 
Last edited:
I did not realize NB and companies were handed off yet again, I guess when you have your best year the iron is hot for selling. $34M in 2023 revenue seems high to me.

J&P is owned by Western Capital Resources who I will not be supporting (Consumer Finance Div. is a predator).

Taken directly from their 2020 form 10K, "On November 3, 2020, Nebraska voters passed a ballot initiative that limits all fees charged by payday lenders in Nebraska to an annual interest rate of 36%. In anticipation of such passage, we ceased writing new payday loans in Nebraska in late October 2020 and closed all Nebraska loan centers by year end."

They couldn't charge over 36% so they refused to do business. Read that again and ask yourself if you want to support this company.

As Sir Anthony Hopkins eloquently said in Legends of the Fall.... Screw Em!!
 
Thanks. I've been to The Flying Barrel and they do usually have the supplies I need. I suppose it is just a matter of convenience (i.e. laziness) to me, ordering from supply houses. I know you can re-create/modify any of the recipes that are listed and are 'out of stock.' Didn't know about Maryland Homebrew, will have to look into that.

Also I forgot about Kettles and Grains in Leesburg. They seem to have good supplies and brewing ingredients. You can also brew onsite but do not know the cost for that.
I just went down to Maryland Homebrew today to get two packages of Jaspar Yeast Kolsch. Good thing I had Waze/Maps on my IPhone. They’ve moved in the 3-4 years since I last visited. Good news, they seem to be doing O.K., and still had me in their system and gave me a discount.
 
AHS emailed today. Apparently they will get no Imperial Yeast in until late Feb due to a "packaging issue" at the Imperial facility. They wanted to know if there was something I would want instead or would I wait. I requested the Omega 016 Extra Special that Bobby M suggested (Thanks for that) a few posts back. His price was 7 bucks cheaper than AHS, BTW, but I need to close this order out and move on. With great prices like that, shipping is not such a big deal.
Got the Omega Extra Special yesterday. I think it's the first time I've bought Omega yeast. I'm impressed. This packet is the size of an old Readers Digest. I may skip the starter and just direct pitch this thing. OG for this 5 gal batch is only 1.058.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top