NB - still working?

[Snuffy]

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.

 

[toxdoc49]

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.

 

[toxdoc49]

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.

 

[Snuffy]

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.

 

[Mr. Vern]

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!!

 

[mac_1103]

They couldn't charge over 36% so they refused to do business.

At the risk of veering into politics outside of the debate forum, wasn't that sort of the point of the legislation? The enterprise is predatory almost by definition, so regulate them out of existence.

 

[Broothru]

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.

 

[Snuffy]

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.