North Country Malt Group to stop selling to homebrewers

[Austinhomebrew]

The problem was people comparing homebrew store prices with the place that homebrew stores buy the grain. Can't compare. You should buy from where you get the best deal.
Homebrew stores marking up grain from thier cost is not gouging.
/summary

Forrest

 

[Airborneguy]

My closest HBS wants $65 a sack of Maris and that is WITH my club discount. No, I think I'll get it from NCM for $40 shipped to my town.

Any chance of a North Jersey bulk buy soon?

I'm hoping to have a location in a month or so, but for now, nothing.

 

[smokinghole]

I hope none of you guys smoke cigars. They're all marked up at least 40%. I know you all drink beer. That stuff has some serious markups, and distilled spirits....whoa man.

My HBS sells Muntons MO for $70 a sack. It's more than what I could have bought MO at NCM for but I'm not going to cry about it. I already figure making the brews I do I'm saving cash over buying the professional equivalent. I buy my pound here and there of specialty malts there because that I don't buy in bulk. So for the convenience of the large yeast selection, hop selection, specialty malt selection and anything else I could almost want at the store, I'll support them. I know some of you guys have a ****ty HBS near you with a poor selection and high prices but HBS are not Walmart. They do not have the buying power to make $.05 on each unit and remain profitable as a business.

I know that the two HBS that I frequent one gets a weekly shipment of supplies through LD Carlson I do believe. If I ask for a sack of grain he puts it on his order list and it comes in. The other store buys in a larger quantity but I'm not sure they order 42 sack pallets. Besides unless I did a pallet group purchase a sack of Muntons MO from NCM was like $40 plus like $25 or so shipping. So I save $5 to not support my local HBS which doesn't seem worth it to me.

 

[jezter6]

The problem was people comparing homebrew store prices with the place that homebrew stores buy the grain. Can't compare. You should buy from where you get the best deal.
Homebrew stores marking up grain from thier cost is not gouging.
/summary

Forrest

I don't think most people understand how much grain the HBS buys and just assumes that they're getting some 4000# or 8000# discounts marks for buying so much. They're assuming that if we're getting it for $30/bag that the HBS must be getting it for $20 or less.

I'm sure you wouldn't be able to give out your numbers (that and you're not the normal "LHBS"), but I think most people would be truly astonished to see the amount of grain going in and out of a store and markups on most items.

 

[Bobby_M]

My motto is to go ahead and markup as high as the market will bear. Gouging can only really be done on an essential item that no one has alternative source for.

 

[jeffmeh]

My motto is to go ahead and markup as high as the market will bear. Gouging can only really be done on an essential item that no one has alternative source for.

Agreed. If the buyer does not like the price, do not buy. If the seller does not like the offer, do not sell. That is how markets work, and how prices are set. Unless, of course, the government screws it up by setting prices or creating monopolies.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

I think the error comes when people assume that since they can buy the grain at cost they assume homebrew stores get it for less than cost. And anyone charging over cost is gouging. There are also people that think that because I give free shipping I must get free shipping from UPS.

Forrest

 

[pickles]

This thread reminds me of that song that Lambchop sings

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

\
It cost me 70 cents a pound to ship grain. I ship it to you for free if you order over $100. It already is a loss leader for me at $1.15 per pound.

Forrest

So if I buy two 50lb bags of grain, it costs you $70 in shipping. So with the free shipping you are just getting about $15-25 a bag for the grain. I don't see how you can continue doing that with those kind of losses.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

So if I buy two 50lb bags of grain, it costs you $70 in shipping. So with the free shipping you are just getting about $15-25 a bag for the grain. I don't see how you can continue doing that with those kind of losses.

It is a loss leader. When you give away shipping, the heavy but inexpensive items are a drain. It all works out but a slim margin.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Frankly, I wouldn't sell full sacks at a bulk price if I have to do more than point to it on the floor over there.

This does seem to be at least a small issue, IIRC Austin Homebrew sells their 'bulk' grain in 40 lb sacks that it appears they have to bag (maybe they buy the 100kg 'sacks'?). When I buy from NCM (or Midwest) I get a 55 lb sack that appears to have come from the maltster.

I like the set-up lamarguy mentioned earlier itt. That's a nice option to have.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

I tried selling 55 pound bags and they didn't sell well. I found a good sturdy box and it ended up holding 40 pounds of grain. Now the 40 pounders sell really fast. When you place an order we open a bag weigh out 40 pounds and put the 15 pounds left over in the bin we pull from to put recipes together. The 40 pounders are not made up in advance and it is the freshest grain we have in the building.

Forrest

 

[CMG]

The Country Malt Group which includes both Mid Country and North Country has purchased Brewcraft. Both locations will continue to sell to homebrewers and/or clubs if they are existing customers, new customers will be directed to BrewCraft.

Long & Short of it, if you have placed orders in the past you can place orders in the future. Nothing for you has changed except you will need to call or email your orders in.

 

[jturie]

My LHBS is run by a great guy, a serious AG brewer who caters to the AG crowd. He will sell me a 55lb sack at minimum markup and then will mill the grain for me on-demand. I just weigh out what I need, drive 25 minutes, and he mills it up. Since I usually need yeast, hops, crystal, etc., I have to drive there anyway. Oh yeah, his shop is 2 minutes from Victory Brewing, so I grab my growler and eat lunch at the pub. It's all good.

Even if his price is 50 bucks a sack, I'm saving a ton by not having to buy a grain mill.

He gets my support.

 

[speedyox]

The Country Malt Group which includes both Mid Country and North Country has purchased Brewcraft. Both locations will continue to sell to homebrewers and/or clubs if they are existing customers, new customers will be directed to BrewCraft.

Long & Short of it, if you have placed orders in the past you can place orders in the future. Nothing for you has changed except you will need to call or email your orders in.

This is true. I placed an order this week and specifically confirmed that I could order in the future.

 

[TheMan]

This is true. I placed an order this week and specifically confirmed that I could order in the future.

Sweet, thanks for confirming this.

 

[Reelale]

This is true. I placed an order this week and specifically confirmed that I could order in the future.

Of course, it's true. Straight from the horse's mouth so to speak. CMG = Country Malt Group, headquartered in Champlain, NY.

 

[northernlad]

I ordered 50lbs of DME from them a few weeks back and the web page was not freindly to homebrewers. Finally, I had to call them on the phone and ask them to take my order.

This kinda blows since my local brew store sells the same DME at 5X the price.

Price, Selection, or Service. You can't have all three.

 

[robtotten]

I just (as in last night) ordered four pounds of hops from them. It was my first order. Guess I made the cut!

 

[kornbread]

I'm waiting on a couple of 55 lb sacks from our club's pallet order ($35 - $39.)

I still go to my LHBS and get specialty grains, yeast, hops, etc. I spend a ton of money there each year. I'm sure I'm paying at least 100% mark-up and I'm OK with that because I want the guy to make a buck and be in buisness the next time I need some supplies.

However, I don't buy my base malts from them in bulk because they are just too damn expensive. Every time I've checked he's charging $75 - $79 per sack.

As far as North Country is concerned, I don't have a problem with them not selling to homebrewers if it's because they don't feel it's profitable for them to package and ship small orders.

But, if it's because of pressure from home brew supply shops.... that would really suck! And I personally would never shop at any store that I knew had a part in closing this source of supplies to the homebrew community.

 

[millstone]

OK, so getting back to the original post wondering if North Country will sell to homebrewers. I called in my order to the So. Holland IL location for pickup later that day... No problems. I did talk with the Cust Serv Manager at the warehouse and I also called NY and both said they will continue to sell to current homebrewer customers. The warehouse manager who carried the 55lb sack to my car, (I like that kind of customer service) also said that they sell grain in smaller quantities thought the warehouse, as small as 1lb. Have to look into this. So I'm happy.


tom

 

[Clayton]

for the love of god people stop calling them to ask if you can order 1 sack of grain! are you trying to pester the crap out of them 4 of 5 people in this thread alone have call and there are threads just like it on many other beer sites.

 

[Brewdouche-RuBrew]

If anything atleast NorthCountry knows they have a loyal homebrew customer base

 

[grathan]

I say keep pestering. Maybe they will reinstate so us newer brewers can get in on the action.

 

[blizz81]

I know some of you guys have a ****ty HBS near you with a poor selection and high prices but HBS are not Walmart.

Hmm....there's still room in those Walmart stores...

 

[smokinghole]

Hey! I said that.

I'd still rather a mom/pop LHBS like I got. I think the original founders started it as a wine making supplies shop and expanded into beer when that became legal. I am lucky to have them nearby.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

Thanks for supporting homebrew stores, any homebrew store.

Forrest

 

[visitor]

The local shop is convenient for me. I typically by all my supplies except for bulk grain there. I was purchasing all my bulk grain from NCM and they do rock! I could get a 55lb sack of Maris Otter for $57 delivered to my door at the two local home brew shops they were asking $83-87 for the same thing and I still had to expend gas and time on top of that. I considered switching to all 2-row to save money and buy locally but I couldn't justify the local pricing of $69-79 for 50lbs of 2-row.

I heard that one of my local shops has sourced some good 2-row and is selling it in the $40-50 range so that will likely be my next sack of base malt unless I need Maris Otter for my recipes.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

The local shop is convenient for me. I typically by all my supplies except for bulk grain there. I was purchasing all my bulk grain from NCM and they do rock! I could get a 55lb sack of Maris Otter for $57 delivered to my door at the two local home brew shops they were asking $83-87 for the same thing and I still had to expend gas and time on top of that. I considered switching to all 2-row to save money and buy locally but I couldn't justify the local pricing of $69-79 for 50lbs of 2-row.

I heard that one of my local shops has sourced some good 2-row and is selling it in the $40-50 range so that will likely be my next sack of base malt unless I need Maris Otter for my recipes.

To be fair did you ever ask the LHBS if they could match the price or come close?

I had the local homebrew club spend thousands of dollars elsewhere and they didn't even ask if I could match. I would rather make $5 and keep the warm fuzzies than have them go elsewhere. Let the LHBS say no without beating them up. Your quote may be at or below their cost. You can't expect them to sell below thier cost. Just give them the opportunity though. And don't expect them to lower thier regular price permenantly. They have to make a living.

Forrest

 

[visitor]

To be fair did you ever ask the LHBS if they could match the price or come close?

I had the local homebrew club spend thousands of dollars elsewhere and they didn't even ask if I could match. I would rather make $5 and keep the warm fuzzies than have them go elsewhere. Let the LHBS say no without beating them up. Your quote may be at or below their cost. You can't expect them to sell below thier cost. Just give them the opportunity though. And don't expect them to lower thier regular price permenantly. They have to make a living.

Forrest

I haven't asked recently. When I asked at one of the stores I thought I was going to get shown the door, he seemed very defensive, I gathered he had answered that question many times over. Needless to say I don't usually shop there any longer. The other store politely explained that was the best price he could offer at this time. Since then he's found a way to purchase sacks and sell them for around the $40-50 mark which is fair and works for me! I do NOT expect anyone to not cover their costs just work with their customers to meet their needs.

Glad my local homebrew shop rocks but I am also glad to have some options (NCM / online stores) when the local shop can't come through or I want something they can not or do not stock.