Northern Brewer and ship times

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Joe61

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I placed an order for an extract kit with Northern Brewer on 3/14.Never dealt with them before, but I have read good things about them. I selected the "I can wait flat rate" option. The website claimed: "Arrives between 03/22/17 - 03/24/17)"

On 3/15 I received an "update" on my order, but it didn't update anything. It only confirmed that I placed an order and indicated I would receive an email when the order ships.

It is not 3/20 and I haven't heard anything. If it doesn't ship today, it seems unlikely to arrive by the indicated date. At this point, I don't know when/if it will ship.

I am not up against any kind of deadline. It is simply that my decision to use this company and shipping method was based on the "arrives between" date I was given when placing the order. If they do not intend to meet that date, just let me know so I can explore other options.

I plan to contact them directly to see what the status is, but also figured I would ask here to see if this is typical. Is this normal for them?
 
Cancel your order and check out morebeer.com or go to Bitter & Esters in Brooklyn. For the cost of a subway round trip you can have your stuff today.
 
Must be a problem with the carriers and/or snow. I choose the "I can wait" $7.99 shipping and receive the order within four days.
 
Just called Northern and they claim the order is being prepped for shipment today. If so, that would put delivery within the promised window.

I may check out Bitter and Esters this week. Just realized my "location" reads NY, NY when I am actually on Long Island. The LHBS out here only carries "Brewer Best" kits, which I have not been terribly happy with. B&E would be a drive, but I can find some other things to do in Brooklyn. :) Always good to have options.


@flars - this isn't an issue with the carrier. It's been almost a week and my order still hasn't left Northern.
 
It seems their emails are sometimes behind. I've always received shipments within stated dates.
 
+1 for MoreBeer

Very fast shipping to NY

Ordered twice from NB and both times they took longer than expected to ship.
 
NB is the only online supplier I use. Tried a couple others....product prices and quality weren't as good as NB. The flat rate $7.99 shipping always seems to take about 5 days from MN to FL. No complaints from me, plus they have a great return policy and service dept.

Edit: some people here have a beef with NB because recently they were bought by InBev. So far nothing has changed as far as I'm concerned. JMO
 
Just called Northern and they claim the order is being prepped for shipment today. If so, that would put delivery within the promised window.

I may check out Bitter and Esters this week. Just realized my "location" reads NY, NY when I am actually on Long Island. The LHBS out here only carries "Brewer Best" kits, which I have not been terribly happy with. B&E would be a drive, but I can find some other things to do in Brooklyn. :) Always good to have options.


@flars - this isn't an issue with the carrier. It's been almost a week and my order still hasn't left Northern.

If you're near a shop, you could make your own recipies and save a little cash compared to a kit and the trip to Brooklyn. What county are you in?
 
If you're near a shop, you could make your own recipies and save a little cash compared to a kit and the trip to Brooklyn. What county are you in?

I'm on the Nassau-Suffolk border. I thought there was only one decent home-brew shop in the area. Just learned there is another good one 1 mile from my house. I ended up buying some things there this evening.

FWIW, I haven't received the promised shipping confirmation from Northern. So my order will not be shipped until at least tomorrow - 7 days after placing the order. It will almost certainly miss the far end of the stated delivery window.

Not the end of the world, but if they are that "busy" they should not provide unrealistic arrival dates. This experience will definitely make me think twice before ordering from them again. Will probably look to morebeer for my next online experience.
 
FWIW, I haven't received the promised shipping confirmation from Northern. So my order will not be shipped until at least tomorrow - 7 days after placing the order. It will almost certainly miss the far end of the stated delivery window.

Not the end of the world, but if they are that "busy" they should not provide unrealistic arrival dates. This experience will definitely make me think twice before ordering from them again. Will probably look to morebeer for my next online experience.

I have ordered from NB many times and have always used the 'I can wait' shipping option..I have ALWAYS received my order within the delivery window they say it will, so, if I were you, wait it out and IF your order doesn't arrive by the 24th then you can really complain. I would wager you will receive your order on Thursday the 23rd...I have always been happy with ordering from them and will continue to order from them.
 
I've placed close to 20 orders with NB and have NEVER had a shipment arrive past the estimated dates. That said, they will frequently cut it as close as possible.
 
"I can wait" means they wait 5 days to ship it. They really need to upgrade the shipping department. And on bulk malt it often takes 7 days before they ship, must be because it is a pain to handle and pack.
 
I have placed dozens and dozens of orders with NB - every one has arrived in the stated window I chose. I agree with some of the others..... you chose a window for delivery. That window has not arrived or passed yet. Seems premature to complain about not getting a shipment that was not slated to arrive yet. If it does not arrive in the window they promised - at that point I would contact them and see how they handle your concern.

I am not a big fan of the fact that they "sold out" to AB...... however, the fact remains - I have ordered stuff from them on and off over the last 20 years, and I have had nothing but consistently great service from them, and prompt attention to any shipping/product issues I have had a concern with.
 
Seems premature to complain about not getting a shipment that was not slated to arrive yet.

Point taken. It wasn't my intent to complain. I was more interested in finding out if NB was known for missing ship/delivery times.

What did turn me off was the response they gave me on Monday. Told me it was shipping that day, which would "just make" delivery in the promised window. It did not ship that day. They sent a confirmation when it went out the following night.

Today's notice shows it halfway across the country and estimated to be delivered on 3/27. Three calendar days late.

While posts here seem to indicate my experience is atypical, it still leaves me with a bad first impression. Eight days to put one extract kit in the mail seems excessive. I might have received more attention if I chose a different shipping method, but the cost is excessive.

This isn't necessarily a complaint... more an expression of disappointment after all the good things I have read. Why bother to shop online when delivery takes weeks and cost ends up being the same (or more) than a local (or other online) vendor?
 
I have never had an issue with a northerbrewer product, and the stuff always arrives on time.

That said, i have found better customer service and lower prices online with what I call my main three. ritebrew.com for ingredients, williamsbrewing.com for pumps and hardware, AIH for anything else.

i have probably spent 300 at northern over the past 3 years... (or more)

But get what you can from your LHBS, you stated they only carry BrewersBest kits, some of them I found to be perfectly acceptable, their imperial blonde is actually quite tasty.
 
Point taken. It wasn't my intent to complain. I was more interested in finding out if NB was known for missing ship/delivery times.

What did turn me off was the response they gave me on Monday. Told me it was shipping that day, which would "just make" delivery in the promised window. It did not ship that day. They sent a confirmation when it went out the following night.

Today's notice shows it halfway across the country and estimated to be delivered on 3/27. Three calendar days late.

While posts here seem to indicate my experience is atypical, it still leaves me with a bad first impression. Eight days to put one extract kit in the mail seems excessive. I might have received more attention if I chose a different shipping method, but the cost is excessive.

This isn't necessarily a complaint... more an expression of disappointment after all the good things I have read. Why bother to shop online when delivery takes weeks and cost ends up being the same (or more) than a local (or other online) vendor?

You might check again. I seem to get ship confirmation a day after they ship.

They'll probably refund you the late shipping.

Depends. It is possible they were in the process of making new extract. As far as shipping costs...anything is expensive to ship. I was looking at another company for some hops and yeast, their rate was over $10.

I would look local first. You might want to shop at NB because you like their kits. Or want a deal on a particular item.
 
I started with Northern Brewer 6 years ago. I bought an equipment kit and a few extract kits, I got quick shipping and good customer service when I had a faulty item. I then quickly got into buying my ingredients separately to save quite a bit of money.

I like to look at the Northern Brewer kit descriptions because they list the ingredients. I use these as ideas for putting together my own recipes now.

When I put together an order I go to several online sites and put everything into the cart. Then I compare the prices shipped. Sometimes the best way to get all that I need requires orders from a couple of places. Northern Brewer has not gotten an order for over 4 years, I always find what I want, cheaper elsewhere.

There are many options. I get most of my grains and hops from Farmhouse Brewing Supply.
 
I ordered from northern brewer last year during one of their sales of extract kits and my order wasn't even filled till the 8th day and took another 8 days to get delivered. I haven't ordered from them since and prob won't again. I'll support another business that values my time even if I have to spend a bit more to get what I need.
 
I have ordered several times from NB, and have no issues.

One time the order was late. They informed me of that, and gave me a $10 credit to use on a future order. I was in no hurry, just happy they told me what was going on and the credit was a bonus.
 
If you use there flat rate shipping you are going to have a long wait for your shipment. I live 90 miles away if i want to see it in less than a week you have to up the shipping. I have switched to buying from More beer and Williams and get my stuff with their flat rate shipping in less than a week. I stop in to NB and Midwest when in the twin cites, their stores and staff are great, their shipping sucks.
 
Liquid Yeast shipping is always an issue for me here in SC unless I get ($$) guaranteed 2 day delivery. Even then, and we are talking winter months, 2 days usually finds the polar pak completely thawed. I only use NB for non perishable items like Fast Pitch. Pretty much everything else comes from More Beer in PA which is very fast, flat rate shipping with a min order. For this very reason we are discussing (shipping process and prices) NB is really losing my business.
 
Yeah I have issues needing to pay extra to get stuff shipped faster. It should not matter, if they can't get stuff out any faster then they need new warehouse management.

That's the way it is in all business. Shipments are prioritized. Faster shipping, which costs more through any carrier, is first. If people need things faster they pay the extra. I used to pay for faster shipping all the time. Now I plan at least a week in advance and save some money.
 
It isn't the carrier choice, they take 5-7 days to get it out of the warehouse which is ridiculous! If I did that in my business I would be losing customers fast! 2 maybe 3 max to ship it is more the norm for most businesses! I am in MN and once they finally get it to USPS or UPS I see it the next day or the day after.
 
I have ordered from NB several times over the last couple years and have always been happy. The one time I had an issue they gave me a $10 gift card to rectify the price of the item and then some. I placed an order about a month ago on a Friday evening with plans to brew the following Friday or Saturday. I never received notice that it shipped until Thursday and of course did not arrive until Monday. Needless to say I had to postpone my brew day until the following week-end. Plus I don't like my yeast taking 4 days to arrive. I guess in todays customer service oriented market, I find it surprising that it took 4 business days to ship my order. Otherwise I think they have a good selection and fresh product at a fair price. Especially when they offer 10 -15% off promos or free shipping, which is often.
 
I ordered from them in past. A long time ago, I got a 10# bag full of weevils from there.

Otherwise, they've been okay.
 
I have used NB a # of times and my shipments have always arrived in the stated window. That being said my personal belief is that all in stock orders should ship out the next business day. The price determines the speed of the delivery companies service level not the speed of the warehouse. In any event I know NB's policy and accept it when using their flat rate shipping. Don't like the wait but pleased with NB overall.
 
The worst are the online stores that create and send you a FedEx tracking number the day you order... Then don't even begin to fill, let alone ship, your order for another week (or more).

If I have to buy brew supplies online, I typically look to more beer first since there essentially local and I'll get it in two days.
 
So... did the order arrive within the window or not? Don't keep us in suspense.
 
I only order from NB if my LHBS doesn't have what I'm looking for. Especially with hops or yeast, I prefer to get it locally if I can (and I usually can). If not, I'll often have the LHBS order it for me, since their turnaround times are about the same as NB's.
 
So... did the order arrive within the window or not? Don't keep us in suspense.

Sorry - I thought my last post answered that.

The order arrived the evening of 3/27, three calendar days after the last day of the window shown when I placed the order.

I did choose the "I can wait" option and I had no deadline/schedule to meet. Choosing a less expensive shipping option usually means longer ship times. What I did not like was:

-shipping option apparently meant a longer time to prepare the order for shipping. I think 8 days is excessive (one, in-stock extract kit).
- Shipping cost was relatively high. "Quicker" options were, IMO, very high cost. Especially since most of that premium seems to be for placing a higher priority to fulfill your order.
- Communication was poor. I received two order confirmations within 24 hours. Then nothing - except a daily barrage of promotional emails. I'm still trying to unsubscribe from their list.
- When I called after a week, I was told that the order would ship that day, allowing it to just make the far end of the delivery window. That information was wrong - it did not ship until the following evening.

I placed orders with other suppliers for other small equipment items after my NB order. None were shipped using and express method, but all arrived well before the NB order.

That said, I was very happy with the kit I received. It is currently in the fermentor.

On the plus side, the process caused me to find a new LHBS about 1 mile from my home. I also have one of their kits in a fermentor at the moment.

I am a frequent online shopper. For kits like this I will most likely stick with the local shop. Even with sales tax, it ends up being less expensive. Two weeks + is also outside of my personal "window" for remembering and keeping track of what I order online. :)
 
Sorry to piggyback but better a same thread than a new one, right? :)

I've only ever bought equipment from NB (all solid) but with the run on London Ale III I had to use them as the only place I could find it. That said, I'm really concerned on whether my yeast will even survive the trip b/c Texas is hot as balls as is most of the plains states I assume it'll drive through. Should I just cancel my order now? It hasn't shipped yet but it was apparently sent to the warehouse - I bought several packs in case but I'm worried if it's worth it. Anyone with relatively long shiptimes who've ordered yeast from them?
 
Edit: some people here have a beef with NB because recently they were bought by InBev. So far nothing has changed as far as I'm concerned. JMO

Do a search back through the archives here. A lot of guys have a beef with NB/Midwest Brewing because of a credit card security breach that happened a couple years ago. They publicly denied it was them for something like a month AFTER they knew it *was* their problem. And then instead of the retail industry standard "pay for credit monitoring for all affected customers for a year", they gave everyone a discount coupon. Basically, handled the situation as poorly as they possibly could have. THAT is why a lot of people have a beef with them... the sellout to InBev was just the icing on the cake.
 
As suspected, yeast was DOA here too - I even tried to cancel the order before it shipped out but the guy just said "it's already on the truck." Is that why I didn't get the shipping confirmation til the next day? Sounds like someone's getting hit with a chargeback fee.
 
Placed an order on July 1st and it is now July 13th and my order hasn’t even been processed.

Anyone have any other sites to order from besides these guys? My last order came 6 days late as well.
 
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