Hey everyone, I'm looking to start buying my ingredients online considering I'm a large distance away from any decent places to buy from. I wanted to get opinions on good places to buy from! Thanks advance for all opinions!
Online Shopping for Brewing Supplies
- Thread starter Dlax006
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Northern Brewer and Midwest Supplies are good and pretty popular. They are both semi-local stores to me and I have mail-ordered from them as well as bought in their store. Always good product. Like when I buy yeast there, it has usually been produced within the last few weeks.
Those are the only ones I have bought from aside from my LHBS.
Those are the only ones I have bought from aside from my LHBS.
Same here,aside from JW Dover,local to me,midwest & NB are the top sellers in this part of the country with great quality of ingredients & service. Hands down.
travisnd
Well-Known Member
I've used KegConnection a few times with great success. I usually shop around and noticed they have some of the best prices and lowest shipping cost!
I always find it interesting that Fed-Ex home delivery is the cheapest shipping option,second only to USPS. And they're faster than delivery time projections everytime for me. And always in top condition.
Gameface
Well-Known Member
Austin Homebrew Supply and MoreBeer! are big online retailers. I've had good experiences with both. Heads-up if you use MoreBeer!'s "MoreSaver" shipping don't expect it to ship for a full 4 days after the day you ordered it, not counting weekends. I typically get my stuff from them 10 days after I place my order. The quality of their stuff is great and their packaging is overkill x2.
I've gotten stuff from midwest & NB in as little as the second day after ordering! Usually,4-5 days projected,delivered in 3-4 days. But could be due to the fact that I'm in Ohio & they're in MN. Not that far to go,& the hubs for all are in Cleveland around Hopkins International Airport over in Brookpark.
zeg
Well-Known Member
I bounce between Midwest Supply and Austin Homebrew Supply. Both have been good to me, and I find that the to-the-door price is always pretty similar, despite their different shipping charge methods. Unless I'm making a big order, I don't bother doing a side-by-side price comparison any more, I just decide whose website I feel like using.
Austin has a nice feature of mixing your grains into a single container (for up to like 10 batches per order) if you want to do it that way. The only downside is that they charge a higher per-ounce price for < 1 pound quantities of grains, so if you thought you'd reuse the leftover grains later, it's very slightly cheaper to order by full pounds (but we're talking like 30 cent savings, not really something to worry about).
Austin has a nice feature of mixing your grains into a single container (for up to like 10 batches per order) if you want to do it that way. The only downside is that they charge a higher per-ounce price for < 1 pound quantities of grains, so if you thought you'd reuse the leftover grains later, it's very slightly cheaper to order by full pounds (but we're talking like 30 cent savings, not really something to worry about).
Austin Home Brew and Farmhouse Brewing Supply are the 2 I use most often. Farmhouse's flat rate shipping is $9.99 but they make up for that with their hop prices (0.85 per oz of Cascade!). From Wisconsin my flat rate order arrived in Ohio in 2 business days.
stevehardt
Well-Known Member
I've had very good luck with Midwest. Great selection, good customer service, wide variety of kits, and clear instructions
I have had better success with NB than Midwest. And I have order at least 6 times from each. Midwest forgot to ship my yeast when I have ordered before - that was a headache. They also don't ship automatically with a cool pack and don't give an automatic option to add a cool pack to a kit. You have to separately search for it. I ordered once in the high 70s. Then 6 days later we had a heat wave and the package arrived at 99 degrees, no cool pack and sat on my doorstep all day. Lets just say that the yeast kick started after about 60 hours. Pretty peeved. NB automatically ships with a cool pack in the summer. My only Q for NB is that they don't seem to like White Labs as much - not automatic yeast option for a kit.
rs4life
Well-Known Member
jgaepi said:
I like MW's customer service, the sent me a brand new regulator(still leaks but less than the last one) and a shipping label to ship the other one back, although i have yet to do that and its been like two months. Also they couldnt figure out the problem with their email system so two orders in a row i received no tracking info or anything. Needless to say i am sticking with NB for a little while until MW has some new kits.
Gitmoe
Well-Known Member
I ordered an a all grain kit and a couple of other things from Midwest, ordered on a Friday and it was sitting on my kitchen table on Tuesday, and shipping is reasonable .
If you order from them make sure they include the free how to DVD. a lot of good info on it.
If you order from them make sure they include the free how to DVD. a lot of good info on it.
Calichusetts
Well-Known Member
Midwest's customer service is top-notch. I forgot two grains in my order one night...called them the minute they opened the next day (literally open for 2 minutes) and they had already packaged my order. I told them I really didn't want to pay another shipping fee for two grains, they told me they would see what they can do.
The next morning, both orders were on my porch. They overnighted both orders and charged me a $5 flat rate. You can't beat customer service like that. They've gone out of there way a few times for me and they have my loyalty.
The next morning, both orders were on my porch. They overnighted both orders and charged me a $5 flat rate. You can't beat customer service like that. They've gone out of there way a few times for me and they have my loyalty.
If you are in CT or NY I recommend Love2Brew.com
I also like Midwest and NB, but love2brew has a great selection and because they are close I get their free shipping within a day or so. NB doesn't get me my supplied for at least 5 Business days with their discounted shipping option.
I also like Midwest and NB, but love2brew has a great selection and because they are close I get their free shipping within a day or so. NB doesn't get me my supplied for at least 5 Business days with their discounted shipping option.
adamjackson
Well-Known Member
I continue to use Midwest. Their prices and shipping times have been a bummer. Their shipping prices are also quite high.
However, their support is A+. They've done some really cool stuff for me and always make any issue right. I love their service so I keep shopping there.
However, their support is A+. They've done some really cool stuff for me and always make any issue right. I love their service so I keep shopping there.
zeg
Well-Known Member
Just curious, but compared to whom? I have seen this said a few times, but whenever I've compared order prices, the differences have been negligible---even including shipping. Am I just placing strange orders that somehow insulate me from these bummers?
adamjackson
Well-Known Member
No, I don't think you're wrong. In fact, I'm sure it's just my perception. The only time I mail order things is from Apple.com (free shipping over $25) or Amazon ($79 a year for prime so free 2-day shipping)
So, when I buy things from midwest, I'm always astonished by how much the shipping is and it'll take 3 days to package my grains (2 weeks to mill last time I ordered grains) and another week to ship and I'm getting charged $50-$75 in shipping.
I am always totally blown away by that.
Northern brewer seems cheaper on some things and their site is much easier to navigate. For me, I just wait until Midwest has a promo code for 10% off then order everything I need all at once so my orders tend to be $400+ for each order.
There are some homebrew supplies on Amazon but most aren't free shipping. they're sold by midwest or Nbrewer and shipping costs the same as their site.
ReverseApacheMaster
Well-Known Member
I've been happy with brewmasters warehouse. They were out of an item I just ordered and offered to ship everything else. I told them just to hold the order until the item came into stock later this week. Otherwise all my orders have been very smooth and shipped quickly. Unfortunately it seems they have raised prices a bit but they are maintaining $6.99 shipping and 10% off recipes when you use their brew-builder on the website.
zeg
Well-Known Member
Ah, well, my orders are generally a lot smaller (rarely more than about $75), so that may have something to do with it. The shipping charges are usually $15ish, and I don't qualify for free shipping elsewhere anyway, which cuts down on the difference.
I didn't experience long waits for grain, it seems like every order I've placed has taken about the same amount of time (2-3 days before shipping, about 5 days total to get here, so a Monday order gets here on Friday, I think). It doesn't seem to make much difference what I order, but it's only been 3 or 4 orders. My quantities are low, though, so again that may be why your experience has been different.
The only problem I've had was when they left out a strip thermometer. I talked to someone through their online tool and they reasonably quickly shipped one out, though just by first class mail. I would say that experience was fair---not spectacular service, but certainly not bad.
adamjackson
Well-Known Member
yeah, I don't want to jinx my service. I've received free 2 day shipping on a $200 order, free carboys, siphons, tubing and random 15% off codes given to me via the chat without me even asking for them. Their Twitter people have responded within minutes and I get calls every time a part is delayed with a promise to get the part out to me ASAP when it's back in stock. I'm not used to a company calling me when something is backordered. They've been terrific!
I'm in way northeast so it's usually a Monday order, 3 days processing and I get it the following Friday. That and shipping charges are hard.
IF you call midwest supplies and have all of your part numbers ready, you usually get a better shipping rate than online.
I've only used Midwest. I ordered my first group of newbie stuff from there... then placed an order 2 weeks later. Both times the packages arrived 2 days later... one was even on a saturday. I've talked w their customer service because they started the rewards program after I orderd about 180 worth of stuff. The guy actually gave me credit for the order so I have about 25.00 in rewards waiting to be spent... hoping to use it towards kegging stuff.
adamjackson
Well-Known Member
https://www.midwestsupplies.com/pages/midwest-supplies-rewards-program.html
HOLY CRAP! Looks like it started 2 weeks ago. That's awesome. Just when I'm about to do another big order.
Midwest has the best catalog, the best website, and the best selection.
I compare all others to Midwest before ordering, they seem to set the prices.
I always do large orders with them due to the price of shipping.
Brewers Warehouse's recipe builder with the 5%-10% HBT coupon code is my go to for ingredient kits.
But their website kinda sucks when it come to navigation.
More Beer has great sales and good overall prices. I will not buy ingredients again from them though, their grain crush sucks.
Niko is my one stop shop for hops, get on his mailing list and you can get bulk hops in 1lb bags for under $10 where others are selling hops at $2 an ounce.
I don't like Northern Brewers prices; they tend to be higher than Midwest so I just go with Midwest.
I have bought hardware from these guys and have had pleasant experiences with them:
Bargain fittings
Brewers hardware
Home brew stuff (also on ebay and amazon)
AHS (sale items only)
beverage factory (also on ebay)
I compare all others to Midwest before ordering, they seem to set the prices.
I always do large orders with them due to the price of shipping.
Brewers Warehouse's recipe builder with the 5%-10% HBT coupon code is my go to for ingredient kits.
But their website kinda sucks when it come to navigation.
More Beer has great sales and good overall prices. I will not buy ingredients again from them though, their grain crush sucks.
Niko is my one stop shop for hops, get on his mailing list and you can get bulk hops in 1lb bags for under $10 where others are selling hops at $2 an ounce.
I don't like Northern Brewers prices; they tend to be higher than Midwest so I just go with Midwest.
I have bought hardware from these guys and have had pleasant experiences with them:
Bargain fittings
Brewers hardware
Home brew stuff (also on ebay and amazon)
AHS (sale items only)
beverage factory (also on ebay)
For customer service, prices etc Midwest hands down. Austin has flat rate shipping and I prefer their kit style when ordering. Northern, I think, sucks both for prices and shipping. Midwest sent me someone else's hop order once. Called the mistake in and they overnighted his order. Good reps. Insofar as cheap shipping that has to due with bulk and contracts. Midwest has fedex and Austin uses ups
I LOVE Austin Homebrew Supply. They have flat rate shipping, great quality ingredients and equipment as well as having fantastic customer service.
flipfloptan
Well-Known Member
Votes for Austin Homebrew and Brewmasters warehouse. Great service, great shipping. Have used NB in past but not a fan of the new direction they are going. No flat rate shipping and prices did not go down with new shipping rates. They seem to be moving towards brick and mortar business with their rapid expansions.
Funny this thread is here.. I just placed my first order a few days ago. It was with Northern Brewer. I liked their website and the ease of ordering. I wish Austin Homebrew had a better website. Pricing was basically the same on AHS, NB and MW for the stuff I was getting (about $180 total with shipping). Unfortunately, my order arrived today, and the 7.9gal fermentation bucket I ordered showed up as a 6.5gal. I sent a note to their customer service online, but after they left for the day... I'll post back and let you all know how it worked out.
Calichusetts
Well-Known Member
Yes...good news indeed. I will basically eliminate my shipping charges with this program. Very cool on their part.
WileECoyote
Well-Known Member
DME Mart.com is a great place for ordering Dry Malt Extract in bulk, 4 bags=12 lbs or 6 bags=18 lbs at a time, Ted the owner is very helpful, and you can mix up what kinds of DME you want in your order, just send him a email right after you place your order on line, and tell him what you want in your order, and thats what will show up, very very fast and some of the best service I have ever had.
Cheers
Cheers
Why wouldn't they have you tell them what you want WHEN you order? Why the e-mail?
Just checking back with regards to NB customer service. They answered my e-mail promptly and as it turns out... the bucket is 6.5 IMPERIAL Gallons which is 7.9 US Gallons...
Silly metric measurements!!
Happy to be brewing next weekend!
Silly metric measurements!!
Happy to be brewing next weekend!
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