NB Beer Kit Guarantee

chipaway 2012-08-24 15:05:53 UTC #1

Northern Brewer is so confident in the quality of our beer kits, we’ll replace any kit, any time, no questions asked.

http://youtu.be/bFM4wUFWEa0

tonyc318 2012-08-27 05:53:47 UTC #2

Forget the beer kit guarantee. Give us back the flat rate shipping.

schlemazl 2012-08-27 18:27:14 UTC #3

@tonyc318: ditto

bord 2012-08-27 18:30:17 UTC #4

Ditto here, too. Really a shame.

wallybeer 2012-08-27 23:04:03 UTC #5

NB might not have any questions but i would like to ask what the unknown problems were with the kits you bought ? Did you order other products or just a kit ?? Please give some info. ???

tj218 2012-08-27 23:22:41 UTC #6

Bring back flat-rate and actually lower prices. Instead prices went up on hops and kits plus the shipping charges. While NB has great, top-notch customer service, I don't value it enough to pay a premium+ for stuff that you can get significantly cheaper at a LHBS or other online vendors.

BTV got me into homebrew and for that I will be thankful as I love the hobby. But these changes make it tough to continue to be a customer.

transambison 2012-08-28 17:50:25 UTC #7

I have to agree with the above sentiments. I was loyal to NB before...but I think I will start shopping around. The flat rate shipping was nice, and it encouraged bigger orders. I have yet to see where it made prices on anything else lower...

tonyc318 2012-08-28 19:33:23 UTC #8

Crazy thing is, it's still cheaper to order from NB then to drive close to 2 hours to shop "locally". And that same "local" shop is still more expensive ordering online than NB. I'm most likely still going to order from NB, but I compare a couple of AG kits I recently bottled. They cost 56 cents a bottle. If I order the same to kits and get the same amount of bottles, it's up to 64 cents a bottle. That adds up over time and I'm a broke minister.

tj218 2012-08-28 20:05:05 UTC #9

2 hours stinks to drive to another LHBS. But even then, there are other sites that are as reputable as NB, there are other options out there, some of them look good too. I wouldn't have bothered to browse them if it weren't for these prices increases.

nick_of_pa 2012-08-29 01:17:58 UTC #10

I wish I had made a big order a week ago. Time to look around with the flat rate shipping gone AND higher prices they will lose biz and probably become a has been in a few years when someone else comes along.

edward_teach 2012-08-29 01:31:43 UTC #11

be you all nay-sayers. they are a BUSINESS. things change in business, especially with local shops popping up all over the place. I will still support NB. 2 hours away (with other shops closer) and they're my LHBS.

marty 2012-08-29 03:09:28 UTC #12

I think there is some confusion on the kit prices, pretty sure the old catalog was recipe only price, the newest catalog prices include the dry yeast and priming sugar by default

you have to subtract about $5 from the new price to really compare it to the old price

flip 2012-08-29 12:39:40 UTC #13

:cheers: They are closer than that for me but they get all my business. Others can feel free to shop around and use other places, after I did so I ended up keeping all my business at NB. Great staff, excellent support and a huge supporter of home brewers.

I'm kind of glad to see flat rate shipping gone. There is no way around they had to cover all those shipping costs some how, couldn't make that happen without building it in to the price of their products. Sure it is a ton simpler for them to have their markups on products without considering that they may have pad it against the shipping cost.

brick1083 2012-08-29 13:10:45 UTC #14

In my 6 years of brewing, I've never purchased anywhere else, but with the flat-rate shipping gone, I'll certainly be shopping around. Who knows, maybe I'll find NB is still the best option. Maybe not.

tonyc318 2012-08-29 16:57:40 UTC #15

I still find NB to be one of the best shops out there. I will continue to support them and order from them because they do offer great service and great quality. Really, they are very competitive still even with more expensive shipping costs.

tj218 2012-08-29 20:12:11 UTC #16

No, even on the website for just the kit (no yeast or sugar) the prices are up. Hop prices too.

marty 2012-08-29 21:02:55 UTC #17

Comparing from some of my old orders to what the website is giving me now:

Last 2 times I bought Dead Ringer, All grain crushed was $30.50 (latest 6/30, but also back in February)
Now if I pull up Dead Ringer on the website, select no sugar and no yeast, it's $25.45

AK47,All grain crushed was $17.99, now $14.75

Dry Irish Stout, All grain crushed was $19.99, now $20.45 so it's up 46 cents
Caribou Slobber looks like it went up about 50 cents as well

5# of Rahr 2 row crushed, was $9.20 on my 6/30 order, now it's $6.25
1# of English Dark Crystal crushed, was $2.30 now $1.99

Hop prices are up, but maybe that's because of the predicted prices for the 2012 crop. Grain prices seem down. Extract seem unchanged (but extract kits are slightly up due to hop prices increasing)

shadetree 2012-08-29 21:13:47 UTC #18

Please don't bring facts to this discussion, especially if they conflict with the opinions!

edward_teach 2012-08-29 21:45:46 UTC #19

did Lemmy tell you to say that? was it his mole?

shadetree 2012-08-29 21:55:59 UTC #20

Lemmy told me to stay clean, go over the top, and not rest until Hammersmith, but nothing about a mole.