NB Beer Kit Guarantee

[quote=“Shadetree”][quote=“Edward Teach”]did Lemmy tell you to say that? was it his mole?[/quote]Lemmy told me to stay clean, go over the top, and not rest until Hammersmith, but nothing about a mole.[/quote]I think his mole is a home brewer.

I just received the new catalog in the mail yesterday. One thing that will help offset higher shipping prices for me is the fact that they are now offering to crush my grain for free (and it doesn’t look like the grain prices went up either).

I went back and totaled my last 3 orders with the new pricing and higher shipping. All three orders were a 12% to 14% increase, which is between $14 and $20 more. Some of the individual kits (i.e. Dead Ringer) went up 20%! Some only went up by $0.75. The thing that ruffles my feathers the most is that the highest price increases are the most popular kits; Dead ringer, Innkeeper, St. Paul Porter, and Irish Red for example.

I did notice that AG kits are somewhat cheaper because they’re no longer charging for crushing grains. I’ve not shopped any where else really. My LHBS has poor hours and isn’t in a convenient location. I’m still going to shop with NB but like others, I will be shopping around a bit more.

Luckily we have the kit guarantee to offset all price increases.

[quote=“mvsawyer”]Some of the individual kits (i.e. Dead Ringer) went up 20%![/quote]A previous poster said it went down $5. Are y’all buying different versions or something?

I don’t do AG but from what I can tell, the AG kits did go down. Extract kits went up.

I can break it down with facts :wink:
[All extract kits from an order on 7/10]
The Innkeeper Extract Kit $25.99
Witbier $26.50
Tonguesplitter $27.99
Schwarbier $26.99

New prices:
Innkeeper $29.75 [$3.76 increase 14.5%]
Witbier $26.75 [negligible]
Tongusplitter $31.75 [$3.76 increase 13%]
Scwharzbier $29.24 [$2.24 increase 8%]

The full order price was $134.21 with yeast and other equipment.
With new price and new shipping rate, the order comes to $151.07 [increase of 12.5%, $16.86]

Flat Rate Shipping made shopping N.B. a good option over some other sites… Time to start shopping around again.

Yep. Bummer… :cry:

I don’t do AG but from what I can tell, the AG kits did go down. Extract kits went up.

I can break it down with facts :wink:
[All extract kits from an order on 7/10]
The Innkeeper Extract Kit $25.99
Witbier $26.50
Tonguesplitter $27.99
Schwarbier $26.99

New prices:
Innkeeper $29.75 [$3.76 increase 14.5%]
Witbier $26.75 [negligible]
Tongusplitter $31.75 [$3.76 increase 13%]
Scwharzbier $29.24 [$2.24 increase 8%]

The full order price was $134.21 with yeast and other equipment.
With new price and new shipping rate, the order comes to $151.07 [increase of 12.5%, $16.86][/quote]

+1 Extract brewers are much better off looking elsewhere. Just place one last order for MO extract. :slight_smile:

It is a bummer. I hate playing the shipping game. Such a waste of time to shop around and fill an online shopping cart only to find out that the shipping kills the deal. After I found NB I bought there exclusively expect for a rare stop to the local shop, which is pricey.

However, I am SURE they were losing money on shipping. So I understand why they did it.

But it is just my nature to shop around for the best deal and the lack of fixed price shipping takes NB out of the automatic #1 spot

I don’t get it. Almost every other place I shop online offers FREE shipping, especially over a certain $$ amount. Maybe I’m living in the past, but I’m talking about things much heavier than some extract or grains. Appliances, Music Gear (drum set, heavy guitar amps, guitars, speakers), even heavy exercise equipment. What gives?

I don’t get it. Almost every other place I shop online offers FREE shipping, especially over a certain $$ amount. Maybe I’m living in the past, but I’m talking about things much heavier than some extract or grains. Appliances, Music Gear (drum set, heavy guitar amps, guitars, speakers), even heavy exercise equipment. What gives?[/quote]

Built into the price. You cannot stay in business by losing money on every transaction. They said they were lowering prices as the result of charging actual shipping costs, but that does not appear to be the case across the board

Ummmm…Did I click on the wrong link?

NB, who already provides lots of free things such as BrewingTV and this message forum (not to mention events at their stores, etc), is offering a no questions asked guarantee on their kits and then there are pages of whining about prices?

I like that NB is trying to be more than just a Wal-mart of brewing. For a store that offers so much, they still usually have the best prices and great service. I think this is a cool offer and a way to ease the anxiety while waiting to see how your brew turns out.

all the staff I have ever talked to has been nothing less than helpful. if I have to pay a little more for hops or my favorite kits, so be it. their customer service, both in store & interwebs, have been right where it should be: top notch. either stop complaining or buck up. complaining incognito on a message board might do you no good. write them a letter to vent your opinions.

The kit guarantee is especially nice for beginners. It also might sway some of us who formulate our own recipes to try some kits. As for shipping costs…gas prices being where they are it’s still cheaper for me to buy online. Perhaps NB should consider an NB prime membership that gives free shipping.

Forget the kits from anybody out there, buy in bulk and make up your own recipe and save some cash too.

After shopping around a bunch and trying to get things figured out with other suppliers, I still placed my order with NB. I am the one that originally complained about the flat rate being gone and while it’s still a little more expensive to ship to where I’m at, it’s worth it. NB is still very competitive with others prices. I will happily pay a few extra dollars knowing I will get my order in a timely manner, get great quality ingredients, and receive excellent service. So, to any NB employee reading this forum, sorry I complained about the shipping difference. Thank you for very fair prices and great service. I wouldn’t be into brewing if it wasn’t for NB!

Man, very big of you to post this

So, how does this guarantee work?

Anyone done this yet??

I brewed the ESB kit a little over a month ago. Followed the instructions as written.
I kegged it, and when I sampled it yesterday, I found it was very harsh and had an astrigent mouth feel…to the point, where I didn’t finish the sample I pulled from the keg.

At what point do I request a refund or replacement?

Do I give this more time and see if it improves??

[quote=“tommyhock”]So, how does this guarantee work?

Anyone done this yet??

I brewed the ESB kit a little over a month ago. Followed the instructions as written.
I kegged it, and when I sampled it yesterday, I found it was very harsh and had an astrigent mouth feel…to the point, where I didn’t finish the sample I pulled from the keg.

At what point do I request a refund or replacement?

Do I give this more time and see if it improves??[/quote]

If you just give us a call at 1-800-681-2739, or shoot an email to info@northernbrewer.com, we can give you a hand troubleshooting, or replace the kit if it comes to it.

I agree with Bad-brew. The shipping has sky-rocketed due fuel, labor costs, higher taxes, etc. You have not tried to ship anything lately if you bitch about NB’s shipping rates.

A premium members club would be nice at NB, but the cost per year would be a bit pricey if it included free shipping. I would still probably join since my last order was almost $200.00 in materials and $48.60 more in shipping. Don’t mis-understand, that’s really fair for what was ordered since I know how much shipping costs.

Brewing is something most of us love to do, NB is not making a profit off their shipping costs so get real, bite the Shipping bullet and BREW ON!