Price check

So I thought why not go to my local brew shop an buy my supply’s, Online it cost about $30 plus shipping to make 5 gallons batch. but at my store(Addison Homebrew Provisions) they wanted $40 for the same ingredients, So my question is why cant I shop online for better prices and why in the world would my local store charge $10 more.

You should definitely go with the lower prices online! NB does a good job of pricing competitively and flat rate shipping is good. That being said I like to throw a bone to our LHBS and here at least they are usually cheaper than NB…

Nb buys a lot of stuff in bulk I imagine…it’s like Walmart versus mom and pop shop :slight_smile:

Yes I like NB price’s and shipping cost what i don’t understand is why my local shop would charge $10 more for the same items. I’m better off ordering from NB and save time,money,driving expense.Thanks for the feedback

Also don’t forget that your LHBS pays to have those items sent to them. In addition, they only buy enough bulk to go through their supply. Those costs get passed on to you, the consumer.

The more you buy online the better deal you’ll get over your LHBS. If you buy one or 2 items chances are your LHBS is cheaper. And I agree, its nice to throw a bone to the LHBS every once in awhile. Makes those ‘oh shit’ moments easier to deal with.

I try to shop local when I can. My local stores are very competitive so it’s easy. I don’t mind paying a tad more for convenience.

I would love to support here locally but the LHBS here im my city just doesn’t have the selection. Actually they lack in a lot of areas.

Up here the LHBS isn’t local… about an hours drive… So I go to a brewery and by bulk grain, hops. And the smaller stuff comes from NB. I do some revamping of kegs fer brewing and Graingers SS fittings are twice what NB sells… Sneezles61 :cheers:

My LHBS is ~20 minute drive and is a bit more expensive than NB; $10 for a vial of yeast versus $7. If I just need the oddball missing ingredient, LHBS is cheaper due to no shipping, but once I get into enough to make a recipe, online usually wins. I feel horrible that I can’t support the small business more, but It’s not like I’m made of money here; every bit counts when you have a kid in college.

I’m even seeing some deals on Amazon; a couple seem more expensive on the surface, but free prime shipping makes them break even or get slightly better. I’m not likely to order liquid yeast “fulfilled” by Amazon though…

I find that for bulk grain my LHBS almost always beats online shopping due to shipping. His shop is not huge but good size and he buys pallet size loads. Hops wise I can get a much better deal online and in bulk than buying his one ounce packages so I do a little of both. One problem with kits is it is a package deal you might be able to get a better price on as separate ingredients from different sources.

If you buy a lot of supplies some LHBS will give you a discount. I get a small one at mine so if your guy is reasonable to talk to then ask him. Might be best when no one else is around because it might be a flat no if he thinks word will get out you can negotiate price.

[quote=“JMcK”]My LHBS is ~20 minute drive and is a bit more expensive than NB; $10 for a vial of yeast versus $7. [quote]
Over 40% higher is not a bit more: the savings on two or three would cover the cost of shipping for sure.

Thanks all, Now for something new, I found out my favorite HB Weizenbier is Top-fermented and they use wheat malt, barley malt, hops, yeast. So in my hours of reading I don’t recall people using barley in there recipes. I have tried many brand name Weizenbier and found none that taste as good as true German Weizen, could the barley be a reason for this.

[quote=“Rookie L A”]
Over 40% higher is not a bit more: the savings on two or three would cover the cost of shipping for sure.[/quote]
I don’t mind paying more for yeast that doesn’t sit on unrefrigerated/unheated trucks for 3-5 days while it’s shipped to me. I will order grains in bulk online, as my LHBS has all theirs in bins you have to weigh out. I like to have a lot of various malts on hand and it’s a pain to have to weigh out 5# of crystal, etc.

I’d give my LHBS more business, but both are 25 miles away, have only rudimentary knowledge about brewing,(brewing supplies are not their primary business) and limited selection.

[quote=“BrewingRover”]
I don’t mind paying more for yeast that doesn’t sit on unrefrigerated/unheated trucks for 3-5 days while it’s shipped to me. I will order grains in bulk online, as my LHBS has all theirs in bins you have to weigh out. I like to have a lot of various malts on hand and it’s a pain to have to weigh out 5# of crystal, etc.[/quote]

The yeast shipments come in with frozen gel coolant bags packed in insulated boxes.

If we want the convenience of fulfilling some immediate need, we need to support local businesses. That said, I work part-time in a local shop.

[quote=“harpdog”]

The yeast shipments come in with frozen gel coolant bags packed in insulated boxes.

If we want the convenience of fulfilling some immediate need, we need to support local businesses. That said, I work part-time in a local shop.[/quote]
Those frozen gel packs are nice, but help very little on the way out to me in Eastern PA. Granted, NB’s shipping timeline seems to have improved lately, but I’m still scared to order liquid yeast from them if there’s a chance the package could have a weekend stay over at a UPS hub. So it’s not just about “immediate need” or convenience. I actually find going local is less convenient, but I f I want liquid yeast May-September I will drive to get it locally.

I shop local for my yeast and hops. Yeast due to the temp constraints mentioned. I know they ship in the cooler packs but mine almost always show up warm in the summer and I don’t know just how warm they got.

I tend to buy my hops from the LHBS because I can actually see the Alpha Acid content of the hop and when I’m trying to make a recipe with a very specific IBU and im ordering a german hop expecting it to be around the 4% range and they show up in the 2.3% range…I end up having to take a trip to the LHBS anyway to compensate for this so I just started buying all my hops at the LHBS. I also don’t buy bulk hops cause I don’t brew very often and use such a variety that they would most likely go bad before I have a chance to use them up.

I’d like to support my local store. The pricing is similar to what you described. After I factor in shipping, it would only cost a few dollars more to buy local. However, a couple of other factors tip the scales for me to buy online. 1) the local store’s hours make it really difficult for someone with an 8-5 job like me. 2) their only option for grinding grain is to let the customer use a hand-crank mill

I split my business between a bunch of options:

  • Most of my base grains are purchased in bulk from a regional small scale malthouse
  • Most hops are purchased in bulk from the 2 or 3 large direct hop distributors
  • Most equipment is purchased from Northern Brewer
  • Almost everything else (specialty grains, yeast, small amounts of hops, tubing, airlocks, etc.) is purchased from my LHBS provided they have it available

There are always a few “one-offs” that get ordered from none of the above.

The LHBS is expensive, but they have an awesome selection and it’s nice to know if I forget something or need something in a pinch that they’re around and most likely have what I need available. Plus I’ve become pretty good friends with the owners and I always like to go over and chat with them when I get a chance.

It’s always a conundrum. While I love to support my local store, I live in too small a town to really support one. The last local store closed in 2012. The local hardware store started selling supplies, but they just don’t have enough customers to turnaround sales of liquid yeast. And I cannot pay $2.75 per ounce for hops when I buy them by the pound from the hop brokers. I have bought a 16 gallon BK and all my bulk malt from them, so that is good.