First and last kit I'll ever buy from Northernbrewer

All the more reason to patronize a brick and mortar Local Home Brew Store, I guess.

That being said, the few times I've ordered from NB, everything was great. I'll check out the recipes from their kits for ideas for my own. I do miss BrewingTV, though.

 

I feel your pain. And I agree that NB apparently effed up twice.

I think another lesson is... just because someone may (supposedly) know a little more about something than you do, it doesn't make them an expert. I hope your brewing buddy is walking with a little less swagger these days.

 

The LHBS in Westerly is open 10-7 today and 10-6 tomorrow. Steve is open this afternoon only and closed for the weekend. I'd hook you up but I have no American 2-row or Centennials...

 

I had an absolution outstanding experience with Northern's customer service literally yesterday. I spare the details as I don't want to at all hijack, with just saying they went far and above the normal give a shit attitude.

I know you've already reached out to customer service, you're rightfully upset and very low likelihood of success, but don't write them off fully. I'd call them up and ask for an overnight, keeping in best control of the emotion as possible. Outcome may not happen, but you'll in free conscious be able to say you exhausted all options for the wife.

 

I know the feeling man. It sucks to miss a planned brew day, especially for a special event. I'm brewing 6 beers for two different weddings this summer and I planned my brew days for about 6 weeks ahead of each event, just in case something came up (and I can be anal retentive). Additionally, I live next to a great LHBS, but work far from it, and making it back home before it closes is usually pretty tough. I try to get there if I can, but if I can't I order online, and shipping windows between different online places (or even from the sample place different times) can be kind of crazy.

So, no real advice here, but like VikeMan I feel your pain.

 

That sucks man, I understand the frustration.

One way to look at this (not that it will help anything), but technically the stuff is only being delivered 2 days late (unless the carrier it's shipping on delivers on Saturdays; in that case it's 3) due to weekend/holiday. But trust me, I understand the frustration...working in customer service for commercial roofing products that have to be at a job site on a certain day to avoid crazy crane fees and man hour compensation, having to explain the missteps of shippers and carriers (flat tire, didn't get unloaded at previous stop on time, needs to *ahem* cure the loneliness of being on the road all the time...etc) is no fun, and I've heard it all about how it screws everything up. I always feel bad, and in a lot of situations, there's not much that can be done.

 

I think you have every right to be upset. I know I would be too if I were in that situation.

But I too would like to speak out in defense of Northernbrewer. I'm very new to brewing and this Christmas my sister got me a Surly Furious kit from them, but got the all grain kit instead of the extact kit. I live in a tiny apartment with a frustratingly low heat stove, so all grain is out of the question for me.

I contacted NB and explained the situation, stating that in no way were they at fault, but asking if we could do anything to remedy my situation. They agreed to sell me the extract and specialty grains (all I needed since the kit had everything else) at 15% off and free shipping. I was very impressed that they would be willing to do this since they were not at all to blame for the mix-up. They earned big points with me for that.

I still throw a lot of money at my lhbs, but also buy from Northern Brewer for many things my shop doesn't have. If I were you I'd call and see if they can help you out. They're great people.

 

I've found that i can never plan my brew day around an order. Time and time again my orders take too long to "fulfill" and then the shipping is thrown off by another weekend. It won't stop me from continuing to order online, but i know now to place my orders at least 2 weeks in advance.

 

Sorry this happened to you. That really sucks. I'd bitch them out big time. I always plan my brew days around what I already have in stock and never when I need something, but I probably stock more ingredients than the average person.

 

But he's got a toy box there for just such occasions...
That being said, I avoid bringing the kiddos on Friday nights...crazy things happen which I never seem to remember in the morning...

 

Glad to hear NB came through. Those guys kick ass and I figured things would end up OK in the end.

 

Northern brewer posts their recipes, so find the kit you like, jack the recipe, and go to the lhbs to get what you need.

 

It helps to remember that Northern Brewer is run by people just like you and me. They make mistakes. They try to do right. They are not Jesus.
NB is one of the best web retailers imo.

we're brewers. it's 99% asshole free.

 

http://chopandbrew.com/

 

I think most of us have gotten burned by one of the online dealers at one time or another. It's frustrating because the guy on the other end doesn't really seem to know what the hell is going on. They're all pretty good about trying to get their mistakes fixed. It seems like more often than not you need to be patient with them and you come out ahead on the deal. In your case, that doesn't excuse that you had a time frame to get this done and that you should have been first in line when they got slammed with business.