Northern Brewer Homebrew Supply

scottum

Vermont

4.65/5  rDev +4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5

I bought some wyeast, some hop pellets and 35 rhyzomes of various varity.... The root cuttings were in great shape. They even threw in 5 extra Saaz cuttings for free! I'll certainly buy from them online again someday. But now that I have 30 hop plants, why do I even need homebrew shops? More gear!!! They yeast survived the trip well too. Shipping was prompt and the package was on the doorstep before I even knew it. A nice website layout and function too. A good selection or all things homebrew like geargeargeargeargear and malts/hops/yeast/...

04-30-2004 03:50:46 | More by scottum

Erdinger2003

Iowa

4.43/5  rDev -0.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 5 | selection: 4.25 | $$

Came here to buy all grain equipment. First time here. It's cozy. I didn't understand that you have to ask for things on the shelf and they'll get the boxes with new equipment down. It was 45 minutes before closing on a Monday night and the two younger people working seemed tired, but perked up when I asked questions about buying big pieces of equipment.

Lots of space on the shelves for extract boxed recipe kits. There was a large wine brewing space to the left and a slightly smaller homebrewing room off to the right. Hats and shirts hung up on the wall. More hops in one place than I've ever seen. I also have never been to any other homebrew shop as big.

Prices are comparable to Midwest Brewing as I looked up both online. Still haven't been to Midwest to make a judgement as to which is better.

Overall my experience was nice, I got the people to help me with specific questions, even though I had to use the display equipment to explain the attachment from valve to false bottom. Although, the young man did ask me if I wanted the nozzle. I would have missed that one. I got what I needed and they even helped carry everything out to my vehicle.

02-21-2013 10:21:23 | More by Erdinger2003

ForWhatAlesYou

Minnesota

4.36/5  rDev -2.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

One of my homebrew go-to's. The staff here is excellent. I cannot walk around the place for 10 minutes without half a dozen people offering help (in a good way, not car salesman-ish.)

The grain room is a joy and I am very thankful for the use of the grain crusher (free).

Selection is very good. Most everything you'd need for brewing or winemaking is on the sales floor. Some of the smaller items I have looked for (i.e. fermenter pail grommets) etc. weren't around but maybe I didn't look hard enough.

The kit selection is great, including the Surly, Townhall, anf Lakeshore clone kits. I don't tend to use kits these days but recently did their RyePA and was ver pleased.

Great place all around to stop in at and hang with the brew junkies!

11-19-2011 19:39:29 | More by ForWhatAlesYou

syrupjoe

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I got my first kit from NB and have since learned a lot from their staff and their website! They've got a lot of great recipe kits, both extract and all-grain as well as a solid grain room. The store can get a bit cramped at times (it's pretty small), but that just encourages everyone to get their fellow homebrewers better.

My only complaint is that they could have a larger selection when it comes to certain supplies - they only have one color of caps, for example.

All of the employees are super knowledgeable, and many of them are a part of the local homebrewing scene (as opposed to just being there to earn money). I'm lucky to have these guys just 15 minutes down the street!

05-03-2011 04:04:14 | More by syrupjoe

arboristfish

Wisconsin

5/5  rDev +11.9%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

This is an awesome home brew shop! They have a huge selection of malt, hops, and yeast. I havent been to a bigger home brew shop than this. The staff are friendly and more than willing to help you out with any questions you have about brewing beer. They carry all kinds of equipment for brewing beer, and for making wine and mead. They also carry equipment for creating a draft system. The prices are very reasonable. Ive compared prices with other major home brew shops and they are competitive. I dont make it over to the shop very often, I usually end up ordering my ingredients and any equipment I need. The shipping service they provide is excellent.

11-12-2010 15:59:56 | More by arboristfish

brow1901

Minnesota

4.35/5  rDev -2.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Nice place, staff is helpful not only in finding everything you need but they also help in formulating recipes and suggesting/explaining equipment. They have a nice selection of equipment and recipe kits. However some places have better varieties of hops and additives. Although I don't have a kegerator, NB seems to have an extensive supply of everything you would ever need to turn your home into a bar. The quality of their ingriedients is good as far as I've seen, all the extracts I've purchased have been less than a month old, same with the yeasts. The hops are stored in the fridge in nice nitrogen sealed bags. I might be a bit concerned about some of the kits, especially the unpopular ones because the hops are stored in the kits, it says when the kit was made but it doesn't give the date of the ingridents within the kit.

They also carry supplies for wine and mead making.

02-01-2010 05:32:07 | More by brow1901

PeprSprYoFace

California

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I too have never been to the store but like most others, have ordered from them on several occations.

I typically like my LHBS the best (More Beer) because of the easy and quick access to stuff and questions I have can be answered quick. Plus it's nice to just talk beer with the guys over there. But sometimes they don't have something I need or I want a particular brand they don't carry and that's where northern brewer comes in.

I have noticed that each home brew supply place has their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to carrying certain products but I try and buy all I can from More Beer and then if there us something special I order it from northern brewer. Like Wyeast special release strains of yeast for example.

Shipping is fast and only $8 no matter how much you order.

Prices are pretty much the same as More Beer but just like a grocery store, they each have some things cheaper and more expensive than others. So if your gunna do an order any way and pay for the shipping, you might as well order the things you need that you know they have cheaper.

Overall I say always support you LHBS if you have one but if you need something special, you can't go wrong with Northern Brewer

01-12-2010 09:57:11 | More by PeprSprYoFace

Brettster

Indiana

4.65/5  rDev +4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

First off, I have never been inside the store, but I have ordered homebrew supplies from Northern Brewer on several occassions. Typically if I am ordering supplies online, this is the first site that I check out before any others. I have found the ingreadients to always be fresh and good quality. They have a great selection of just about any ingredient or oddball part or tool that you need. I would recommend this store to anyone shopping online for supplies. Support your local homebrew shops if you can though.

11-20-2009 15:52:27 | More by Brettster

beertooth

Illinois

4/5  rDev -10.5%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I've ordered from this place a few times and haven't really had any problems except for the one time they forgot an oz of hops I needed. It would also be nice if they actually emailed me when my order goes through. I was a little worried the first time I ordered.

The website is very easy to use and the flat rate shipping is cheap and fast.
Everything I've ordered has been very fresh and packed tightly. They have a very wide selection of extracts, hops, grains, equipment. I think the equipment kits are more expensive than some other online shops though.

One of the better online brewing supply stores out there.

10-15-2009 22:30:02 | More by beertooth

jera1350

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Just purchased my first homebrew kit from Northern this week. I went with the deluxe kit with glass carboys. Price seemed a little bit higher than another homebrew place, but word was this one kit is of a little higher quality. The store itself isn't huge by any means, but they have everything you need to homebrew. Tons of different brew kits as well. I went with an extra pale ale for my first brew. The guy who helped me was very knowledgeable and friendly. He made some nice suggestions and didn't pressure me towards more equipment. He stated my options and guided me on my new journey. Helped carry my purchase out to the car as well. They do crush your grains for you for free which was nice. Great, easy to use website and their catalog is very well laid out and easy to use. Online purchases have a standard $7.99 charge no matter the size of your purchase. Overall, great experience and I look forward to going back for beer #2.

09-18-2009 17:08:30 | More by jera1350