Brewing Master

Question:

A home brew store may regard their kit ingredients as proprietary information, which would be fair enough. But, perhaps they could print expected gravities and IBUs. I called Annapolis to get that information regarding their ale kit I’m brewing, and they were very accommodating. Ken A.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I think I was the first to complain about the ingredient lists.  Since we have the owners ear and it is close to my brothers house, I would suggest they start giving new brewers the information they need in order to learn the hobby.  They have an advantage online when it comes to web site and perhaps shipping ( I went to the store front).  And they gave me the info I needed when I called.  Just start printing the info on the packages and people will respond.  The owners responded to the shipping questions but not the ingredients concern.  Once you take care of that you should be golden. thanks Bryan Donovan San Diego Well thats good to know. I really do like dealing with them.  I did email them about my first kits ingredient list and the answer I got wasn’t what you experienced. But I will try them again. Thanks for the heads up. The only think I do not like about them is the fact that none of the ingredients in their kits are labeled. By that I mean, the 4 hop additions just say add this package at beginning of boil, the next says add this at 30 minutes, the 3rd says add this at 10 minutes, etc. None of them says what type of hops they are. Is it cascade, fuggles, northern brewer? I have no idea. I do all my shopping at AHB.   They’re great.     If you ask them for the ingredient list, they’ll print it out for you and send it with your order. I shop in person there, and they always print me the ingredient list if I ask for it.    I bet they’ll email it to you if you ask.   They’re also good at helping you modify a recipe.   They helped me modify their alt recipe for a slightly darker partial mash than the normal (i.e. more Munich malt). clarke

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Response:

I think I was the first to complain about the ingredient lists.  Since we have the owners ear and it is close to my brothers house, I would suggest they start giving new brewers the information they need in order to learn the hobby.  They have an advantage online when it comes to web site and perhaps shipping ( I went to the store front).  And they gave me the info I needed when I called.  Just start printing the info on the packages and people will respond.  The owners responded to the shipping questions but not the ingredients concern.  Once you take care of that you should be golden. thanks Bryan Donovan San Diego

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well thats good to know. I really do like dealing with them.  I did email them about my first kits ingredient list and the answer I got wasn’t what you experienced. But I will try them again. Thanks for the heads up. The only think I do not like about them is the fact that none of the ingredients in their kits are labeled. By that I mean, the 4 hop additions just say add this package at beginning of boil, the next says add this at 30 minutes, the 3rd says add this at 10 minutes, etc. None of them says what type of hops they are. Is it cascade, fuggles, northern brewer? I have no idea. I do all my shopping at AHB.   They’re great.     If you ask them for the ingredient list, they’ll print it out for you and send it with your order. I shop in person there, and they always print me the ingredient list if I ask for it.    I bet they’ll email it to you if you ask.   They’re also good at helping you modify a recipe.   They helped me modify their alt recipe for a slightly darker partial mash than the normal (i.e. more Munich malt). clarke

Response:

and full set of alliteration-compliant gadgets,

Correction.  "full set of hokey spelled alliteration-compliant gadgets." — Dan Listermann Check out our E-tail site at www.listermann.com Free shipping for orders greater than $35 and East of the Mighty Miss. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I dont see how following a recipe and knowing exactly what each ingredient is helps you be a better brewer. It helps us beginners learn the characteristics of the different ingredients, and what we like and don’t like. "Oh, so THAT’s what Cascade hops smell and taste like!" and "Wow, that black patent tastes like the crumb tray of my toaster oven." I hate it when the grains come all mixed up together and already in a steeping sack.  Besides making a dusty mess in the box, I don’t get to taste the individual grain types. Listing ingredients creates a more knowledgable brewer who, one hopes, will someday come back and buy a 50# sack of that grain he likes so much, and a grain mill, and ooh! that shiny 3-tier thing in the window, and… — http://homer.ctrust.com/danny/brewing/brewday.html

Response:

I dont see how following a recipe and knowing exactly what each ingredient is helps you be a better brewer.

It helps us beginners learn the characteristics of the different ingredients, and what we like and don’t like. "Oh, so THAT’s what Cascade hops smell and taste like!" and "Wow, that black patent tastes like the crumb tray of my toaster oven." I hate it when the grains come all mixed up together and already in a steeping sack.  Besides making a dusty mess in the box, I don’t get to taste the individual grain types. Listing ingredients creates a more knowledgable brewer who, one hopes, will someday come back and buy a 50# sack of that grain he likes so much, and a grain mill, and full set of alliteration-compliant gadgets, and ooh! that shiny 3-tier thing in the window, and… — http://homer.ctrust.com/danny/brewing/brewday.html

Response:

We give the ingredients to our kits and really don’t worry about it.  There have been some who come into the store and use a kit’s list to save a bit. We consider that high praise.  If a micro were to copy our recipe for themselves, well, that would be really be high praise, now wouldn’t it? — Dan Listermann Check out our E-tail site at www.listermann.com Free shipping for orders greater than $35 and East of the Mighty Miss.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I think I was the first to complain about the ingredient lists.  Since we have the owners ear and it is close to my brothers house, I would suggest they start giving new brewers the information they need in order to learn the hobby.  They have an advantage online when it comes to web site and perhaps shipping ( I went to the store front).  And they gave me the info I needed when I called.  Just start printing the info on the packages and people will respond.  The owners responded to the shipping questions but not the ingredients concern.  Once you take care of that you should be golden. TECHNICALLY… they shouldnt have to give you the ingredients. It is THEIR kit… now, admittedly, AHB’s beer kits dont have national reknown or whathaveyou… but it’d be like buying Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough or mix and getting pissed that they didnt give you the recipe… or Betty Crocker cake mixes… Now, admittedly, AHB’s beer isnt on that scale of popularity and acclaim… to my knowledge, people dont flock to AHB  for THEIR recipe kits because they are so much better than everyone else’s… but it is THEIR recipe, and I dont blame them for not wanting to give out the recipe. Some jackass who wants to open a microbrewry but sucks at making his own beer (recipes) could well steal a AHB recipe, and sell it at his microbrewry, making a profit off AHB’s efforts at developing a good recipe. Of course thats the extreme, but I dont feel they have any obligation to tell you whats in it. If some shops want to do it, then fine. If they dont, fine. Buy elsewhere… but I dont see how following a recipe and knowing exactly what each ingredient is helps you be a better brewer. Reading, doing and learning does that… Sure, you can pick things up here and there, but I’ve never known the full ingredients list of any kit I’ve made from there, and I’m no worse off for it.

Response:

I think I was the first to complain about the ingredient lists.  Since we have the owners ear and it is close to my brothers house, I would suggest they start giving new brewers the information they need in order to learn the hobby.  They have an advantage online when it comes to web site and perhaps shipping ( I went to the store front).  And they gave me the info I needed when I called.  Just start printing the info on the packages and people will respond.  The owners responded to the shipping questions but not the ingredients concern.  Once you take care of that you should be golden.

TECHNICALLY… they shouldnt have to give you the ingredients. It is THEIR kit… now, admittedly, AHB’s beer kits dont have national reknown or whathaveyou… but it’d be like buying Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough or mix and getting pissed that they didnt give you the recipe… or Betty Crocker cake mixes… Now, admittedly, AHB’s beer isnt on that scale of popularity and acclaim… to my knowledge, people dont flock to AHB  for THEIR recipe kits because they are so much better than everyone else’s… but it is THEIR recipe, and I dont blame them for not wanting to give out the recipe. Some jackass who wants to open a microbrewry but sucks at making his own beer (recipes) could well steal a AHB recipe, and sell it at his microbrewry, making a profit off AHB’s efforts at developing a good recipe. Of course thats the extreme, but I dont feel they have any obligation to tell you whats in it. If some shops want to do it, then fine. If they dont, fine. Buy elsewhere… but I dont see how following a recipe and knowing exactly what each ingredient is helps you be a better brewer. Reading, doing and learning does that… Sure, you can pick things up here and there, but I’ve never known the full ingredients list of any kit I’ve made from there, and I’m no worse off for it.

Response:

I placed my order this afternoon for 2 kits, and already received an email with a tracking number. I was damn impressed. The shipping cost was surprisingly low ($7 and change) and with such a prompt response brought a smile to my face. If the kits are as good as what’s happened so far I’ll be a very happy camper. Well done sir.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Howdy All! I’m one of the owners of Annapolis Home Brew.  Someone was kind enough to let me know that there’s an issue being discussed here, so I thought I’d take a moment to address some concerns… I know that in the past some customers have been troubled because they didn’t receive their UPS tracking numbers by Email.  We now send an Email with the tracking numbers on the same day that each shipment goes out. Mr. Jones – I sent you an Email on 9/23/02 at 4:41pm with your tracking numbers.  You may not have received it for some reason.  If not, please let me know so that I can send it again. When it comes to shipping charges, I know it would be very nice to see them as soon as you type in your order, but that’s not the cheapest way to do it.  The only way to have an automated program calculate shipping is to one of the following: "Per-Item" shipping.  Example: automatically charging $3.00 to ship a capper.  That might be fair if you order one capper, but it doesn’t really cost 10 times as much to send a box containing ten of them! The customer gets burned on large orders this way. "Value-Based" shipping.  Example: automatically charging 10% of the order total for shipping.  This doesn’t even begin to adress the differenmce between shipping a $40.00 50-pound bag of grain versus a $40.00 1-pound keg fitting.  Soem people are lucky this way and others get burned. There’s no way for me to make the software smart enough to automatically know what items in your order can be boxed together (to save money – it’s almost always cheaper to send one big/heavy box rather than two smaller/lighter ones.) We always pack orders with a keen interest in making the shipping as cheap as possible while also keeping the items as safe and secure as possible. The automatic response email, which is sent immediately to confirm your order, won’t contain the UPS tracking numbers because we haven’t physically processed the order yet.  It does contain the following text: <<<CLIP Your order has been received, and will be processed shortly. IMPORTANT: The total below doesn’t include shipping.  Your shipping cost IS NOT $0.00 We will assemble & weigh your package(s) to determine actual shipping cost, which will be added to your order before your credit card is charged. We believe that this is the fairest way to assess shipping costs. We don’t profit from shipping, we charge you exactly what UPS charges us. If you have any questions about shipping, or other questions/concerns about your or, feel free to call us Monday – Saturday 10am to 7pm (eastern) (800) 279-7556 Thank you for shopping Annapolis Home Brew! <<<END CLIP As you can see, we don’t make any promise to email you with the shipping cost.  It’s clearly stated on our polict page that we’re happy to hold your order pending confirmation of shipping costs if you prefer it, but you need to specify your wishes on the order form. Thanks for your patience if you made it to the end of this long post! I hope that I have done a little bit to answer some fo your concerns. Even though our methods aren’t as fast-and-slick as some of the big internet retailers, we try to process orders as fast as possible and minimize shipping charges to our customers. ///Brooks (Annapolis Home Brew)

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Last week I sent a message asking for info for a beginner and getting started. It was the general consensus of those that answered, that I purchase materials online and then get help as needed from RCB members. Saturday night I placed a $300 order from Annapolis Home Brew to get me started. Sunday morning I received an automated response saying that they had received the order and that it would be processed shortly. Also stated that they would calculate the shipping and notify me on the final total. Haven’t heard anything from them as of yet, although I do know that my credit card was charged yesterday. At this point I don’t know if the order has shipped or not, or when to expect it. Anyone have experience with them? Is this lagtime in communication normal? TIA, Larry Jones

Response:

Well thats good to know. I really do like dealing with them.  I did email them about my first kits ingredient list and the answer I got wasn’t what you experienced. But I will try them again. Thanks for the heads up. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The only think I do not like about them is the fact that none of the ingredients in their kits are labeled. By that I mean, the 4 hop additions just say add this package at beginning of boil, the next says add this at 30 minutes, the 3rd says add this at 10 minutes, etc. None of them says what type of hops they are. Is it cascade, fuggles, northern brewer? I have no idea. I do all my shopping at AHB.   They’re great.     If you ask them for the ingredient list, they’ll print it out for you and send it with your order. I shop in person there, and they always print me the ingredient list if I ask for it.    I bet they’ll email it to you if you ask.   They’re also good at helping you modify a recipe.   They helped me modify their alt recipe for a slightly darker partial mash than the normal (i.e. more Munich malt). clarke

Response:

Last week I sent a message asking for info for a beginner and getting started. It was the general consensus of those that answered, that I purchase materials online and then get help as needed from RCB members. Saturday night I placed a $300 order from Annapolis Home Brew to get me started. Sunday morning I received an automated response saying that they had received the order and that it would be processed shortly. Also stated that they would calculate the shipping and notify me on the final total. Haven’t heard anything from them as of yet, although I do know that my credit card was charged yesterday. At this point I don’t know if the order has shipped or not, or when to expect it. Anyone have experience with them? Is this lagtime in communication normal? TIA, Larry Jones

Response:

Last week I sent a message asking for info for a beginner and getting started. It was the general consensus of those that answered, that I purchase materials online and then get help as needed from RCB members. Saturday night I placed a $300 order from Annapolis Home Brew to get me started. Sunday morning I received an automated response saying that they had received the order and that it would be processed shortly. Also stated that they would calculate the shipping and notify me on the final total. Haven’t heard anything from them as of yet, although I do know that my credit card was charged yesterday. At this point I don’t know if the order has shipped or not, or when to expect it. Anyone have experience with them? Is this lagtime in communication normal?

I buy all my HB stuff from them, and have found that they pretty much suck at getting back to you, but ARE great as far as price and speed of shipping, etc… I ordered a recipe kit from them a few weeks ago, and it shipped the next day, but I had to call them to confirm it shipped, even though I specifically asked that they let me know. I also shop there in person… nice guys… just real flaky on getting back to you. Dont worry, unless something was out of stock, I’m sure your order is on a UPS truck by now. Give them a call… #’s on the website.

Response:

I was just visiting in Maryland.  I got my brother started with a starter kit.  I was not impressed with the store.  Since then my brother has gone to a place in Columbia.  Not sure of the name but you can find it with a google search "homebrewing + Maryland". hope that helps.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Last week I sent a message asking for info for a beginner and getting started. It was the general consensus of those that answered, that I purchase materials online and then get help as needed from RCB members. Saturday night I placed a $300 order from Annapolis Home Brew to get me started. Sunday morning I received an automated response saying that they had received the order and that it would be processed shortly. Also stated that they would calculate the shipping and notify me on the final total. Haven’t heard anything from them as of yet, although I do know that my credit card was charged yesterday. At this point I don’t know if the order has shipped or not, or when to expect it. Anyone have experience with them? Is this lagtime in communication normal? TIA, Larry Jones

Response:

I was just visiting in Maryland.  I got my brother started with a starter kit.  I was not impressed with the store.  Since then my brother has gone to a place in Columbia.  Not sure of the name but you can find it with a google search "homebrewing + Maryland". hope that helps.

Just outta curiosity, since its the only HBS I shop at… why were you unimpressed? What didnt they offer that others do?

Response:

The guy was really nice at Annapolis.  At the store I go to in San Diego there is more of a bulk foods feel where I can sift through all the grains and find my own stuff.  My brother says the store in Columbia is like this. also the kit was all prepackaged with the steeping grains already run through the mill I don’t know when.  The packages of hops did not specify the hops type or alhpa acid content which I wanted my brother to learn how to use ( I called and they gave me the info).  I think I got a bad package of yeast.  It started really slow. ( may not be their fault).  My brothers friend says he only goes to the one in Columbia? I’m sure its all personal preference.  The web site for the store in Columbia is awful so if your doing everything online it you might prefer Annapolis.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was just visiting in Maryland.  I got my brother started with a starter kit.  I was not impressed with the store.  Since then my brother has gone to a place in Columbia.  Not sure of the name but you can find it with a google search "homebrewing + Maryland". hope that helps. Just outta curiosity, since its the only HBS I shop at… why were you unimpressed? What didnt they offer that others do?

Response:

The guy was really nice at Annapolis.  At the store I go to in San Diego there is more of a bulk foods feel where I can sift through all the grains and find my own stuff.  My brother says the store in Columbia is like this. also the kit was all prepackaged with the steeping grains already run through the mill I don’t know when.

I assume you bought the prepackaged box kit? They sell those very quickly… besides the fact the grains are sealed airtight… I’ve had them tell me their kits dont sit on the shelves more than a week. The packages of hops did not specify the hops type or alhpa acid content which I wanted my brother to learn how to use ( I called and they gave me the info).  

I do dislike that… I’ve never know WHAT hops I’ve been putting into my beer… its never labeled. I think I got a bad package of yeast.  It started really slow. ( may not be their fault).  My brothers friend says he only goes to the one in Columbia?

Never had a yeast problem, but unless they left it out of the fridge, it cant really be their fault… I’m sure its all personal preference.  The web site for the store in Columbia is awful so if your doing everything online it you might prefer Annapolis.

is it marylandhomebrew.com? If I remember correctly, their website DOES suck royally… and columbia is a hike for me… so as for picking stuff up in person, AHB is my only option.

Response:

that’s the one.  I told my brother to complain about their site, but I doubt he did.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The guy was really nice at Annapolis.  At the store I go to in San Diego there is more of a bulk foods feel where I can sift through all the grains and find my own stuff.  My brother says the store in Columbia is like this. also the kit was all prepackaged with the steeping grains already run through the mill I don’t know when. I assume you bought the prepackaged box kit? They sell those very quickly… besides the fact the grains are sealed airtight… I’ve had them tell me their kits dont sit on the shelves more than a week. The packages of hops did not specify the hops type or alhpa acid content which I wanted my brother to learn how to use ( I called and they gave me the info). I do dislike that… I’ve never know WHAT hops I’ve been putting into my beer… its never labeled. I think I got a bad package of yeast.  It started really slow. ( may not be their fault).  My brothers friend says he only goes to the one in Columbia? Never had a yeast problem, but unless they left it out of the fridge, it cant really be their fault… I’m sure its all personal preference.  The web site for the store in Columbia is awful so if your doing everything online it you might prefer Annapolis. is it marylandhomebrew.com? If I remember correctly, their website DOES suck royally… and columbia is a hike for me… so as for picking stuff up in person, AHB is my only option.

Response:

I have already answered Brooks directly, and now will do the same here. I came home from work today to find 5 boxes totaling 83 lbs that UPS had delivered during the downpour of TS Isidore. Thankfully the kids were out of school so they were able to get it all inside. The service was great! Especially considering that the packages came UPS ground from Maryland to South Alabama. AHB packed them and shipped them out on Monday. As far as the e-mail from AHB is concerned, it very likely it stuck in cyberspace somewhere. Been using this medium since 1986 starting a BBS and Prodigy. In this time I have had quite a few e-mails jump into my mailbox as long as a month after being sent. Brooks, thanks again for the great service! Larry

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Howdy All! I’m one of the owners of Annapolis Home Brew.  Someone was kind enough to let me know that there’s an issue being discussed here, so I thought I’d take a moment to address some concerns… I know that in the past some customers have been troubled because they didn’t receive their UPS tracking numbers by Email.  We now send an Email with the tracking numbers on the same day that each shipment goes out. Mr. Jones – I sent you an Email on 9/23/02 at 4:41pm with your tracking numbers.  You may not have received it for some reason.  If not, please let me know so that I can send it again. When it comes to shipping charges, I know it would be very nice to see them as soon as you type in your order, but that’s not the cheapest way to do it.  The only way to have an automated program calculate shipping is to one of the following: "Per-Item" shipping.  Example: automatically charging $3.00 to ship a capper.  That might be fair if you order one capper, but it doesn’t really cost 10 times as much to send a box containing ten of them! The customer gets burned on large orders this way. "Value-Based" shipping.  Example: automatically charging 10% of the order total for shipping.  This doesn’t even begin to adress the differenmce between shipping a $40.00 50-pound bag of grain versus a $40.00 1-pound keg fitting.  Soem people are lucky this way and others get burned. There’s no way for me to make the software smart enough to automatically know what items in your order can be boxed together (to save money – it’s almost always cheaper to send one big/heavy box rather than two smaller/lighter ones.) We always pack orders with a keen interest in making the shipping as cheap as possible while also keeping the items as safe and secure as possible. The automatic response email, which is sent immediately to confirm your order, won’t contain the UPS tracking numbers because we haven’t physically processed the order yet.  It does contain the following text: <<<CLIP Your order has been received, and will be processed shortly. IMPORTANT: The total below doesn’t include shipping.  Your shipping cost IS NOT $0.00 We will assemble & weigh your package(s) to determine actual shipping cost, which will be added to your order before your credit card is charged. We believe that this is the fairest way to assess shipping costs. We don’t profit from shipping, we charge you exactly what UPS charges us. If you have any questions about shipping, or other questions/concerns about your or, feel free to call us Monday – Saturday 10am to 7pm (eastern) (800) 279-7556 Thank you for shopping Annapolis Home Brew! <<<END CLIP As you can see, we don’t make any promise to email you with the shipping cost.  It’s clearly stated on our polict page that we’re happy to hold your order pending confirmation of shipping costs if you prefer it, but you need to specify your wishes on the order form. Thanks for your patience if you made it to the end of this long post! I hope that I have done a little bit to answer some fo your concerns. Even though our methods aren’t as fast-and-slick as some of the big internet retailers, we try to process orders as fast as possible and minimize shipping charges to our customers. ///Brooks (Annapolis Home Brew)

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Last week I sent a message asking for info for a beginner and getting started. It was the general consensus of those that answered, that I purchase materials online and then get help as needed from RCB members. Saturday night I placed a $300 order from Annapolis Home Brew to get me started. Sunday morning I received an automated response saying that they had received the order and that it would be processed shortly. Also stated that they would calculate the shipping and notify me on the final total. Haven’t heard anything from them as of yet, although I do know that my credit card was charged yesterday. At this point I don’t know if the order has shipped or not, or when to expect it. Anyone have experience with them? Is this lagtime in communication normal? TIA, Larry Jones

Response:

The only think I do not like about them is the fact that none of the ingredients in their kits are labeled. By that I mean, the 4 hop additions just say add this package at beginning of boil, the next says add this at 30 minutes, the 3rd says add this at 10 minutes, etc. None of them says what type of hops they are. Is it cascade, fuggles, northern brewer? I have no idea.

I do all my shopping at AHB.   They’re great.     If you ask them for the ingredient list, they’ll print it out for you and send it with your order. I shop in person there, and they always print me the ingredient list if I ask for it.    I bet they’ll email it to you if you ask.   They’re also good at helping you modify a recipe.   They helped me modify their alt recipe for a slightly darker partial mash than the normal (i.e. more Munich malt). clarke

Response:

I have ordered Kits from Annapolis a few times. Of the 4 or 5 different on line brew shops I’ve used, they are by far the quickest in sending the order out. If I order on Saturday, I usually have it on Tuesday. Very impressive turn around. The only think I do not like about them is the fact that none of the ingredients in their kits are labeled. By that I mean, the 4 hop additions just say add this package at beginning of boil, the next says add this at 30 minutes, the 3rd says add this at 10 minutes, etc. None of them says what type of hops they are. Is it cascade, fuggles, northern brewer? I have no idea. Same for the malt. After I made the first kit I emailed them saying I thought I accidently threw away the paper with the list of ingredients. They emailed back saying they do not include it and have a policy of not disclosing the exact ingredients. With the 2nd kit I ordered it was the same.  I’m unsure if I will order another kit. On the 2nd kit I had to peel of their label just to see exactly which WYeast they sent me (their label covered the whole top part of the pack except the date).  I really don’t like not knowing which specific ingredients I’m using. I will say, however, that the Blonde Ale kit I made from them came out excellent. The English Pale Ale fermenting now has come along excellent so far as well. I also think they have one of the best layouts for an online catalog. Very easy to find styles, their descriptions are excellent and they make it very easy to choose between extract, partial mash and all grain. To bad all on line shops didn’t follow their format. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Last week I sent a message asking for info for a beginner and getting started. It was the general consensus of those that answered, that I purchase materials online and then get help as needed from RCB members. Saturday night I placed a $300 order from Annapolis Home Brew to get me started. Sunday morning I received an automated response saying that they had received the order and that it would be processed shortly. Also stated that they would calculate the shipping and notify me on the final total. Haven’t heard anything from them as of yet, although I do know that my credit card was charged yesterday. At this point I don’t know if the order has shipped or not, or when to expect it. Anyone have experience with them? Is this lagtime in communication normal? TIA, Larry Jones

Response:

Are there no Local Home Brew Stores (LHBS) in your area?  $300 seems a bit high unless you are going to start with an all-grain setup.

What??  I can get you an AG setup for practically nothing.  I also can spend $300 on brew stuff without blinking.  My last grain order just my part was $250.  Just this week I ordered more dispensing items and spent over $100. Cheers, Mike

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Last week I sent a message asking for info for a beginner and getting started. It was the general consensus of those that answered, that I purchase materials online and then get help as needed from RCB members. Saturday night I placed a $300 order from Annapolis Home Brew to get me started. Sunday morning I received an automated response saying that they had received the order and that it would be processed shortly. Also stated that they would calculate the shipping and notify me on the final total. Haven’t heard anything from them as of yet, although I do know that my credit card was charged yesterday. At this point I don’t know if the order has shipped or not, or when to expect it. Anyone have experience with them? Is this lagtime in communication normal? TIA, Larry Jones

Are there no Local Home Brew Stores (LHBS) in your area?  $300 seems a bit high unless you are going to start with an all-grain setup. I would think that most on-line dealers would get your order out the door in less than 2 days.

Response:

Howdy All! I’m one of the owners of Annapolis Home Brew.  Someone was kind enough to let me know that there’s an issue being discussed here, so I thought I’d take a moment to address some concerns… I know that in the past some customers have been troubled because they didn’t receive their UPS tracking numbers by Email.  We now send an Email with the tracking numbers on the same day that each shipment goes out. Mr. Jones – I sent you an Email on 9/23/02 at 4:41pm with your tracking numbers.  You may not have received it for some reason.  If not, please let me know so that I can send it again. When it comes to shipping charges, I know it would be very nice to see them as soon as you type in your order, but that’s not the cheapest way to do it.  The only way to have an automated program calculate shipping is to one of the following: "Per-Item" shipping.  Example: automatically charging $3.00 to ship a capper.  That might be fair if you order one capper, but it doesn’t really cost 10 times as much to send a box containing ten of them! The customer gets burned on large orders this way. "Value-Based" shipping.  Example: automatically charging 10% of the order total for shipping.  This doesn’t even begin to adress the differenmce between shipping a $40.00 50-pound bag of grain versus a $40.00 1-pound keg fitting.  Soem people are lucky this way and others get burned. There’s no way for me to make the software smart enough to automatically know what items in your order can be boxed together (to save money – it’s almost always cheaper to send one big/heavy box rather than two smaller/lighter ones.) We always pack orders with a keen interest in making the shipping as cheap as possible while also keeping the items as safe and secure as possible. The automatic response email, which is sent immediately to confirm your order, won’t contain the UPS tracking numbers because we haven’t physically processed the order yet.  It does contain the following text: <<<CLIP Your order has been received, and will be processed shortly. IMPORTANT: The total below doesn’t include shipping.  Your shipping cost IS NOT $0.00 We will assemble & weigh your package(s) to determine actual shipping cost, which will be added to your order before your credit card is charged. We believe that this is the fairest way to assess shipping costs. We don’t profit from shipping, we charge you exactly what UPS charges us. If you have any questions about shipping, or other questions/concerns about your or, feel free to call us Monday – Saturday 10am to 7pm (eastern) (800) 279-7556 Thank you for shopping Annapolis Home Brew! <<<END CLIP As you can see, we don’t make any promise to email you with the shipping cost.  It’s clearly stated on our polict page that we’re happy to hold your order pending confirmation of shipping costs if you prefer it, but you need to specify your wishes on the order form. Thanks for your patience if you made it to the end of this long post! I hope that I have done a little bit to answer some fo your concerns. Even though our methods aren’t as fast-and-slick as some of the big internet retailers, we try to process orders as fast as possible and minimize shipping charges to our customers. ///Brooks (Annapolis Home Brew) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Last week I sent a message asking for info for a beginner and getting started. It was the general consensus of those that answered, that I purchase materials online and then get help as needed from RCB members. Saturday night I placed a $300 order from Annapolis Home Brew to get me started. Sunday morning I received an automated response saying that they had received the order and that it would be processed shortly. Also stated that they would calculate the shipping and notify me on the final total. Haven’t heard anything from them as of yet, although I do know that my credit card was charged yesterday. At this point I don’t know if the order has shipped or not, or when to expect it. Anyone have experience with them? Is this lagtime in communication normal? TIA, Larry Jones

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I have looked at them a lot because I live in Northern Virginia and there is not a lot in this area in the way of local Homebrew shops.  I have not used them because there prices seem high to me.  I did a quick comparison of Idophor, PBW, Muntons DME, a carboy and a plastic bucket and Annapolis was 10 – 30% higher than Northern Brewer and 12 – 44% higher than St. Pats (compared a different DME) no afflication to either, etc).  I did not find a single item that was cheaper.  Maybe they offer better prices in person, but if ordering online, I suggest you shop around.  Even in person where you save shipping I doubt they are competitive.

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I have looked at them a lot because I live in Northern Virginia and there is not a lot in this area in the way of local Homebrew shops.  I have not used them because there prices seem high to me.  I did a quick comparison of Idophor, PBW, Muntons DME, a carboy and a plastic bucket and Annapolis was 10 – 30% higher than Northern Brewer and 12 – 44% higher than St. Pats (compared a different DME) no afflication to either, etc).  I did not find a single item that was cheaper.  Maybe they offer better prices in person, but if ordering online, I suggest you shop around.  Even in person where you save shipping I doubt they are competitive.

Actually, they are a lot cheaper online for some reason. From work, they are a 35 minute drive for me, so 70 mins round-trip. Thats a couple bucks in gas. I drove there once to pick up a recipe kit I saw online, and it was more expensive in the store… figured with what I paid for gas, I would have saved about 85 cents and 70 minutes roundtrip in my car if I just had them ship it. On the plus side, they charge you exactly what UPS charges them, and dont even charge you for the box they ship it in… and since I have it delivered to work, it’s even cheaper (UPS charges less to deliver to a commercial address). They are a small shop run by 2 guys who are, I think, brothers. Prices are a little higher I’m assuming because they arent a high-volume operation, and need to charge a little more to stay in business. Nice folks though… dont know how many times I’ve called them with questions about something or another, to get a friendly answer with no talk of buying anything (most places, in my experience, homebrew or not, dont really like you calling them for advice/help unless it’s regarding a recent purchase, or a future purchase…) Higher prices or no, unless it’s a big ticket item I can save good money on (my ranco temperature control, for example) I just order from them… they may be a little more, but since they are close I get whatever I order the next day, or if really impaitent I can just drive down there.

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I agree – they have always been quick with shipping, and helpful at the store. Their recipes kits are good, too. Zab – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Last week I sent a message asking for info for a beginner and getting started. It was the general consensus of those that answered, that I purchase materials online and then get help as needed from RCB members. Saturday night I placed a $300 order from Annapolis Home Brew to get me started. Sunday morning I received an automated response saying that they had received the order and that it would be processed shortly. Also stated that they would calculate the shipping and notify me on the final total. Haven’t heard anything from them as of yet, although I do know that my credit card was charged yesterday. At this point I don’t know if the order has shipped or not, or when to expect it. Anyone have experience with them? Is this lagtime in communication normal? I buy all my HB stuff from them, and have found that they pretty much suck at getting back to you, but ARE great as far as price and speed of shipping, etc… I ordered a recipe kit from them a few weeks ago, and it shipped the next day, but I had to call them to confirm it shipped, even though I specifically asked that they let me know. I also shop there in person… nice guys… just real flaky on getting back to you. Dont worry, unless something was out of stock, I’m sure your order is on a UPS truck by now. Give them a call… #’s on the website.

Response:

Last week I sent a message asking for info for a beginner and getting started. It was the general consensus of those that answered, that I purchase materials online and then get help as needed from RCB members. Saturday night I placed a $300 order from Annapolis Home Brew to get me started. Sunday morning I received an automated response saying that they had received the order and that it would be processed shortly. Also stated that they would calculate the shipping and notify me on the final total. Haven’t heard anything from them as of yet, although I do know that my credit card was charged yesterday. At this point I don’t know if the order has shipped or not, or when to expect it. Anyone have experience with them? Is this lagtime in communication normal?

I have no idea about the AHB store, but IME, a phone call can straighten out any ambiguities and anomalies that might occur via the internet… Cheers, Mike

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