Sad day. Rebel Brewer is closing their retail location and warehouse. They will still have a website to sell drop shipped items. They are very close to me and have very fast shipping.
http://www.rebelbrewer.com/blog
We just got a LHBS in town. So, I guess the timing works out for me.
that is sad. I used to buy a lot from them.
I shifted a lot of my ordering to morebeer when Rebel’s selection started waning. But I did try and order from them when they had everything I needed.
interesting that nikobrew (which I admittedly never used) also closed this week. also interesting to note that Rebel commenting on the decline in homebrewing. I guess I don’t pay attention as much to the bigger picture.
Sad day indeed. I have been using them exclusively for their selection and fast service. I guess WYWB just got a new customer.
It’s a tough market and AHA has been reporting declining sales in home brew supplies over the past 2 years. That coupled with other retailers offering free or flat rate shipping hurts smaller stores. Admittedly, I never shopped at rebel but I been to plenty of store and they are not created equal. My favorites to order from are Maryland Homebrew Supply (great selection, free shipping, AHA & military discount) and Keystone Brewing Supply.
I used rebel for several years until they started becoming so unreliable on keeping items in stock. I understand that there is a decline in homebrewing, which I hate to hear that, but if you don’t keep items in stock you are going to drive even more customers away.
Is it too early to blame AB InBev for their purchase of Northern Brewer through their disruptive practice investment group?
They were the main (only?) retail outlet for Bootleg Biology yeast.
Unless you have proof, yes.
I’m sure I’m not the only homebrewer who has stopped using NB and Midwest since the AB acquisition. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if their business was down as much as everyone else (or even more so).
For me, having Morebeer open a warehouse on the East Coast made it tough to order from anyone else. That was a savvy business move on their part, and I’m sure that set them apart from the other major online retailers for many homebrewers.
That Morebeer warehouse is great!.. If I order something right now (Wed afternoon), I’d most likely have in on Friday!
I’m not against ordering from Northern Brewer if they have something that very few have or a good deal. I got my Grainfather from them (but before the AB InBev sale) and was even allowed to use a 20% off coupon (a one time mistake they made).
I find myself ordering a lot of bulk stuff these days (have 2 sacks of grain coming from a bulk buy this week) but try to hit the LHBS for smaller items or yeast during the summer months.
I’ve softened my stance on buying from NB a bit, but I’d still prefer not to shop there. I’ll only blame AB/Inbev if they push all the little guys out of business and buy out MoreBeer.
That being said, MoreBeer is my go-to. Placed an order earlier today, it’ll be here tomorrow. Can’t beat that.
I’ve found out the guy that runs the local homebrew club also has a homebrew shop, so he might get some of my business now too. Mostly deals with ingredients and bulk grains, which is perfect.
Longtime Seattle area LHBSs Larry’s Homebrew Supply and Mountain Homebrew are both going out of business this month. From what I heard, Larry’s had a large grain order from a pro brewery that then went out of business and stiffed them. That order cost them their credit and it snowballed. They couldn’t purchase grain any more and it trickled out to other accounts and spiraled downhill from there. They have confirmed with Pete that will be open through the end of the month, so we know that the NHC 1st round judging is still on.
I heard that the owner of Mountain HB was feeling the pinch and took a job at Briess. Too much competition for a shrinking market.
Sad on both counts.
Why would a pro brewery need to buy grain through a retailer? My guess is the brewery had a bit of a reputation issue itself and your guy put his trust where he shouldn’t have. Sucks big time.
They actually were a distributor too. Most of the breweries in the area bought ingredients through them, until this happened.
Rebel has been my main HB store for years. I slowed buying from them because of stock issues. They were the only reasonably close carrier for GigaYeast. They always had good customer service. I would stop in and buy my years worth of grain every year when in Nashville before Christmas. I would order early and they always got what I wanted. I would buy 6-8 sacks. We now have a nice store here in town. I want to support local anyway, but that really stinks. Morebeer opening east gives the same fast delivery. I’m sure that didn’t help them. I don’t think it is just homebrew that is in decline. I believe all “hobby” markets are in decline. People just don’t have expendable income. I’m still blown away by this news. Hmmmm where is my Giga021 gonna come from now. Didn’t want to get into banking yeast…
That sucks to hear about Larry’s. Whenever I made a roadtrip to Seattle, I always filled my pickup with sacks of malt from Larry’s. They sold Gambrinus malt from BC at really good prices.
Apparently too good… 
I think it has more to do with the availability of good craft beer for a not too bad price. Folks that would have brewed there own, just buy it now. This is what my LHBS owner thinks as well.
I’m curious how good the average craft beer is on the average liquor store shelf though. At least in my area, my homebrews beat out most commercial beers…because my beers aren’t consumed 5 months after their bottling date.
This. When I couldn’t get it from my LHBS I used to use NB exclusively. Right before the Inbev deal, I tried Morebeer and have been using them ever since. I can order on a Wednesday and have it here in ATL by Friday. Just yesterday I got a NB catalog in the mail and for the first time ever, I tossed it in the recycling bin without even cracking it open. I try to use my favorite local, Operation Homebrew, as much as possible. But it’s a traffic nightmare getting there from my house or from work. 22 miles from work and at least 45 mins. to get there. >:(