Groupon - $64 for Beer-Making Starter Kit and Ingredients

[frederick elem]

http://www.groupon.com/deals/dc-ghd-mm-midwest-hydroponic?utm_campaign=UserReferral&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uu29357757

Great for beginners, the package includes:

A brewing essentials equipment kit (a $56.95 value)
A steel bottle opener (a $14.95 value)
Choice of an irish red ale, an autumn amber ale, or an irish stout
ingredient kit (up to a $27.99 value)
An instructional DVD (a $4.95 value)
A $25 gift certificate for a second batch

A $12 shipping fee is not included in the price of this Groupon.

[Bart Goddard]

frederick elem <frederi...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:6bdc164f-b46b-488e...@bs8g2000vbb.googlegroups.com:

> Great for beginners, the package includes:
>
> A brewing essentials equipment kit (a $56.95 value)
> A steel bottle opener (a $14.95 value)
> Choice of an irish red ale, an autumn amber ale, or an irish stout
> ingredient kit (up to a $27.99 value)
> An instructional DVD (a $4.95 value)
> A $25 gift certificate for a second batch
>
> A $12 shipping fee is not included in the price of this Groupon.

$64 for that little pile of cheap plastic crap? What a
ripoff. A $15 bottle opener? Really? Is it "great for
beginners" because you believe that learning the hard
way is best?

--
Cheerfully resisting change since 1959.

[Steve Bonine]

Actually, it's $76. Don't forget the $12 shipping fee.

This drops to zero any credibility I had for Groupon.

A visit to the Midwest Supplies web site shows no actual address of a
store. They give a bad rap to the term "Midwest".

[Tom Biasi]

On 2 Feb 2012 16:31:45 GMT, Bart Goddard <godd...@netscape.net>
wrote:

I would like to see that bottle opener.

[mattoleriver]

On 02/02/2012 08:31 AM, Bart Goddard wrote:
> frederick elem<frederi...@gmail.com> wrote in
> news:6bdc164f-b46b-488e...@bs8g2000vbb.googlegroups.com:
>

>

> $64 for that little pile of cheap plastic crap? What a
> ripoff. A $15 bottle opener? Really? Is it "great for
> beginners" because you believe that learning the hard
> way is best?
>

It seems like a little better deal than most beginner kits. Far more
adaptable than something like Mr Beer. It would not appeal to me now but
I wouldn't feel guilty recommending this to a beginner.

George

[mattoleriver]

On 02/02/2012 10:12 AM, Steve Bonine wrote:

>
> A visit to the Midwest Supplies web site shows no actual address of a
> store. They give a bad rap to the term "Midwest".

I found it on the bottom of every page. Small type but still every page.

George

[mattoleriver]

On 02/02/2012 01:54 PM, Tom Biasi wrote:

> I would like to see that bottle opener.

Next time you're in an older car check out the tab on the end of the
seat belt. I'm sure they were put there as a courtesy to drinkers on the go.

George

[Tom Biasi]

Cars that are old to me didn't have seat belts.

[Steve Bonine]

By golly, you're right. I stand corrected.

I did a little research on whether this is a great bargain by comparing
it with Northern Brewer's entry level kit ($80 plus shipping). There
are some interesting differences. One thing I cannot comment on is the
quality of the actual components. But if I use the Midwest kit as a
base for comments,

$25 Gift Certificate for next purchase - not included in NB kit

Homebrew Wallet Bottle Opener - this one is just weird.

Instructional Homebrewing DVD - same [but can't comment on whether
the quality of the information on one is different]

6.5 Gallon Fermenter and Lid - NB says 6 gallon

6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot - also 6 gallon at NB

8 Oz. of Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser - This one bothers me just a
bit. NB includes both sanitizer and cleaner (although not much of
either). Seems odd to not supply anything that is actually intended to
be sanitizer.

Airlock (Keeps air out of the fermenter) - same

Hydrometer (Determines alcohol content) - same

Bottle Brush - same [but "bottle brush" is a vague term, so they
may not actually be the same]

Twin Lever Black Beauty Bottle Capper - "Red Baron". So one
wonders which is better, or are they essentially identical.

Bottle Caps - yep

Liquid Crystal Thermometer - Oddly enough, the NB kit does not
appear to include a thermometer.

Bottle Filler - same

Racking Tube with Bucket Clip
Siphon Tubing - It appears that NB includes an actual AutoSiphon,
where Midwest only includes a racking tube.

So the big differences, at least as I see it, is that the Midwest kit
includes a $25 credit towards your next purchase and includes
ingredients for the first batch. That tilts the cost significantly.

Smaller differences are the lack of actual sanitizer in the Midwest kit,
lack of a thermometer in the NB kit, and the difference between a
racking tube and an autosiphon.

So, OK, I guess the Midwest kit is a better deal than I originally
thought. I stand corrected on that, too.

Last comment: I've always leaned towards buying starter equipment by
picking out what you want, rather than buying a kit. All of us have our
personal preferences on where to splurge a bit or economize. I suppose
it makes sense for someone who is totally ignorant of brewing to buy a
kit, but I have always been the kind of guy who did enough research to
form an opinion before investing this amount of time and money. In the
best of all worlds, a beginning brewer would spend some time at the
store with someone who knew the lay of the land, but of course this is
not a perfect world.

[Bart Goddard]

Steve Bonine <s...@pobox.com> wrote in news:9p2krr...@mid.individual.net:

>> I found it on the bottom of every page. Small type but still every page.
>
> By golly, you're right. I stand corrected.

Thanks for all your work, but it misses my original point
that commercial posts, no matter how thinly disguised,
are not very welcome here. Most folks would be OK with
Dan Listerman telling us about a new gadget, but he's
a regular participant. Heck, we even considered the flames
coming from the Austin Beer Nazi as "on topic".

But this was just plain spam.

[Steve Bonine]

On 2/3/12 2:44 PM, Bart Goddard wrote:

> But this was just plain spam.

I would not want to discourage people who have real value from posting
here. (Not that it much matters what I would want, or what you would
want; the OP is unlikely to see our opinions anyway.) If this was a
post for male enhancement, or a post hawking just a $15 can opener, I
would completely agree with your sentiments. But this one was borderline.

[Bart Goddard]

Steve Bonine <s...@pobox.com> wrote in

news:9p316...@mid.individual.net:

I mostly agree. What pushes it over the line for me is the "Great for
beginners" bit of hype-talk, which makes it a pushy, hard sell. Besides,
if it's "great for beginners" then who on this list would be
interested?

[Tom Biasi]

On 3 Feb 2012 21:56:49 GMT, Bart Goddard <godd...@netscape.net>
wrote:

Beginners do come here Bart.
You mentioned Dan Listerman, I haven't seen a post from him in ages.

Tom

[Bart Goddard]

Tom Biasi <tomb...@optonline.net> wrote in
news:1smoi7tq6csoemofb...@4ax.com:

>>if it's "great for beginners" then who on this list would be
>>interested?
>
> Beginners do come here Bart.

Not the sort of beginners who would buy such a thing, but
the sort of beginners who want to find out the "real"
way to do something. But that's beside the point. It's
one thing to say "hey, y'all might be interested in this"
and another to start hyping the product.

[Bob F]

Also significant, perhaps, is whether you have never been seen before you post
it.

[Steve Bonine]

On 2/3/12 11:56 PM, Bob F wrote:
> Bart Goddard wrote:

>> Tom Biasi<tomb...@optonline.net> wrote:
>>
>>>> if it's "great for beginners" then who on this list would be
>>>> interested?
>>>
>>> Beginners do come here Bart.
>>
>> Not the sort of beginners who would buy such a thing, but
>> the sort of beginners who want to find out the "real"
>> way to do something. But that's beside the point. It's
>> one thing to say "hey, y'all might be interested in this"
>> and another to start hyping the product.
>
> Also significant, perhaps, is whether you have never been seen before you post
> it.

Oh, there's no doubt that it was spam in the sense of "unsolicited
commercial content". To me it's more of an issue of whether the content
is appropriate for the group. It wouldn't be appropriate if there were
no beginners here, but there are. Well, I hope there are. Not many
people here at all these days.

The thing that turned me off initially was the insinuation that it was a
stupendous deal, and then reading the bit about the $15 can opener. I
still don't know how wonderful the pricing is (since I can't see the
quality of the items being sold) but at least it's apparently not a
stupendous ripoff.

As an aside, I take these great offers like Groupon with a large grain
of salt. I was looking for a brewing pot the other day . . . years ago
I bought a 22 quart pot locally and I wanted to get another identical
one. I ended up buying it locally at a different store than I got the
first one for about $60. But I found the same item at eBay for $287.
"Buy it now!" This is not the first time I've see things for sale on
eBay for much more than fair value. Buyer beware.

[Tom Biasi]

On Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:19:12 -0600, Steve Bonine <s...@pobox.com>
wrote:

I think we all agree it was spam but at least it created a thread
about a brewing related subject.
Other than Bart's corny problems the only thing I've seen here in
months is the Homebrew Digest.

You mention brewing pots, when I go up to Maine in the summer I often
see lobster pots in yard sales for fantastic prices.
Tom

[Pennywise]

On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:12:39 -0600, Steve Bonine <s...@pobox.com>
wrote:

You new guys around here really are new. And not very bright. Midwest
has been around about as long as it seems you have been alive. While I
agree that the deal is average - you get a recipe kit with it as well!
- it is far deserved of the lashing you neophytes tried to give it.

[Pennywise]

On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:12:39 -0600, Steve Bonine <s...@pobox.com>
wrote:

[Steve Bonine]

On 4/12/12 5:35 PM, Pennywise wrote:

> You new guys around here really are new. And not very bright.

On 4/12/12 5:37 PM, Pennywise wrote:

> You new guys around here really are new. And not very bright.

I apologize for trying to be helpful in my last post.

[Bart Goddard]

Steve Bonine <s...@pobox.com> wrote in news:9uph7q...@mid.individual.net:

Good response. What else can you say to someone who has
so cleverly observed that "new guys" are "new?" Or to someone
who double posts and yet thinks others are not very bright?
Or hasn't posted for 10 years and thinks he isn't a newbie?
You'd think with another decade of experience, he'd have
upgraded to at least Nickelwise. Some people are unteachable.

[Steve Bonine]

Well, the thing to have said to him would have been nothing. And it's
highly likely that it will be another ten years before he wanders back
in here (we can hope) so I was just wasting my time.

I am actually in a mope. This newsgroup is effectively dead, as is
every newsgroup that I read. Yes, there are still a few viable
newsgroups in Usenet but not on topics that I care about.

The "imminent death" that we've been joking about for decades can now be
proclaimed.

[Doug Freyburger]

Steve Bonine wrote:
>
> I apologize for trying to be helpful in my last post.

At the weekend campout last week one guy wanted more vodka. Okay, an
excuse for a road trip. As we walked into a liquor store some 20
somethings came out of the store carrying a brand new five gallon bewing
kit plus a boxed recipe kit. Most excellent to see that happening in
small city midwest US.

[Bart Goddard]

Steve Bonine <s...@pobox.com> wrote in news:9uqofi...@mid.individual.net:

> I am actually in a mope. This newsgroup is effectively dead, as is
> every newsgroup that I read. Yes, there are still a few viable
> newsgroups in Usenet but not on topics that I care about.

Yeah. Too bad, because USENET has two strengths: Text and
universality. Web-based fora tend to be full of pics and gifs
and viruses, and also insist on membership and not pissing off
an owner.

USENET is (or was) a great resource because _everyone_ had
easy access for sharing information. But it's harder to access
than previously. If I want decent access, I have to purchase
it and then download and learn to use a piece of software which
is not a browser. Youngsters don't want a piece of software
with only one use.

[Tom Biasi]

On 13 Apr 2012 12:51:25 GMT, Bart Goddard <godd...@netscape.net>
wrote:

Have you considered this may be a troll using a previous poster's
name?

[Bart Goddard]

Tom Biasi <tomb...@optonline.net> wrote in

news:n26ho7lerh4svogf5...@4ax.com:

I assume everyone is a troll. Saves time.

[Tom Biasi]

On 13 Apr 2012 23:29:23 GMT, Bart Goddard <godd...@netscape.net>

wrote:

>Tom Biasi <tomb...@optonline.net> wrote in
>news:n26ho7lerh4svogf5...@4ax.com:
>
>> On 13 Apr 2012 12:51:25 GMT, Bart Goddard <godd...@netscape.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Steve Bonine <s...@pobox.com> wrote in
>>>news:9uph7q...@mid.individual.net:
>>>
>>>> On 4/12/12 5:35 PM, Pennywise wrote:
>>>>
>>>> > You new guys around here really are new. And not very bright.
>>>>
>>>> On 4/12/12 5:37 PM, Pennywise wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> You new guys around here really are new. And not very bright.
>>>>
>>>> I apologize for trying to be helpful in my last post.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Good response. What else can you say to someone who has
>>>so cleverly observed that "new guys" are "new?" Or to someone
>>>who double posts and yet thinks others are not very bright?
>>>Or hasn't posted for 10 years and thinks he isn't a newbie?
>>>You'd think with another decade of experience, he'd have
>>>upgraded to at least Nickelwise. Some people are unteachable.
>>
>> Have you considered this may be a troll using a previous poster's
>> name?
>>
>
>I assume everyone is a troll. Saves time.

Including me?

[Bart Goddard]

Tom Biasi <tomb...@optonline.net> wrote in

news:l7gho7dime1iqhuph...@4ax.com:

>>> Have you considered this may be a troll using a previous poster's
>>> name?
>>>
>>
>>I assume everyone is a troll. Saves time.

> Including me?

Hmmmm....that's just what a _troll_ would say....

[barn...@ureach.com]

I remember the Austin Beer Nazi - that was 12 yrs ago, and I started
the thread

Roger

[barn...@ureach.com]

Oops, 14 yrs ago, I lost track of 2 yrs

[Bart Goddard]

"barn...@ureach.com" <barn...@ureach.com> wrote in news:a2ce4476-a513-
4fdc-9451-0...@p6g2000yqi.googlegroups.com:

> Oops, 14 yrs ago, I lost track of 2 yrs
>

Really? Man, time flies. I remember my last trip to
Lynn's store. Very creepy. Are we still all "the
Taliban"?