The Grain Father

[Peter Smith]

http://www.grainfather.com/

Mangrove Jacks new all grain unit - its nice

[Pilgrim]

Sold.

[John H]

I'm a curious sort so like to stick my nose where it doesn't belong.

I pre-ordered a Grainfather through my LHBS and am eagerly waiting for the stock to be available - so it is not my intent to knock the product or the supplier. I also have no affiliation to the supplier other than as an avid homebrewer salivating at getting a unit.

Has anyone else been following the on-line sales numbers? It seems to have slowed down with 35 units sold since Monday with 65 still available on-line. My preference is to support my LHBS so I wonder how many other pre-sales are sitting with the brick and mortar stores as they apparently had access to 100 units too.

Out of pure curiosity (nosiness) are there any other Real-beerers still wanting to buy a unit that have not pre-ordered with a LHBS or on-line? Are you waiting for more feedback from early users before you decide or is there any other reason you are undecided?

I guess it will be interesting to see how well the first wave of 200 units sells in NZ. Personally I don't think it will be a sell-out but over time as Craft Beer continues to grow and more people are able to see how easy it is getting into AG with a product like the GF it will probably keep growing.

Without trying to be too snarky - does anyone have any thoughts on a supplier offering direct sales on-line as opposed to relying on selling through their LHBS, specially when (on the surface) the on-line sale comes with more trinkets?

[Mark Weusten]

Seems to be no incentive to buy through the LHBS. I would have forgone the trinkets for a quicker delivery date from my LHBS in a second. I imagine there are still a fair few buyers who are waiting for feedback before purchasing so I think 35 units is pretty good pre-sold but like you I don't see 200 being sold out.

[Peter Scandlyn]

Been puzzling over their direct offer since it was first announced, wonder how the LHBS collectively see it as they're, in NZ, largely the reason for imake's being. Kind of biting the hand, etc...

[Peter Smith]

as a LHBS wouldn't you rather have a happy homebrewer coming to you every week to buy 5kg of grain and some hops and liquid yeast rather then someone who is buying kits from the "cheapest" source they can find...     they are going to sell a lot more yeast/grain/hops then kegging kit etc.

The saying is that there are 5-10k home brewers in nz but that every 2nd male USED to be a homebrewer...  a lot are going to come back to brewing via the grainfather.

The LHBS has more to fear from brewshop.co.nz then from imake.

[Peter Scandlyn]

Absolutely.

That's why I'm puzzled.

[John H]

Hey Peter  - I had the same thought. Peter Smith's thoughts make sense but is it right for a distributor to potentially sell a better offer (i.e, incl the trinkets) than you would potentially get from the LHBS? I guess it becomes a more even playing field after the first 100 are sold. 

[Peter Scandlyn]

Peter Smith was spot on - however if I were the proprietor of a LHBS right now I'd be one unhappy chappy.

Joe Public exclusively keeps the LHBS going, they in turn support the supplier here who has opted to introduce a new product in direct opposition to their staunchest customers, the LHBS. Did they get better market penetration? Hard to say.

Pretty well the only leakage in this supplier's range is their cheese offering, so, I'm still puzzled, just FWIW.

[BrewChick]

I would never have given it a thought until you brought it up that it would be an issue for a wholesaler to sell items themselves too. Surely that's their prerogative? I think these days people need to have online and bricks and mortar options, so that people who buy, can buy it via their most preferred method.

A lot of homebrew stores are quite old school and don't have websites to buy from, and I guess you'd trust the supplier to sell you a good product.

I think there's incentive to buy from both. Online - easy to do extra 'trinkets' as you say and LHBS - Pick it up at your own convenience, have a chat to the shop owner as you buy. It depends on the experience you want I reckon.

I also had a look at the website today and they're down to 24 left on there and I know my LHBS has sold most of his allocated stock from talking to him. Maybe it's a steady seller? I suppose even though it's cheaper than most comparable units out there, it's still a big decision to spend a grand. I'm sure it will sell well from the stuff I've seen. Looking to buy myself but deciding where to buy from. 

[Peter Scandlyn]

Interesting outlook.

Gather your 'deciding where' must refer to LHBS of multiple choice, as, there seem to be if I'm reading the pages correctly, a couple of folks who have put their money up directly to get the trinkets yet who are facing an extended wait to get to the main event.

I'm under no illusion that it'll sell well and that it is a very decent piece of gear; just as I'm under no illusion as to where I'd rather buy.

[BrewChick]

I just meant between my LHBS or online. Not sure which is most convenient for me at this stage.

From following on Facebook etc it sounds like even with a wait everyone will be getting them around the same time so I'm not bothered either way.

Will be good to compare notes when we've all got them :)

[Peter Smith]

corny kegs are going to get way harder to buy cheaply....