Hair of the Dog

Al of Kingston · Post by **Al of Kingston** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:05 am

Anyone looking for "Hair of the Dog beer" on Google now find my tale of woe in the first ten posts. If anything, it is at least reason to believe the capping errors with the shipment will not simple be forgotten.

BeerMonger · Post by **BeerMonger** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:19 pm

We all realize that accidents happen but if the brewery is leaving you guys out in the cold...I, for one will not drink their products anymore. A small gesture maybe but its a start.

frosken · Post by **frosken** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:01 pm

Thanks for the input guys...

Well I went to inspect the cases and..well...they're gone to be destroyed.

These pics speak from themselves...

Disappointing to say the least...

Oh well...sh... it happens

frosken

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:14 pm

The last pic is particularly ironic. The box reads "Hair of The Dog produces bottle conditioned beers which improve with age"...right below the massive mold spot from the leakage. Make sure you send the images to the brewery and make it clear to them that you (and others) aren't happy.

BeerMonger · Post by **BeerMonger** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:19 pm

Wow, thats disgraceful.

I haven't participated in the private order sessions and after seeing the result of this particular one I must say that I won't be doing so anytime soon. Please don't anyone misunderstand me...I applaud the Bar Towelers that have led the way in these endeavours but to be stuck with no recourse here...its not for me.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:23 pm

BeerMonger wrote:Wow, thats disgraceful.

I haven't participated in the private order sessions and after seeing the result of this particular one I must say that I won't be doing so anytime soon. Please don't anyone misunderstand me...I applaud the Bar Towelers that have led the way in these endeavours but to be stuck with no recourse here...its not for me.

I understand your reluctance but this is only one bad private order experience after many other good ones. AND the jury is still out on whether the LCBO and/or Hair of the Dog are going to do anything to make the situation right.

Private orders are still a great way to get rare and generally excellent quality beers.

frosken · Post by **frosken** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:58 pm

Jon Walker wrote:
BeerMonger wrote:Wow, thats disgraceful.

I haven't participated in the private order sessions and after seeing the result of this particular one I must say that I won't be doing so anytime soon. Please don't anyone misunderstand me...I applaud the Bar Towelers that have led the way in these endeavours but to be stuck with no recourse here...its not for me.
I understand your reluctance but this is only one bad private order experience after many other good ones. AND the jury is still out on whether the LCBO and/or Hair of the Dog are going to do anything to make the situation right.

Private orders are still a great way to get rare and generally excellent quality beers.

I second that...

Although this experience was...well...just plain nasty, my first private order experience with the Bar Towelers (Great Divide) is still keeping me smiling

FRosken

BeerMonger · Post by **BeerMonger** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:58 pm

You may be right...someone may step up to the plate but by the tone of the posts by those directly affected...it doesn't look good.

frosken · Post by **frosken** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:07 pm

Jon Walker wrote:The last pic is particularly ironic. The box reads "Hair of The Dog produces bottle conditioned beers which improve with age"...right below the massive mold spot from the leakage. Make sure you send the images to the brewery and make it clear to them that you (and others) aren't happy.

Done...

frosken

viggo · Post by **viggo** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:22 am

Mine were all intact but with wonky caps. I just used a bench bottle capper to tighten up the caps, and I suggest anyone who has access to one of these do the same. I think grub already mentioned this.

Bobbyok · Post by **Bobbyok** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 7:56 am

Not to excuse Hair of the Dog in all this, but I think it's more a case of a small brewer biting off more than they can chew (pun intended slightly) than HOTD screwing over customers and not caring about it. As far as I know, HOTD is a tiny brewery whose reputation has far exceeded its distribution abilities. I believe there are a number of US States who no longer get their beers because they just can't meet the supply anymore. There have also been rumours posted on Ratebeer (by one user in particular who doesn't seem to want to expand on his innuendo) that HOTD is not doing very well business wise.

I guess the point of my story here is that it reads like people are looking at this as an "I got screwed by a business that doesn't care about its customers" situation when it might be more of a "small business that's going too far out of its way to make everyone happy" situation.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:03 am

I don't think anyone here has suggested HOTD intended to screw up the capping...but it happened. The beer was expensive, we paid for it, we didn't get what we were supposed to. Any business, big or small, has a responsibility to stand behind their products and deal with the genuine issues of their customers. The company's intentions really don't enter into the equation.

I've already written off the experience as a bad one that's unlikely to end satisfactorily for most of us. In this case it's caveat emptor and I won't buy HOTD again unless in a U.S. store where I can personally check the cap seals before purchase.

Bobbyok · Post by **Bobbyok** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:14 am

Jon Walker wrote:The beer was expensive, we paid for it, we didn't get what we were supposed to. Any business, big or small, has a responsibility to stand behind their products and deal with the genuine issues of their customers.

And I don't mean to suggest that they don't have that responsibility. I just think this is more a situation where HOTD would have been better off saying no to the private order based on their size and circumstance, that's all. In part because they may not have the capacity to deal with issues such as those that came up with this order. I'm just basing this on my knowledge of the company, which could be way off.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:23 am

We only ordered about 60 cases. Even for a brewery of their size this is not a huge order. Regardless of size the issue was with a piece of equipment (capper) they'd already recieved complaints about (Ratebeer was rife with them) and that they didn't get replaced until AFTER the order left their doors.

If a brewery can't fix issues they have been made aware of, can't get a 60 case order out the door with good quality control and then do nothing to satisfy complaints from said customers...perhaps the issue isn't whether they should have taken the private order in the first place, perhaps the issue is they shouldn't be in business at all. I love the beer, it's the business that's failing IMHO.

Al of Kingston · Post by **Al of Kingston** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:55 am

I would just second that point - these are great beers. I am happy to pay the price of the cases (+100 bucks each) and would put together money to get the guy the right equipment. But 60 cases is a small order. Mine survived the ordeal barely but I was lucky. One one hand I am intrigued by the risk as one single person made this beer and made it excellently but a capper is something of a no-brainer. Maybe he needs a merger?