This may turn out to be an epic. It may end in tears. Whatever it is you can click on each picture for a bigger image.
In the early fall – actually on September 28th 2006 just after noon – I jumped into my first LCBO private order, two cases from Hair of the Dog brewery in Portland Oregon being organized by the excellent gents, those Bar Towellers out of Toronto. I faxed through my deposit of $51.60 CND on a total order of $197.96 CND. I ordered one each of Doggie Claws and Fred, two 10% or so barley wines from one of North America’s top boutique brewers. I had a Fred when I was at Volo earlier this year. And then I waited. And waited.
Around the first of December, the order came into Toronto, I paid the balance and waited for it to make its way 220 km or so east to Kingston. Then there were rumours of issues with the capping. Excellent, I thought – bottle variation. The curse of decent wine. Jon Walker, a Bar Toweller, noted:
This thread worries me. As a result I went in to check on my stash of HOTD and indeed many of the caps are not fully crimped onto the bottles. Most flair at their base and do not fully grip the lip of the bottle. I was actually able to press up on one with my thumb and get the gas to release in the “PPST” common to uncapping. What do I do know? I don’t have a capper to close the caps properly (if they actually CAN be sealed, perhaps they are the wrong size???). I’ve got just shy of 70 bottles left and I’m loathe to believe I might lose some to oxidation due to loose caps.
The cases showed today, 21 December 2006, about 12 weeks after they were ordered which is really not that bad seeing as I think the beer was still in the tanks when the order was originally placed. But there was an obvious problem from one look at the case of Fred that seemed to echo Jon’s words above.
When I got home I decided to have a look inside and what I found was not pretty. The inside of the box was soaked. Ten bottles were seriously uncapped with significant beer loss with mostly empty necks like above at the right. In addition, twelve were showing little beer loss and two showed some promise. All were irregularly capped in the same way. Some caps show some rubbing and wear like there was a mechanical issue when they were put on.
Much to my surprise, the beer, picked from the worst group of ten, opens with a loud Pfffft!!The yeast had created a seal inside as you can see below to the right and it pours with a huge head. It is huge and lovely and lively. Hallelujah! Christmas is saved. Christmas is saved. And the Doggie Claws show no sign of leakage at all with the same location of the irregular capping as the Fred but with a lot less severity.
So it will likely be a crap shoot one a bottle by bottle basis but if that yeast cakes up it may last throughout the holidays at least. “Pour slowly to allow sediment to remain in the bottle” it says on the back. What can you do? That yeast is my best friend right about now, the life in the ale securing what the dim-witted capped and shippers could not. I would hope the legal saying “buyer beware” is popping into readers’ minds right about now.
J’accuse!
[Original comments…]
Jon – December 22, 2006 3:36 AM
http://www.thebrewsite.com/
That’s simply tragedy…
You should seriously inquire about getting a replacement case. At no charge.
Todd – December 22, 2006 8:09 AM
http://relyeaproject.org
Just curious if you’ve contacted the brewery, and what the response was. It’s a big disappointment, and in the microbrewery world, sometimes bad things happen, but the brewery should make good on this.
Todd
Alan – December 22, 2006 8:18 AM
I think I will forward the link as the beer is clearly excellent and maybe so excellent that it actually is trying to save its own life through throwing the yeast into the breach, like a Dutch lad’s thumb in the dyke. This morning, I received this email from a Portland Oregon reader:
Interestingly, I bought some HOTD this summer at the brewery, and when I opened a bottle of the Doggie Claws, it was a little flat. Mystery solved. It should also be noted that HOTD is a one-man operation, with temp workers coming in for bottling only. Alan brews almost every day, all by his lonesome. Makes the beer they make still more impressive. He’s also a very nice man and a fantastic griller. For the Oregon Brewer’s Fest he holds an opening party each year. Well worth checking out if you can get here. They debuted a new line this year? called “Fred of the Wood,” which is Fred, oak-aged. Very, very, ridiculously good.
Clearly, this is a great operation that is working at the level of a large nano-brewer as much as a small micro-brewer. The most amazing thing is how wonderful the now empty beer-wetted cardboard box that they came in still smells.
Paul of Kingston – December 22, 2006 9:47 AM
Do you think they may have gotten a bit frozen along their journey?
Alan – December 22, 2006 10:07 AM
No, the brewery has admitted a capping machine error. They are quite lovely otherwise. Freezing would have affected the beer itself.
Paul of Kingston – December 22, 2006 12:37 PM
Well thank goodness for yeast then!
Andy – December 23, 2006 4:00 PM
It seems Alan (the HOTD brewer) has been having these capping problems for a good while. When Fred from the Wood came out, it seems all the bottles had the same bad cap: one that was just a tad too small and couldnt completely crimp. These beers of yours seem to have the same issue. I’d think that a brewer so focused on (and succesful with) quality and aging would have solved these problems by now.
Timothy Doyle – December 27, 2006 10:29 PM
Wow I love the looks of that Glass It looks like it really muds your tongue
Alan – January 8, 2007 9:09 PM
A far unhappier tale from the Bar Towel Hair of the Dog order.
Drinking in the basement – March 14, 2007 10:31 PM
I finally had the courage to crack open a bottle from my case of Claws, and lo! the yeast had saved another bottle. Pffft! Messy as hell (got a fair bit of yeast on me), and only a wee head with the bottle poured straight down into the glass. Lovely beer, but I doubt I’ll be able to age any, seeing as how the yeast is in the neck and all the caps are poorly crimped. At least I got a case that didn’t suffer from spillage…
I probably won’t be buying any HotD for a long, long time (if ever again even) ‘cos of this snafu. It’s a pity, because the brews themselves are great and do age quite well (have a few Batch 8 Freds in the cellar still). I would have loved to have had this Bar Towel order turn out to be a great success, but if a brewer isn’t willing to value his customers, why should I waste my time on his beers?
Cooking Asshole – January 15, 2010 9:55 PM
http://www.cookingforassholes.com
That totally blows…luckily I live in Portland Oregon and drink Hair of the Dog all the time! Blue Dot Double IPA is my favorite so far. Beware the 2009 release of Doggie Claws with the blue caps. They have ZERO carbonation and totally suck. The gold caps are okay. Good luck in the future!
Cooking Asshole – January 15, 2010 9:57 PM
http://www.cookingforassholes.com
I just saw your comment above mine…
This brewery is just one dude. He makes some awesome beer but is only human. He fucks up too.
best of luck in the future!