As part of my education into the UK craft and general beer industry, I have been trying different brands that are commercially available in supermarkets and at mini-breweries, where the beer is available to the public. A few days ago I opened a beer that I bought at a well known retail outlet that prides itself on high quality and competes for the top end of the supermarket retail rankings. The beer was ghastly, disgusting, vile and repulsive. I was astounded. The taste might have been described as industrial chemicals smelling a bit like methanol or anti-freeze mixed with vinegar and diluted coke. It is, without a doubt, the worst example of a beer that I have ever tasted. The fact that someone attempted to pass it off as a beer is astounding. It has also made me realise just how spectacularly poor beer-quality can be.
The biggest impact on me has been an immediate dislike of the brand, the beer, and the brewery in question. I've literally written them off from my future tasting list on the basis of one sample. I am not going to mention names, yet, because I want to see how well the supplier and the retailer deal with the complaint. Normally I would never want to visit their brewery, but given that this experience is a serious pit-fall to avoid in this industry I am going to make a point of going to see them. I want to talk to them in person, inspect their equipment and processes (as much as they will allow me to interrogate them), and to find out more about the distribution chains and how both supplier and retailer attempt to manage product quality. I am interested in the chain of custody - I want to find out who is responsible at what stage of the delivery process?
There is another side to this experience that raised my concerns. How do I know that this beer was a real product of this outfit and not a fake? There has been a problem with fake alcohol in the UK and I understand that other countries like China have had their fair share of this problem. The BBC lists 5 counterfeit cons you should know about (one of which is alcohol), so as to have less of a chance of falling victim to them. There is a long list of HMRC news items associated with crooks in the alcohol business.
Drink Aware mentions the dangers of fake alcohol, with health risks being the most obvious and severe, and goes on to list the Trading Standards Institue list of things to look out for in terms of the four 'P's: Place, Price, Packaging, and Product.
- Place: where are you buying? Buy from a reputable outfit.
- Price: If the price looks to good, it probably is fake.
- Packaging: Look out for poor quality labelling, a UK duty stamp, properly sealed containers, and potentially fake bar codes (the later needs more attention in terms of databases, certificates and tools in the form of apps).
- Product: Beware of unusual brand names (well, that would kill the craft beer market, now, wouldn't it?), unusual product appearance, and if it tastes or smells bad, don't drink it. The smell of nail varnish or other chemicals may be an indication.
Post-dated update:
Two day after I made my complaint the retailer got back to me to apologise for the product not being up to the standard I expected. They reassured me that all complaints are recorded and passed to relevant Partners. They reassured me that their buyers and technologists work closely with their producers and suppliers to alert them to any concerns. They wanted to reassure me that the information I had provided will help them prevent something like this from happening again. They also offered to send me a gift voucher in the post.
No news from the brewery - they may feel that it is the retailers responsibility to sort it out (pure speculation), but some reassurance they they do their best to ensure everything is managed well on their side would be reassuring and may have tempted me back as a traditional consumer to try their products again.
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