Tell 'em whatcha think!

Have you ever had a beer, perhaps one that you were excited to try, and been really disappointed with it? What did you do? Nothing? Or maybe you just told your friends that it wasn't good and to skip that one. Did you think about contacting the brewer about it? Chances are they would welcome the criticism and work hard to keep you as a loyal customer! That was my experience with New Belgium Brewing Co. I had always enjoyed Fat Tire, their flagship brew, so was excited to try some of their other offerings. I tried Mothership Wit and 1554. Frankly, I was not impressed. That could have been the end of the story. However, I decided to write the company and let them know how I felt. They were very happy to hear from me, and in fact let me know that they had been having some problems with the recent batch of Mothership Wit and wanted my opinion with the new batch. They sent me a variety six pack, at no expense to me, so that I could try a fresh bottle of the wit, along with 5 other brews. I was really impressed with the customer service they displayed. When the beer didn't arrive after a couple of weeks, I inquired on the status of the shipment. It turned out that the beer had been destroyed in transit, and had made its way back to their brewery. They promptly sent out another package that made it to me safely. Again, I was really impressed. The lengths they went to in order to insure a happy customer gained them one for life. Don't be shy! Tell your brewer what you think of their beer. They will benefit from your observances, and you will benefit from a better product. Everybody wins!