# Matilda Bay - Pull Your Finger Out



## QldKev (8/2/12)

Recently I needed some beers to take away with me so was looking for a carton. Normally I love the Matilda Bay Alpha Ale, although expensive it is a great beer. I purchased a carton of it, thats $90 for a carton. It was crap, the bottle were gushers, the malt backbone stripped. I suspect an infection. 

Their response.
I have to send away an empty (they will send a post bag) and upon receipt of the bottle they will send me a voucher for a 4 pack! 


I spent $90 for 24 beers and it was crap, and the resolution is a 4 pack! Next time I think I may get VB


QldKev


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## Rina (8/2/12)

You expect too much from Company A, B or C. Lower your expectations. 

To be more serious- have you thought about taking it back to the place of purchase and getting a refund or exchange? People here have said it works with Dan Murphys.


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## argon (8/2/12)

Rina said:


> You expect too much from Company A, B or C. Lower your expectations.


If the same were to happen from a 'proper' craft brewery, i'd expect their to be a replacement of the entire stock on it's way (consider 4 pines and Murray's example of brewers that stand by their product). 

Kev is right, poor form


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## .DJ. (8/2/12)

Id tell them to stick it, they should replace the carton...

Tis a good beer though when fresh and infection free!


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## jpr (8/2/12)

Four Pines sent me a replacement carton. Bloody fantastic


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## argon (8/2/12)

By the way, if you end up sending that bottle back. Stick some brett in there to freak them out


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## Rina (8/2/12)

I was being sarcastic. Recent threads about Holgate, Coopers, Sierra Nevada etc seems to show that attitude is common.


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## QldKev (8/2/12)

Imagine buying a 1kg pack of bacon to find it contains worms; and they offer to replace 1 rasher!

When they wont stand behind their product; I think next time I may be buying something else.


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## barls (8/2/12)

id push for the whole carton. under consumer law if the product isnt fit for use or consumption they have to replace or refund the whole amount.


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## Rina (8/2/12)

Did they admit fault or was it more along the lines of 'we are disappointed you are disappointed with our product please accept this voucher as compensation'?


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## craigo (8/2/12)

jpr said:


> Four Pines sent me a replacement carton. Bloody fantastic




stone and wood sent me a replacement carton aswell,


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## bum (8/2/12)

argon said:


> By the way, if you end up sending that bottle back. Stick some brett in there to freak them out


Funny.



barls said:


> id push for the whole carton. under consumer law if the product isnt fit for use or consumption they have to replace or refund the whole amount.


Is that only on the retailer or the manufacturer as well?


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## QldKev (8/2/12)

The beer was not totally undrinkable, but by no means was it was enjoyable or acceptable. IMHO it was infected. If a megaswill was available at the time we would have drank that instead.


They would not admit to anything. It was a "we make a large batch of beer sold all around Australia and blah blah blah.... " response. She was adamant there would be a batch number on the bottle, which there wasn't, only a best before date; and also she did not realise it is sold in 4 packs and not 6 packs. 



QldKev


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## beerbog (8/2/12)

Let them know that social media is a powerful tool and you'll smear their name all over it. Arseholes. :beerbang:


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## Maheel (8/2/12)

Gibbo1 said:


> Let them know that social media is a powerful tool and you'll smear their name all over it. Arseholes. :beerbang:



go forth and slander :beerbang:


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## Rina (8/2/12)

You've got a couple of options try and take it back to the retailer and get back your money that way or do as barls suggested but by the sounds of it you'll have an email war on your hands.

Edit: Owned by CUB I see...I would reconsider getting VB instead.


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## MarkBastard (8/2/12)

argon said:


> By the way, if you end up sending that bottle back. Stick some brett in there to freak them out



Hahaha that is the best idea ever.


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## ekul (8/2/12)

That is a real shame. Alpha pale is one of my favourite beers, but if there's a chance of it being infected i don't want to risk it, as $5 a beer is too expensive for a beer that *might* be good.

What you should do is get your wife and sons to also ring up and say they bought a carton and it was infected. Then you'll get another few 4 packs as well...

And Kev, never stoop to VB. A few carbonator caps would be cheaper, and then you can drink awesome beer everywhere.


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## eamonnfoley (8/2/12)

Why would you pay $90 for it? MB lost me when they rebranded and alpha, bohemian and dogbolter, and discontinued rooftop red (all great beers at the time, but no longer). They then increased carton/six pack price by about 70-80% for those said beers, and introduced some very ordinary beers (Helgas, fat yak).

Alpha particularly used to be outstanding a few years ago, especially on tap. A shadow of its former self.


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## chunckious (8/2/12)

foles said:


> Alpha particularly used to be outstanding a few years ago, especially on tap. A shadow of its former self.



+1
Had the Alpha on tap @ The Archive. Dejavu of how James Squire's Golden Ale used to taste compared to the bean count that it is now.
Utter trash.


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## QldKev (8/2/12)

foles said:


> Why would you pay $90 for it? MB lost me when they rebranded and alpha, bohemian and dogbolter, and discontinued rooftop red (all great beers at the time, but no longer). They then increased carton/six pack price by about 70-80% for those said beers, and introduced some very ordinary beers (Helgas, fat yak).
> 
> Alpha particularly used to be outstanding a few years ago, especially on tap. A shadow of its former self.




Yep $90, could buy a few carb caps, I'm also seriously looking at a portable keg setup; I already have a soda stream bottle and adapter, and thanks to Batz a spare reg. 

If they are going to play these crappy games, they have lost me as a customer and hopefully a few others will think about buying from them too.

QldKev


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## QldKev (8/2/12)

I've just sent a email to Matilda Bay, stating I am not happy with a 4 pack in exchange for my carton. Will post their response.


QldKev


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## Batz (8/2/12)

QldKev said:


> Yep $90, could buy a few carb caps, I'm also seriously looking at a portable keg setup; I already have a soda stream bottle and adapter, and thanks to Batz a spare reg.
> 
> If they are going to play these crappy games, they have lost me as a customer and hopefully a few others will think about buying from them too.
> 
> QldKev





When did I give you a reg? The reg I left at your place is a high pressure LPG reg for yardy's NASA.

Batz

Edit: OK perhaps it was one of those chrome plated ones I had a while back, seniors moment happening I think.


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## ShredMaster (8/2/12)

I bought a 30can pack of New once, one can was obviously scraped on something during packing and had a line around it 1/2 way up and the can itself was empty. I rang the 1800 number on the can and spoke to a chick there who took my details, told me to hang onto the can and some "customer service" thingy would get back to me. Got a letter a week later telling me to take the letter into the place I bought it from and redeem for a whole new carton and they will credit the shop for the carton. Worked a treat...

I can understand that a craft brewer has a completely different business model from a megaswill brewery so they will be more cautious to just take a word for it that it was shit. They have more pride in their product and would probably be offended by being told that but they really ought to back it up with even BETTER service that I got from Mr Megaswill. 

As mentioned earlier, consumer law means you are entitled to a refund/replacement in the right circumstances. If you drank the whole carton then it will be unlikely that the beer was actually that bad, in their opinion, because it didn't stop anybody from drinking it. If you drank a 6pack and took the rest back to the shop they may have been able to replace the remainder and take your work that it was shit and throw an extra 6pack at you for the one you managed to drink. You can talk direct to the manufacturer but technically they can tell you to get bent, you didn't buy it from them so go take it up with who actually sold it to you. 

I'm keen to hear the response....

Cheers,
Shred.


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## petesbrew (8/2/12)

QldKev said:


> I've just sent a email to Matilda Bay, stating I am not happy with a 4 pack in exchange for my carton. Will post their response.
> 
> 
> QldKev


As already stated, did you try taking it back to the retailer?
$90, yep I wouldn't be happy.


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## Rina (8/2/12)

ShredMaster said:


> I can understand that a craft brewer has a completely different business model from a megaswill brewery so they will be more cautious to just take a word for it that it was shit. They have more pride in their product and would probably be offended by being told that but they really ought to back it up with even BETTER service that I got from Mr Megaswill.


Nah the irony is Matilda Bay is CUB while 4 Pines etc (afaik) are 'independent'.

Maybe he didn't keep the receipt? Keeping receipts for every beer you buy sounds like a pain.


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## QldKev (8/2/12)

I just had a phone call. Normally they require a stubby to be returned so they can test them. They are happy to stand behind the product and have agreed to a full replacement carton. This restores my confidence in the brewery. 

QldKev


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## beerbog (8/2/12)

They're on AHB also, give it to em. :beerbang:


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## chunckious (8/2/12)

Where's the recipe for Alpha Pale Ale then!!!!!


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## Rina (8/2/12)

Gibbo1 said:


> They're on AHB also, give it to em. :beerbang:


That's what I thought too. Sounds like a total 180. Any way good to hear.


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## donburke (8/2/12)

QldKev said:


> I just had a phone call. Normally they require a stubby to be returned so they can test them. They are happy to stand behind the product and have agreed to a full replacement carton. This restores my confidence in the brewery.
> 
> QldKev



can i ask how many of the 24 bottles did you offer to return full ?


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## ekul (8/2/12)

does anyone have a clone for this beer? Good outcome Kev


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## sponge (8/2/12)

From a quick search it's mostly ale with a few % of crystal

Mainly cascade (late and dry hopped) with a bit of centennial, amarillo and mt hood thrown about the boil

1056 @ 16'C




Sponge


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## HoppingMad (8/2/12)

That treatment is rubbish Kev. 

I recall getting better treatment from CUB a while back. Our boss used to order in VB a fair bit (don't ask me why) and we had one bad case.
The guys from the brewery replaced it no questions asked. You'd think that if the megaswill arm of Fosters can get their customer service right then Matilda Bay should be able to as well.

On the subject of clones, my notes from research many moons ago state:

Pale Malt
Dark Crystal Malt

Lots of late boil Cascade
Dry Hopped Amarillo in secondary
Mt Hood (bittering)
Centennial

Fermented with 1056 at 16 degrees

My brewclub went to their Garage brewery in Dandenong yonks ago, that was the source, and also their older website.
Hops may have changed since but historically it was a two-grain, 4 hop beer.

Cheers,

Hopper


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## kevo (8/2/12)

QldKev said:


> This restores my confidence in the brewery.
> 
> QldKev



Maybe wait and taste the replacement beers...


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## jayse (9/2/12)

I hope the replacement carton lives up to expectations and that Alpha pale has not actually been dumbed down, I like the beer but always thought it was overpriced being a larger brewery charging more for their beer then many small independent companies.


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## yardy (9/2/12)

Batz said:


> When did I give you a reg? The reg I left at your place is a high pressure LPG reg for yardy's NASA.
> 
> Batz



I've got a NASA ? cool :icon_cheers: 



Kev,

save a few of the replacement stubbies for when i drop in and pick the gear up, about 8 should give me a good idea if that batch is infected or not :icon_cheers:


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## QldKev (9/2/12)

yardy said:


> I've got a NASA ? cool :icon_cheers:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




what NASA? what pot?, what esky? h34r: 



Something should be available for a sample or few



I've got confidence the next ones should be great. I've purchased soo many of these over the years and never had a problem prior.



QldKev


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## QldKev (14/2/12)

The saga continues...



Looks like they cannot do a credit for the Alpha Pale Ale for any store within 400km's of me... (although we can buy it local) 

I've been offered 2 options
A Fat Yak as an alternative. That's fair, a $50 carton to replace a $90 odd carton. 
OR I have to arrange someone down in Brisbane to pick it up and store it for me as I cannot guarantee personally I will be down there within the 3 month voucher expiry; and fingers crossed that being stored in Queensland weather for months wont spoil the product. Also being a product with a high hop ratio, it will most likely not be as good once it is a few months old even if stored at cool temps.

If they cannot source the replacement product locally, would it not be up to them to arrange delivery of it?


QldKev


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## MarkBastard (14/2/12)

I can store it for you if it comes to that

In a room that's relatively cool (under 30 degrees anyway and probably averages 25)


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## Rina (14/2/12)

2 cartons of Fat Yak + pay the difference?


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## bradsbrew (14/2/12)

QldKev said:


> The saga continues...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'm back up next week Kev, could pick up on saturday and drive up with it on sunday? Don't blame me if "they didn't give me a full carton" though.

Let me know.

Cheers


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## manticle (14/2/12)

They should just offer you a refund. Dicking you around saves them bugger all money and maybe loses them a customer.


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## Pennywise (14/2/12)

This is pretty poor form on their behalf


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## QldKev (14/2/12)

Mark^Bastard said:


> I can store it for you if it comes to that
> 
> In a room that's relatively cool (under 30 degrees anyway and probably averages 25)



Thanks for the offer, will see what pans out. I'm just worried with a hoppy ale being stored for a few months may be a bit boring by the time I get to drink it. Also having to drive possibly up to an hour out of my way through Brisbane is not my best idea of fun whilst on holidays.





Rina said:


> 2 cartons of Fat Yak + pay the difference?



They didn't offer. Going by the Dans prices, I would pay the $10 extra to get the 2 x fat yak just to get this resolved.




bradsbrew said:


> I'm back up next week Kev, could pick up on saturday and drive up with it on sunday? Don't blame me if "they didn't give me a full carton" though.
> 
> Let me know.
> 
> Cheers



Don't think we could get another voucher together by this weekend, thanks for the offer. Are we up for another feed somewhere?





manticle said:


> They should just offer you a refund. Dicking you around saves them bugger all money and maybe loses them a customer.



How much extra cost would it have been for them to courier it up, and keep customer satisfaction number one, and their names out of the press.




Pennywise said:


> This is pretty poor form on their behalf



As with manticle's response. A delivery, since they could not replace it locally (even thou it is sold locally) should have been on the cards. Since I was happy to drive almost a 50km round trip to get the replacement. 




QldKev


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## manticle (14/2/12)

QldKev said:


> How much extra cost would it have been for them to courier it up, and keep customer satisfaction number one, and their names out of the press.
> 
> QldKev



That would have been fine too. It's the dicking around that costs them their reputation and a possibly regular customer. In the long run they'll probably/possibly still make a profit for their shareholders but customer service should be better.


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## NDH (14/2/12)

I bought a carton of FatYak about a month ago and majority of bottles were gushers no matter how long I left them in the fridge, I assumed it was my fault for crash chilling a couple in the freezer or perhaps the carton was dropped by Dan's. Just cracked my first bottle from a new carton and a different retailer and the same issue as the OP, gusher!

Buyers beware!


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## mxd (14/2/12)

QldKev said:


> The saga continues...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



bit tough mate, but I think there down the road from me, so I can garb it for you, when you in Melbourne I can tell you where to go


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## QldKev (14/2/12)

NDH said:


> I bought a carton of FatYak about a month ago and majority of bottles were gushers no matter how long I left them in the fridge, I assumed it was my fault for crash chilling a couple in the freezer or perhaps the carton was dropped by Dan's. Just cracked my first bottle from a new carton and a different retailer and the same issue as the OP, gusher!
> 
> Buyers beware!




What is the date on the bottles, I'm starting to wonder which wild yeast we are dealing with. 

Maybe we should pay for a lab test and see what it is?

QldKev


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## NDH (14/2/12)

22JUN12 is the date on the label, couldn't tell you the date on the last carton though. Will be interesting to see how they react to my complaint, sounds like a pretty serious issue.


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