Comments on: Bought a six pack of bottled beer, one of the bottles has the cap of a different brand on it - should I care?

Question: Bought a six pack of bottled beer, one of the bottles has the cap of a different brand on it - should I care?

ripple — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:35:03 -0800

I live in the NYC area and bought a six-pack of Saranac from the local shop. One of the bottles has a Brooklyn brewery cap on it instead of the Saranac cap. Are the two beers bottled in the same plant? Should I worry about tampering? The store is reputable and I've never had any trouble with anything from there in 3 years.

By: nursegracer

nursegracer — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:43:50 -0800

In short, yes. The "Matt Brewing Company" in the wiki page is the brewer of Saranac.

By: MaryDellamorte

MaryDellamorte — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:44:01 -0800

What Brooklyn beer was it? We go through a lot of Brooklyn beer at the place I work at and I do all the stocking. I've never seen anything other than a Brooklyn cap on a Brooklyn bottle in the 3.5 years I've worked there.

By: nursegracer

nursegracer — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:44:34 -0800

Dang, meant to say: "In short, no [you shouldn't be worried].

By: dhartung

dhartung — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:20:07 -0800

Back in the day we used to see Coke bottles with Sprite caps and so forth. Basically somebody didn't fully empty the production line before a restart. I wouldn't be overly concerned.

On the other hand, calling up the company and telling them may mean they send you a coupon for a free six pack in the interests of customer satisfaction.

By: qvtqht

qvtqht — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:24:29 -0800

Hold on to it as a conversation piece?

By: dubitable

dubitable — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:26:29 -0800

Ditto what box said, but also ditto what nursegracer said. I remember very clearly going on a tour at the Brooklyn Brewery and having the guide tell us that. So, maybe a mix-up.

By: ArgentCorvid

ArgentCorvid — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:00:13 -0800

Are the labels different? I've (unintentionally) bought six-packs of bottles before that were mixed. I assume that someone wanted to try a different, possibly more expensive beer without buying six bottles of it. not that it makes a whole sense, because you could just buy a single bottle.

if the labels are the same, then i'd go with dhartung's answer

By: plinth

plinth — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 05:38:00 -0800

I'd contact the company as a matter of courtesy. Without feedback that something went wrong in the bottling line, there's no way to correct it! Take a photo, write a letter.

By: GilloD

GilloD — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:51:04 -0800

I think you're safe, but do call the company. I work for a mid-sized food producer and all kinds of things can go wrong without our knowing.

By: maurice

maurice — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:18:20 -0800

The Saranac brewery had a fire not long ago. For awhile, Saranac was being bottled in other facilities. That might be the source of the mis-capped bottle.