McMullan
wort maker
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2015
- Messages
- 2,566
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- 3,453
This weekend I was supposed to be brewing a ‘traditional’ pilsner with Hana lager malt and a load of spicy Saaz. Even cultured up some of my favourite lager yeast from the freezer. Hana lager malt. How exciting! I’ve been wanting to try it for ages. Not available locally so had to pay a premium to import a sack from the UK to Norway. Only problem was that DHL Norway, for reasons best known to themselves, decided to charge me the equivalent of about $78 admin fee for processing the import on their primarily automated global barcoded digital system. $78? That’s exclusive of the local VAT charge too. WTF? Normal import processing fee is about $20. So I called them. They couldn’t explain why the fee was so high. They said “it’s complicated”. Me: “I’ve done a BSc, MSc and PhD. I have a background in science and I deal with complexity every day. I think I can cope.” They said, “It’s the rules in Norway.” Me: “No it’s not. I’ve been living in Norway for over 10 years and I know the normal fee is about 200kr ($20), because I routinely import stuff to Norway.” Them: “Well, you have to pay this fee.” Me: “LOL! F off!. I’m not paying this extortionate fee. I refuse to accept the shipment. You need to return it to the sender in the UK.” Apparently, they couldn’t do that. I had to bother the HBS in the UK, formally cancel the order and leave them with the responsibility of requesting return shipping. I felt a bit bad, but there’s no way I’m ever going to accept DHL Norway’s BS.
So, looks like this weekend’s brew is going to be my standard English Pilsner, extra pale MO, a load of EKG and my favourite lager yeast. Not exactly the end of the world just yet.
So, looks like this weekend’s brew is going to be my standard English Pilsner, extra pale MO, a load of EKG and my favourite lager yeast. Not exactly the end of the world just yet.