diff --git a/relp_handler.go b/relp_handler.go
index def43e4..6d101f6 100644
--- a/relp_handler.go
+++ b/relp_handler.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ var (
 	cacheDir          = os.Getenv("LOGGER_CACHE_DIR")
 	diskBufferLimit   = getEnvAsInt("LOGGER_DISK_BUFFER_LIMIT", 100)
 	diskWriteInterval = getEnvAsDuration("LOGGER_DISK_WRITE_INTERVAL", time.Second)
+	relpDebug         = os.Getenv("RELP_DEBUG") != ""
 )
 
 type RELPHandler struct {
@@ -152,9 +153,15 @@ func (r *RELPHandler) sendEventToRELPServer(event Event) error {
 	r.conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(2 * time.Second))
 	ack := make([]byte, 256)
 	n, err := r.conn.Read(ack)
-	if err != nil || string(ack[:n]) != "ACK" {
+	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	if string(ack[:n]) != "ACK" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("expected ACK from server, got %s", string(ack[:n]))
+	}
+	if relpDebug {
+		log.Printf("Received ACK from RELP server for event %s", event.ID)
+	}
 	return nil
 }