diff --git a/builders/builder.py b/builders/builder.py
index 5fe1171..8e1ec42 100644
--- a/builders/builder.py
+++ b/builders/builder.py
@@ -318,8 +318,7 @@ class Builder(object):
             else:
                 # This is a development build, get the version info based on tags
                 git_version = self._git('describe', self.branch_path, ['--tags'], err_msg='Error running git describe')
-                git_version = git_version.strip()
-                if not git_version:
+                if not git_version or len(git_version.strip()) == 0:
                     self.version = '0.0.0'
                 else:
                     self.version = '+'.join(git_version.strip().rsplit('-g', 1))