diff --git a/gubernator.go b/gubernator.go
index 0a4701e5..eed4db7a 100644
--- a/gubernator.go
+++ b/gubernator.go
@@ -609,7 +609,7 @@ func (s *V1Instance) SetPeers(peerInfo []PeerInfo) {
 					Info:      info,
 				})
 				if err != nil {
-					s.log.Error("error connecting to peer: %s", err)
+					s.log.Errorf("error connecting to peer %s: %s", info.GRPCAddress, err)
 					return
 				}
 			}
@@ -628,7 +628,7 @@ func (s *V1Instance) SetPeers(peerInfo []PeerInfo) {
 				Info:      info,
 			})
 			if err != nil {
-				s.log.Error("error connecting to peer: %s", err)
+				s.log.Errorf("error connecting to peer %s: %s", info.GRPCAddress, err)
 				return
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/peer_client.go b/peer_client.go
index e7c40a4c..8cd2a1c5 100644
--- a/peer_client.go
+++ b/peer_client.go
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
-	"time"
 
 	"github.com/mailgun/holster/v4/clock"
 	"github.com/mailgun/holster/v4/collections"
@@ -80,7 +79,7 @@ type PeerConfig struct {
 	TraceGRPC bool
 }
 
-// NewPeerClient tries to establish a connection to a peer in a blocking fashion with a 1 second timeout.
+// NewPeerClient tries to establish a connection to a peer in a non-blocking fashion.
 // If batching is enabled, it also starts a goroutine where batches will be processed.
 func NewPeerClient(conf PeerConfig) (*PeerClient, error) {
 	peerClient := &PeerClient{
@@ -88,7 +87,7 @@ func NewPeerClient(conf PeerConfig) (*PeerClient, error) {
 		conf:     conf,
 		lastErrs: collections.NewLRUCache(100),
 	}
-	opts := []grpc.DialOption{grpc.WithBlock()}
+	var opts []grpc.DialOption
 
 	if conf.TraceGRPC {
 		opts = []grpc.DialOption{
@@ -102,11 +101,8 @@ func NewPeerClient(conf PeerConfig) (*PeerClient, error) {
 		opts = append(opts, grpc.WithTransportCredentials(insecure.NewCredentials()))
 	}
 
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 1*time.Second)
-	defer cancel()
-
 	var err error
-	peerClient.conn, err = grpc.DialContext(ctx, conf.Info.GRPCAddress, opts...)
+	peerClient.conn, err = grpc.Dial(conf.Info.GRPCAddress, opts...)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}