He was a complicated man and apparently no one understood him but his women….



Ready to be enjoyed

Oh a bastardization of “Shaft” rings true for one James Squire, the man, the legend…

We know that he was born in early December 1754, based on the fact that his baptismal record reads 18^th of December, and that his parents were apparently “gypsies”.  He lived a life of crime and eventually in late 1784 he was caught stealing some hens, cocks and other goods and was sentenced on April 11, 1785  to join the “First Fleet” in the British Government’s convict program – exile to Australia.  How lucky was he?  He not only got to leave his wife and kids behind, but his legacy now remains in Oz as one of the tastiest beers that I have had in my 3 months of exile from Canada.

We’ll delve more into his story over the next few weeks, but each beer and brand that bears his name is more telling of his history, and the characteristics of each add more colour and texture to this man who is known as the first brewer in this land of convicts.

One Man....many options

Four Wives Pilsner

Now in Australia as one of the first settlers, James was lonely and with his wife and three kids behind – over the years he hooked up with three more women (never married again) whist squiring an additional eight kids (3 boys; 5 girls = 11 kids in total!!!).

Four wives is a spicy, full flavoured Pils, unlike any other that I’ve had to date.  The way that I like to characterize it is through four main characteristics, of which I would like to impose these characteristics on four levels of the great matriarchs within the history of Television.

Peggy Bundy (Married with Children) / Carla Tortelli (Cheers)

Sharp, spicy first sip has a strong character like someone who, if entering a prison yard on their first day would punch the toughest in the house to let them know who was top dog now.  That character is this beer; the punching bag is your taste buds.

Lois Griffin (The Family Guy) / Carmela Soprano (The Sopranos)

When the initial spice wears off, you feel the flavour mellowing but then the character rounds out, becomes more complex; full bodied as it permeates…imposes its will and makes it home.  Don’t underestimate it – or it’ll knock you on your ass.

Skyler White (Breaking Bad) / Tammy Taylor (Friday Night Lights)

Just as you feel the flavour is weakening and laying back; being pushed over – you feel the Wives biting back, showing it’s backbone as it reminds you who’s the boss.

Edith Bunker (All in the Family) / Beadie Russell (The Wire)

The flavour begins to mellow.  The taste lingers, everlasting.  Makes you want to come back for more and when you do it feels like home.

Overall this is a tasty full flavoured Pilsner and one that has a complexity that I’ve never experienced before especially since some of my favourite beers (Beck’s, Urquell, Krombacher) have a laid back bitterness.  Four Wives has more of a bite and a mellowing quality that could enter my pantheon – one that I could drink a lot of.

Just Whip It!

One-Fifty Lashes

The punishment often bears fruit to a tasty ending

The story goes that in 1789, James was convicted in stealing ingredients that would’ve been used to enhance some of his brews – namely pepper and horehound (which was often used when hops was not readily accessible).  Stealing on the penal colony met with harsher penalties than if done back in the UK, however since Mr. Squire was producing beer for the Lieutenant-General at the time, the court took this into account and served James with the following sentence:

"one hundred and fifty (lashes of the whip) now, and the remainder when able to bear it".

Along with this, as the legend states, the judge also ordered two barrels of ale.

Pale ales in Australia are the most popular of beers, with tough competition from Cooper’s Pale Ale and Carleton.  Pale ales tend to be cloudy with a clean pallet and a slight bitterness.  Lashes is an easy to drink brew that brings me back to University as it has a similar fruity nose to the Golden Lion’s Pale….only if it were actually carbonated and didn’t have the taste that it may have been potentially refiltered without the cigarette butts (only half joking).

I liked this beer….a lot.  It’s not one that I could drink in excess anymore, but it is one that could be savoured with a grilled pork chops and beans.  It is one of the tastiest Pale’s that I’ve had – and is much more mellow than an IPA (James Squire does have an IPA that we’ll get to), which I tend to lean more to.  I just know that whenever I want to reminisce about my days in Lennoxville, Quebec – I’ll make sure to raise a toast with this ale.

ON DECK: Nine Tales and the Sundowner