The mere mention of the word gets your salivary glands working overdrive. A subtle hint conjures images of beer maidens holding multiple frosty & frothy ambrosia filled chalices. Take a sip of a German brew, close your eyes and try not to transport yourself to the bierhalles of Münich – verses of “Ein Prosit” ringing in your consciousness, the smell of freshly baked pretzels attacking your senses. Watch a true artisan at work on a perfect pint of Guinness – its hard not to be mesmerized by the gentle cascade of flavours trickle down the inside of your glass, waiting for it to be still...to be quenched. Gently placed on a table, coaster, or magazine - each time it is raised to quench your thirst - you leave an Olympic-sized ring to trumpet your triumph over the nectar that is truly made by the Gods – or a brew master in Dublin, St. Louis or Melbourne.
There are many blogs about beer on this sprawling interweb, however as a Canadian now living in Australia I wanted to take another approach to sampling the sweet nectar and dispel a lot of what the world believes about the Auzzie beer culture. That is Australians are nothing more than “Crocodile Dundee” dressed blokes who exclusively quaff “bigbeers”. This stigma is propagated by Fosters littering the “BIG CAN” across stores in the US and Canada, as is seems to be the only beer that Australia has really exported into North America. Hell, when I told my good buddy that I was moving from Toronto to Sydney – I bought four “BIG” Fosters and prepared to unravel the tale as to why we were moving. Luckily the LCBO in Ontario has brought in a more flavourful and robust beer in VB “Victoria Bitter” but it really does not speak to the complexity and the depth of brews that are available on the continent.
Now I’m not a “certified” expert in “beerology” however I have consumed my share (and maybe your share, and his share and…) of liquid over my legal drinking age years and have had some very bad beers (SchlenkeriaSmoke Beer….like drinking a beer with a cigar and severely burnt kielbasa mixed in) and some very good beers (Schlösser Alt to name one). With a wife who formerly worked in the marketing department for one of the largest brewery on the planet – I’ve been given the unique ability to be able to compare various beers or test some new ones. On a side note I once went 13 for 13 on a “Stout Taste Test”.
The thing is – you do not have to be an expert on beer to enjoy beer. I think that a person’s taste in beer, wine, sprits is as objective as one’s taste in women, cars or professional sports teams. I know people that swear by Budweiser, Molson Canadian, Coors Light, Guinness, Corona and Heineken, but I never judge because someone’s taste will never fully align with that of mind. As in life, when you find a common ground it sparks friendship, when tastes differ it sparks intense debate, and when the evidence is refutable as in the fact that Corona is nothing more than carbonated urine – common ground bears the sweetest of fruit.
Part of the excitement of travelling and experiencing the new, is discovering new tastes, flavours and products that you wouldn’t necessarily find in your place of origin. As much as it is exciting to live in a new country, I am as equally as excited to discover new beers and spirits that are not readily accessible in Canada or other parts unknown. I will not do a wine blog. I will not do a Vegemite blog. This is a beer blog – as pure and simple as the ingredients that make up this heavenly nectar.
Each week I will high light a different beer – show packaging, marketing (if found) as well as telling the experience of buying, ordering beers and the nuances of enjoying a tall cold one down under. Along the way I may, nay will, impose my thoughts on my favourite beers, the ones that are horrible and share any factoids or habits that I find along the way.
I love beer. We have had a long torrid affair along the lines of many of the classic love stories – “When Harry Met Sally”, “Gone With the Wind” and as complex as others like “Revenge of the Nerds” and “DeepThroat”. I hope that you enjoy these ramblings, and that it sparks you to try something out of the norm or to look at your favourite brew at a new angle.
The types of beers range in the thousands, but you live only one life – so get your ass in gear and start drinking.
Croi follain agus gob fliuch.
"A healthy heart and a wet mouth!"*You will also notice the many links to YouTube clips that may or may not enhance your experience of this tome. These are unlicensed clips with the intent to add colour to the stories and not meant to impeach upon copywrite infringement. I am a YouTube Picasso....never forget this.
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