Short break

Well the last time it took me over 2 weeks to post, the blog went on brief hiatus, and that's what's happening again now.

Last time it was due to an overwhelming cider addiction that took a good 4 months or so to get out of my system. This time it's something far more gay... I'm shedding my winter coat. And with winter coat shed comes carb cutting time and what's the one thing that just SLAUGHTERS you when it comes to expanding a gut? Oh yeah, beer. Of course the one thing I derive an amazing amount of pleasure from was going to be bad for me, it always is.

But, just like last time, that doesn't mean this little phase will last long. It just is what it is right now. Here I am, sucking on vodka, soda and lime every day, missing all my delicious wheat beers and pales, while you bastards enjoy them in front of me. Well I'll be back in the game soon again, my friends, don't you worry about that.

Did I mention I'm going to a microbrew fest next week?

Call me a fucking pussy or whatever you want, but I have been and am currently on a no-beer diet. Hey man, every now and then, you do look down at that beer gut and the pride you feel 99% of the time about it just isn't there. And by isn't there, I mean the pride, not the gut. The gut is ALL there. And I have spent years working on my beer gut, it's not something I take lightly. Also it's not that I'm not drinking, it's just not carb-overloaded beer. But don't worry, come microbrew tasting time next week, I'll be back in the game. Call it a situational crisis beer detox.

The one thing I do want to talk about ahead of a report on the microbrew fest - October 20, motherfucker! - is the Endeavour samples I got sent. New microbrewery based in NSW producing two products - a Pale and an Amber. Now note, any positive comments I have to say about these brews I say without any bias which is difficult when you get beer samples delivered to your door... shit man, if Cooper's sent me Pale ale through the mail I'm sure I could be turned back... well, maybe... well probably not. But there would be drinking involved.

So yes, I'm happy to report that both the Pale and Amber were fucking delicious. Both super smooth - the pale more about the honey, the amber more about the banana. But both with a great balance of flavours and just exceptional all round. I like my smooth ales and these both put a giant tick in that particular box. The only criticism is that they need different labels to distinguish between the pale and the amber. Drunk folk wouldn't be able to tell the difference - I confused a bayonet and screw light globe the other day, ended up with the wrong one, very upsetting. Aside from that, can't recommend this brewery highly enough, good work folks - more about them here - www.endeavourbeer.com

So the next blog will be later next week post-microbrew fest times, and the balls of a hangover I'll no doubt be suffering.

Enough with the freakin' wheat beers already? Nah.

Not long ago I was virtually a spokesperson for Cooper's Pale Ale (SA) - these days the thought of it and that all too familiar sediment makes me die a little inside. Particularly when walking into a pub and seeing no other options - though I can deal with it (to a point) if it's on tap, especially if I've been drinking (a lot) beforehand (did I mention a lot?).

To go from that to being so full on and passionate at present with (mostly Belgian and German) wheat beers is kinda strange, since the difference between that incredibly average pale and a rich, smooth wheat beer are worlds apart. But that's what's called growing up apparently... or some cliched crap like that.

So a rundown of some great wheat beers tried of late, and one atrocity;

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel (GER) - I bought this from Dan Murphy's which is a bit of a ballsy move since, aside from your obvious Chimay and Duvel brands, the Dan Murphy's selection is generally rarely any good. You wouldn't expect anything less given their imported beer selection contains some absolutely horrible stuff. I'm sorry, Stella Artois fans, but what the fuck. Stella Artois is a disgrace, an embarrassment to the greatness in beer that Belgium has to offer. Most popular Belgian beer? Get fucked. We all know popularity and quality are rarely used in the same sentence. Anyway, I really liked the way they brought out the banana flavour in this. It was present but without being over-powering - perfect. Whereas tasting banana and then bitter hops is just wrong in my opinion. Which is where....

3 Ravens Rye (VIC) fails. Here, they take their bland White product, kick up the banana and bitterness, and create a variation of their original product which is certainly more interesting but not any more pleasant. 3 Ravens need to stay the hell away from any more wheat beer attempts - 2 from 2 fails. I'm sick of hating on them when I had so much love to give not long ago.

Weihenstephaner Vitus and Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbeir Dunkel (Belgium) - OH HELL DAMN MOTHER FUCKING YES...... TESTIFY! Weihenstephan, you have roped me in even after that very average initial meeting with the Hefe. Now I believe in you.

The Edelweiss Weissbier (GER) in the above image will be tried this week.

Oh yeah and the La Fin Du Monde (CAN) box lasted all of four seconds. Who am I kidding, it was never going to last for long. Shared with mates on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Melbourne last weekend. Whilst ridiculously drunk. But still enjoyed and appreciated thoroughly.

Next blog I'll talk about the Endeavour Brewery (NSW) samples I received last week. And I'm very happy to report that both the Pale and Amber were fucking great. But more soon.

PS. Forget to mention in that "one off" Bloody Mary post - use Holbrooks worcestershire over Lea & Perrins. Far better experience.

If there is to be a time when I'm not talking beer or cider or music (or my contempt for humanity)....

Bloody Mary's. Great in theory, executed poorly so often. I like to think that I'm pretty good at whipping up a tasty BM on the odd occasion. And by like to think I mean do think. And by do think I mean I'm fucking awesome.

So the basic ingredients are very straight forward. Obviously getting the balance is the challenge. The following will also aid you in your quest for a delicious home-grown Bloody Mary...

Rule #1 - The Tomato Juice MUST be Golden Circle. You need a thick rich tomato juice or it just ends up tasting like watery shit. The only thing better than Golden Circle Tomato Juice in making a Bloody Mary is Clamato (therefore making it a Bloody Caeser) - which is a mixture of clam and tomato juice, made in the US/Canada. Australians, you can get it from usafoods.com.au - you will thank me later.
Rule #2 - A splash of either Guinness or red wine (wine to be preferably dry, non-fruity and smooth so as not to fuck around with what you're trying to achieve) is a MUST. And it doesn't have to be fancy - I've used Yalumba Merlot / Cab Sab casks before.
Rule #3 - On top of your lemon and lime wedges, a teaspoon of the juice from the jar of Olives you'd be using knocks it up a notch.
Rule #4 - If you don't have Celery Salt, don't bother. Celery - yeah great, but not essential. Celery Salt - do not talk to me about Bloody Mary's without this.
Rule #5 - If someone asks you for a Virgin Mary, tell them to fuck off.

This was a one time post. Back to beer next week.

How do they expect me to get any work done?

I had a pretty intense White Rabbit White Ale (VIC) craving last night, so I went over to Harvest to have it satisfied. What was intended as a quick six-pack purchase turned into my most expensive beer purchasing venture yet. Really not helped by the new Weihenstephaner glass in stock for starters... but what ended up killing my wallet in the end was this:

Absolutely glorious.

Though given Unibroue's decision to no longer export its products from Canada, I am stuck with a terrible problem... do I enjoy this in all its delicious glory? Or do I keep it for awhile so that I can wake up every morning, walk into the kitchen and bask in its awesomeness? Or do I make sweet, sweet love to it?

Yeah I don't know, it's a hard call... but I'm fucking thrilled with this purchase, that's for sure.

Now as for reporting on the other three beers from the last batch, none were particularly spectacular. The Dieu Du Ciel Aphrodisiaque (CAN) stands out most, for being an excellent replica of irish coffee if it were a beer. But just like when Smiths crisps tried out those new flavours a few months ago, why eat a buttered popcorn flavoured chip when you can just eat some fucking buttered popcorn???

The Unibroue Chambly Noire (CAN) was a decent attempt at a dark ale, but really their La Fin Du Monde kills anything else they've made, while the Hargreaves Hill Pale Ale (VIC) was summed up before I even tasted it. I said to the Harvest dude that I'd heard a lot about it, he said "yeah... it's pretty good..." and then I felt a BUT coming on. So I prompted him, to which he said "nah... it's good" but just left it at that. That's exactly what it's like taste wise, good but not spectacular - but I feel this is definitely one that needs to be tried on tap, and that my opinion can be swayed. So if anyone spots this Pale on tap anywhere, let me know.

Rule #4 - Always give a brewery another chance. Also I am a better beer/cider critic than you.

Firstly, I've been following HeraldSunFood on Twitter. The chick editor is going on and on and on about how devastating it is that Artisan Cider is no longer being made. Artisan Cider = Mercury. God there are some fucking horrible food/drink critics out there. For someone with supposed "taste" to be devastated over one of the most shocking products ever made (by Fosters may I add and therefore one of the worst breweries of all time) is a friggin' joke. Someone needs to be fired asap.

/rant

Now... Breweries are like bands. They'll have some amazing stuff, absolutely brilliant, nailed perfectly, and then have a bunch of mediocre, bland crap scattered around the goodness. Like if someone told me to listen to a Bob Dylan record and I'd never done so, and then listened to one of the last five instead of one of his first five, I'd think he was pretty friggin average as opposed to a flat out genius. In beer terms, this has happened to me twice over the last week.

Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier (GER) - The Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier is the commonly known Weihenstephan product and I believe is the one that most folk go on about. You know what, it was so underwhelming when I tried it a couple of months ago that I dismissed Weihenstephan's entire product line. But really it wasn't Weihenstephan's fault - it was all those folks that had built the Hefe up to be something so much more than it actually is. The Kristall on the other hand is a freakin' marvelous wheat beer. Like the Hoegaarden Grand Cru but 10% less sweet. So rich, so delicious. God damn I love my wheat beers.

La Trappe Tripel (Netherlands) - The fifth of seven trappists I've tried, the only one created outside of Belgium, and a god damn delight. I wouldn't put it above the Rochefort or Chimay but I wouldn't expect the Netherlands to beat the Belgians when it comes to beer, particulaly trappists, anyway. BUT - as is the theme of this blog, while the Tripel is an absolute joy on the palette, there is absolutely nothing to the La Trappe Blond - it is a waste of space. Though while I blame everyone else for my Weihenstephan disapproval up to now, this one is probably my own fault. If you're going to drink a Trappist, you need to drink the strongest - they're all about the indulgence. Blonds really are just half arsed trappists when it comes down to it.

And for those needing a bit of schooling on the Blond, Dubbel, Tripel etc terms, they just refer to the alcoholic content, and in the exact order you think. Blond the weakest, Tripel the strongest.

Another blog tomorrow - I need to cover the last round of purchases. Oh and the 3 Ravens White (VIC) was disappointing sadly. Like they had a deadline for when the product had to be ready, got a third of the way there, and then got it out to the public. It is a third of what a good wheat beer should be. Promising start, and then falls flat. At least every other 3 Ravens product I've tried so far has been great, I can forgive them for one indiscretion.

More rad Victorian microbrews and trappists to try

These from old mate Harvest - no, I still haven't been to Slowbeer yet. Yes, I am a lazy cunt.

So one of these in particular is a beer that's been talked about around the traps a lot lately - Hargreaves Hill Pale Ale (VIC). Yet another great Victorian microbrewery in the Yarra Valley region. I'll let you know how it goes... I'm also excited about the 3 Ravens White (VIC) given how consistently great all the 3 Ravens products I've tried so far have been. And of course the Trappists to the right there.

Oh and yeah that is a bottle of pinot noir. I know this is the first time you've seen a non-beer/cider product in one of my photos and don't worry, I don't like wine that much, I'm not converting. But I did have a glass of pinot whilst smoking a cigar the other day (note: I don't smoke anymore, cigars don't count) and it made me feel like more of a wanker than usual and therefore awesome so I see no reason not to roll with that vibe on the odd occasion.

Death to Fosters

So it seems like Fosters Group (AUS) is in trouble, responsible for the complete abomination that is Fosters beer, self-proclaimed "Australian for beer". No wonder we're seen in such a poor light globally... what a fucking embarrassment. But not only do they churn out one of the worst beers known to man kind, did you know they're the ones behind Corona and Stella Artois too? What a disgusting corporation.

So it was with great pleasure that I read an article this morning talking about Fosters' wine branch being unsustainable, and speculation that the group may be bought out in the near future to save them from insolvency.

All I can say is... sometimes bashing out complete shit for the dummies of this world DOES backfire, and it couldn't happen to a better company.

It's coming

I'll have a post for you in a few days with recent beer purchases and what not.

However, in the meantime, you should check out Worthington White Shield IPA (UK). Old mate Slowbeer recommended this to me when I asked them for their best pale ale recommendations. They came back at me with the Timothy Taylor Landlord (UK) when talking in the subtle/delicate sense (as opposed to fruitier or more bitter types) which, as you know, still ranks in my top 3 of all time. Then they suggested checking out the Worthington, which is along the same lines. I love Slowbeer for life.

Silly Rabbit

It is an absolute travesty, blasphemy, a complete black mark on my being that I haven't visited Slowbeer yet. I mean honestly, I feel like a traitor to the cause the longer this goes on. However come Friday this will be rectified, though I may have to be dragged out of there with drool-drenched clothes, just a heads up. So expect Slowbeer related reporting early next week.

My memory is completely shithouse at the moment - notice how that happens every couple of months of blogging on Skittle Brau? Funny that. I've tried a couple of other Unibroue (CAN) and Dieu Du Ciel (CAN) blends since the last post - and as I said, they're both really intriguing breweries creating interesting blends that won't be to everyone's taste. Mostly because they're so full on, especially Dieu Du Ciel which is consistently 8-10% in content and always very rich in taste. But I'm loving it - it's a fucking treat on the palette that's for sure.

Last night I sunk back a few pints of White Rabbit Dark Ale (VIC) at The Gem on Wellington St, for anyone wondering where else you can find said rabbit on tap in Melbourne. And yes that means I have come around to the Dark (side) Ale, on tap at least. Good times.

Chasing the rabbit

I must have misunderstood all the "Mr. Rabbit" conversation dominating the past week because come Saturday just gone instead of voting in the election, I went to the White Rabbit Brewery (Healesville, VIC).

I got to have a quick look at the brewery itself and see the production in action, and then across the road was Giant Steps / Innocent Bystander winery where they served food and White Rabbit on tap. And holy shitballs Batman, White Rabbit White Ale on tap is absolutely delicious. That's a no brainer though, considering how much I like the bottled product. I probably should have also given the Dark Ale a chance too seeing as how it never convinced me bottled-wise, but I was blinded by the White Ale and the fact that you could order as many Oysters as you liked at $3.50 each. So I ordered one, much to the confusion of the staff. Yes, cheekiness, plus I'd been drinking all day. But it was ONE damn fine oyster, as was the food in general too.

Anyway, White Rabbit on tap... if you haven't tried it yet or seen it around, you should be able to get it at any Little Creatures brewery/hall (they own some/all of it). Melbourne folk - apparently the Local Taphouse did secure some kegs too but they're probably gone now, so you can only grab it at the Little Creatures Dining Hall on Brunswick St at present.

Oh yeah, I drove through Coldstream as well, and therefore passed the Coldstream Brewery but, well... who cares.

Good stuff

Several great beers and ciders have been tried over the past few days so kicking off with the best...

- Unibroue La Fin Du Monde (CAN) - They say this golden ale is similar to the Triple Karmeliet when comparing it to other triple fermented beers, though when it comes to taste it reminds me a lot of Delirium Tremens (Belgium). If you don't know much about this particular beer, it's pretty much one that is raved about worldwide, has topped a number of beer lists and won competitions around the globe. It's also named after a medical condition related to alcohol withdrawal, and is packaged in a white bottle with a blue wrapping featuring a pink elephant. All of this is fucking hilarious - the beer itself is pretty full on, at 9% and with an overpowering hit of vanilla. Personally I think it's too over the top, which is where the La Fin Du Monde comes in - working with the flavours of the Delirium Tremens but presenting them in a much more subtle manner. Really delicious brew - though be aware that Unibroue no longer export from Canada as the demand is outgrowing the supply and the brewery is not in a position to expand its operation at this time. So if you see anything from Unibroue floating around, grab it and try it before you can't any longer. Though you'll be ok for awhile, since the word about Unibroue no longer exporting went out a year ago and their beers are still pretty easy to find. Try and get any of their seasonal products before you hit up the La Fin Du Monde and others that are produced year round, since obviously the seasonal ones will be the first to become extinct - or just put all your money on the table and buy anything with a Unibroue label because seriously, this brewery is sensational - they're doing some really interesting things, getting involved with some interesting & complex mixtures (I just tried an ale fused with apple and coriander) and executing them so well. I'll be talking more about Unibroue in the future. Check out their website in the meantime - www.unibroue.com - how fucking inspiring is that shit! (photo above is taken from the Ale section).

- Blanche De Namur (Belgium) - This won the best wheat beer in the world in some competition I can't remember (it's on the label) and you can see why but for me, it lacks excitement. It's a super smooth wheat beer, good balance of fruity flavour and smell. It does the job, but I don't feel like it satisfies all aspects of the palette completely. Yes, I am a wanker.

- 3 Ravens The Ravenator Bock (VIC) - just another quality product from a seriously great Australian microbrewery. I can't believe I've only stumbled across them recently. Ok, so I don't know enough to know exactly what a Bock is without some research (talk to me about Pale Ales and I'm all over that shit) but apparently this beer is lighter than the name suggests it should be... blah blah blah whatever (see, not such a wanker sometimes). It's fucking great, that's all you need to know.

- Kingston Press Dry Apple (UK) from the Aston Manor brewery is a crisp, light cider lacking in sweetness, with a flavour that decays rapidly. Meaning it's ridiculously easy to drink, which is a good thing or a bad thing depending on the circumstance. In complete contrast to this...

- Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel! Rigor Mortis Abbey-style Brown Ale (CAN) - I had to google the name of this beer and look at it about 5 times before I spelt it properly. With such an extravagant name, you know you're in for something pretty full on, and this Brown Ale delivers. 10.5%, so you can never drink more than one, and very slowly might I add... tasting like very rich dark chocolate. Sweet beginning, bitter ending. So this literally would be amazing with some dark chocolate and if you were in a completely decadent headspace, but just like any extravagant dessert, you really can only have this once in awhile.

Sock vs Rekorderlig pt 2, why Harvest is awesome pt 2

I've just done my weekly shop and it was one of my most pleasant bottleshop experiences yet. Now I know I still need to report on the good purchases from last week but I'll get to that later this week. What makes a great shopping experience for me is a) when the sales person knows their shit, b) when they can take a bit of time out to have a good bitch/whinge with you, and c) when they chuck in some free shit because they acknowledge you are passionate about your purchase/their store.

I've been recommended some quality beers from Harvest this week, mostly from Canada which is a nice change from my usual Belgium obsession. The owner dude gave me a free Monteith's glass too, and just as I was ready to go, I commented on wanting a good cider recommendation. In the process, we spent a good minute discussing how fucking gross Rekorderlig (SWE) is and being completely baffled as to how anyone can drink anything like that on a regular basis given how ridiculously over-the-top sweet it is.

Did I mention I love Harvest and hate Rekorderlig with a passion? Beer reporting shortly. The space below this line is to heighten the crapness of the product in the image.

3 Raving

3 Ravens (VIC) is my new favourite brewery. Just came back from the Northcote Social Club where they had both the 3 Ravens Golden Ale and the 3 Ravens Dark Smoke Beer bottled. The Golden is wonderfully crisp, and with the Dark Smoke, they really don't fuck around. It was a great accompaniment to the 350gm porterhouse I got stuck into for lunch, though would have been sensational with some BBQ pork ribs. When they say smokey beer, they really mean smokey beer, so the meatiness of it would be off-putting to your non-carnivores (vegetarians I think they call them, or some ridiculous name - either way, as the saying goes, you don't win friends with salad), but I love my meat, so it was a great surprise. Would be amazing with jerky too.

Obvious do's and don'ts and why Australian microbreweries mostly kick arse

So I've tried half of the purchases from last week. I have to admit, they've been hard to get through, mainly because I purposely tried the ones I thought would be the weakest - unfortunately they've been quite terrible to the point that the desire to drink died as soon as I had a taste.

Rules for the future;

1. Never buy beer/cider with "banana" in the title, no matter how curious you are. Apple, yes. Pear, yes. Banana, run for the fucking hills.
2. Never buy beer with a Japanese owl cartoon on the label.
3. Never continue to drink a beer that makes your tongue tingle (that would be offender #5 from the left in the photo)
4. Always give a brewery a second chance (except Pepperjack - stick to your fucking wine).

And by the fourth rule, specifically I'm talking about White Rabbit (VIC). I didn't like their dark ale, I thought it was pretty standard as far as dark ales go, which I don't find to be a very exciting brew to begin with. However, they've released White Rabbit White Ale (VIC) that steps up their game. Think the immediate bite and flavour of Hoegaarden (Belgium) but without the lingering fruitiness. This one is a lot drier at the end which is pleasing news for folks that hated the second half of the Hoegaarden experience. Damn impressive, well done White Rabbit.

Also, 3 Ravens (VIC) - YES. Now this brewery excites me. Fortunate enough that the Napier has 3 Ravens Golden Ale (VIC) on tap which was an absolute pleasure to drink the other night, and I do have the limited edition 3 Ravens The Ravenator Bock (VIC) sitting in my fridge which I'll report on next week. More 3 Ravens will be sourced, and I am further pleased by the brewery being based in Thornbury. May just have to pay them a little visit.

Oh and note my new Leffe (Belgium) glass in the picture. My aim is one new glass a week, I saw some Young's and Monteith's glasses in Harvest alongside this one, though pity Monteith's make such diluted products. Someone tried telling me Monteith's Crushed Apple Cider (NZ) was one of the best ciders on the market and I wanted to kick them in the head but I figured they needed as many braincells still working as possible.

The new Acland Cellars

Now before anyone goes jumping to any wild conclusions, I need to bash out a disclaimer. Acland Cellars is without a doubt my favourite boutique bottleshop of all time. The beer wall as soon as you enter the store is the most magnificent thing I've ever seen, and this is including the time I got to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa as a 6 year old kid. Though for some reason wasn't allowed to climb the Eiffel Tower, which is safer since it's not so, you know, lean-y and falling over and shit.

Anyhoo... since moving to Northcote, trips to St Kilda to fulfill my imported beer desires has been nothing short of a pain in the hole. So much so that I haven't even bothered to try. C'mon, we're talking at least a 30 minute trek there and that's assuming no traffic, but usually the times I want to go are on the weekend when I have to figure out a way that bypasses the MCG before/after a footy game when traffic is complete bollocks. Too much effort.

So you can imagine my delight stumbling across a smaller boutique bottleshop in Northcote that not only supplies a great range of imported beer but changes their supplies on a regular basis to keep from going stale AND has some highly sort after beer glasses available for purchase. They also had this crazy $80 Absinthe fountain. I can't even begin to explain what it looked like but it was the perfect device for any Absinthe fanatic.

Oh and I forgot to mention the most important part of this whole thing... literally 2 minutes drive from my house. Parallel to it but a couple of blocks over. It was meant to be.

Harvest Wine & Liquor - you are too awesome. I bought 8 new beers to try yesterday, will be posting about them shortly.

Beerwagon

So my stocks are not replenished as yet. I forgot about my day job when I jumped the gun on having Skittle Brau revived (note I spelt it wrong in the comeback post too... for shame). However, now that the day job is quieting down, a trip to St Kilda is imminent... and man, it'll be fucking sweet.

In the meantime, I stumbled across this today.
http://beerbureau.com/enjoy-craft-brewed-beer-on-tap-at-home

PS.2 Brothers Gypsy Pear Cider (AUS) is really good - refreshing, crisp, subtle, lacking in sweetness (that's a great thing since ciders by default are meant to be sweet to a point). It's up there with Magners, but is just edged out probably due to my fierce loyalty.

What The Hipsters Drink

Rekorderlig Pear Cider (SWE) is what I've been told, which I ended up trying tonight. 20 tablespoons of sugar mixed with carbonated water and this is what hipsters are raving about? I thought they were all about dilution, so this is a bit of a conundrum. But let me just say now... this cider is fucking awful. Way too sweet, and without being able to get away with the novelty of their Strawberry and Lime cider, which isn't a cider with longevity anyway. It's everything that the Magners Pear Cider (IRE) isn't. What did I say before about people regressing into childhood? This is SWEETER than the most intense blend of cordial you conjured up as a kid.

Now as long as the hipsters stay away from old mate Magners, I'm happy. Let Rekorderlig release their psychedelic Summer sunshine blend with apple, pear, grape, ginger and a fucking rainbow and "the kids" can rave about that, but leave Magners alone, k?

Sobriety is over... well not really sobriety or love but I was never contractually obliged to sleep with foreign businessmen, and that is something.

Yes. It's been just over 3 months and Skittlebraus has been revived. Or rather getting back on the wagon. Wait... off the wagon. Something to do with alcohol. And back by popular demand, and when I say popular demand I mean three people.

So just like the world today but in a far less ADD, consumerist hungry manner, I had left my imported beer love for a pear cider and CC & dry dalliance. By the way, the pear cider consumed was a hefty amount of;

- Magners Pear Cider (IRE) - I wonder if the Magners dudes are still monitoring this blog and will post another random comment about how great Magners is, they really should employ me as a spokesperson.
- Bulmers Pear Cider (UK) - well, Pear Cider is the new black in Australia don't you know.
- as well as (and I have my best mate to thank greatly here), the Bulmers Summer Blend Apple/Pear Cider (UK), a limited edition not available in Australia... fucking Australia. Unfortunately a little flat after the journey in plane luggage from the UK to AUS but still very refreshing.
- Plus Rekorderlig Strawberry And Lime Cider (SWE) - fucking nice, but too sweet to enjoy regularly. Stumbled across this when the hot waitress at Yellowbird started talking to me about cider and putting a wedge of lime in Magners (apple not pear) to enhance the flavour. If that's not a pick up lime, I don't know what is.

Speaking of Magners/Bulmers, I thoroughly enjoying schooling the Liquorland bottleshop dude about the history and difference between those two a week ago. I probably would have gotten more satisfaction if I was at a boutique imported beer/cider supplier rather than the Walmart of alcohol. There you go, I used a US reference - this blog is diversifying. Oh yeah, and then over at Dan Murphy's, the dude recommended the Wychwood Green Goblin Oak Aged Cider (UK) which I've mentioned before as something I wanted to try, and it was fucking horrendous. At least Wychwood make good ales.

So we have Liquorland dudes with a lack of history, Dan Murphy's dudes with a lack of palette... should have known really.

Now back to the consumerism comment... people these days are all about becoming more and more like children. You know, in that way that a kid will play with a wicked toy, and then chuck it aside when the next toy comes along. It's the next bit of technology, the next band, the next thing to keep our ridiculous little minds stimulated. So thank god I have broken free of this, and have crawled back to my one true love. This weekend will be focused on re-stocking. Stay tuned.

Short break

'Scuse the absence of late - purely an inability to spend the coin required to report on beer properly. And you don't want to just hear about my adventures with half a carton of James Squire Golden and a couple of pints of Bulmers on Saturday just gone, ending up with somehow sitting at a dining table while fifty 21 year olds wearing white clothing are running around a house listening to Beyonce and I'm sitting back after 8 hours of drinking going "back in my day..."

Ok it does sound kinda interesting I admit. And I did end up trying Magners Pear Cider (Ireland) which was pretty smooth and helped with the head pain the next morning, but if I went into greater detail, I'd be like any other schmo on facebook who writes "fucking getting pisssssssedddd tonight hey"

So best to take a short break, and will be back soon.