Craft/micro Beer 'explosion' In Oz

[beerbrewer76543]

What a bummer about Brisvegas and QLD! Any thoughts as to why its not doing the crafty beer thing? Too many Victorian retirees drinking Toohey's Gold Can 30 packs? Too much nice weather where the thought of slaving over a hot mash tun is unpalatable? Too busy training up future all-conquering State of Origin teams?

Too busy bending bananas?

 

[Guysmiley54]

And with the castration of the Platform Bar, getting even more ordinary. There's also the thing in Queensland that beer is not for quaffing - it's for guzzling after a hot day - most Tradies etc in Queensland drink xxxx Gold - imagine big muscley hairy men standing around doing their boofy-boy banter and waving 3.5% ABV beers in their Neanderthal fists and imagine that they are true beer drinkers. About sums it up.
They would be better off drinking Midori Coolers.

On the Gold Coast I reckon the tradies drink sugary bourbon cans and listen to loud techno music. I've never seen such a group of guys trying so hard to look tough and macho come off like a group of teeange girls! Puh-lease

 

[Bribie G]

:icon_offtopic:

Pom rant

A bit puzzled, where I come from if you are a plumber or a bricklayer or a tiler then that's great, you do your job and go home quietly (and usually live in a nice bungalow style detached house because you are making a lot of money). If you drive a truck then you aren't a truckie - you are a LORRY DRIVER and don't have cows horns on the front of your lorry or smart signs like "Far Qs ALL" or "GUNNAGETHERE", or listen to Tammy Wynette etc.
What is it about Australian "Tradies" and "Truckies" that there is some sort of romance and do-derring stuff attached? It's a mundane although necessary and probably quite boring job, especially the driving. Do sewage workers have blond trophy wives and hang around in special clothes at BBQs bragging about the biggest turd they've spotted that week?

end rant.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

:icon_offtopic:

Pom rant

A bit puzzled, where I come from if you are a plumber or a bricklayer or a tiler then that's great, you do your job and go home quietly (and usually live in a nice bungalow style detached house because you are making a lot of money). If you drive a truck then you aren't a truckie - you are a LORRY DRIVER and don't have cows horns on the front of your lorry or smart signs like "Far Qs ALL" or "GUNNAGETHERE", or listen to Tammy Wynette etc.
What is it about Australian "Tradies" and "Truckies" that there is some sort of romance and do-derring stuff attached? It's a mundane although necessary and probably quite boring job, especially the driving. Do sewage workers have blond trophy wives and hang around in special clothes at BBQs bragging about the biggest turd they've spotted that week?

end rant.

I just think it's Americanisation. Hell, why do all the Aussie country singers, sing with a Southern American Drawl. Next they'll be singing "dixie".

I don't quite get a number of things Aussies do and I was born here (albeit the very first of my family to be born here) and consider myself very Aussie, despite feeling strong kinship to the three cultures that my folks landed with on these shores 40 years ago.

Goomba

 

[Hargie]

:icon_offtopic:

Pom rant

A bit puzzled, where I come from if you are a plumber or a bricklayer or a tiler then that's great, you do your job and go home quietly (and usually live in a nice bungalow style detached house because you are making a lot of money). If you drive a truck then you aren't a truckie - you are a LORRY DRIVER and don't have cows horns on the front of your lorry or smart signs like "Far Qs ALL" or "GUNNAGETHERE", or listen to Tammy Wynette etc.
What is it about Australian "Tradies" and "Truckies" that there is some sort of romance and do-derring stuff attached? It's a mundane although necessary and probably quite boring job, especially the driving. Do sewage workers have blond trophy wives and hang around in special clothes at BBQs bragging about the biggest turd they've spotted that week?

end rant.

...at the end of the day they are celebrating not being English...

 

[mika]

...at the end of the day they are celebrating not being English...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[mika]

There is a pretty good beer culture here in WA and it is growing too. We have quite a few micros around the place and some pubs getting behind the beer culture such as the Sail and Anchor, the Norfolk, The Malt Bar down south and Clancys fish pubs

All in freo. Most eateries I can get to within 5mins of my house, still consider Crown Lager as a 'premium' beer. Premium price perhaps <_<
WA is getting there and there are now more places around where you can get some decent beer, but we're still MILES behind the east coast.
Go to melbourne (CBD), walk into an IGA and find a larger selection of microbrew than in most Liquorland's over here.
Perhaps we're seeing an 'explosion', simply because we're aware of the possibilities and are looking for it.

 

[matthendry]

I just think it's Americanisation. Hell, why do all the Aussie country singers, sing with a Southern American Drawl. Next they'll be singing "dixie".

I don't quite get a number of things Aussies do and I was born here (albeit the very first of my family to be born here) and consider myself very Aussie, despite feeling strong kinship to the three cultures that my folks landed with on these shores 40 years ago.

Goomba

Im a Aussie that currently lives in the US and I would love it if the Australian Beer scence was Amanericanised even my local supermarket in a rural town has 15 or more microbrews on the shelf and all from local independant breweries including Nanobrewereis but over here brewers dont pay the huge amount of Excise Aussie brewers do and people dont mind spending about US$14 a 12 pack for a microbrewed beer and becuse the kijes of Budwuiser /Miller/Coors are so cheap they are considered to be inferior now ,

 

[Golani51]

Hi Matt:

Where are you?

I did a big micro brew- hop in NY, Mass., New Hampshire (love tax free!), Vermont (There is a God- just off route 9 I think), and just over the Canadian border near Lake Magog. I could not believe the prices of bottles especially- I'd get pint bottles of super-dooper hoppy strong quality micros for a couple bucks each, growlers of Imperious- type beers for $10, and trappist beers for half of what we pay here.
No wonder it is so big there. Crappt beers there aren't any cheaper.

R

 

[matthendry]

Hi Matt:

Where are you?

I did a big micro brew- hop in NY, Mass., New Hampshire (love tax free!), Vermont (There is a God- just off route 9 I think), and just over the Canadian border near Lake Magog. I could not believe the prices of bottles especially- I'd get pint bottles of super-dooper hoppy strong quality micros for a couple bucks each, growlers of Imperious- type beers for $10, and trappist beers for half of what we pay here.
No wonder it is so big there. Crappt beers there aren't any cheaper.

R

I live in Vermont and we have 22 breweries for a state that has a only has a population of 200,000 people .Im doing my little bit and established a small organic hop yard on the farm I live on last year ,down is Mass, theres a micro maltster called Valley Malt and Nanobreweries are poping up all over the place ....

 

[Golani51]

You are like a spoiled little rich kid Matt
So many breweries, so much choice. You can drink GREAT beers there for less than the cheap garbage here.

I had a great couple sessions at Harpoon (Imperial red/Imperial IPA Leviathon Series), and LongTrail (seen the buffalo mount?). LongTrail's got a great brewery, including a self- guided tour, and fantastic beer obviously, whilst Harpoon (you had to be there at some point I am sure) has a great beer line up. What I loved about Harpoon, was that in Boston you get free tours with as many of the beers and ciders etc to try from good size tasters in a reasonable amount of time (30 mins or so) which meant sampling some interesting one- off brews and stumbling home (by stumbling I mean crawling). In Vermont, you get a tasting paddle of 5 or 6 glasses, nice sized samples, and all free....just rock up to the counter and ask for one.

Even in a smallish supermarket in Manhattan I found 40 or 50 different microbrews at very reasonable prices (everything else in the supermarket was ridiculously priced. The beers were great 32 floors up on the rooftop.

The excise dropping would lead to an American- type 'renaissance' in terms of micros opening up. Even with the current overtaxing, people are still giving it a good do.

R

 

[matthendry]

We are totally spoilt for choice I was drinking Delirium Tremmens just before Christmas from the local Craft beer store @ $8 for a 750ml bottle, that beer is very deceptive

http://www.starnoldsvt.com/

And Sam Caliglone from Dogfish Head has his own show on the Discovery Channel ,

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/brew-masters/

I wonder if Chuck Hahn will ever get a TV show !\

No wonder so many Aussies homebrew !

 

[bradsbrew]

...at the end of the day they are celebrating not being English...

:lol: . That is so much better than the reply I was thinking of. Gold.
Speaking of truck drivers, should have seen the crack hanging out of the towie loading his tray on the way to work this morning, not a good site for the on coming traffic. Put me off my breakfast. Bet he drinks xxxx gold too.

 

[mje1980]

What a bummer about Brisvegas and QLD! Any thoughts as to why its not doing the crafty beer thing? Too many Victorian retirees drinking Toohey's Gold Can 30 packs? Too much nice weather where the thought of slaving over a hot mash tun is unpalatable? Too busy training up future all-conquering State of Origin teams?

That is a low low blow!!