The Craft of Beer

I love beer like Charlie Sheen loves cocaine and making bad life choices.  I love beer like Tiger Woods loves shafts, balls and holes.  Had I been at the wedding at Canaan I would have given Jesus a stern talking to about his beverage of choice, which would undoubtedly have made the next 2000 years worth of church going far more enjoyable.  Had I met Muhammad it would now be against Islamic Law not to drink alcohol and had I met the Buddha?  Actually I once did, he manifested himself to me as a bottle of Moo Brew Pale Ale.  Instant enlightenment!  

Now I swear I’m not an alcoholic and, far from offending the members of 3 of this world’s largest religions, this blog serves as the physical extension of the love I have for beer and, in particular, Australian beer.  If by that you think I mean the like of Carlton Draught or (shudder) Fosters then you’d be mistaken, I said I liked Australian Beer, if I wanted piss I’d head to the bathroom.

 

You see, in this country at least we have endured a long dark age where the majority of beer made and drunk was bland, white bread lager.  Sure, it came in different coloured cans but in reality the stuff all tasted the same, it did its job well enough on a hot summer’s day but it was a pretty one dimensional beverage, the taste was just not why people drank beer, it was all about the experience.  Hell, the only reason I started drinking beer at 18 (or thereabouts...) was because it was an affordable way to get utterly shit-faced and if you didn’t, then you just plain did not fit in...

Because of this image, beer has a gotten a pretty bad rap over the years, whenever one mentions the dangers of alcohol and binge drinking it is always beer which is used to illustrate the point, despite the fact it has far less alcohol strength than most other forms of alcohol.  So while wine and spirits now have some exalted cultural significance, beer is scapegoat tarnished with the image of over indulgence, a negative but tolerated vice of the masses.

Luckily, things are beginning to change with the rise of craft beer, the actual meaning of which is still being hotly debated but what I describe as simply being beer brewed with thought and qualities of complexity and flavour.  Trying a good craft beer after a lifetime of macro lager is like turning on a light in a darkened room, an epiphany if you allow me to be so dramatic.  With over a hundred micro breweries across the country and more opening all the time and with pubs and bottle shops appearing which cater directly to beer lovers the it has never been a better time to be drinking beer. 

    

If you want quality information and news then you’ll probably want to go here, if you want reasoned opinion and researched facts then this here is your man and if you’re after weird Japanese tentacle monster porn then my sick friend, look no further than here (don’t lie, you considered it).  But if you don’t mind the fevered, hateful ranting of a drunken lunatic then pull up a stool good sir, for I have a thing or three to share with thee...