The Quest for Beer

Beer. I love it.

There. I said it.

But I don’t mean in a Bogan kinda way. I’m not talking about constant thoughts of grabbing the cheapest slab and knocking off can after can after can. Getting more and more drunk. Or cranking up the BBQ at every opportunity and washing down a few snags with a 6 pack of XXXX Gold. No thanks. Mind you, been there plenty of times too. Well not with XXXX Gold, but you know what I mean.

I think of myself as more of a ‘beer appreciator’. Kinda like a wine connoisseur…but without the pretentiousness of many wine connoisseurs. Or even just the name connoisseur. Bit wanky that is.

My love centres on that search to try a beer I have never tried before. It’s a good love to have as there are millions of them out there. Okay, some I don’t want to try. A lager infused with 3 day old baby raspberries and with a hint of cinnamon doesn’t exactly float my boat. Especially if I am paying for it! Though I still recall that beer I grabbed off the shelf a couple of years ago with a nice looking red chilli floating in it…

I thought ‘Holy crap! I love beer! And I love chilli! Bring it on!’

Worst $5 I ever spent. Ever.

I’m not snobby enough to refuse a beer from a brewing giant such as CUB. I enjoy a Carlton Draught at the footy as much as the next person. And I really dig their advertising. But my real beer hunger is trying out hard to find microbreweries and downing craft beers from some dude (or chick) that no doubt started as a homebrewer and had the passion to turn that into a small business. Hats off to ‘em for taking the punt I reckon. I can relate to that; however I just don’t have the balls to throw in a well paid, cushy office job to try and do what they are doing. At the moment anyway…(that’s a joke Mrs Sweeney!).

Where was I? Something about why I love beer but explaining that I’m not a Bogan. I don’t even know if Bogan is spelt with a capital ‘B’. Surely I can’t be one then can I? Anyway, doesn’t matter…

I love the concept that beer comes in so many different styles. Granted, not everyone likes beer, but there is generally something for everyone. How many people say they love beer but don’t like stout? Heaps. Or hate real English ale. Plenty of them too. I don’t think there is a style I hate. Probably cos I don’t actually consider floating a chilli in your beer as a style. But I do appreciate all styles. There it is again – ‘appreciate’.

Then there’s food. So many beers accommodate food and vice versa. Stout with bangers and mash with gravy. Yum. Nice ale with cheese. Defo. Crisp golden lager with seafood. Gimme. XXXX Gold with sangas…well no not quite!

I’m even fascinated with the names and the labels. Why does ‘Golden Lager’ suddenly sound more tempting than just a straight out ‘Lager’? I know you can’t tell a book by its cover, but a label that someone has spent time and energy designing grabs my taste bud’s attention a hell of a lot more than one that looks like a 7 year old designed on a Pixma Label Printer. Then again those printers do look pretty cool…

Then there’s the whole yeastie, living goodness of beer. How fascinating is it that it’s pretty much alive; like a micro-organism in a glass! Anybody? Anyone? There’s a real science behind it. The fact it is tapped and poured under certain conditions and temperatures. Fascinating. Yet it doesn’t take rocket science to make at home. Love it!

And don’t get me started on the history of beer. No, really. Don’t get me started. History is rather boring. No place for history in this beer blog!

Anyway, hopefully I have explained myself. I know I don’t need to justify it to anyone…and that isn’t even the purpose of these slurrings. The purpose is to convince at least one person out there not to drink a friggin Chilli Beer! What? No, that isn’t it either. Consider this the beginning, or better still, the background or introductory chapter to my ongoing quest that is all things beer.

Stay tuned folks. Next time I will be winding back the clock a few years (I’m not that old!) to where it all began! Yep, when I put down the Midori and lemonade and first started drinking beer.

Till then,

Cheers!…Prost!...Salute!...Kampai!