The Great Craft Conspiracy

I have not really been inclined to blog about beer lately. I have lost my mojo....
I moved back to Australia in 2009 with much enthusiasm towards the rapidly growing craft beer movement. However, what I have found is that the local craft beer market is comprised of inconsistent American style beers that are difficult to find, expensive and all seem to have an cardboard oxidized note.

The message is, the great Australian Craft Beer revolution was a flop..... The stores are dominated by 'craft brands' which are brewed by the same mega breweries that have dominated since the end of time. These beers are still brewed to a price, although now the margin is even higher.

Where are all the small bars, cafes and brewpubs to support the scene? I can list all the Sydney based venues on one hand.

Why does Australian craft beer retail for $25 a six pack (5% abv) while I can buy a six pack of Ballast Point IPA (7% abv) which has traveled across the globe for $18?

Why is Australia still a craft beer desert?

My answer is to craft my own beer at home. I feel sorry for everyone else.


Over....

Regent Hotel

I have been pretty slack lately. I still haven't sorted out Internet at the new flat and I have been busy at work. I have not really had a decent session on the turps in a while either which doesn't help. Anyhow, not far from my office is an OK pub called the Regent Hotel (stalkers can probably work out where my new job is located). They do a good counter lunch and have both James Squire Golden Ale (pictured) and Cooper's Pale Ale in proper real keg form. The guys at work like nothing better than getting amongst it during a lunch hour which suits my cultural preferences down to a tea. Last Friday I also ventured to the Kirribilli Club, an RSL aligned club not far my phat flat. They had two interesting beers on in proper real keg. James Squire Amber Ale and Baron's Pale Ale which went down a treat (about 10 schooners in total), even considering I was backing up from an impressive lunchtime session at the Regent. Currently in the fridge at home I have a six pack of Warsteiner and a 5L minikeg of Bitburger I want to smash ASAP. Tonight will be a good night as I'm off the Tharens in Kings Cross for dinner. It's an all you can drink affair so I will be giving it a good nudge to ensure I get my moneys worth. Sadly beers on offer are limited to Tooheys New and Carlton Draught - not complete shit, but not really exciting either. Tomorrow I plan to rack my two can screamer into a cube for some cold conditioning love. I'll post about that sometime next week. I'll also post about my new 50" plasma TV that I have been having wet dreams about. Till then I will leave you with the lovely Sydney Harbour which I get to enjoy on a daily basis. I live less than 300 meters from the landmarks in the pictures. It's a hard knock life!

Stranger than Fishin'

OK, I know its been a couple of weeks but lots has happened. Not a lot to get excited about on the beer front but busy none the less.
I spent a week in Thailand and earned the summer that the UK seemed to forfeit. It was nice, 7 nights of clear sky', 35 degree weather and Thai food. On the beer front things were limited to two choices. 1. Singha - A 5% abv premium lager in the pale pilsner style. Cold and wet it was perfectly suited to the tropics. Besides it's temperature it was a little bland. More interesting was option 2. Chang - a 6.4% maibock style lager. This beer was an awesome match to the fiery Thai dishes it was so often consumed with. On an interesting note it seems a piss weak 5% version has been released in the UK. Personally I wouldn't bother. I think the heat, humidity and exotics of Thailand really make this beer special. Somehow it wouldn't be the same sipping it on Clapham common.

Anyhow after Thailand I enjoyed the Rubbish service that British Airways has to offer and finally made it back to Sydney in one piece. Just as an aside, I think BA deserve to go under if they want to run their business the way they do. Actually I hope they go under. Beer wise I haven't had much of an opportunity to explore the local scene yet. I have drank all my old man's VB, my father in-laws Crown Lager and half a case of Gage Roads IPA I picked up from Dan Murphy's. The Gage Roads is a little tame compared to the US IPA's I have been getting into recently. Don't get me wrong it's a nice beer with a great hop aroma, but it's severely lacking in the bitterness department. Whilst in Dan M's I was pleasantly surprised that the craft beer selection has increased from 2 isles to 7 over the last 3 years - not that I buy beer here very often. I also plan to get back into brewing quickly. I don't have my AG rig available to me at the moment so I picked u a coopers pale ale and a coopers dark ale kit. I plan to mix both kits together and ferment it out with the pale ale yeast. Should make for a nice malty porter. Fingers crossed I'll be able to get some all grain up and running sooner rather than later but its looking bleak for at least the next 6 months. Other important news is that I have found a new place to live in the lovely suburb of Kirribilli. It's a bit of a poncy area, but will be nice until we buy a place in 6-12 months time.
I couldn't be assed typing anymore so I guess that's it for now. Fingers crossed I'll get time to blog again before I start my new job on Monday.

Stranger than Fishin'? I recently told someone not to fish in their own pond. Well it appears that I have been proven wrong. I have heard from a reliable source that said person has caught a beauty and the happy couple have been seen about town. I offer my congratulations to the happy couple.