Beer has suddenly and inexplicably blown up in Australia. I'm not sure if it's the internet's amazing ability to create clarity for previously shrouded sub-cultures or if it has to do with the increasing size of Australia's craft beer market but beer, craft beer specifically, is getting huge.
Given this, it might be fair for any reader to ask why I would start a beer blog in that environment. It hardly seems inventive or original, I'm hardly an expert, nor am I part of the industry. Both of these statements are pretty fair, but they really get to the point of why I am starting a beer blog.
I remember the exact point in time when my beer 'like' became my beer 'love', the moment I realized that Stella Artois is not a top notch "imported beer" and that "premium" did not refer to how much alcohol was in the tinnie.
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon. I had spent a long day crawling the streets of Sydney's CBD looking for cafe's and music shops with my brother Andrew. We decided it was time for a break, while pacing down Clearance St we happened upon Red Oak Boutique Beer Cafe. I recall my brother looking at me and saying "Well it is a cafe after all".
Inside two large bright beer tanks, lined with wood paneling greet you. A long solid wood bar with 12 taps all bearing the Red Oak logo spans the length of the room. It was so majestic and inviting.
I sat at the table and quickly became confused by the menu, which was bar snacks and a list of almost unrecognizable words, which I'd surmised were beers. The bar tender, Janet, asked if we had ever been before, to which we replied negative, so she recommended the tasting platters.
As soon as the platter was in front of me, I knew I had been missing out. My life was about to change. Frozen cold, pale, bland coloured beers were no where to be seen. But an array of golden, red and opaque black glasses sat before me, small Hors d'œuvre, each placed in front of a beer, matching the flavours and progressive becoming stronger. It was so odd, so different, I'd never seen beer treat like this before, it was like, to my mind, they had somehow confused beer with.... wine! So in the haze of my confusion, I decided, why not? Why not treat this beer in front of me as if it were wine. So my brother and I did just that. We started tasting the beers, slowly swapping back and forward between food and beer, discussing as we went the flavours, their complexities, the subtles, as we had both seen our parents do many times (they are big wine buffs). Janet became involved in the conversation as we progressed and by the end we had spent two hours plus at this bar, learning all about beer.
A few weeks later I sat at that bar and told Janet that I had just got my RSA certificate, she passed me a celebratory beer and asked me when I could have my first shift. I walked at Redoak for a year and a half, and although I haven't worked there for some time now, my love of beer hasn't subsided. I am constantly seeking out new beer experiences, breweries, new beers, beer pubs and great food and beer experiences. I have gone to beer festivals, started home brewing with my brother Tom and even done some stewarding for beer competitions. It's a hobby and a love.
I hope that in this blog I can share with you my love for beer, a few of my favourite experiences and new places and people, as well as some of my opinions on where beer is as an industry, not as a business person, but as a drinker and beer enthusiast. I promise that I wont, review beers or brewers, that's for Beer competitions and is inherently wrought with potential issues. I wont be negative about something, there is no use in me beating on about something I don't reccommend, I'd prefer to spend my time on stuff I've loved, or thoughts I think are "beer positive". I also promise to always respect everyone's opinion, some people love beer in a different way to me, all I can do is share my perspective.
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