The Blokes Is Back

After enjoying a well earned (?) rest on the mostly sunny Sunshine Coast, the Beer Blokes are back and filled with the joy of the coming Summer and the new brewing season. Why are you laughing? Yes, the Beer Blokes go on holiday together as well. And no, it’s not a gay thing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. A sort of drinking conference, if you will.

A short report on the drinking scene in Queenslands’ tourist strip will follow shortly along with some brew news and some product reviews. But first some catch up. Thanks to our readers for your feedback. It is always welcome because it gives me some ideas and inspiration as well as confirming to me that I’m not just writing this crap for my own amusement. That is to say, I could pretend that I haven’t posted for a month because I wanted to flush out any dormant -sleeper-cell type readers but the reality is that I have just been a slack tart. And a busy one.

Now to some more topical items and a teaser for what is to come in the next few posts. First. There seems to be a boom in the production of "Idea Beers" at the moment. These are beers that appear to be made more for selling more than for drinking. In particular the sudden glut of low-carb and mid-strength beers. This situation is getting well out of hand and the blokes have loaded up both barrels for this one. Stay tuned. It’s a pisser. Beer marketing departments – you have been warned.

Second. Some tasting notes. The Beer Blokes have been away but still ‘on the clock’ so to speak. Together as well as independently, Dr Lager and I have been sampling some new and unusual beers. We had some good ones, we had some average ones and we had some that would have been best left in the marketing mans’ dreams. As always, these reviews will be full of interesting facts, figures and conclusions. All of which will be pure fiction and the product of an over stimulated and under developed imagination. And a perceived need to spread good cheer through good beer. But don’t take them too seriously.

Third. The Big Beer Roadtrip. October was a rather large and lager-fuelled month all in all. Beginning on the first, Prof. Pilsner hiked up to Sydney to enjoy the harbourside hospitality, the Emerald City beer and a reasonably entertaining night of Rugby League out at the Olympic Stadium. More on this soon. Much, much more. Sorry, Zak. Meanwhile, Dr Lager has been interstate for much of the month in two or three day stints for work and then for a week and a half for holidays and a little drinking. Mind you, Mrs Pilsner and Lager gave the old liver a fair pounding with the case o’ bubbles while we were away so it’s not like our research was completely unsupported. Then to finish the month, Dr Lager and I had the pleasure of attending our secondary school reunion. I tell you what, if I could go back in time I’d take a couple of thirteen year old mates aside and tell them that are going to be really funny bastards when they’re pissed! Very good night. And possibly worthy of a beer based review if I can get the copy passed by the lawyers.

So to all our readers – and a big welcome aboard to Len Pascoe (don’t suppose you’ve met Ross Henshaw ?) – I apologise for the delay in providing you with the beer based information and loosely-based-on-facts-sort-of tidbits relating to beer and brewing that you all so clearly crave. I will make it up to you with some crackers in the next month.