My Stubby

Aussies love their grog. This is going to be big theme of a few of my blogs in general. Alcohol plays such an important role in the culture here that it warrants a bit of analysis.

Beer may as well be Australia's national beverage. When walking into anybody's house, women are asked if they'd like some tea and men are asked if they'd like a beer. This is definitely something about the culture that I love. Beer, ever since my palate accepted it, has been one of my favorite beverages. I'm not too picky about which beers I drink; I love pale ales, dark ales, amber ales, pilsners, drafts, hefeweissen, and even beers with an assaulting hop punch. One thing I've noticed here is that everyone has their own beer brand.

I've always been one of those non-brand loyalty guys. I walk into the liquor store and buy a six pack of whatever microbrew or import is on sale that week. It is a good way to sample around and often the on sale stuff is as cheap as Budweiser. This is just not an option in Australia, because despite how much beer people here seem to drink, the price are outrageous!

A six pack of stubbies is $17.00, when on sale. There goes any chance of sampling small amounts of beer. Most people here pick a brand and stock up their fridge when beer goes on sale. Nobody ever seems to buy less than a case. A normal case of beer can run from $40-50 easy. This isn't premium microbrews I am talking about either. This is for the cheap beer. About once a month of so, when the right stars align, that specific brand of beer you like might dip below $35...this is the time to buy six cases or so. These aren't conditions that are positive for seeing what a certain beer tastes like.

Therefore, I need a brand of beer. This is going be a new thing for me, I'm afraid of commitment to a beer. Thankfully, despite these high beer prices, a stubby at the pub only costs $4.oo. In comparison to the rest, this really isn't too bad. I shall try a different beer each time I go to the pub and after a sufficient number of beers, I will make my choice, then wait two months until it goes on sale.