Beers and plenty of them, in my backyard

Okay I'm doing things an odd way around, buying stuff for the back end of the brewing process first instead of gear needed to get this batch actually started...but a bargain is a bargain. And I do love a bargain..

Could a special from San Diego get rid of the sour thoughts of our recent brush with Hollandia? There's was only one way to find out - fire up the bbq and get tasting!

A pallet load of cheap beer near the exit of Dan Murpheys? How could I resist?


Note to self: Learn to resist.

Last year I mentioned having an incredible bang up chat with Balter head brewer Scott Hargrave. Today, you can now listen to it! (I know right, better late than never...)

The title pretty much sums up our latest weekend adventure. Although I really wasn't expecting half the beer related goodies we found along the way..

Once again my wonderful wifey proves she's well and truly full of surprises. At Xmas I unwrapped a four pack of Fig Jam which made the time off from work even more enjoyable. Just in time for Valentine's Day? She's taken my drinking vessels to a completely new level..

I'm celebrating tonight - a morning jaunt through many a garage sale found us a glass topped dining table for a mere $10. Considering the glass seems to weigh as much as I do, this thing was a steal. So what am I celebrating with tonight you ask? The last brew in the fridge (until I stock up again) - A Moon Dog Love Tap Lager.

Now I remember drinking one of these many moons ago (it's difficult to forget that the bottle had a mustache on it) only I had no idea it was from Burleigh Brewing, makers of that damn fine Fig Jam IPA. Of course I only remembered the mo and nothing about the contents of the bottle so I'm happy it popped up Dan Murphey's ready for round two.

So I'm still a whiles away from boiling, pitching, waiting, bottling, drinking and possibly bragging. However in between pay days and drooling over which bit of kit I'm going to purchase next, I've been keeping myself busy with a bit of learning but more importantly, a bit of laughing...

I'm flashbacking tonight. Back we go ten years ago roughly when I trekked around the North Island of New Zealand on a bus full of strangers. The bus was pilotted by a guy called Kev. Or was it Steve? I think his name was Greg. Anyway Petey the bus driver gave me a can of Tui once but I can't remember why. Nor can I remember what it tasted like.
Boy this is off to a great start isn't it?

It's a miserable weekend weather wise here on the Gold Coast. Plenty of rain has ruled out mowing the lawn after far too long so that basically leaves plenty of wet weather activities, chugging down copious numbers of coffees and as the almost hidden sun descends, tucking into a new beer or two under the cover of the back deck.
First morsel on the tasting plate tonight? A trip to Poland with the buttery like goodness of a Zyweic...

So a meeting was called here at work. Nothing serious or job threatening, just a general update about where we're all at and what we're all up to - who joined the team, who got engaged, all that fun stuff. And at the end of it they whipped out the trays of party pies and sausage rolls, cakes and sweets in celebration. And they also opened the beer fridge.

I'd be rude if I didn't take part in this hospitality now wouldn't I? So far be it for me to be the one who bucked the trend, I grabbed a beer. A style that's been pretty under represented on this page since it kicked off, a light beer.