Back in AU!

[Kevnlis]

Been gone a couple months, but I am back now and will try to be more active.

For those that dont know, I was over in the states. Despite the record breaking snow fall and cold temps I managed to get to a few breweries and tried quite a few micro beers while I was over there.

The best was a beer called "Hopalicious" made by Ale Asylum in Madison, WI. This beer was put on tap 3 days before my arrival and you sure could taste the freshness. This was by far the hoppiest commercial beer I have ever had (probably only due to the fact that it was so fresh).

I did also get the chance to try a few Gluten Free beers that I hadn't been able to find over here. All of them unique and very good. Though I must admit I have still not had one that could beat O' Brien's Brown Ale.

Somehow they are able to sell Austrlian wines for less than what we pay here. So I mostly didnt bother drinking the American garbage!

As far as spirits go, I bought a 1.5L flaggon of VSOP Brandy for $18

Prices on alcohol over there are amazingly low, and it really hurt my wallet when I hit Dan Murphys last night and saw the price tags!

Anyway, hope all has been well with everyone here. If I missed anything important let me know because there is no way I can get through all the unread topics since I last visited...

[warra48]

Welcome back, Kev. Sounds like you had a very good time.

I was beginning to wonder what we had done to drive you away, but I now realise you had a better offer than to frequent this forum.

If you cringe at the prices charged at Dan's, you need to try living in a place like I do, where we as yet have no Dan's (there's a site approved to build ours). The prices are virtually all full retail, hence I rarely buy commercial stuff, and certainly no wines at local prices. I wait for my occasional visits to Sydney and then call in on Dan's.

There's a few of us who have kept the fires burning here, and tried to help a lot of the new brewers onto their journey to making fabulous beer. After all, this is the time of the year when there's a lot of apprentices getting into it after their Christmas present of kits etc.

[Bizier]

Welcome back Kev.

I enquired on the price of Henny Private somewhere last, night purely for curiosities sake.

$32 a shot

[Iron-Haggis]

I can think of a couple reasons why Aussie wines (beer too in my experience) are cheaper in the States. Firstly would be because of the tax we pay here. Secondly it's just the bulk buying power and huge potential of the US market. You'd rather have .5% of the US wine market at 75% the price than 2% of the Australian wine market at full price.

And Warra on your Dan Murphys up at Port Macquarie, expect Wesfarmers to do whatever they can to delay or stop it ever being built. Although I have to admit I haven't heard much about it recently.

[Trough Lolly]

G'day Kev,
Did you have any palate calibrating SNPA's?!

Cheers,
TL

[Kevnlis]

G'day Kev,
Did you have any palate calibrating SNPA's?!

Cheers,
TL

Could never say no to a fresh tapped SNPA, I managed to find it in a couple of pubs while I was there. Was surprised at how easy it was to find. The bottled form was in even the smallest of bottle shops!

For the price (Somewhere around $18 US a slab, and the same price as Bud/Miller on tap) I can honestly say it is the best value beer I have ever had

[Trough Lolly]

Indeed...it's great value over there - it blows away the myth that a trip to the US is going to be painful for beer fans.

I was paying $2 a glass at the San Bernadino Hilton for the stuff - fortunately it was served in pint sized glasses...

Cheers,
TL

[Biernut]

G'day men

Just a reminder that our dollar is hovering around 66-70 cents against the greenback so that adds 50% on top of the prices you are quoting at the moment. No body has ever really come up with a plausible answer to me anyway why our dollar is such a poor performer against the US dollar especially when our interest rate always seem to be well above the good old US of A.

[Kevnlis]

Before I left the AU dollar was buying 98 cents US. Unfortunately I bought my money after the 3 day slide to 63 cents...

[drsmurto]

Welcome back Kev!

Hows the course coming along?

Its all been pretty normal here, i've been trying to stir things up but its all been a bit tame, not like the old chris days!

Good to have ya back.

Cheers
DrSmurto

p.s. a few months in the Rat must have had you acclimatised to such cold weather.....

[gregb]

.... not like the old chris days!

Don't miss 'em a bit, thanks all the same Doc!

Cheers,
Greg

[Kevnlis]

Welcome back Kev!

Hows the course coming along?

Its all been pretty normal here, i've been trying to stir things up but its all been a bit tame, not like the old chris days!

Good to have ya back.

Cheers
DrSmurto

p.s. a few months in the Rat must have had you acclimatised to such cold weather.....

Thanks mate, I have done well in the first semester of the course. I am taking a year off and have moved back up to QLD.

Can't say I miss the chris days either...

As for the cold weather in The Rat, nothing like what we get back in the states thats for sure! Though I must say the heat and humidity of QLD was missed about as much as chris

[pixelboy]

welcome back...

Did you get to try a SN Big Foot? Id love to get my hands on a bottle or two of that!

[Kevnlis]

welcome back...

Did you get to try a SN Big Foot? Id love to get my hands on a bottle or two of that!

I mostly tried to stick to local brewed stuff while I was there. I did grab a "winter assortment" from Sam Adams. It was 12 bottles for 11 dollars. Contained 2 bottles each of 6 styles. All were very nice and well worth the money!