h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ruppy - sorry for delay in getting back to you. And since then you have a new name! Big changes going on?

Happy to forward you a couple of Aussie beers - just need an address of sorts. However, you might not find them to your taste:
1. we drink beer cold (very cold, not cellar cold) straight from the refridgerator or off the ice
2. because of this the beer type is either an ale or a lager style - Pilsner is available, but not the prefered style for everyday drinking
3. the commonest 'filler' for brewing is not malt, but cane sugar. As Australia is a producer of cane sugar, this is most commonly used instead of full malt sugar to brew beer. When I homebrew, I use dextrose (or corn sugar) as a filler
4. They're probably hopped differently to German beer styles

Let me know.

Hi Bruce!

Yeah, big changes going on. New job and a new residence soon.

I don't want to place my address here, but I'll place my email-address on the My Space section, so you can send me your address and I can email mine to you.

Usually I don't drink Pilsner either, btw. It's more common in the northern parts of Germany.
In southern Germany we drink 'Helles' (like ale, and we also prefer to drink it cold) or 'Weizen' aka 'Weißbier' (this kind of beer actually has to be cold, otherwise it would produce to much foam).
In wintertimes, or when we want to get drunk fast, we drink Bockbier.

I have tried a few Weissbeirs in my time. I spent some time in Deutschland visiting all my relatives and a good friend living in Salzburg, so I spread my beer drinking as far and as wide as I could. All was good (except for the price of a damned beer in Norway! I thought I had bought the brewery!), but Pils got to be a bit of trial by the 5th week.

Didn't spend enough time in Munich to try every local beer - big project for later on in life . Bock beir has a reputation in Australia, as an 'boutique' beer it is brewed by a number of the smaller breweries for sale as bottled beer.

In Australia beer consumption tends to fall into two rough categories:
1. bulk beer sold from the tap in pubs and clubs. Cheap and popular. Some folk drink nothing else. This is brands like VB, Fosters, Tooheys Draught, Reschs, Melbourne Bitter and the like. Also sold as cans and bottles, this is most of the beer sold. You can lump in a couple of foreign brands that have managed to find a solid market (such as Guiness and Heineken)
2. 'Boutique' beers from small breweries (and the same styles of beers produced by the big companies). Usually bottled, sometimes on tap (if you know where to find them) - expensive, but worth the expense. Rarely you can find a hotel and a brewery combined, where they actually sell you beer they make!! I know that this is the tradition in Germany, but Australia has always been dominated by big breweries mass-marketing their product. A lot of foreign beer ends up in this category, not because it's bad - just that Australians are a little resistant to new beers.

A lot of homebrewing goes on - a VERY good sign!!

More later - best wishes for the new job!