barefoot
Bundaberg Crisp
The kindergarten where my little girl goes has this deal where you need to do three hours of work there a term, and the Minister for War and Finance always signs me up to the mowing of the yard there, which entails whipper snipping, mowing and blowing out afterwards. Now normally this wouldn’t really be an issue, but last week, I had to do my yard, a list of odd jobs and then spent the next 3 and...
Carlton Dry Fusion
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” The words of my Religious Education teacher came rushing back to me once I took my first sip of beer from the bottle, and while coughing and spluttering looked at the label to see “Carlton Dry Fusion”. I use the word “beer” very loosely here. I think the marketing departing at CUB must be patting themselves on the back for coming up with that ...
McGuigan Shortlist Chardonnay 2009
I’m the first one to admit I’m a bit slow to take up fads or trends or to even throw things away. In fact I’m so bad that I still wear my Bronco’s “Back to Back Premierships” t-shirt with pride….that’s from 1993 for those of you that don’t follow the footy. Late last year the McGuigan Shortlist Chardonnay was brought to my attention, and I thought it was probably about time I picked up the b...
U-Brew-it
Most blokes I know have a story about drinking homebrewed beer, whether it is a story about how bad it was, how good it was or more commonly about how crook it made them. Although recently I heard the best story ever about homebrew and how a shed full of exploding homebrew stubbies sliced through an acquaintance’s leg, he passed out from blood loss and was saved by his flatmates. It’s amazing how ...
Yalumba The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
A few weeks ago, while out for lunch with a mate, I snuck into a wine tasting for Yalumba’s Rare and Fine wines, and learnt two things. The first was that Yalumba’s 2008 The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon is going to be winning a few wine medals this year, and the second was that it’s not a good idea to take somebody else’s glass when you’re not even supposed to be there in the first place……...
Chimay Grand Reserve Blue Label
The last Chimay this week, the Chimay Grand Reserve, also known as the Chimay Blue (for the blue label). The Trappist monastery at Chimay in the south west of Belgium has a long history of brewing beer. The Blue label is the last of the Chimay range, and I’ve been using a lot of music references in these reviews so one more won’t hurt: if Chimay Blue were to be compared to the music of Meatloaf, ...
Chimay Tripel White Label
Ahh…another week, another Chimay beer taste. This week I delved back heaven sent beers that are from the Chimay Trappist Monastery and popped the top of the Chimay Tripel, also known as Chimay White, because of the label colour. It is essentially the middle beer in the very excellent Chimay range that varies in alcoholic content, and price, from Red to White onto their top beer the Blue labe...
Penfolds Bin 389 and 407 2010 releases
I was looking at the Port Douglas Carnivale website the other day and noticed that it mentioned they will feature the first ever North Queensland release of the Penfolds Bin 389 and Bin 407 wines. This will be Queensland’s first public release of the “baby Grange” outside of Brisbane. This would be an awesome way of trying these wines along with several others all matched to fine food…..I’d book a...
Chimay Red Label – God’s Gift to Mankind
A word of warning on this column, if you are more interested paying your bills than drinking quality beer, then there is not much point in reading on….however, if you’re quite willing to relive your University/Apprenticeship lifestyle and only eat instant noodles for a week in order save enough to have a few beers on Friday night, then read on…. After nearly 40 years I’ve managed to wo...
Beer Rant – up on my soapbox
Beer is remarkable. It can raise emotions and opinions in the same way as politics and religion. People who drink beer generally have a view on the it. Sometimes it’s the ad’s, more-often it’s the over-all brand or price, often quite oft handed responses like “oh they make shite beers” Last year I reviewed Summer Bright Lager, that column was criticised, labelling my reacti...
Bundaberg Royal Liqueur
I haven’t tried a Bundaberg Rum product in about a decade; I stopped drinking it when I worked out that I had a love/hate relationship with it. I loved drinking the stuff and it loved making me hate everyone. You see everyone I know falls into one of two categories when drinking rum: you’re either a lover, or a fighter…and I can tell you that I don’t look like George Clooney…then agai...