Foster’s beer has so successfully been marketed in the United States, that if one mimics the commercial to a beer-drinking friend, in an appropriately-poor Australian accent, “Foster’s,” inevitably the friend will mindlessly regurgitate, “Australian for beer.” But it’s not Australian for beer. As I commented in an earlier post, my brother challenged me to find a Foster’s during our time in Australia. While I didn’t exactly make a mission out of finding a Foster’s, we did find plenty of beer-serving establishments throughout our Australian journey, including four of Australia’s territories. At no time did we see Foster’s as an option for beer. Clearly, it has been well-crafted marketing, and not quintessentiality that has made “Foster’s – Australian for beer,” for many Americans.
I was surprised that I truly couldn’t find Foster’s in Australia. I was not surprised, however, that more and different beers would be available during our trip. While we were planning the trip, I was excited about visiting my brother, seeing kangaroos and koalas, relaxing on the Whitsunday Islands, and enjoying local beers.
Indeed, I was not disappointed in the quantity of new beers while I was there. I tried to have a different beer every time I had the opportunity. Here’s the list I can remember:
Victoria Bitter (VB)
James Squires
Resch’s
Blue Tongue
Carlton Mid
Crown Lager
Cooper’s (which I believe is actually British)
XXXX Gold
XXXX Bitter
XXXX Summer
XXXX Porter
Hahn Premium
Hahn Premium Light
Cascade Premium
Cascade Premium Light
Toohey’s New
Toohey’s Black Ale
No, I wasn’t disappointed in the number of beers I could enjoy. I was, however, disappointed in the diversity of the beers I could enjoy. All the beers are remarkably similar in so many respects. Most all of them were light in color. The darkest beers I could find were the James Squires (about the only “boutique” beer I found, equivalent to American “craft” beer), VB, and Toohey’s Black Ale. Even the VB has only a hint of real color, bordering on amber. Otherwise, the rest were golden pilsners and ales. Almost all of them were light, crisp, with moderate body. There is no real indication of any experimentation with extra ingredients outside of water, grains, hops, and yeast, with the exception of sugar cane, which XXXX said they use to keep the beer light and crisp in the northern, tropical region. Most of the hops, also, seemed to be mild German hops, so the strong, floral scent I would hope for in a pilsner was often missing.
The uniformity of the beer actually lead to a new nomenclature for beer there. In the United States, if you get a “light” beer, it typically means you’re getting a golden-colored beer. If you order a “lite” beer, it means you’re getting a low-calorie beer. In Australia, “light” beer indicates neither of these attributes.
Australians are reasonably adamant that their beers are “stronger” than beers in other countries. While it’s true that a traditional VB is going to have between 4.5%-5% alcohol by volume, this is hardly stronger than any craft brew in the United States (or mass-marketed craft clones), and honestly, isn’t stronger than most ice beers brewed by the major beer companies. In fact, the last several years has seen “extreme” brewing take off as a fad among craft and microbrewers, bringing alcohol content levels to 7% or more percent, and occasionally getting up over 15% abv.
No, Australian beer isn’t “stronger,” generally, than American beer. At least, not 21st Century American beer. It is, however, true that Australians are sensitive to the effects of alcohol, and hence produce beers that include less alcohol than “standard” beer. Beer comes in three strengths; full-strength, mid-strength, and light. Here is where Australian “light” beer falls.
On my last planned day in Sydney, I ordered a Cascade at the pub. The bartender looked at me and said, “You realize that’s a light beer, right?” This was not my first Cascade, and I wanted to comment to her, “No lighter than all the rest of the beer here.” I immediately remembered that she was indicating, nay WARNING me, that the beer was not full strength, and probably had an alcohol content of something like 2.5%.
I wouldn’t say that the beer in Australia was bad, for the record. It simply lacked the tremendous diversity which we enjoy in the U.S. The beers I had were almost universally light, crisp, thirst-quenching beers. I wouldn’t necessarily slander one over another, but I am very excited to return to the U.S. and enjoy a nice, rich Sam Adams Boston Lager, or a Red Oak, or a hoppy Sweetwater 420.
haha oh dear,australians are not sensitive to alcohol! have you seen an aussie ddrink again against an american? see who drinks who under the table
Well, perhaps not in the physiological sense, but if Australians weren’t sensitive socially to alcohol content, they wouldn’t be required to publish the ABV on their beers. Also, while Australians drink, on average, almost 30 litres of alcohol more annually (per capita) than their American second cousins, I’m not sure that the best specimens of alcohol consumption from either country make the trek to join the other for a drink-off. That is to say that the down home country boy from South Carolina or Alabama seldom makes it to Australia to see who the real victor is. I will, however, be happy to acknowledge that I was generically impressed with the consumption and tolerance of the Australians that I met.
As for the number of beers available in Australia, I only had three weeks to survey the beer landscape, so certainly I didn’t get a comprehensive look at it all, and I know that Australia has less than 10% of the people that the US. That being said, the US has FAR more than 10 times the number of breweries than Australia, and consequently has a far larger variety of beers available.
plus there are a lot more beers in australia then you just mentioned.
australian beer is very much the same your right, it only tends to differ mostly on quality rather then variety depending on brand. but there is a reason for the lack of variety of beers here. 1. flavoured beer’s and new beer’s simply dont sell, people have a brand they like and they stick to it. and 2. the main population of australia is middle class, whereas in america the percentage of higher and lower class people are much higher, so generally only a few types of beers get the high sales, the ones that arnt imported and are moderatly priced.
sensitivity to alcahole? sorely mistaken. the fact is that in australia the alcahole culture is you drink to get drunk, very drunk. an example is i blacked out for the first time when i was 13. this kind of binge drinking which is alien to just about evry other country makes adaults that can drink like fuck. i know a bloke whos 40 YOA who can down 2 slabs a day then get up at 5:30 the next morning and go to work. im not saying this kind of drinking doesnt happen in other countries at all but by percentage australia is by far the worst binge drinking country in the world. a fact we tend to be proud of. i know i take a sense of oride in it haha.
in other words in most countries culture, you would bring maybe 6 beers at a party or BBQ, in australia its a slab or you dont go.
and your right about fosters, ive never drank it or seen anyone drink it.
VB is considerd the shitest beer on the market, it is cheao as shit.
most other beers (carlton dry bein my faveorate) are moderatly priced but all prettty much taste the same.
Thanks! That’s a great explanation. Appreciate the informative comment!
1.You wont see Fosters anymore but they do exist, they are 1 of the two big companies that owns all the beer labels in Australia eg. Carlton Draught, Cascade Premium Lager, Crown Lager, Melbourne Bitter, Victoria Bitter
2.The other thing you were mistaken on is Coopers. Coopers is actually the last and only Australian Family run brewery in Australia. Not owned by Fosters or Lions Co.
3. With the variety thing, I guess we are just satisfied with Lager, the refreshing taste is perfect for our hot climate (especially Queensland).
4. Sensitive to alcohol? I’m not too sure about that. If I were to give my opinion why there is a low % on our beers would probably be to try and control the amount we drink. There are other things that they do to try and slow us down like bottle shops etc must be shut at early and strict pub opening and closing times or even areas where alcohol is banned completely. This has gone on since the beginning of Australia. After-all beer was introduced by the British to try and slow us down on drinking rum. And by personal experience, I live in a tourist town (Cairns) so I have been drinking with many people from the US and where as they pass out at a party at around 1am, me and my mates will be fighting strong still having beer influenced philosophical speeches when the suns rising. The Irish on the other hand will drink us out of a pub. You want to see real drinkers head there!
Anyway other than your disappointment in our beers I hope you enjoyed Australia
i think your sooo wrong about aust, i have being living here for the last 11 years,plus the lighter beer is catered for women so you can drink more dont get drunk and kind of still drive……., and they can drink any person from the usa down, australian are one of the countries with the biggest per capita consumption of alcohol , they dont drink on weekend , they drink every day. (IM NOT AUST, SO THIS NOT COMES FROM BEING PATRIOTIC), they gotttt so much more beer here!!!!!!!, the australian hotel in sydney, serves about 100 diferent beer, and there are micro breweries all over the place in oz,4 pines, read oak,murrays, little creatues, mildura brew,moon dos,red duck, the lord nelson, Fish Rock , Dark Island , Byron Bay Brewery, 2 Brothers Brewery, Blue Sky Brewery, Barossa Brewing Company, Three Troupers Brewery, Steel River Brewery, White Rabbit, just to name a few ,all the beer that you have named, are big brands, blue tongues use to be small, then it was bought by cocacola, i think you need to do your research a bit more, and a lot better. australian beer is amazing, and there is so much of it too……im starting to think you are not a very good beer spotter.
I keep getting hits on this thread, so I’ll lay out the case I’m making for American craft brewing, over Australian in a more direct manner.
I know that Australia has more beers than I mentioned. I don’t claim that I went to every brewery and tried every beer. I know that Americans don’t typically drink as much as Australians do, and that drinking a lot, particularly to get drunk, is a more accepted part of Australian culture than America. America amended our national constitution to ban alcohol completely during the 1920s, for Heaven’s sake! Clearly, we have our own issues with alcohol!
I’m simply saying that America has far, far, far more options in beer than Australia does. In the States we have thousands of breweries. Beer comes every color you can imagine – from almost a white color, with a tinge of yellow, to deep, deep brown with flecks of ruby. For example, I never found a witbier in Australia (a very, very light, crisp, but cloudy wheat beer). Nor did I find anything made with rice instead of barley. I couldn’t find a Russian Imperial Stout, and fruit-tinted beers were almost impossible to find. The hop content was never over 100 IBUs, and I’m sure I never had anything over 10% abv.
And I’m not saying these don’t exist ANYWHERE in Australia. I’m saying that in 3 weeks of looking for them, I was unable to find ANY examples of them. I went to pubs. I went to grocery stores. I went on a brewery tour. I asked bartenders. I didn’t find them, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. If it exists, it’s certainly not anywhere close to the mainstream beer market. My imagination gins up an underground (literally) brewery in Coober Pedy, with wonderful beer varieties – but I doubt that’s actually the case.
I’m not saying I LIKE all these varieties, either, nor am I saying that the beer that Australians make is poorly-manufactured. I’m simply saying that Australians do not have the diversity of beer available in the U.S. – for any number of reasons. There are only 30M-ish people, to start, so there’s less people to support more unique/obscure beers. The dearth of cool, wet climates makes widespread production of hops (instead of other, more prodigious agriculture) more difficult, or at least less appealing. The warm weather in the North certainly doesn’t encourage the consumption of heavy, thick beers. And so on.
I’m simply saying that America has MORE options than Australia – and it’s a shame for Australians. A country that takes its beer so seriously – and I acknowledge that Australia takes its beer seriously – hasn’t had the opportunity to try, and subsequently decide for themselves, on a larger breadth of beer options.