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Toni and Adam Bellamy are 4th generation independent liquor merchants. Their family has been providing the public with quality wines and ales almost since the dawn of time. Purveyors of the most commodified of liquor products to the specialisations of each brother. Toni, wine. Adam, Beer. Our blog is to update you on current musings, opinions and events at Platinum Liquor.

Sunday 25 January 2015

Countdown To Australia’s Hottest 100 Craft Beers & Jeers

Yesterday someone had informed me that they had seen someone refer to me as a contrarian. Well I guess.

However, it would never be for the sake of it.

Everything I put forward is an extension of how I truly feel.

Surprisingly (much to some dismay) I don’t mind the Australia’s Hottest 100 Craft Beers.

I suppose it acts a good barometer to see how good beer is sitting with not only the beer, but also the wider community.

Like everyone else I dislike the petty on goings of it all. Breweries and their brewers, take it too seriously. Not to mention the brewers (loose term – if I can call them that) that simply see it as a marketing exercise and do not exactly play with ‘good sport’ in mind.

(Sending out emails accompanied with a link and a step-by-step process on how to vote for their beers, being my favourite story so far)

However, I still do see it as a bit of harmless fun (mostly).

Regardless of that, here are the top 10 reasons I don’t pay attention or participate in the annual beery ordeal.

10. I have a life. Contrary to popular belief, I am usually pretty busy (I suppose we all should be?). However there are just so many more things I would rather do with my spare time than jot down 5 beers I’ve had over 365 days.
Say, polishing my shoes, waiting in line at the RTA etc.

9. Only 5 Beers? They should make it top 10 or 15. That’d separate they men from the boys. How many Pale Ales and IPA’s could they jot down then?!?

8. No matter the circumstance, the winner is usually readily available (great distribution) and has a great marketing campaign (isn’t the whole thing supposed to based on what beer tastes great?).

7. The inevitable winner is a light, relatively refreshing hoppy ale or variation on this theme.

6. Listening to people giving their ‘predictions’ (yeah mate, you have your finger on the pulse – like a good stock broker).

5. Listening to people explaining who they ‘think’ should win. A futile exercise, cause even though you might know what your doing. In a nutshell - your opinion carries the same amount of water as - the winning brewery’s PR's cousin’s wife, who got sent the voting link on her smart phone and she doesn’t care about your theories.

4. TWITTER

3. If only the hottest 100 was run or associated with something similar to the USA’s BA (brewers association), how many heavily featured breweries (again, loose term) in the actual list would not be applicable.

2. The list is just as naff as the musical one that inspires it.

1. If and inevitably, when you tell someone that you are passionate about beer.
That same old chestnut comes up,

“what’s your favourite one?”.

Any of us that hold these things dear, we would and always offer the same typical beer geek response.

“Love them all – its all about time, place, food, mood” blah blah blah…

So in your heart of hearts, you cannot split your favorite brews, its too hard.
I love them all for different reasons. So how can I possibly only limit myself to 5, or how can you choose what beer was better than the other, depending how you felt, what you ate, what music you were listening to. Maybe what the weather was like?
If you tell yourself and others that beer is truly your folly.
If both good and great beer you are truly madly deeply your love.
Then a simple list goes against everything you stand for.
It goes against every grain you have. The very thing you base your love upon.

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