I have an article on ThePunch today called "Wither the wine wanker" (I know it says "Whither" on the site, obviously a sub editor missed my subtle genius - which happens a lot...I meant 'wither' as in to shrivel; fade; decay: The grapes had withered on the vine.)
Anyway, it's always interesting to see the comments - or lack thereof - about beer on a general website like this. In a previous article bemoaning about how crappy restaurant beer lists are, a perceptive reader called D left the comment:
"I think the lack of comments clearly demonstrates why licensed restaurants do not serve a wide variety of quality beer - the market for quality beer is not big enough to make it worth the effort."
He's spot on, most people just don't give any thought to beer, except to make comment about:
One drinking game my friends and I play is to drink a beer from a different country every round. We try to go around the world before getting too pissed and moving onto the yaeger bombs.
Classy.
But then you get a comment like this one:
Yes its a challenge. Any time I go to my brother’s place for the footy and a beer he and his mates are literally angry that I would bring anything other than VB! Yet we must be brave and farsighted. The goal is not to convert my brother and his mates but to increase the chances that when my nephew finally asks for his first beer he says “Dad, can I have a glass with that please."
There's something in that for all of us.