Southern Discomfort

Damien Baguley of The Viper Creek Band

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:36:00 +0000

Episode 3.

Click HERE to go to the podcast.

Whitey, Hillsy and Bags.

In this episode we meet Damien Baguley. A local music legend who is gaining great momentum with his Country Rock act, The Viper Creek Band.

We learn of growing up in Narrabri, teenage mullets, Slim Dusty and his lust, sorry, love and respect for Keith Urban. We delve into VCB's history, the recordings, shameless self-promotion and what is on the horizon.

Competition Corner

We are giving away a Viper Creek Band care package. It contains A copy of Dance Like No-One's Watching, a VCB T-Shirt, guitar pick and sticker!! A MUST for any fan. LIKE our FB page (then share it by clicking the cog icon and hitting share) as it will have the info you need to enter the competition for the pack. Be QUICK, it is a first in-best dressed kinda deal. Get on it! NOW! I said, NOW!!

The Beers consumed

A Belgian-style Homebrew, a Duvel Tripel Hop and Whitey selfishly cracked open a Chimay Blue. I think that is the true definition of Home-Ground-Advantage.

So, check the podcast out, the link is at the top of this post and share it around among your friends and even your enemies. They'll LOVE IT!!
The SD Crew.

Viper Creek Band

Slim Dusty

Erica Sunshine Lee

Damien Rockin' the 'Rachel'

Hills (on the right) and Trent, right before they auditioned for Extreme.

Whitey aged 14

Coming up in Episode 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 01:08:00 +0000

We'll be devoting an entire episode to getting the lowdown on The Viper Creek Band's frontman, Damien Baguley.

We know there'll be beer. We know there'll be talk of and listening to music. We know there'll be laughs.
What we WANT to know is that which we don't yet know abut him. What brought him to the point in his life that he is at right now? Was it Angels, like Guy Sebastian had? or something entirely different?

We will endeavour to delve deep into the open cut mine of musical and life experience that Damien has and entertain the bejesus out of you all at the same time.

Stay tuned..... Here's a taste of The Viper Creek band to tide you over.

the VCB official website

They are singers! Why can't they sing?Home Brewing and Home Recording. Should you or shouldnnullnullnullnullnull

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:37:00 +0000

Click HERE to get to our episode 2 of the podcast.

LIKE our FACEBOOK page.

Why go to the trouble of Home brewing?

Home brewing for me has come as a bit of a surprise. For years I had instilled in me the notion that homebrew was rocket-fuelled acid that tasted like drinking splashed-up tar from the underside of a Mack truck on a boiling summer day. The fire and general burning that went along with it were mere side-effects that got in the way of the intended outcome; getting hammered!

About 3 years ago, I was flushed with a couple hundred bucks that my wife had allowed me to use for whatever I pleased. I was at a loss. What could I spend my new-found fortune on? This opportunity came up so rarely that I had forgotten how to think about myself…. Ha-ha even I didn’t buy that one! I was piss-farting about on YouTube one day and came across a Canadian fella drinking homebrew. It made me thirsty. I noticed his next vid was him actually brewing the stuff and he was using the Coopers kit that I was used to walking past in Kmart and BigW. My interest was piqued. He just seems to chuck the stuff in, mix it up and Bob’s your Uncle. This is kind of true, but there is a lot more to it and when armed with a few fundamentals, you can be brewing beer that not only represents great value for money, but it can really taste good too.

I personally choose to focus on ‘Kit and Kilo’ brewing. This term comes from the concept of a tin of goo (the extract base) and a kilo of sugar. This will get you standard results, but with a little tweaking here and there, the results can be great.

I have deliberately chosen to focus on the Cooper's products in this article as they are readily available and are put together for easy use and the results are consistent. Should you develop your skills and get hooked (I know you will), head onto the other brands and things out there at your local brew shop.

The Goo

This thick, sticky mess is what forms the base of the beer. Some lighter, some darker, some sweeter, more bitter etc. It just depends on what you’re after. The Coopers tins are great because they’re easy to come by and can usually get them quite fresh, with a long use by date. The fresher the better. This goo is the culmination of grain, hops, malt etc. being boiled down to form the sticky mess that is in the can. It gives us our flavour base. These are pre-hopped for bitterness, but with minimal aroma. I’ll touch on dry-hopping in the tweaks section.

The Sugar

A kilo of Sugar is needed to provide enough food for the yeast to chew through during fermentation. Plain white table sugar will work, but it won’t taste very good. It’ll taste cidery and acidic and have the mouth-feel of a glass of aspro-clear. I recommend using a combination of sugars. These are simply found as Brew Enhancers. Coopers BE1 contains dextrose and maltodextrin. These sugars enhance mouth feel and head-retentio and are a little more suited to lighter beers, like the lager and corona-type things. I prefer to use their BE2 enhancer. It has the same as BE1 but with the addition of Light Dry Malt to further improve body and head retention but more so to add more malty characteristics to the beer. Overall, these can be messed with, up and down with quantities, ratios etc., but the kilo mark is what you should aim for and the enhancers work really well to help with the results.

The Water

The KnK formula generally needs around 20-23 litres of water to make the batch. Really, just follow the instructions from Coopers (or whichever brand you use) for the actual standard assembly. Filtered water will probably get you the best results, but unless your tap stuff resembles the finished beer, then I'd just use that.

The Yeast

The yeast is what will chew up the sugar to form alcohol and ultimately carbonation in the final stages of the brewing process. There are numerous yeasts available but I find for the most part, the ones that Coopers provides in the tin work just fine. The important thing to remember here is temperature. If the water is too cold, then the Yeast won’t activate and too hot at temperature can kill the yeast, so you’ll end up with weird, beer flavoured water with no alcohol and let’s face it, we don’t want Corona.

Tricks and tweaks to take it from good to great

The Goo in the tin is available in many different styles, with a few brands out there being fairly accessible. Hell, even Coles and Woollies do their own. Once you’ve nailed the principles of knocking up a batch, check out the more upscale tins, like the Thomas Cooper Collection and the other fancy things like Munton's you can find at brew shops.

The sugars can be played around with to the point of being silly. No real right or wrong, but learn what each type will do for the beer and adjust from there. My personal favourite is to use BE2 and 500g of Light Dry malt to not only push up the mouth feel and malty goodness, but you’ll get a higher ABV% as well. Liquid malts are great and you can get wheat malt, amber, golden… all sorts. Play around with it. As long as you have at least a kilo of sugars then your yeast will do its job just fine.

Yeast can be messed with as well. You can get specific style-based yeasts, which rely heavily on correct temperature control so unless you’ve a cool room or fridge with the appropriate thermostat, I’d recommend to stick with the Coopers yeasts for now. They seem to be a lot more forgiving and will generally produce good results.

Different adjuncts can be added to tweak flavours and aromas etc. E.g.: Honey, herbs, fruit, jams… Just be careful here that your sugars balance out and if you’re using honey, try adding it at the later stage because if you add it at the boiling water point at the beginning, it can lose a lot of its flavour. One thing I have used a few times that adds great depth is golden syrup. Not too much or it may mess with the body, but 200g on top of the kilo has worked.

Hops

This is fun!! I’d not bother doing a boil or anything with hops as this is usually for bitterness and remember the tins of goo are already hopped so you don’t want to overdo it. Where it DOES get fun is in late addition and dry-hopping. The typical late addition is to buy some hops, either in premade ‘teabags’ or pellets, then soak them in boiling water for a bit then add to the mix prior to pitching the yeast. This will give you a little bitterness and a little aroma. My preferred method is to dry-hop. Now, I know this sounds like a weird sex-move that rabbits do, but I assure you it is a great way to get more aroma and flavour into the end result. This method is very very simple. A few days to a week before the end of fermentation, simply lift the lid briefly and throw the teabag into the tub. Let it sit and do its thing until bottling or kegging. This will add great aroma and surprisingly strong flavour to the beer. Experiment with different hop styles. I’ve included a link to a hop chart. Get to know the names and what they do and what they’re suited to. It is VERY valuable knowledge to have.

CLICK HERE for Hop Characteristics Chart

The thing I have left until last is arguably the most important of all. SANITATION

If you have got your recipe sorted, fresh tin, sugars, and extra hops and are ready to rock out a top batch, the last thing you want to do is have the whole thing spoiled by lazy or careless cleaning and sanitation. This applies to EVERYTHING that comes in contact with the beer ingredients. Tub, spoon, spigot, lids, bottling wands, bottles. Even bottle caps if you’re re-using the plastic ones. Follow manufacturer’s instructions. Avoid scrubby cloths and harsh abrasive soaps. Wash out with normal hot tap water and dish soap. Remove ALL traces of dirt, dust, oils, ANYTHING that may be lurking around. Bottles are best cleaned by a bit of bleach soaking and rinsing. Rinse completely clean with hot water and allow to air-dry a little. You can buy powdered sanitisers that you dilute in water and then have to re-rinse, but having done it this way, I can highly recommend to ditch it and buy a no-rinse sanitiser from the brew shop. This is still diluted into a spray bottle but as you just cover every spot with it, then leave it, it is a SHITLOAD easier. Especially in bottles. If you follow these steps and ensure you’re working in a safe and clean environment, there are no reasons you’ll end up with bad beer. Follow temperature instructions and it’ll ferment out cleanly.

A few little points

The fresher the goo, the better. Go for one with a long use by date and undented.
If the tin says ferment for a week before bottling, leave it for two. It’ll clear up better and taste cleaner with less floaties.
Once it is in the bottle, try (you’ll not be able to) to leave it for as long as you can before opening one. Ideally leave it at room temp in a dark place for at 2-3 weeks, then refrigerate it and don’t crack one until it has been in the fridge at least a week.
Sanitise. Sanitise. Sanitise.
Have fun with it. It is only beer after all.

A Fat Yak clone.

I guarantee that once you have made you first successful batch, you’ll be hooked. Then you may understand why I get frustrated at the term ‘CRAFT’ beer. While it is definitely an art form, it is quite easy to get top results based on the fundamentals being followed. It ain’t rocket surgery.

I’ve included links to several resources that I have always found incredibly useful. Check them out and happy brewing. Oh yeh, you can drink it too and you’ll get drunk and stuff. J

Aussie Home Brewer forum

Coopers DIY Beer

Recording in your own Asylum.

This edition is a bit of a 'how to' guide on recording your own record at home. Or more of a do and don't kind of thing.

I record music in a side life I run in parallel with my other life as a coffee roaster and my other life as a dad/husband etc. Like just about every musician I know that have 'other' lives. This is ok too as the life of a real muso isn't one any sane person should wish to aspire to. The stories are true from all I can gather and really. How much coke can you snort off the back of a hooker? Sorry. HookerS.

So you're well versed in the guitar and can write a tune? You're new to this whole thing and you got some decks? You got this killer beat in your head and you want to get it down? Well, if you’re reading this then I'm guessing you've got a computer and that being the case, you've got yourself a recording studio. Cheaper than you thought eh? And if you've got a Mac you’ve got the studio bundled in with the price of the machine. Ain't that a steal!
So the 1970's style recording studio may seem like a thing of the past (this discussion is for another edition as my studio business has evolved considerably shall we say, in the last 12 months or so) to the bedroom record producer. Why should you spend the money 'big' studios want to charge when you can get the same sort of results in the comfort of your own home? Your own bedroom! Close to your own well-stocked beer fridge.

Well here are a couple of reasons why, Chump and seriously, this is for the betterment of human society. So, read on……
I've stood by a standard statement in relation to making and recording music over the last 10 odd years. It goes like this:
'There is no right or wrong, but there is good and bad'.
Think about that for a minute. You can use that statement in most every aspect of day to day life. Another one closely related is:
'Just because you can, doesn't mean you should'.So the first question you should be asking, before you go and buy a mic and start writing the 2013 version of Sgt Peppers, is should you?

So often, writing and producing music by yourself is a dangerous road to travel. If you're doing it alone then chances are the only people who'll hear it during the production stage are your friends and, if you're lucky enough to have one, your girlfriend. These people won't tell you it sucks or give you any sort of critical feedback worth listening to. They want to support you and don't want to see your ego hurt. But I'm sure they're cringing listening to that ridiculous lyric and that terrible 80's string synth. They key here is to involve other people. Maybe even someone who knows a bit about music. This would be greatly beneficial to the whole process and make the thing move along in a more fluid and organic way. I say organic as recording music is a living, evolving exercise. No two records are the same and each one throws up a different set of challenges. While you’re involving other people in your record, leave your pretence at the bedroom door. You're not Thom Yorke so don't carry on like a spoilt little prick when someone who does know better, tells you for the good of the music (and my fucking ears) not to use that line or that lyric or that drum fill. Separate yourself and try to listen to what it is you're doing and ask yourself, is it Good or Bad?

When is enough, enough?
Back in the day, professional musicians recorded the records you grew up with (Though if you're under 22 or 23, this may not be true). These records were recorded to a behemoth tape machine hauling magnetic tape at a rapid rate of knots across a magnetised recording head. Archaic I know, but this is how it was. To make matters worse, the tape (depending on the speed the machine was set to) had a recording time of maybe 20 odd minutes. If you were lucky, the track count was 24 tracks max! We haven't even started to do 'punch-ins' yet. As for edits, grab me a scalpel and a splicing block.

What we take for granted now is the speed at which we can record our ideas and how quick we are to 'Command Z' our mistakes. We have the ability on computer based recording systems to audition a part over and over again until it’s absolutely 'perfect' and locked into a grid. So when is enough, enough? Have a firm sketch of what you want to hear. Write it down if you can. Draw it as a diagram if you can't write music. Make a language you can communicate with your fellow comrades in this record. (You have got other people involved haven't you?) When you think the thing is done, chances are it is. Know when to put things to bed. The worst thing modern recording systems have given us is sterility. The ability to de-humanise a song. Fuck that! I want to hear personality on a record. I want to hear imperfections. I want to hear the push and pull of a rhythm section. So, know when to call it a night and let the tune take on its own identity. Even if it is the ugly, redheaded stepchild of a tune that people want to drown. Ask yourself again, is it good or bad and then PUT THE FUCKING THING TO REST!

Shanna Watson

Another thing to consider is the actual process of recording. This is where having someone else (a recording engineer for example) can come in handy.
What do you know about mic selection and placement? What about phase relationship between multiple mics? Are you familiar with why, how and when to use a compressor? What about eq? Know what to do there? This point has to do which what your focus should be. I use the simply analogy and my own personal experience of designing a web site. I’ll put my hand up and say I have no idea when it comes to web design. No shame in that, but if I wanted to commit to learning the programs and protocols of web design, I'm sure I could come up with a site that would serve me quite adequately. But how much time would I have to spend learning these 'rules' of web design? Time spent learning a new process when I could spend time making music which I really want to do? That’s why I paid someone who knows what they're doing to do my web site. You should ask yourself; do you really want to spend time learning about the science of record making? It isn't hard for the most part but it doesn't just happen by magic. The people who've recorded your favourite records have spent hours learning and honing their craft. They didn't just turn a few knobs and tweak a few dials and then BAM, a hit record was made. It takes time, dedication and discipline to learn just the technical side of recording. Time that may be better spent actually honing your craft as a song writer, musician or producer. Making the actual tunes better. Remember……. Is it going to be Good or Bad??

These are just a few points but I think you get the drift.

Don't do it by yourself! INVOLVE OTHER PEOPLE!
And before you quote acts like Gotye, Tame Impala, Cody Chestnut, Wilco etc. as having done it themselves, no they didn't. At some point in the process someone, be it a producer, record company representative, fellow musician, another band, a Mastering Engineer, the list could go on, has had something to do with making it happen. And for the better I'd say. You wouldn’t trust a guy in a bedroom to perform a vasectomy would you? You'd seek out a professional. So why subject your ears (and mine) to the bedroom butcher.

Seek help and keep asking yourself; Is it Good
or Bad?

Shanna Watson's Soundcloud site

Shanna's TripleJ Unearthed link.

The Recording Revolution site.

They are singers! Why can't they sing?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 23:40:00 +0000

Over the weekend I flicked through a couple of you tube clips showing some of the performances from the Hurricane Sandy benefit gig. I think it was at Madison Square Garden. A few of these clips stood out for me as they reminded me of something that has irritated me since I could hear the dulcet tones of Boney M.

Why can't some professional, successful singers, actually sing?
I'm going to name names here because these people deserve to be shamed for rorting their fans, year after year, gig after gig. Let me start with who I consider to be the worst of all offenders.

MEAT LOAF

Like a lot of people my age, I was exposed to Bat out of Hell as a kid and absolutely loved the theatrical nature of it all. It was an escape and you could feel like you really were 'dying at the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun'. I've always loved singing so I was attracted to the power and precision of ML's voice. The melodies were memorable and he was in command of his voice and it gave me something to aspire to vocally. He was a big influence, albeit for a short time.
SO, I saw a documentary not long ago about a tour that he was doing at the time and the filming of a couple of shows along the way. He is a crook! We've all known that he struggles live and for some reason, we seem to excuse that for some people. Not here though. I assumed it was either age catching up, or declining health, but was surprised to see footage of his old gigs when he was a young whipper-snapper and he was JUST AS BAD as he is now. I was talking to a mate about this only on the weekend. We came to the conclusion that there are two parties at fault here. ML himself, for being a fraud and taking the piss out of his fans night after night and perhaps more so, Promoters, for realising that people still like this buffoon and will fork out their hard-earned for an over-priced ticket to witness the train-wreck of a voice. In my view, the buck stops with the man himself. He knows he's shit and should have more respect for the poor fuckers who bother to witness the filth. What do you think??

JON BON JOVI

Nowhere near the same level of shit that ML delivers, but JBJ has been on a rapid decline for a while now. I've never been a massive BJ fan as an adult, but as a kid I loved them, therefore kept one eye on what they were up to. Fantastic musicians who play their arses off, even in a live arena. This ends at the frontman. I started noticing his decline around the 'Keep the Faith' era. He changes melodies to suit. He sings half a line. He fails to hit notes of even the most rudimentary section of the songs. He gets the crowd to sing most of it anyway because sadly, he cannot sing anymore. Fair enough if you've struggled with some things with the throat or health in general etc and you have a bad gig, but EVERY performance I've seen in the last 15 years has been terrible. It is a shame, because unlike the aforementioned ML, JBJ COULD indeed sing back in the day, so we can at least say that he hasn't been ripping us off the WHOLE time.

CHRIS CORNELL

Soundgarden have been a great source of enjoyment for me since I was a teenager. I still listen to Badmotorfinger and Superunknown and love them. A MAJOR part of SG's appeal is the voice of singer, Chris Cornell. Massive range. Power. Soul. Subtlety too. To hear him sing on those old records is a true thing of beauty. To hear him sing now is a let-down for me. I'm yet to see a live performance from either SG or Audioslave where he can sing like he does on the record. Am I the only one who gets pissed off at this? When I've mentioned it in passing before, I get looked at like I'm being some weird, crazy crackpot who needs to chill-the-fuck-out! Seriously, CC is the hardest one for me to write about due to him playing a big part in my musical life, but I have to call a spade a spade. Have a flick through you tube. You'll hear things from him that would make the highlight (or low light) reel on any TV singing show. Simon Cowell would fuckin' LOVE him!

I say all these things from the point of view of a fan. I find it disappointing when we are let down by performers who just can't cut it live. I find it to be dishonest. I cannot say that I'm a huge fan of his music, but as a singer, I find him flawless. Have you ever heard John Farnham hit a bum note, let alone a bad gig? Didn't think so.

I just want a singer to do what they say they do on the tin.

Anyway, I'm off to listen to Soundgarden, those records are unreal!

Are Eskimo Joe being tossers?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:24:00 +0000

YES!

SO, in shocking news, it seems to be okay to be arrogant in the music industry.

Perth's Eskimo Joe have recently divided opinion with a bizarre request that it made to its fan base and the public alike. They've partaken in a practise that someone coined as 'crowd-funding'! Forgive me if I'm wrong, and I'm not, but don't the crowd 'fund' the band by purchasing tickets to gigs, t-shirts, stickers, stubby-holders, hats, belt-buckles and if it is good enough, even their bloody music!?

Sorry, I'll insert an excerpt from the site that they have made their plea so you have a bit more background.

Here's the link to the story.

Hi All,

Eskimo Joe here!

We've been in our studio for the last few months writing and planning what will become our 6^th studio album. It's been an amazing journey so far and the songs emerging have got us all pretty fricken excited. We've secured the services of a seriously kick-ass producer (who happens to be an absolute champion - details soon!) and we'll be recording the album throughout March and April 2013.

We’ve been fortunate enough to have had some great support from labels over the years but for now, we’ve made a choice to step out and take a fresh approach to writing and recording our next record.

This Pozible campaign is about creating the right set of circumstances to produce a great record and we're really looking forward to enjoying the creative freedom that goes along with this decision. We hope we can inspire you to get on board!

We see this project as an opportunity to share this album experience with you and there will be many ways to get involved. We'll be on the interwebs regularly updating you all through facebook, twitter and instagram at each step along the way.

Every package on offer here is exclusive to the supporters of the campaign. We’ll be producing two bonus songs during the album sessions that will never be available again and our "supporter only" edition CD's and 12" Records will only be available through Pozible.

We hope there's something on offer here for you and we look forward to creating something kick ass with your help!

Yezza.

Kav, Joel and Stu.

I am at a loss to know where this level of rudeness comes from. What happened to earning your own cash by touring and selling merchandise and albums along the way? The young band starting out, trying to make a name for themselves by gigging and promoting their worth would not even dare to ask such things of the general public, let alone a multi Aria-award-winning, muti platinum-selling established recording artist. Sure, we're not talking about Paul McCartney or Elton John level sales here, but at the very worst, EJ have more than earned their place within the Aussie industry and therefore should be able to fund their OWN recording process. If they can't then I'd suggest they need to get some accounting degrees and start again.

Grinspoon's Phil Jamieson has echoed my sentiments by calling for Ej to "do a fucking tour"......

Simple really.

I've never been a big fan of EJ, but they're decent musicians that write decent melodies. I did buy their last effort, Inshalla and I can tell you that I'll not be saying any more about that monstrosity.

I claim the right to my belief that what they are doing is tantamount to theft. Arrogant and self-righteous and their thread they have worked hard to weave into the fabric of Australian music is fast unravelling.

Surely Phil and I won't be the only ones to know this is wrong?!

Am I an Alcoholic?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:04:00 +0000

Check out episode 1 of our podcast HERE.

Howdy,

Tony here. Just wanna relay a conversation that was had between myself, my mate and our wives. We were all at my place last night for our ritual of dinner, drinks and TV shows. Spicy, sticky chicken wings, potato salad and simple salsa were all over our plates. Yummo... We began discussing beer and its price and the frequency with which my mate and I purchase it, therefore drink it. I love beer. I have always done so, but I've not drunk it as often as I have in the past 12-18 months. It is very rare that a day goes by when I don't have at least 2 or 3. This may not sound like a lot, but when does it become habit and when does it turn into alcoholism?

I worry about this. I worry about it not so much from a medical or health point of view, but more so from the point that I want to be able to control it. From my personal perspective, I want control of it psychologically and do not want to become dependant. Anything habitual with grog cannot be a positive thing. If the first thing we do when we're home from work is run to the fridge, whether we mean to or not, then I think we've a problem.

My ritual is I drink 2-4 beers a night while cooking dinner. I don't drink after dinner but what it does is fill me up, make me tired and I'm sleepy and headachey by 8pm... So, no good. While it is a good feeling to take the edge off for an hour or so, it really is only habit and not for a genuine longing for a beer. MOSTly at least.

So, for me personally, this conversation and revelation last night has prompted me to adjust how I drink. No longer will I be drinking on a daily basis. I'm going to go back to the good old fashioned ethos of having one 'when I FEEL like it', instead of out of sheer habit.

Tonight, my mate and I bottle 2 batches of homebrew which will then take at least a few weeks to condition. We discussed buying more beer to tide us over but I'm thinking I'm gonna hold off... I might buy a longneck or something if the need arises but I'm happy to drink less frequently and if it is for research only.....

Did that sound convincing???? :) Hahahaha....

Here's to health and self-control.

Don't wanna end up here...

Episode 1.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 05:05:00 +0000

Check out the first podcast episode HERE

The Craft Beer Cringe. - Tony White

When did beer become pretentious?

Could you have imagined the Trappist’s heading down to the cave to pick up a slab on a Friday arvo. “Hey, Brother-man.... Make sure you grab something fruity, smokey, wheety and it MUST have a floral finish with a creamy mouthfeel”!

First let me say this. I’m not for one second opposed to great tasting beers. I’d have to be a mental patient to feel that I’d rather drink a VB than a Micro-brewed-hipster-moustachioed-skinnyjeans-wearing Pale Fu#kin’ Ale that tastes like sunshine and happiness. I LOVE TASTY BEER! I’m merely pointing out the fact that I cannot understand the fashion associated with what was once a simple, humble refreshment. **As a side note, I love chicks that drink beer. Especially from a schooner or a pint-glass. HOT! F$#k Eddie and the Vodka Cruisers!

The term CRAFT BEER is enough to send me into a tail-spin. I mean, what the hell are they doing? Making beer or a Papier Mache lampshade? There is nothing crafty about it. You don’t need scissors, Perkin’s Paste, sticky tape or macaroni elbows. You are not in primary school pressing the reverse-side of a sheet of copper into the shape of a flower to give to Nanna. You are MAKING BEER!!

Hops. Malt. Yeast. Sugar. Water. That is it!

Sure, feel free to play around with the variations on this basic theme, by all means. Make it taste the best you can, but please cut the shit when it comes to calling yourself an Artisan and any other buzz-words of the social-networking age. Don’t over-sell yourself. A spade is a spade.

I recently had the experience in which a mate and I created a beer (well, created is a broad term) at a place that provides you with a menu ten-times longer than the average Chinese restaurant’s, and you taste and taste and taste until you find one you like, then you ‘make’ your beer. Really, you just weigh out some grains, sugar, yeast etc, and then they weigh out the appropriate malt extract for you and cook it up. Don’t dare call it homebrew though. Because, Homebrew is ‘shit’. Haha. All they’re doing is a partial extract (so, if you want to be REAL snobby, this could be considered somewhat of a shortcut). The beer we got from these guys tasted great and definitely worth doing, but really it IS just fancy homebrew. In fact, as long as you arm yourself with a bit of knowledge around temperatures, yeasts and ingredients, you can do the exact same procedure at home with kits ‘n bits and get the same results.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is that regardless of how you go about the process, if the end result is that you are drinking beer, then all you are doing is in fact, making beer. You are not changing the world.

In coming weeks we’ll delve into some of our favourites. Maybe we should go around the world via Dan Murphy’s (or one of the smaller, more hipster bottlos) and write some reviews pretending we are wine merchants. But one thing is for sure and certain; our other halves will love us a little less each week.

Fu@k. Just realised I was about to drink a pilsener out of a pint glass!! My Bad!

Whitey.

Beer of the night

SCG Bar

Heaven on earth

Ekim Brewing Co. website

Good Coffee is out there. – Adam Hills

By looking at coffee in Australia as it is today I think it's best to briefly look at where coffee has come from.

Contemporary coffee in Australia is a relatively new concept. The café’s and Coffee Houses Europe has had, in some cases for centuries, we've only had for a few decades at a push. The first espresso machine in Australia was in Melbourne in the early 1960's and only a scant number of people would've known what it was let alone how to use it. We can thank the European immigrants who were after a taste of their homeland for the birth of our coffee culture and giving coffee the attention it deserved.

Fast forward to the 1990's and where coffee starts to find its feet more broadly across our society. We begin to graduate from the Nescafe Blend 43 that was pushed to the back of our pantries; freeze dried and entombed in its resealable tin. Coffee before this time wasn’t considered exotic or anything to snob over. It was a drink that grown-ups offered each other when they had guests. Instant coffee consumed at home was slowing being traded in for a more communal experience of a 'flat white' made at a cafe by a 'barista'. It had started to turn into a drink that people went out for and in turn, people started to make money from it.
Australia, at the end of 2012, I firmly believe, is at the forefront of contemporary coffee culture worldwide and that’s staggering given the short history of our time spent at it. But only a handful of coffee shops, Baristas and coffee roasters can claim to be at the pinnacle of this as the rise of coffee has come at a cost. There are more 'café’s' serving shit coffee made by people who should know better. I see café’s with loyal clients serving mass produced 'homogenised' big name coffee that is only a step above the Nescafe I mentioned before. This isn't good enough! We should strive to have better as consumers if nothing else. We should be demanding better from our café’s, baristas and indeed of coffee roasters and the big name coffee companies conning us and taking us for fools.
Take this example, and I know it makes perfect commercial sense for the owners of café’s to want all of this but at what price? Your Soul?

For those of you who don't know, In 90% of the café’s and coffee shops you go to for your latte, flat white, cappuccino etc. the cafe owner will NOT OWN THE COFFEE MACHINE. Or the grinder for that matter. Or even the cups from which you drink.
So cafe owner 'A' is setting up shop and large coffee company 'X' comes along and persuades said cafe owner to come across and use their coffee. $22 per kg and we'll give you a machine, a grinder, sugar sticks, signage barriers, umbrellas and even the coffee cups and saucers.. A pretty hefty outlay that could quickly add up to $20k or more, an outlay the cafe owner doesn't have to make. Hmmm. Makes sense right?? Wrong! What you're getting from your $3.50 latte from the $22/kg mass produced coffee from our lovely new Cafe 'A' is S.H.I.T. F#CKING SHIT actually. Like I said, I understand the commerce of it all but I also understand that if you go into business selling coffee as large part of your daily trade, hell, even have 'coffee' in the business name, you should at least have some respect for your customers tastes and pallets and not take them for saps. Hang your heads in shame, cafe owners. Even more so the large coffee companies that perpetuate this shallow trade in crap coffee and the massive con perpetrated on us, the consumer. WE SHOULD DEMAND BETTER!

So, what’s the solution? Hmmm? Vote with your feet. If you see a Piazza D'Oro sign, a Bellaroma sign, Segafredo, Lavazza, Vittoria, Illy, Grinders, the list goes on. You'll know the places I'm talking about before you set foot in them. Avoid them and if you're entrenched in the place as a regular customer, tell the proprietor what you think. What you really think.

Further to that, try somewhere different. Educate yourselves on what good coffee is. It isn't a snobby thing to do, it's just a hot drink but a drink that costs you. Do the sums. Even at one cup per day at $3.50, 6 times a week. That’s over $1000 a year! So go try the place without the lush signage, without any umbrellas out the front and without the paid for everything. Try the place lurking in the back streets, the place with graffiti on the outside walls and with place with the customers that know what a good coffee is. The people working there are passionate about what they're doing. They take it seriously and are committed to making espresso which is stronger, sweeter, richer, denser, thicker and generally just tastier. These are coffee professionals that are genuinely concerned with how your taste buds perceive coffee. They are knowledgeable on the product they’re selling and will be informed as to how to get the best out of it. The best case scenario is that the coffee is roasted on site by the person behind the espresso machine. These shops are rare in N.S.W but there is a shift towards this thankfully. Slowly anyway. At the very least the barista or shop owner should know the coffee roaster and has hopefully had a hand in its blending and development. It isn't hard to get this. There are shops out there doing just this and the economic model is a profitable one. Turn your back on the coffee shop that wants your money and is happy to provide a shit product in return. You deserve better than this. Go and find your local coffee roaster, your local espresso bar and make yourself known to them.

Once you've tasted a good coffee it's hard to go back. It's up to you to go and find it. It is out there.

Melbourne's Brother Baba Budan

Nice latte

My Isomac tea

This week's song is Mr Hev, by Newcastle band, Kaboose. blast from the past!

Kaboose soundcloud

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:38:00 +0000

This is another cracker.. get following and subscribing. :)

http://abeerinhand.blogspot.com.au/

:)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:35:00 +0000

http://20beersin20nights.blogspot.com/

Hey guys,

Check this one out. Fantastic Blog with great info and really well written. Get onto it and follow the living shit outta this one. :)

Peace out,

Whitey

Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:23:00 +0000

Hi All. Whitey here.

Welcome to Hillsy and I’s blog. We’ll try to accompany each post with a Podcast that is downloadable from iTunes where we delve a bit deeper and get into the nitty-gritty of what is on our minds that week. We will endeavour to post a cast once a week, but at this stage we are working on the finer details of getting all that together, so we’ll keep you informed as to when our first podcast will be up and available.

Coming Soon.

Week one.

We delve into the contentious issues surrounding modern coffee culture in a saturated market as well as the snobbery surrounding beer and on the Music front, we’ll have a chat about the songs, musicianship and production on my favourite album of all time; Dark Side of the Moon.

See yas soon!!

Whitey