Aussie Pride of Vegemite Displayed in a Store Window
Before coming to Australia, I heard that Aussie’s are prideful people. In my eyes, they are most proud of their footy (strange combination of rugby and American football with no pads), surfing and beer.
Like Americans and their love of football, Nascar and beer, I feel right at home living amongst such prideful people. To showcase their pride for beer, each year The Australian Heritage Hotel (what a name!) puts on The Australian Beer Festival. This jam-packed event is held right below the Sydney Bridge in The Rocks. One street block is closed off –although cars rarely drive through anyways – and hundreds of people are packed into an area the size of a school gym. You are greeted by bouncers that look like Maori natives. Armed with only my Texas drivers license, I handed over my i.d. and I surprisingly got back, ‘Yeah Longhorns!’ Smile.
$15 For a Relaxing Saturday Afternoon of Beers and Friends
$5 for a tasting cup and $10 for 10 tastings
I went straight to the counter where an onslaught of 20-30 year olds desperately fought for the attention of the register girls. For $15, you get a tasting cup ($5) and 10 tastings ($10). Although it’s a beer festival, one could purchase a wine ticket, which gave you only 4 tastings. Boo. Leaving the frenzied area as soon as I could, I headed over to the tents.
To accompany the delicious beer, we enjoyed the company of some really great people. Back in September, Dave and I attended a Meet Up event with the Americans Expats Living in Sydney group for some touch football. Since then, we've hung out with our new friends at house parties, after-work drinks and the beach. Like wildfire, our friends brought their friends and our circle became larger and larger. It was great to share familiar conversation with my fellow American comrades - although each encounter seems to begin with the routine FAQs 'Where are you from?', 'What do you do here?', and 'How long do you plan on staying?' Regardless, we met up with some good friends and made new ones - always a good remedy for homesick expats. For an entire afternoon and into the night, we drank more and more beer till I couldn't handle going to the port-o-potties any longer.
Shoulder to Shoulder Event
The Australian Beer Festival, The Rocks
My New Favourite Beer
Little Creatures Pale Ale
The outdoor event had two aisles with tents on both sides – one for the Aussie beers, the other for Kiwi beers. Each tent hosted a local brewery. The beers ranged from pale and dark ales to ciders to lagers. My primary goal was to find the Australian equivalent to Hoegaarden. If you didn’t know already, it’s Belgian and the best white ale ever! I didn’t find any white ales, but I did manage to find my new favourite beer in Australia – Little Creatures Pale Ale. Of 10 tastings, I dedicated at least 4 to this new found nectar not to mention the Little Creatures booth didn't skimp out on filling your cup to the brim.
To accompany the delicious beer, we enjoyed the company of some really great people. Back in September, Dave and I attended a Meet Up event with the Americans Expats Living in Sydney group for some touch football. Since then, we've hung out with our new friends at house parties, after-work drinks and the beach. Like wildfire, our friends brought their friends and our circle became larger and larger. It was great to share familiar conversation with my fellow American comrades - although each encounter seems to begin with the routine FAQs 'Where are you from?', 'What do you do here?', and 'How long do you plan on staying?' Regardless, we met up with some good friends and made new ones - always a good remedy for homesick expats. For an entire afternoon and into the night, we drank more and more beer till I couldn't handle going to the port-o-potties any longer.
Being an American in Oz, I'm constantly comparing my home country and the country I now call 'home'. Although very different in attitudes, work/life balance and extracurricular activities, I'm happy that I can still find a good beer and some good friends to share a pint with.
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