Posts from 2021
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Random albums to mix things up a bit
I've taken to using the "Random Albums" option on my music system to surface music I haven't listened to in ages. It doesn't force you to listen to whatever comes out, that would be painful with the d…
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A month without booze
It's March which means my February booze fast is over. I tried a lot of alcohol free beer over February and there were some real gems amongst them. The real standouts were the Vandestreek Playground I…
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Booze free beer: Sobah Lemon Aspen Pilsener
Sobah use bush foods as flavourings with mixed results. The Pepperberry isn't bad: an interesting flavour in the mix for a beer. The lemon aspen, not so good. It tasted like toilet cleaner, to be hone…
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Booze free beer: Erdinger Weissbrau Alcoholfrei
When holly was pregnant we drank a bit of this so I bought a bunch more for this booze free spell. It's still good, though now that I've discovered better it's not as amazing. Styled as a wheat beer,…
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A gig! EGOISM supported by Ultracrush
Last night Holly, Rachel and I managed to get out for some live music. Amazing after all this time. The band we saw was local act EGOISM who we've been trying to see for a while. The earlier booking w…
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Booze free beer: Heaps Normal Quiet XPA
This is the way. A beer without booze that is no disappointment. It's delicious. Refreshing. Full of body. I'm buying a case! Only downside: it costs the same as high-end craft beer! $80 case + $10 sh…
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Booze free beer: Hawkesbury Prohibition Pale Ale
Ugh. This beer was just plain off. Undrinkable. And on such a hot night last night too!
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Booze free beer: Upflow Pale Ale
Pale Ale tends to be the most common craft beer style and so tends to be the yardstick you measure against. This was always going to be a tough one for alcohol free beer. Upflow have got damn close he…
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Booze free beer: Bakalar Non-Alcoholic Dry Hopped Lager
Not a bad attempt at a lager. Still ends up with that unique thin flavour you get with many of these brews but this one has more body than most. The hoppiness is strong and in your face, which helps.…
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Booze free beer: Upflow Stout
I think this one may be my favourite yet. You could easily drink this and not realise it's got no booze, which is probably only something you could get away with in a dark beer. Fortunately I love dar…
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Booze free beer: Sobah Pepperberry IPA & Big Drop Brewing Pine Trail Pale Ale
Catching up from last night's brews that Holly and I shared. These were both excellent. The Sobah one had a bit of an odd smell from the pepperberry but that's a feature of their brews, Australian nat…
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Booze free beer: Sobah Finger Lime Cerveza
Dry and refreshing but not much going on. I can't taste the finger lime at all. It's acceptable but nothing special.
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Booze free beer: Nort Refreshing Ale
Nice and crisp this one. A bit lacking in body but good flavour and certainly refreshing.
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Booze free beer: UpFlow Session IPA and Flint Sukareki (сухариків)
Wow this IPA is the business! Fruity hop aroma. Deep bitterness. Body and malt. This is the benchmark now! There's a few other UpFlow brews in the cupboard so I'm looking forward to those now. Also ni…
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Booze free beer: Mornington Free
This describes itself as a "Non-Alc Pale Ale". I'm not sure it hits the notes I'd expect from a pale ale. Not enough body. However it's quite refreshing, light flavoured without being incipid. Perfect…
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Booze free beer: Eggenberg Freibier
This Austrian number gets the take on lager right. Heavy, metallic bittering hops and a rich maltiness. Lager is hard to get right with alcohol but without its super tough. This one nails it. I'd drin…
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Booze free beer: Big Drop Brewing Uptown Craft Lager
Being a lager, this isn't going for the fruity delights of a pale ale or similar. To survive being alcohol free a lager has to make up for the lack of body somehow. This one tries to make do with some…
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Booze free beer: Warsteiner 0% and Budvar Nealko
Meh. Boring and bland. You're not fooling anyone here.
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Booze free beer: Ochakovskiy kvass (Очаковский квас)
I rode to Bondi Beach yesterday for a nice leisurely swim in the hot weather. I try to do this ride once a week leaving early on Tuesday mornings but the weather in 2021 hasn't been helpful. It's a re…
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Booze free beer: Kronenbourg Blanc
Kronenbourg is a terrible beer that was available everywhere in the UK when we lived there. It's bloody awful stuff, but still better than the equally ubiquitous Fosters. Once we discovered Real Ale t…
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Booze free beer: Peroni Libera
There's a good chunk of middle-of-the-road mainstream beer brands in my selection and this tastes as expected. It's a lot like the Cooper's 0% beer. Lots of dry hops to give a crisp taste but not much…
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Dry February alcohol free beers: Vandestreek Playground Non Alcoholic IPA
Holly and I are having a break from booze for the month of February. It's a difficult month cos it's often got the hottest stretches of weather all year, so not having a cold beer at the end of an esp…
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Blogging again
Wow I can't believe I haven't blogged since 2019. I'm going to make an effort to blog a bit more, trying to crank out at least one thing per month, hopefully something thought provoking. I'll probably…