Courageous Clash of the craft clans

Like craft beers? Got $30 burning a hole in your pocket right now? Head to your nearest BWS (Beer Wine and Spirits shop) to solve both problems!

Grolsch - Drink this, I need the bottles

I love my wife's way of thinking - needing some swing top lidded bottles for some concoction she's making with tea and something called a scooby (Kombucha for those playing at home) and not impressed with the range at the local Kmart, swung by the local bottle shop for a four pack of Grolsch.

And since she's not a beer drinker in the slightest, it was now up to me to empty the bottles in the best way I knew how. Directly in front of Netflix.

Challenge. Accepted.

James Squire Hop Thief - A loot bag of hoppy flavour

It's been a big weekend of wrenching on the Warwagon, travelling all over town for various bits and pieces and throwing some weights around in the backyard. Ultimately, a good weekend.

So would a Hop Theif keep that happy productive buzz going or leave me with a bitter taste, similar to when a real Theif comes round and helps themselves to your extensive tool collection? Let's find out!

Initial thoughts: In the last few weeks we've had a few beers with flavours that hung around for about as long as any lucky streak I have while playing the pokies. A mouthful of Hop Thief though really carries through and reminds me a lot of the Fig Jam, only with less fruit and overall sweetness. It's mostly hops with a couple of subtle flavours but the mix is good. The hoppiness is at a great level and it's insanely drinkable right out the fridge. This beer is a nice bronze colour with light carbonation and the head hangs around for a few moments to see what's going on. Can't smell much other than the hops but that's hardly a complaint.

Overall: After beers like this one I'm thinking that I might have to include a disappointment scale...based on how disappointed I was at the time having only bought one beer. And tonight I was very miffed that there was only one of these in the fridge. Flavorful, easily repeatable and a terrific beer to enjoy after what's been a busy weekend. Top job Jimmy S!

4 out of 5 hip hop artists.

Kosciuszko Pale Ale - Climb mountains in search of fruit

In my previous job on the occasional Friday the sales manager (hi Tim!) would walk around with a choice of two beers for staff members to unwind with. I forget what the first one was but the second was usually a Kosciuszko Pale Ale and from memory it didn't go down too badly after a big week. So roughly 9 months on, would sipping this beer take me back to those heady days of trying to get everything done in record time so I could arrive home before the sun went down?
Would I want to climb mountains for the next one?
And if I'm going to climb mountains, does anyone know where my warm gloves are?...

Cerveza Cantina - No comprende, it's a riddle

It's Friday, Friday, gotta drink beer, it's Friday. And for tonight's offering to the beer gods, we're checking into a Cantina..

Holiday beer 9: Sample Lager - Job done now get back to work

Like all good things my holidays and the conga line of beers I lined up for it had to come to an end somehow. And in our final salute to our annual time off, we sampled the Sample.

Holidays done, cheers!