Pot, Kettle, Black and a couple of Brisbane pubs

It seems like an eon ago, but this BotF correspondent was recently in Brisbane. There wasn’t much spare time to sample Brisbane’s delights and I was restricted by location. I spent some of my formative years (age 9-11) in Brisbane. So formative, I support Qld in State of Origin (RIP Artie). Waves of nostalgia come over me when I step out of the air conditioned climes of Brisbane Airport and onto the taxi rank. The mugginess is just so Brisbane and reminds me of sweltering nights in a house without airconditioning. I also remember my father railing against the “fascist state” Brisbane was in the late ’70s when Joh ruled and students got the shit kicked out of them by bull necked cops. I distinctly remember the edict that you couldn’t walk 3 abreast down the street – would be classified as a protest. This memory was triggered by a sign in the Fox Hotel – a massive Brisbane boozer near the Convention Centre. I felt particularly rebellious as I took the photo standing up.

Brisbane is definitely about XXXX and XXXX Gold. The bottlos in the CBD aren’t exactly laden with craft beers. I did chance upon what looked like a local drop – Great Northern Brewing Co’s – Super Crisp Lager. Turns out it is actually an attempt by Fosters to crack the Qld market and break the XXXX dominance. Australian Brews News has all the good oil here. http://www.brewsnews.com.au/2010/10/fosters-heads-to-the-great-north/. I do love the label, which is reminiscent of the old Cairns Draught label – but that is where the positives end. Equivalent to XXXX Summer Bright Ale.

Near the Convention Centre is an area called South Bank, which was created on the Expo ’88 site. There’s parklands, a man made beach and tree-lined walks. This is a tourist magnet and is the last place you’d expect to find a cracking bar with an awesome range of craft beer. 5ifth Element is therefore a terrific place to discover. This is a bar, restaurant and a bottlo with a simply wonderful range of beers. I was able to try a beer from a brewer that I haven’t been able to access in Sydney – Yeastie Boys.

Pot, Kettle, Black is a beer whose beer label hyperbole is actually justified. “Mindbendingly delicious” is a great way to describe this black IPA. It is pitch in colour – with no transparency. It is crisp, but rich. There’s 5 malts and 3 hop varities used, which creates this complex masterpiece. @BeerBlokes had the boys from Yeastie Boys on Radio Brews News. It is worth a listen. The beer’s well worth a try.