Lav – that’s Lion in Serbian

Young Alfred is a tourist trap outdoor bar in front of Customs House that has surprised with the odd unique over the years. They line-up their beer offering and my eye was caught by a blue and white label with the word “Lav” prominently displayed. “I’ll have a Lav, thanks mate” – pronouncing Lav as any ocker Aussie would using the first syllable of the word “Lavatory”. The accented barman promptly put me in my place. “It is not Lav, it is Laff (not laugh) It means Lion in Serbian”. Whilst I didn’t check, I think that the barman may be from the same place as Lav – ie Serbia. He pointed out the beer’s stand-out feature, which is that the bottle contains 400ml. “Aussies will like this. It is 5% and it is a bigger bottle”. I’m inclined to agree that it will go OK, given the rest of the line-up available at Young Alfred (Hooten, anyone?). Lav is typically malty European drop. It is the second most popular beer in Serbia, and is owned by Carlsberg. No shortage of beers called “Lion” around the world, either. Lion Red, NZ, Lion Beer in Sri Lanka and Leo Beer in Singapore.