Beer # 43 VB or Victoria Bitters, Australia

All of you who are like me, who grew up with the awful re-inforced stereotype that was "Crocodile Dundee" remember that "Mr. Australia," Paul Hogan (no relation to Hulk...) punted for Foster's for many years. He was central to the whole "How to speak Australian..." campaign, that tried to make us believe that Foster's WAS the be all and end all of Australian beer. Meanwhile back in the outback, two words were actually on the lips of Australian beer drinkers: Victoria Bitter.

Well VB now, as of a rebranding in 2011 with a sleek new all green can. VB is "really" Australian for beer. It has the largest market share and is the only beer in Australia at the number one spot or in the top three in all states. Originally the company was opened in 1854 as the "Victoria Parade Brewery" in Melbourne; the company that is only younger than the European settlement of Australia by 80 years has come a long way. Forty years after first opening, The Victoria Parade brewery was purchased by a London, England company, and re-named The Melbourne Brewery and Distillery Co. This newly titled venture begins to brew a new "Bitter Ale" which is to become the inspiration for VB. The current recipe for VB was developed around 1900, and is actually a lager not an ale as the "bitter" in the name suggests. In 1907 The Melbourne Brewery entered into a joint merger with 5 other breweries (Foster's, Carlton, Castlemaine, Shamrock, and McCracken) to form Carlton and United Breweries or CUB. The main reason being the raising of prices and staying profitable. Over the years CUB prospered and acquired other brewing ventures in the process. Until they themselves were purchased outright by Elders IXL which became The Elders Brewing Group in 1983. Then  in 2004 Elders changed their name (once again!) to Foster's Group to identify itself with it's most internationally recognized brand. That's a lot of name dropping... whew!

Enough history... let's drink.

Medium Gold with an off-white head of small bubbles. 4.6% ABV in a 500ml "tallboy" can. Nose is bready with a hint of hops, bitter and medicinal, slightly herbaceous. first sip is tangy hint of sugar, light in body. Light citrus feel, mildly hoppy. Short clean aftertaste, VB uses a portion of liquid cane sugar to give a clean fresh taste. Aeration brings out the medicinal herbaceous hops. Central to VB is the native Australian hop variety "Pride of Ringwood" which gives it a distinct flavour.


Overall results: (Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional)

Taste: Pass
Cost: Pass (In Ontario it is $2.40 a beer)
Colour: Pass
Beer Style: Pass
Re-order: Pass
Experience: Pass

Final Thoughts: Now I don't want to start an international beer war here... or do I? I've never liked Foster's...There... I said it. VB in my mind would have been a far better export, and I think that CUB, or Elders Group, or Foster's (whatever...) should have had Paul Hogan punting VB instead.  Now it isn't a perfect brew, but it is certainly worth more attention, internationally, than it was afforded. Trust those crafty Aussies to keep the good stuff to themselves.

Cheers

CJT