The Monk aims to restore the honour and respect Beer has lost in the generations of people who grew up only drinking one style of Pale Lager, or the occasional “experiment” with similar Pale Lagers.
The Monk wants to encourage you to learn and appreciate the growing diversity of beer available in Australia and the world today. Let The Monk be your guide in finding great beer, brews, breweries, and pubs, and provide a balanced reliable source of information on beer and beer related topics.
The Monk aims not to be too official or boring. After all, beer is all about having fun and enjoying life.
The funny side of beer is one of it’s most important aspects.
Don’t take life too seriously, or else you won’t get the joke.
Everything should be tried… in moderation, including moderation itself.
Two motos of The Monk.
This website was established to give you an expert resource on all things Aussie craft beer, from where to drink craft beer, where to buy it (locally, online/delivered), or how to make it yourself.
If you’re like The Monk, you’ll also love Australian wine – after all it’s better than the rubbish you get in France. So whether you favour beer or wine, this resource covers both!
The Story
1842, It could be said, was a major turning point in the the beer cultures of the world. The positive aspect of which was the creation of the first Pilsner, ancestor of the current Pilsner Urquell [German: ‘product of Plzen’ + ‘primary source’], unquestionably a bloody good beer indeed.
The negative aspect was the Pale Lager revolution that sprung from this new beer and swept the globe. New malting, brewing, packaging and transportation technologies of the industrial revolution served to spread this new Lager style across Europe.
This was perpetuated further in the 20th Century by chemical processes, canning, refrigeration, transport and other advances in beer technology until the whole world had access to, if not their own local, Pale Lager. This created a situation where most people in the world essentially drunk the same Mass-Produced, Flavour Reduced, Pale Lagers.
Now the decision of what beer to drink is based on connection to a brand label through advertising, where you come from or your class image rather then the flavour of the beer.
The Beer Problem
This is something which is remarkably amplified here in Australia; where brand patriotism is such that many drinkers of brands like VB, XXXX, Tooheys New, Crow, Cascade or Boags would rather drink their own piss rather then be seen drinking one of the other brands of beer. This is based solely on the perception of the people who drink the other brands (be they Yuppies, Bogans, Queenslanders, Victorians, or Welshmen) rather then the difference in the taste of the beers (which is little to none).
The primary ill side effect of this situation was the decline in the interest for diverse flavoursome beer, which in turn led to a decline in the number of breweries providing such beer, which further perpetuated the problem until most of them were wiped out.
We believe that this lack of interest in the flavour diversity of beer is a big contributing factor in the binge drinking, alcopop culture that is identified widely as a problem in today’s society. This is because beer is being engineered to simply be easy for the mass market to be able to consume in large quantities, especially generation X and Y who have grown up with an increasing availability of soft drink and sweets. Those that don’t like the flavour of Pale Lager have no other option but to turn to Wine and Spirits… which are higher in alcohol content.
To help explain this problem, imagine if whenever one went to a restaurant, all that was available was different labels of bland Chardonnay… it would not take long before one would either; find a brand they tolerated and stuck to it, or give up and drink Whiskey instead.
The Beer Solution
While we have attempted to paint a bleak, pessimistic picture; we must qualify it by saying that we do enjoy Pale Lagers, there are many fine varieties around, however we do get sick of going to pubs and bottle shops and being presented with only a selection of local, regional or international brands of Pale Lager.
Fortunately in the last few decades a slow revival is taking place all over the world. ‘Craft Beer’ and ‘Microbreweries’ are growing in number and availability. Beer Brew Guru is a site which aims to aid this revival by educating the masses about the noble beer which has been around as long as the Wheel, Bread and Civilisation itself!
Australian Craft Beer
As a hobby, brewing craft beer really took off in the 1970s, which is expected given this was the era of free love and partying.
Come the 1990s microbreweries began to emerge offering a range of unique craft beers for the local market.
As of today the craft beer industry has grown exponentially, with thousands of individual craft beer brewers and microbreweries.
In Australia you’ll find some of the most astounding craft beers available on tap at local bars, sold at independent bottle shops, and even available to purchase online, delivered to your door.
Craft beer can, in modern times, be considered one of the best social hobbies for you to participate in, and here at The Monk we’re here to point you in the right directions!
Please note this website is not associated with The Monk, Fremantle, although we were very sad to see this wonderful drinking establishment ruined by the pandemic.
