Banshito's World Of Beer: Braving the Tropical Monsoon

Deciding to stay on in Australia for another week was not hampered by bad weather. The worst wet weather New South Wales has seen for more than a decade does nothing to put me off exploring and getting into stuff, you see. It will take more than a few inches of rain to stop me.

Ill prepared for such miserable weather, I found the most suitable attire for walking around the city and got ready to go out.

A friend of mine recently wrote a comment on Facebook about rain and shoes etc... I agreed to an extent but... but I think if only walking short distances the best thing you can put on your feet would be something like wellies or gum boots as they're called here in Australia. They can often be very uncomfortable, clunky and a bit too awkward for everyday wear. The next best thing means baring your feet and slipping on some 'flip flops' or thongs as they are so wrongly called here. The option to wear thongs means your feet get wet, soaked in fact and your thongs get wet. I will state this before I get any further on the subject. It is early Autumn and the temperature has not yet plummeted to single figures and actually is still quite warm sitting around the late teens and even early twenties. For that reason it makes more sense to bare your feet rather than donning thick socks and gum boots allowing your feet to suffocate and sweat and get wet anyway.

Bare wet and saturated flesh takes only minutes to dry once out of the wet and/or damp conditions the rain leaves behind. The plastic material most thongs are made from dries almost instantaneously. Once your feet have dried you can do what you bloody want with them. If you have a change of shoes for a work place say, you could even opt to take a towel and dry your feet even faster. Then put said change of shoes on.

I made the mistake of wearing trainers on the Monday, the first day of this blasted three day storm that has battered most of New South Wales. Within minute my shoes had absorbed as mush water as possible, nearly absorbent as a natural sponge or some fancy new nappy or something, my shoes were more than double the original weight and were getting colder by the minute causing my feet to rapidly swell and bobble and get increasingly uncomfortable. I had gotten to far from my temporary home so there was no turning back. My feet and shoes would have to be soaked and cold for the remainder of the time I was out. I was meeting my parents at Circular Quay, coming from Surry Hills. I walked down Goulburn St to George St where I boarded a bus directly to Circular Quay. It took less than ten minutes to get there but with rain so wet, I was dripping, actually no, pouring by the time I boarded the bus. In the back of my mind was the constant throbbing of my conscious telling me I should have worn thongs. Stupid me, I was wet and if this rain continues I probably won't get a chance to wear my trainers again. Which is a big shame as I like them and they're really comfortable. I made a mistake and would not make the same one twice.

From that moment on I wore my thongs if going for a walk. Granted they are not the most comfortable piece of footwear but the pros in this instance do more than outweigh the cons. My feet dry quickly and no mess is left behind by dripping shoes or soggy socks. One tiny problem which I have to address is that once your feet are wet, little bits of grit flick up onto your feet and get caught between them and the straps of the thongs. This can and does often cause irritation as the grit almost turns to sandpaper and in some unfortunate cases leads to your feet getting cut up. It is in no way as bad as the feeling of having wet feet in thongs on a sandy beach, that is f***ing awful. I think that roughly sums up why thongs are good in the rain, especially if worn on shorter distances.

I took a gamble by wearing shoes, when I bought them I paid for some spray stuff that is supposed to coat them in a layer of fancy waterproof material. Similar to a brand like Scotchguard but from Clarks. It has worked for me in the past so why wouldn't it work for me here and now. Although the rain in Sydney over the last few days was worse than any rain I'd ever seen spraying London. The only reason I was to wear shoes was because I had a big coat that was good at keeping me dry, it wasn't waterproof, it was made out of this really thick canvas type material that got wet but somehow kept you dry. It would have looked or I would have if I'd worn the chosen outfit with thongs. I don't care too much about my appearance but that would have looked extreme, I do not want to come across as some weird tramp guy, even though I was freshly shaven and had showered and tied my hair back.

It worked for the time being, my shoes were covered in specs of water. Patches of my shoes had started to absorb some of the rain water and puddle muck but not enough to wet my feet... yet.

I had a coffee and fat slice of carrot cake at the 1812 Café above Berkelow Bookstore in Paddington. A place I'd hoped to catch up on some writing and chill for the majority of the morning. I managed to get one little story done which was enough for the day, I was happy I'd completed a task I'd set myself. I had a browse of the shop and even got some ideas for gifts for various people, a morning well spent. After I'd absorbing enough ideas from the shop as I could, I decided to be on my way to a pub. I had a plan for the rest of the afternoon.

As I was cooking dinner I looked at the map for any local supermarket and the closest one that was almost on the way back was the Woolworths (not to be confused with the brand that once upon a time existed in the UK) on Bourke St in Surry Hills. Directly to the right of the shop/café was a pub. A sign saying “16 TAPS” took my attention as I walked past, enough to take a few steps back for a second look. I went in. It wasn't what I was expecting for a pub in such an arty part of town. Right in front of the Art Campus of UNSW (the University of New South Wales). They had some signs on the walls about schooner art but I couldn't quite find anything of any merit. Whilst in there I had a limited release beer from Young Henry's. I can't remember the name but it was a Red IPA. A hoppy, malty drop. It was tasty enough to keep me in there for longer than I wanted. They had more craft beers and lots of ciders, the barman was friendly, the place was clean so I can't really knock it. After I finished every last drop I left.

En route to the shop, I popped into the 'Local Taphouse' for a quick one. Quick one my arse, it took me a good five minutes to chose what I wanted. With so much to choose from and with so many expensive beers I opted for the tasting paddle. At $17.50 it was a lot of money but when you take into consideration that one of the beers was $19 for a small and another was $13 for the same size, it kind of made sense. Plus with the paddle you get a hand full of crackers. The crackers are rather bland and have a lot in common with the host things you get when taking communion at church.

I selected my five beers and numbered them in order of flavour intensity finishing on a sour like I do nowadays. As the rain hadn't picked up and the short distance I'd walked from the café to pub, my feet were still dry.

When I handed the sheet over to the barman, he poured my drinks but gave them to me in colour order. Not a bad thing, only I'd spent a while arranging them in order of how intense and complex the flavours would be, or how I thought they should be. This meant I had to rearrange them which wasn't bad and took no more than a minute. Once sorted, like a proud artist or designer, I admired my accomplishment.

The first of five was an American beer. 'Bridgeport Witch Hunt' from Bridgeport Brewing. A spiced Harvest Ale which I would put into a Saison category of beer, the farmhouse style. It was like I imagined and was very enjoyable. Spicy, smooth with hints of honeyed fruit. An easy drinking beer and a perfect one to start a little tasting session. Even though I was quite hungry from not eating, I didn't feel the need to eat one or more of the crackers as the beer was flavoursome and not overpowering and was followed by a smoked beer.

'Bandit' by Killer Sprocket from Victoria, once again, another great Victorian beer. Very smokey on the nose and palate but unlike some others I've tried, it was subtle. Not at all an overpowering smoke, you could tell it was a Pale with quite a strong malt body but which was accentuated by the peated malts. It did have a complex and refreshing finish.

Half way into the tasting and things are getting darker. 'Bobby Brown', a Brown Ale by Six String Brewing Co, NSW. With a name like that, how could one not be curious. I'm not the biggest fan of Brown Ales but 'James 'Belgian' Brown' by 2 Brothers was so good I though another Aussie offering might equally be as good. It was good but had a bit too much of the bitter chocolate malt character to me. Well balanced with the hops it was a nice beer though.

The penultimate beer of my mid afternoon session was a fancy little thing from Denmark. A Barley Wine called 'Mine Is Bigger Than Yours' by world renowned brewery To Øl. Seeing the bottle on the shelf at the shop, Real Ale in Twickenham, England, I always wanted to try it but it being very expensive I left it for another time. I was ecstatic when I saw it on tap in Australia, I didn't even check the price until after I paid for the tasting paddle. It was the $19 beer. The description on the sheet of paper I had summed it up, although I would add some dried fig and prune to it, even hints of marzipan. A typical and exceptional Barley Wine, tasting like a fine and precious glass of some very fine Pedro Ximenex Sherry. With only one cracker left now, I made it last. It wasn't there to soak up the flavour and cleanse my palate as I knew the Lambic I'd chosen would happily and naturally do that, it was to help absorb some of the booze, 12.5% was a great deal on an empty stomach.

The final beer was of course a sour. If given the option, I will always end the session on a sour now, I can't think of any other way. Once your mouth is so full of rich and in my case often dark and flavourful beers, the best way to refresh oneself is to drink a sour. A couple of options to go for, I went for the fruitier of the two, I still can't go for a straight, sugarless Lambic. This offering was a Lambic style from Bacchus Brewing Co, Queensland. A 12 month barrel fermented beast, then secondary fermented with grapes, dates and figs. The fruit taking enough away from the tart and overwhelming sourness that it made an altogether delicious beer. Blindingly obvious it's a sour but cunningly and tastefully disguised by the fruit. What a beer. From several Beglian styles I've tried, the Aussies can do them well. This beer was a delight, the whole afternoon session was a delight.

Such a shame I got soaked as the heavens opened on my walk back from the shop. I was busting for a piss and the fact that the sky was pissing on me made it almost too hard to bear. I did make it back in time, for those who know me, I didn't quite wet myself.

However, my feet were a bit damp and wet in places, the creases in the shoes soaked up the water and it was absorbed by the leather and droplets finishing in patches deposited on my socks. All in all a good afternoon, it was time to cook a Moroccan inspired Chicken Tagine.Deciding to stay on in Australia for another week was not hampered by bad weather. The worst wet weather New South Wales has seen for more than a decade does nothing to put me off exploring and getting into stuff, you see. It will take more than a few inches of rain to stop me.

Ill prepared for such miserable weather, I found the most suitable attire for walking around the city and got ready to go out.

It worked for the time being, my shoes were covered in specs of water. Patches of my shoes had started to absorb some of the rain water and puddle muck but not enough to wet my feet... yet.