Seems like I need to come to Australia on a beer hunt! How is the microbrew scene? Is it as explosively active as it has become in the USA?

I like Hahn too. And Crown Lager. My hubby didn't like XXXX so I've never gotten around to trying it.

Yes, come visit!

Microbrewing - do you mean home-made beer? There were a great many guys at work standing around chatting about their successes with home brewing, and bringing in sample bottles to swap with each other. But we also have a number of small (usually family-run) breweries brewing specialty and boutique beers.

There are a lot of microbreweries around. In fact, next to my buildig where I work is a microbrewery beerhouse. It's very popular here in Brisbane & their beers are pretty good too.

They sell a "sampler" tray of 12 of their brews for about $10

Stella I love Stella

I used to like Stella more than I do now. I prefer Heineken if I'm in a European beer mood.

Yes, yes. The USA calls them microbreweries or brewpubs, while other countries often refer to them as family-run breweries, specialty, or boutique breweries. In the U.S., many microbrewers begin as homebrewers, and just keep expanding because their friends demand it. Before they know it, BAM! They make the big time. Does anyone have stats on how many microbreweries and/or brewpubs are in Australia? We have around 1500 in the USA currently.

Do you know Aotearoa Breweries in New Zealand? Mata Beer?

see im the opposite i started with heineken then switched to stella.

heineken & beef for some reason just didnt mix it gives you beer poops.

Ah yes, boutique breweries is the most common term here.

Quick hunt - this is old, from 2005, but working out this guy's estimate it sounds like they were looking at 50 boutique breweries around 2006 in Australia - gosh that sounds way too few, surely!

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It seems that Australia is poised for a microbrewy (boutique brewery)expansion! The 2nd site you list certainly is prompting homebrewers to explore their creativity.

The USA only had about 40 brewing companies in the early 1980's. It now has about 1,500. Supermarket sales of craft beer grew by 17.5 % in 2006 alone.

Even with that kind of growth, there are many macro-brews in the US that lack distinctive flavor. In fact, there are still many people who drink beer that tastes like water, and they like it. It's a matter of personal choice.

However, a large body of people have discovered flavor in beer, and these are the people who are transforming the face of beer culture throughout the world. This trend seems to be occurring in South America, China, Poland, Russia, and beyond. Certainly, Michael Jackson was instrumental as a catalyst, particularly with his work educating the world about Belgian Beer, as well as the nuances of flavor that each country had to offer.