Aussie Craft Beer

Contrary to popular belief, Fosters is not, in fact, Australian for beer. Respectable Aussie beer drinkers barely touch the stuff, opting for VB or XXXX in a pinch, but usually preferring one of Australia's wide variety of microbrews. On a per capita basis, craft brewing is huge in Australia, and if my admittedly unscientific sampling was at all representative, these folks know what they're doing when it comes to water, barley, and hops.

The highlight of our Australian beer drinking was a taster flight at a funky old pub in the Rocks, Sydney, where the bartender was happy to line us up a row of his favorites.

For the beer drinkers out there, in case you ever come across one of these beauties, here they are from right to left:

• Dirty Granny, a tart hard cider.
• Full Steam Pale Lager, simple, mild, and malty.
• Sharer, the house brew, a nice hoppy Pilsener.
• Little Creatures Pale Ale, which is like an angel weeping for joy, lightly carbonated.
• Vales/EX Stout, an experimental stout brewed with a whole bunch of flavorings, coffee and molasses the most prominent among them.