Welcome...time to explore beers, bars and bands!

Hello blog universe. Welcome to the thoughts and reviews of a random guy from Melbourne, Australia, who loves exploring the tastes, sounds and locations that make the world so flavoursome.

Here is what you can generally expect from my blogs about these three passions of mine:

Beer - I'm no connoisseur and am relatively new to the world of boutique and craft beers. I was challenged to try "something different" (from the regular macro lagers) by a friend a few years ago and I have not looked back since. With a booming craft beer industry in Melbourne and across Australia, I have spent my weekends exploring as many different beer varieties and brewers as possible, from across this great land and beyond. I now have a collection of well over 400 unique empty beer bottles sitting on top of cupboards in my kitchen to show for my "research" and ongoing hunt for Australia's best beer. About 95% of this bottle collection are local craft beers, with a small number of international and macro brews as well...because they still count as beer! Further, no "Aussie collection" of beer could ever be complete without a stubby of Melbourne Bitter or a XXXX Gold throwdown. However, after drinking so many good beers over recent times, these days I really find it difficult to drink any mass produced, chemical/preservative filled lager that the large corporations churn out without a second thought of flavour, complexity, length and balance. Bring on the REAL beer!

Bars - I have labeled this category as "bars" to stick with the B theme, but this generally means: "pubs, live music venues and other places to enjoy a good drink". Melbourne is full of pubs, bars and venues that are full of character and history. Many have been reviewed thousands of times already, so when I visit a place and decide that is worth of a blog, I will be focusing on the things that tickle my fancy when visiting such places...like the beer selection available (say NO to bars with beer taps pouring only the same-same bland lagers of a macro brewery!), eclectic objects on display behind the bar, toilet graffiti or just the "the vibe" you get when you walk in the door.

Bands (as well as various music bits and pieces) - I wish I was a rock star...haha...but I'll just settle for enjoying the show from in the crowd. I love gigging and checking out a local rock band. I am especially a sucker for random "dirty pub rock" at a little pub venue with talented bands who are often just starting out or still waiting to crack some big time. They are the bands that rarely get reviewed because they are too small or simply do not have a manager/publicist.

Since I don't travel too much, the primary focus of these thoughts and reviews will be on the Melbourne area, my home city that I love deeply, and sometimes around wider State of Victoria.

Enjoy, drink up and rock on.

Find me on twitter @jayelde

Disclaimer: This blog is purely personal opinion. I may often make completely unqualified and unquantified comments, with my only claim to validity being experience. And hey...it's a blog afterall! Walk on.