Victoria Bitter is an Australian beer that I've heard mentioned quite a lot by Aussie friends and other people who've traveling in the land of kangaroos and criminals. So, when i was strolling through the beer section at a specialty grocery store last week and saw that they had some VB, I got some. Clint, my pal from Georgia, lived in Perth for a year and I thought he'd be pleased to have some VB.

Nope.

As soon as I pulled one the stubbies from the fridge his face fell and he recoiled.

"No. Only broke bogans drink that swill."

Oh. But, I thought, how bad could it be?

Pretty goddamn bad is the answer I came to find out. Put simply, I'd rather drink Budweiser than VB, and I still have another bottle in the fridge because they were on sale. It's just not a good beer. Little flavor, watery taste. Blech. Avoid this "brew" unless you feel like punishing yourself or one of your friends.

Conversely, I finally got a hold of one of my friend's first professional batch of pale ale. Matt and I brewed together for a little bit here in Taichung before he moved up to Taipei. Once there, he wasted little time in finding a few other kindred spirits and now they have their own brewery, 23 Brewing Company. There are very few micro-breweries in Taiwan and although there are a few small we-make-our-own-beer kind of bars around town, generally their product is rather awful. However, Matt and his 23 Brewing cohorts have got their shit together and their pale ale is fantastic. Floral aroma, hoppy bite, great color. At the bar on Saturday night I ditched the yellow-beer draught and pounded a few of the #1 pale ales without bothering to look at the price tag (premium beers in Taiwan usually cost a premium price). If any of you Taiwan folks see that red and white label, spend your dollars on a beer that's worth your while.