All Hopped Up Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Australians love their beer, so much so that they are ranked 4th in the world, in per capita consumption. The amount consumed annually is currently, an average of 110 litres. This, however, was not always the case. The preferred choice for the early settlers was rum, to the extent that, for a brief period, it served as an unofficial currency. Whilst it was, most likely, (unofficially) brewed earlier, the first official brewed beer is credited to John Boston who, in 1796, foisted a corn concoction, that was bittered with Cape gooseberry leaves, onto the public. In the same year, Australia's first pub was opened. Called the Mason's Arms, it was set up by a freed convict named James Larra.

The early Australian brews were, generally, top-fermented, and were designed to mature quickly. Most did not incorporate hops. The first person to have any joy cultivating hops in Australia was James Squire in 1804. He also brewed beer and opened up his own hotel. These were so well received that the government rewarded him with a herd of cattle in 1806. The government had also jumped onto the brewing bandwagon, setting up their own brewery in 1804 but sold the operation two years later. Brewing became a boom industry in Australia during this century, in particular during the 1850s with the discovery of gold in the country. By 1871, the state of Victoria, was able to boast some 126 breweries within its own borders.

Other significant dates in Australia's brewing history include:
1824 - Cascade Brewery is established in Tasmania, which remains the country's oldest operational brewery today.
1853 - when John Beach's Brisbane Brewing became the first brewer in Queensland.
1862 - the year that Thomas Cooper set up Cooper's Brewery in South Australia. This is currently the largest Australian owned brewery in the country, as the likes of Carlton & United and Lion Nathan are now in the hands of foreign interests.
1864 - The Carlton Brewery opened in Melbourne.
1883 - James Boags was officially formed.
1885 - This was the year that lager was first brewed in Australia. It would not take it long to become the most popular choice of beer in the country.
1980s - saw the rise of many micro/boutique breweries in the land.

There are also a number of distinctly Australian styles of beers. Amongst these are the following:
Australian lager, which is made using variants of the Pride of Ringwood hops. It has a slightly bitter taste and has a strong amber colour.
Australian pale ale is a very malty brew that has a dry finish.
Pacific ale. This is a pale ale that is sweeter in taste, hazy in colour and brewed using both wheat and malt.
Sparkling ale is a low malt brew that is highly carbonated.

Finally, something a little different for the trivia file. In 2010, the Nail Brewery in Perth (Western Australia) created a batch of 30 bottles of beer using water obtained from an Antarctic iceberg. The bottles were auctioned off, fetching a total of US$1,850.00, and the proceeds were donated to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a not for profit, marine conservation organization, based in the state of Washington, USA.