Victoria Bitter, Revisited

A Bottle of Victorian Bitter, All By Its Lonesome.

Studying in Sydney, Australia (a shout out to all the crew from IHMA, Sydney!) was when I truly had my first real experience of alcohol - Toohey's, shitty cheap wine from a carton boxes, whiskey Coke, Kahlua milk, XXX, Victoria Bitter and a taste of some other cocktails and shots.

Don't need to say how I felt about the shitty cheap wines because I believe it's a universal understanding that they truly SUCK, but I can tell you back then I had no love for beer in any form. It won't be an exaggeration to even say I hated it. My virgin tongue couldn't stomach the bitter after-taste at all. I especially hated Victoria Bitter because it was especially ... bitter.

However, fast forward (more or less)10 years to today, you can safely say that I now drink pretty much anything - beer, wine, spirits. But I'm using the words "pretty much" very, very loosely (give a girl her artistic license can ah? :p )


And then just last year, a few of us (shaolintiger, eyeris) had the pleasure of being invited to check out Ice Cold Bier @ Cheras. Among the collection of imported beers which we had the honour of trying (we'll get into that in a separate post) - was my none other than my old bitter friend, Victoria Bitter.

Man oh man. It has been nearly 10 years since I have had VB. How I felt about it, is very accurately illustrated by the following Futurama Fry Meme:

It actually didn't taste as bitter as I had remembered. Easy to drink, not too "bubbly", quite smooth. No awful lingering, after-taste. And especially when it was chilled extra cold, like all booze.

It tasted so good that we actually asked for another.

And another.......

I think we finished their limited VB stock for the night.

Still can't believe that I like it now, after all those years of staying away from it like my life depended on it. It was almost enlightening. I'm pretty sure I made a sweeping statement back then about how I would never ever EVER like beer and how VB was the most vile tasting shit which I will NEVER EVER taste again. Admitting that I like it now felt like getting back with an old ex you swore you will never want to have anything to do with ever.

*shudders*

I'm just going to go with my tastebuds being really, really fucked. Afterall, we had those VBs after we had tasted nearly a dozen other beers. 

But just to be sure, I'm going go buy myself a bottle to try it again. And this time, without trying 12 other beers just before it. :)