Victoria Bitter
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:VB-stubbie.jpg Image:VBcan.jpg
Victoria Bitter, or VB, as it is commonly called, has the highest market share of all beer sold in Australia, both on tap and packaged. Victoria Bitter is brewed by Carlton & United Beverages, a subsidiary of Foster's Group, brewers of the Fosters brand beer. Despite its name, it is technically a fairly standard commercial lager rather than a bitter, although perhaps slightly more bitter than many. It is available in the UK, and to a limited extent, other countries abroad.
It was introduced in the mid 1960s with an innovative television advertising campaign featuring the orchestral score from the film The Magnificent Seven, images of working-class Australians at work and play, and a voice-over by notable Australian actor John Meillon. The campaign was used until quite recently. Paul Hester, late drummer of Crowded House once appeared in a VB advert. Ads now consist of the slogan "For a hard earned thirst, you need a big cold beer, and the best cold beer is Vic, Victoria Bitter". The most recent advertising campaign features David Boon, although an number of other ads are occasionally screened, such as one which promotes Australia's love of barbecuing meat, including its national emblems, the kangaroo and emu.
Currently one third of the packaged beer sales in Australia are of VB. It is available in cans ("tinnies"), bottles ("stubbies", short necked 375ml bottles, "Long Necks" or "King Browns" 800mls and "Throw-downs" (250mls in the State of NSW)). VB now comes in 500ml tinnies (2005).
VB was one of the few Carlton & United (CUB) full-strength beers to escape a lowering of alcohol percentage in 2002 from 4.9% to 4.6%.
VB is commonly known as 'Green Death', possibly because the odd batch will leave the consumer with a crippling hangover. Unlike German and European beers which adhere to strict purity laws, VB can be brewed and chemically matured in 20 hours to meet consumer demand, which can be extremely high during summer months in Australia.
Testament to its long history and popularity, it has acquired a number of nicknames, ranging from the polite "Very Best", to the less polite "Vomit Beer", "Vomit Bomb" or "Virgin Breaka".
To many, Victoria Bitter is the real national beer and Foster's Lager the tourist brew.
Vic Bitter and Tooheys
Prior to the ending of a more or less gentleman's agreement to keep Tooheys beer out of Victoria and Carlton United Breweries (CUB) out of New South Wales, each beer was quite territorial to each respective state. This agreement broke in 1999 in the Melbourne Beer War. Until then, drinking a VB in NSW or vice versa in a pub was positively courageous.
To gain market share, Tooheys would sell their Tooheys Red and CUB their Vic' Bitter interstate as a 'twenty dollar slab' across state lines, some ten dollars lower than the home state's brew. Both beers quickly became the token beer you'd supply for party or BBQ guests, but you'd never drink yourself.
Many privately owned pubs and clubs who were frustrated with CUB's distribution gladly became a Tooheys pub. Around the same time, VB became available on tap (traditionally Carlton Draught was the tap beer) to compete with Tooheys. Prices have now stabilised, but the Australian beer market is more competitive than ever. And for better or for worse, VB is now the dominant brand in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.