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Thursday, September 14, 2000 By Bob Batz Jr., Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Foster's" may be Australian for "beer. "
But it isn't Australian beer.
For more about Foster's, check out www.fosters.com.au and www.fostersbeer.com.
Not the Foster's you typically buy in the United States.
You might just want to know that if you "go for the gold" to drink while watching the Olympics.
Still, you can't be too choosy, since there aren't that many Australian beers available locally.
If you just want to add some "Down Under" to your Olympic party, those famous 25-ounce blue "oil cans" might do the trick.
Fact is, the Foster's sold in North America is brewed in Canada, at a brewery operated by Molson, which the Australian-based Foster's Brewing Group Ltd. once partially owned.
Foster's doesn't advertise that fact but does say it in the fine print on the labels:
"Brewed and bottled under the supervision of Carlton & United Breweries, Melbourne, Australia by FBG Breweries, Toronto, Canada. ... Product of Canada."
Now, there's nothing wrong with Canada, especially when it comes to beer, and technically, this Foster's is, as it says, "imported."
But it's a little funny, like those long-running "Australian for beer" commercials, since the Foster's global marketing campaign hypes the brand's "Australian-ness."
Consumers are being barraged with more of that, since Foster's is a huge sponsor -- indeed, the "official beer" -- of the Olympic Games being played at home in Sydney.
Cue the new slogan: "We're backing Australia's Olympians with every drop of Foster's on Earth."
FBG is trying to sell its flagship brand everywhere on Earth, as you can see from its Australian Web site. And there's no denying that the big blue can has become an Australian icon.
The company calls Foster's Lager "the fastest-growing beer in the world," with sales growth of more than 60 percent over the past five years. It's available in 121 countries, and brewed in eight of them, according to the U.S. Web site, which says it's the seventh-largest-selling import in America.
Hey, since it's Olympics time and we're allowed to be jingoistic, here's some interesting trivia: According to Bill Yenne's book, "Beers of the World," Foster's "is ironically named for a pair of American brothers who spent only about 18 months in Australia. They founded their Foster Brewing Company in Melbourne in 1887, sold it the following year and went home, never to be heard from again."
Foster's, on the other hand, is now widely available in the States, including here in Western Pennsylvania.
No Australian beer is a huge seller here, says Pasquale "Patsy" Bellisario. He runs Mellinger's Beer Distributor in Oakland, which has one of the area's best and biggest selections of imports and microbrews. He carries just four Aussie brands: Foster's Lager (in 25-ounce cans and 12-ounce bottles), as well as its "special bitter" (25 ounce) for about $21 a case. He also has two newer micros that actually are brewed Down Under -- Broken Hill Real Ale and Old Australia Stout -- for $35 a case (the former's label reads: "Fully Imported. No preservatives, no additives, no tricks, just bloody good, real, Australian ale").
Regardless of its country of origin, Foster's doesn't taste at all foreign to a palate accustomed to the typical mass-produced American golden lager.
In his 1997 "Pocket Guide to Beer," the beer-breathed Michael "The Drinker, Not the Singer" Jackson gives the lager a rating of one of four stars, meaning it is "typical of its country and style."
A brew has to rise to three stars to be "worth seeking out."
Of course, ratings are so subjective. Foster's earned three (of five) stars in "The Beer Essentials" from The Spirit Journal's F. Paul Pacult, whose reviews themselves are intoxicating. Here he is on Foster's Lager:
"Typical golden lager hue, with a huge cumulus-cloud head that stays for hours; the peculiar, highly individualistic but wholly satisfying nose of scrambled eggs (you read that correctly) and ripe kiwi also offers hints of almonds -- a very uncommon but striking aroma that I really went for; the direct, focused, fleshy fruit component is off-dry to sweet from the slaty entry through midpalate, then goes abruptly dry, toasty, and malty in the austere aftertaste ..."
I'd just say that Foster's is fine after a major athletic event such as the 100-yard pushmower dash.
The Special Bitter, while amber instead of gold, tastes much like the lager, if a bit drier.
What are your other choices? I haven't tried the Broken Hill or Old Australia, but I did do a casual tasting of some other Aussie brews.
If you like darker ones, another relatively common brand is Sheaf Stout, which now is owned by Foster's but is brewed in Australia. It comes in a big package, too: a 25.6-ounce bottle ($26.99 a case at Save On Beer). Jackson gives Sheaf two to three stars and describes it as "tar-like, almost oaky." Pacult recommends it with three stars, and it is quite tasty.
But like Jackson, I prefer the Best Extra Stout from Cooper's, which is a more traditional independent brewer in Adelaide. Smooth and winey, its stout is a more complex stew of coffee, chocolate and other flavors.
The highly regarded Cooper's also makes a Sparkling Ale that you can find here. It's light and fruity, pale in color, and cloudy with yeast -- something you might find refreshing if you like some of the Belgian or Belgian-style ales.
If you just want to sample any of these, you can find most of them at the Outback Steakhouse chain and at other bars with longer import lists. You can even buy singles or mixed six packs to take home from D's Six-Pax & Dawgz in Regent Square.
Especially with imports, beware of old beer, since beer is perishable, just like bread. Closer to home can mean fresher.
And do read the label. I picked up a bottle of (otherwise forgettable) Razor Edge Lager, which looks like it's from Australia, only to read in the fine print that's it's actually made in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
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