Beer rant ahoy!

It's been a while since we've had someone venting their nightlife-related frustrations in here, but it looks like James Jeffrey in his recent article "A nation ales as the common coldie epidemic strikes" in The Australian deserves to be included.
"It can be a tough thing for a nation as self-consciously beer-loving as ours to face up to, but drink most Australian beers and you just know, deep in the darkest chambers of your broken heart, that the average polecat is capable of brewing something better in its bladder. This explains our obsession with cold beer: the colder it is, the less you can taste it. Ben Elton once observed that while in an English pub you might occasionally find lipstick on your glass, in an Australian pub you might find a whole pair of lips." Click here for the full rant about the land of Icy Cold beer.

Study: Tax the amount of alcohol in a drink

Volumetric taxation of alcohol would be the most cost-effective way to combat binge drinking according to an Australian study funded by Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation (AER) Foundation. Banning alcohol advertising would be the second most cost-effective and sustainable measure with raising the legal drinking age to 21 years coming in third.

Christopher Doran, from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, and Theo Vos from the University of Queensland, co-authors of the study say volumetric taxation and banning alcohol advertising should be a high priority.

"We need a fairer system that taxes alcohol as alcohol, rather than having different rates for beer, wine or spirits" said Daryl Smeaton, chief executive of AER in The Age. "Volumetric taxation makes sense from an economic, health and community perspective and is a crucial first step that needs to be taken in order to change patterns of alcohol consumption."

Currently wine has the lowest taxation of any alcohol beverage, based on alcohol content. If a volumetric tax were to be implemented it would be expected to raise the price of wine, and cask wine in particular. According to The Age, winemakers recently told a Senate enquiry that volumetric tax "would lead to a drop of 250,000 tonnes less in demand for grapes and 3,500 people losing their jobs".

Source: The Age

New Reviews: Little Creatures Dining Hall

It hasn't been open a month yet, but the reviews are already flowing in for the Little Creatures Dining Hall (222 Brunwsick Street, Fitzroy).

Marinella Padula, Deck of Secrets;
"Almost as long-awaited as the iPhone, there was little chance of a ‘soft’ opening where Little Creatures was concerned. Conceived as a concept pub and retail store to showcase the range, brewery operations are still run out of Fremantle but it’s definitely the next-best-thing for LC fans." Click here for the full review.

Michael Harden, Epicure;
"Little Creatures Dining Hall is certainly a beer barn, but a good-natured, reasonably stylish member of the species. It does the usual industrial-chic shtick that you expect in a place this size - concrete floors, exposed metal pipes, massed metal light shades, foil-lined roof, industrial-strength heaters - but it also cosies it up a bit with some cute, slightly kitschy touches such as strings of coloured lights and posters describing the brewing process glued to the brick walls." Click here for the full review.

The Fitzroy Dining Hall now also has its own page on the Little Creatures Official website.

Cherry still under repair

After reporting on the fire at Cherry Bar in June, it's been a long wait for some people as they await the return of the ACDC Lane staple. So much so that MelbournePubs.com have sent out a newsletter from Cherry's management for those wondering when Cherry will be ripe once again;

"Sadly, Cherry will not be reopening for a period of 3 - 4 months due to the lengthy reconstruction of the roof.

We are all pretty devasted by this news from the buildings owner.

However, we have comandeered our neighbour 'Alley Bar' thu/fri/ sat nights for some rock action! Cherry DJ's , staff and main man Bill Walsh as your host.

Free entry and all the usual hospitality and charm that cherry regulars have become accustomed to!!! 9pm till late."

New Review: Silk Road

Fancy a "a blinged-out super-venue with ornate crystal chandeliers, ceiling frescoes, carved dragons and a generally confusing mishmash of artistic influences loosely themed on the famous trading route, ranging from Michelangelo's Rome to art deco"? Well you might like Silk Road on Collins Street, according to Larissa Dubecki in Epicure. "Take a sense of humour for the daft good fun to be had here, and a credit card for the somewhat expensive experience." Click here for the full review

The "alco-swap" has begun

As the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia's (DSICA) Alco Tax Rip Off website claims Australians have spent an additional $145 million tax on pre-mixed drinks due to the federal government's recent tax increase, they've also noticed a major "alco-swap" occurring. The council said while sales of pre-mixed spirits are down, sales of straight spirits are up.

DSICA's Stephen Riden told ABC Radio "between April and June there was a 30 per cent decrease in the volume of alcohol sold in pre-mixed drinks but unfortunately a 46 per cent increase in the equivalent measure for bottled spirits." Family First's Victorian Senator Steve Fielding has been quoted in the Herald Sun saying "We have turned a drinking problem into a tax problem."

The federal government says the DSICA figures do not allow for normal seasonality in alcohol purchasing and show "the industry is prepared to selectively use data to protect their profits at the expense of young Australians."

Source: ABC Transcript, Herald Sun & The Shout.

New Bar: Cumulus Inc

Andrew McConnell is probably best known for the award-winning restaurant Three, One, Two in Drummond Street, Carlton. Although that might all be about to change. Three Thousand and Deck of Secrets are both talking about his new bar, Cumulus Inc, that was designed by his wife Pascale Gomes-McNabb.

Three Thousand: "Whether food or alcohol is the fetish, Gomes-McNabb has got your back, as one bar allows drinkers to ogle barmen working with liquor and another sees diners facing the open kitchen, as chefs shuck their oysters and slice their slow cooked pork..." Click here for more.

Deck of Secrets: "The spacious and airy room was previously a gallery, perhaps this was a concept that inspired the designer to create such a transparent environment..." Click here for more.

Cumulus Inc is at 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. Official website

Loud music makes you drink faster

A recent study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has found loud music in bars can make people drink faster in fewer gulps and order more drinks. This is in addition to existing research that shows fast music can speed up the rate of drinking. One of the reasons given for increased drinking when there is loud music is because people cannot converse; "patrons drank more because they talked less". The study secretly observed 40 men aged between 18 and 25 drinking beer over three Saturday nights in a bar where they could modify the music - the average time taken to drink a beer fell from 14.51 minutes to 11.45 minutes when the louder music was playing.

Source: LA Times & Reuters

New Review: Revolver Upstairs

Clem Bastow meets the Chapel Street institution Revolver Upstairs for her most recent Epicure reivew. "Split between the band room, back bar, and Thai restaurant, Revolver is one of those venues that very much suits a turn-up-for-dinner-and-leave-at-breakfast sort of evening's entertainment." Click here for the full review.

New Bar/Night: C grade

The dormant Mercat Cross Hotel (456 Queen Street, right in the middle of the Queen Vic Market) is about to be revived by Michael Delaney of Honkeytonks and Third Class fame. Few details have been released so far, but Three Thousand and Deck of Secrets seem to be fairly interested in the concept. DJs announced so far are Ooh Ee and Bongmist and The Rusty Trombones. The first night will be this Saturday the 19th with free entry before 10pm, $5 entry at 10pm, $10 entry at 11pm and $15 entry for the rest of the night. Click here to see the official MySpace