jrenaut
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So let me tell you a story about a zoo, a brewery with a single beer brewed on-site, a busted helmet, and a busted bike chain. If this doesn’t count for a beerneuring point, so be it – it was totally worth it anyway.
On our last full day in Australia, we went to the Melbourne Zoo. It’s not like the DC Zoo – in addition to the animals, there are all sorts of little pathways that lead nowhere, but LOOK like they might lead to animals. I think we took them all. It was a long, warm day. We saw two lizards gettin’ it on. The male climbs on the female’s back and bites the loose skin at the back of her neck (Like a mom cat picking up her babies, but less mixed-company appropriate). We saw koalas and kangaroos and lemurs and some elephants up really close. It was a good day.
On the way home, we stopped for a drink at The Crafty Squire and saw this:
IMG_20180226_164412315_HDR by Jon, on FlickrI feel that this sign captures the spirit of this ride and this day.
The Crafty Squire is a brewpub for James Squire and it turns out while they have a full taplist of their own beers, they only brew ONE on-site. It is the Statesman, an American wheat pale ale, pictured here with a souvenir from the zoo (as well as our tab card, but we’ve closed out, so it won’t help you).
IMG_20180226_170841691 by Jon, on FlickrThe beer was fine. It was neither terribly wheaty nor terribly pale, but after a long hot day of walking around, it hit the spot. Bear in mind we have not biked anywhere yet. We had to return all the rental bikes already.
Luckily, Melbourne has bikeshare, both docked and dockless. After sending the wife and kids home on the tram, I went to the nearest bikeshare station. Unfortunately, most or maybe all of Australia has a mandatory helmet law, which is probably the #2 reason Melbourne isn’t Amsterdam, after the fact that drivers refuse to yield under any circumstances. Often the bikeshare stations have free helmets to borrow, but this one didn’t.
As luck would have it, Melbourne is like DC in that people leave their dockless bikes near bikeshare docks. One of the dockless bikes had a helmet! It was broken. But I used it anyway because TAKE THAT silly Australian laws.
IMG_20180226_183008155_BURST000_COVER_TOP by Jon, on FlickrThis photo actually doesn’t do justice to how broken the helmet actually was.
So things are going well – I’m nearly home, just stopped at a light in traffic, waiting for green. The light turns, I start to go, and CRUNCH and then I nearly fall over because the pedals are suddenly spinning with nearly no resistance. Turns out I snapped the chain.
IMG_20180226_182305295_HDR by Jon, on FlickrAgain I was in luck, and I was mere feet (Ok, they were meters) from another bikeshare station, and I switched bikes and managed to get home.
In any event, I don’t believe this ride obeys the letter of the law for a beerneuring point. I think it obeys the spirit, but I throw myself at the mercy of the great and powerful sjclaeys to tell me whether this one counts.
Jrenaut #15 – Craft and Co, Melbourne, Vic. This is a combination brewery/winery/distillery/hipster meeting spot. Despite being all those things they make a really solid IPA.
Note the Garmin in the last two pictures – it never did finish saving that ride. Stupid Garmin.
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Jrenaut #14 – Mill Brewery, Melbourne, Vic. This is I Can’t Believe it’s not Juice NEIPA. It’s pretty delightful. We left our kids at the last brewery with family so #winning
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Jrenaut #13- Stomping Grounds, Melbourne, Victoria. This is the Hoppenali, another West Coast IPA. This is a really fantastic space, though most of the good tables are reserved
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Jrenaut #12 – Burnley Brewing, Melbourne, Victoria. Having the West Coast IPA, which is good, but we’re pretending it’s West coast Australia, not California
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Rented bike in Melbourne. With shifters on the downtube, as God intended. This of course implies God is not a cyclist because wow they’re a pain to use.
IMG_20180222_093416736 by Jon, on Flickr#11 – Lady Burra Brewhouse, Adelaide, South Australia. It’s summer here, so that’s about all you really need to know. Family ride (we did it in km so it seems longer) with playground stop. Pictured is the pale ale, which was a little lager-y for my tastes. The IPA is quite nice though.
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IMG_20180214_121017171 by Jon, on FlickrLittle midweek Valentine’s Day rendezvous with the wife for a Cobras IPA. I hadn’t had this one before – definitely recommend.