Get involved, Aussies!

Discussion in 'Australia' started by AzfromOz, Feb 11, 2022.

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  1. AzfromOz

    AzfromOz Grand Pooh-Bah (3,225) Aug 22, 2020 Australia
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Hey there.

    This year I made a resolution to be more involved on the BA site. There aren't many Aussies, if any, getting involved in the main forums, and, amongst other nationalities, really only a few Europeans amongst the many Americans that dominate the BA forums. Let's change that!

    We're uniquely placed to start daily "What beer Are You Drinking now" (WBAYDN) threads, with the midnight Pacific time limit for new threads coinciding with 7pm daylight savings time in Oz. I've started a few threads, and am going to do so again tonight, but they're pretty barren places until the early morning our time when the yanks start imbibing. Let's change that!

    The threads in the main discussion are inevitably dominated by Americans, talking about American beer, American culture and stupid American measuring systems. We have awesome brewers, awesome beer, the metric system, and, let's be honest, live in the greatest country on the planet, yet our views and experiences are almost never heard on one of the biggest beer websites on the internet. Let's change that!

    There are thousands upon thousands of beers reviewed on this website, but very few are Australian. Let's change that!

    There are plenty of websites, Facebook groups and social media pages that cater for Aussie beer, yet there's a deafening silence about that topic here. Let's show the world we have beers they should be desperate to trade for. Let's be the Aussie beer missionaries in the dark and mysterious world of international beer websites. There's not enough of us on here. Let's change that!

    Cheers
     
    #1 AzfromOz, Feb 11, 2022
    Ozzylizard, skivtjerry, HorseheadsHophead and 12 others like this.
  2. Arassuil

    Arassuil Crusader (409) Jan 21, 2008 Australia

    Americans and the Metric system (sorry, couldn't help it)

    Hey, yeah, a good idea... need to drop in here more often than once a year.
     
    #2 Arassuil, Feb 20, 2022
    Ozzylizard, Bitterbill, Resistance88 and 2 others like this.
  3. Shanex

    Shanex Grand Pooh-Bah (4,960) Dec 10, 2015 France
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    The metric system… uh oh… :grinning:

    [​IMG]

    Just joking Americans.

    You’re right though, I’m one of these few Europeans hanging out on BA, and WBAYDN in particular. Even the European forums used to be a tad more active, I assure you that we try to make it as lively as possible. @Snowcrash000, @JamFuel and @EmperorBevis and me having been promoted Mods was, on top of helping the already existing American Mods to diversify a bit that crowd.

    Australians are sadly far and few, nevermind your Kiwi brethren! I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a few NZ users but very rarely.

    On the upside and despite being largely American dominated, the one we got here are pleasant and engaging… but we’re always looking to welcome people from whatever corner of the world.
     
    #3 Shanex, Feb 22, 2022
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  4. EmperorBevis

    EmperorBevis Grand High Pooh-Bah (9,338) Sep 25, 2011 England
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    It would be great to see more Aussie involvement, I have never had a bad night drinking with antipodeans although I’m glad Little Creatures & Cassell’s have made it over here in the UK, because VB gives me SBDs & Monteith’s is dull as ditch water
     
    #4 EmperorBevis, Feb 22, 2022
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  5. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    I emailed all of our Australian users earlier today with a link to this thread. Most were accounts that haven't logged in for ages. Zero replies so far.

    It's going to take a lot more to make a change. Open to ideas.
     
    #5 Todd, Feb 23, 2022
    Arassuil, HorseheadsHophead, TurkeysDrinkBeer and 4 others like this.
  6. DerbyDave35

    DerbyDave35 Aspirant (285) Jul 14, 2015 Australia

    I've submitted several reviews Todd , and have used the site many times to check out the thoughts on new brews I stumble upon that I haven't previously tried
    However , I will endeavor to increase my efforts , and perhaps review more of the ever increasing and terrific local Australian products , as well as my favoured English and Belgian tipples
    Thanks for all your excellent work on this great platform ,.
     
    #6 DerbyDave35, Feb 23, 2022
    Ozzylizard, Resistance88, Bitterbill and 3 others like this.
  7. AzfromOz

    AzfromOz Grand Pooh-Bah (3,225) Aug 22, 2020 Australia
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    It's probably not surprising that the reaction is low right now. As noted by @Shanex above this is regarded as a primarily American site, which can be imposing at first, but as he also noted it's quite a friendly community, and once engaged, it's an enjoyable place to hang.

    I know there is either none, or very little, advertising or outward-facing presence for this site over here, and why would there be given the minimal engagement you generally receive, but we do have a world-renowned beer festival called Good Beer Week here in Melbourne that features international brewers and international-themed events so perhaps there's an inroad there. And let's face it, there's our key demographic right there! Ironically, though, that festival was just cancelled for 2022, so we're some time off the next one.

    Time zones don't help, but tasting threads aimed at international time slots or with more regional themes (rauchbiers, NZ pilsners, Caipirinha sours, Australian sparkling ales), or even just beers from a particular country could be a way to drive engagement.

    As you can tell I'm no marketer, but would definitely love to see more Aussies and, heaven forbid, Kiwis, here too!

    Cheers
     
    #7 AzfromOz, Feb 23, 2022
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2022
    Ozzylizard, Arassuil, TurkeysDrinkBeer and 4 others like this.
  8. AzfromOz

    AzfromOz Grand Pooh-Bah (3,225) Aug 22, 2020 Australia
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Funny that, because I've had plenty!

    (not the night so much as the morning after...) :wink:

    Cheers
     
    #8 AzfromOz, Feb 23, 2022
    Ozzylizard, Resistance88, Bitterbill and 2 others like this.
  9. hawthorne00

    hawthorne00 Devotee (331) Nov 23, 2010 Australia

    I got the email, thanks Todd. I've never rated here but have posted a little on the forums since 2010.

    Why did I stop? I got a new laptop and when I checked BA to see if there was anything to talk about in the Australia forum I found that the forum had been abolished. So I didn't log in.

    Can it be right that I can't link to where I do rate? I've 6700 ratings and more than 3000 are for Australian beers. Over there the forums are moribund too - and the Australian one is completely dead - but there are a fair few active raters. I've also ported my ratings over to a couple of other sites in case RB goes bung overnight one day. I didn't really consider trying to bring them here. _Mostly_ that's because I don't know what would make these older sites relevant again. That's not to say that nothing is lost, just that the sheer number of new beers versus the trickle of ratings exposes the scoring algorithm's limitations and people look elsewhere even if review quality is poor.
     
    #9 hawthorne00, Mar 1, 2022
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  10. NickTheGreat

    NickTheGreat Maven (1,470) Oct 28, 2010 Iowa
    Trader

    I'm an American, and I'm just going to sit in the corner and watch. But I speak Metric, don't worry.

    I also have spent a lot of time on two separate occasions in Australia. The first time (2003) was before you all discovered craft beer, drank a lot of XXXX and Bundy. Then went back later (2013), and enjoyed some of the emerging craft beer scene.

    Good luck on your Aussie Beer Mission!

    I still like Bundy, though! :wink:
     
    #10 NickTheGreat, Mar 1, 2022
    Ozzylizard, AzfromOz, Bitterbill and 1 other person like this.
  11. Bitterbill

    Bitterbill Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,036) Sep 14, 2002 Wyoming
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    4x was brewed for a short time by Coors and I really liked it. I remember drinking Swan Lager in the 70s in California and that was a bloody great Lager!
     
    #11 Bitterbill, Mar 2, 2022
    AzfromOz likes this.
  12. JZH1000

    JZH1000 Pooh-Bah (1,933) Nov 7, 2021 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah

    Welp it's been a month, and an American is posting here again, kinda sad I'd love for this site to be more popular world wide I'm always on here late at night because I'm a student and work part time nights, a more international crowd would mean I still get replies even when I get home and start posting on wbaydn at 12:30am my time.

    Honestly it would be nice to get more reviews on foreign beers too and potentially open more avenues for foreign trading. There are some real whales out there to Americans that are common elsewhere, and as far as I'm concerned diversity and culture is good.
     
    #12 JZH1000, Apr 8, 2022
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  13. AzfromOz

    AzfromOz Grand Pooh-Bah (3,225) Aug 22, 2020 Australia
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Hey @JZH1000, I'm usually lurking here beyond midnight Pacific time, as it's evening here the day after in Oz, so look me up!

    Cheers!
     
    #13 AzfromOz, Apr 8, 2022
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  14. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    I understand how converting the Australian forum into a prefix and then dropping it into the RoW would be a turnoff for many. Hopefully the next time you log in you'll notice that this has been reversed.
    Unlike RB, we're far from being moribund and we've never stopped being relevant. We've just become increasingly US-centric due to the userbase, which also took a hit due to current limitations with the platforms and the pandemic. Things we plan to address overtime.
     
    #14 Todd, Apr 10, 2022
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  15. sinkas

    sinkas Initiate (0) Jul 9, 2008 Australia

    I am Arsetralian,
    Pretty good beers here in Perth these days
     
    #15 sinkas, Apr 11, 2022
    skivtjerry, Bitterbill, Todd and 1 other person like this.
  16. gatornation

    gatornation Grand High Pooh-Bah (10,388) Apr 18, 2007 Arizona
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    How about a sub post here for Aussie’s .. What beer are you drinking down under , post some pics , love to see the cans/bottles/taps .
     
    #16 gatornation, Apr 13, 2022
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  17. danieelol

    danieelol Initiate (0) Jun 15, 2010 Australia

    I think in the last few years I've noticed in Sydney and seemingly Australia more broadly that craft beer has become more integrated with mainstream drinking culture. This has led to an overall trend of people drinking more craft-style beer (particularly thinks like flavoured goses, sours berliners etc.) but probably has diminished the popularity of the really "nerdy" elements of beer (which is the part that I was historically more into).

    Plus in Australia we've already been through several cycles of breweries building up their presence/reputation in the market and then showing declining quality. And the price of beer is now prohibitively expensive for what is no longer as much of a "cult" product in my personal opinion.
     
    #17 danieelol, Apr 24, 2022
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  18. Arassuil

    Arassuil Crusader (409) Jan 21, 2008 Australia

    Hey I got your email and logged in here and posted. Sort of forgot I had an account before the email.
    I'm a yank ex-pat so 'get' both worlds, though I haven't been back to the states since November 2018. The Aussies tend to gather on the Aussie Home Brewer site.
     
    #18 Arassuil, Apr 24, 2022
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  19. skivtjerry

    skivtjerry Pooh-Bah (1,865) Mar 10, 2006 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    se

    It makes sense that beer fans in Oz have their own websites. Maybe BA should look for partnership/referral arrangements with some popular non-US sites.
     
    #19 skivtjerry, May 1, 2022
    AzfromOz likes this.
  20. Arassuil

    Arassuil Crusader (409) Jan 21, 2008 Australia

    Yeah, they dont seem to post much here considering the GABS festivals have returned after a two year covid hiatus.
     
    #20 Arassuil, May 24, 2022
    AzfromOz likes this.
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