Practice Dicking Around

Cricket Australia XI 250 all out
v England 515 all out
Cricket Australia XI 364-4
Match Drawn

Four Day Tour Match

Played at Townsville, Queensland

Saturday 18 November 2017

392 Australian Beer Ticks

Look. I know. It's only a practice game. A warm up. Days in the dirt. I get it. Get the GPS tracker in the vest. Do the yards. But, to win The Ashes, you betchya, at some point, we'll have to turn up the intensity. So. Why not practice turning up the intensity. Instead, as I put the bins on at the end, we were treated to the unedifying. Moeen undoing BOTH shoelaces & doing them up again to get to the right Overs Versus Clock equation so they could shake hands.

Mason Crane did the petulant kick the turf routine when Stoneman dropped one off him. I see on the replays he did an ostentatious count on his fingers of how many had been shelled off him. Oh. Do leave off. Maybe slide one past a Batsman every now & again. And then we'll talk. The groundsman took a beautiful catch off a six mullered off Crane. Which I think summed it all up. I may now be looking through bile filled specs. But, I thought Crane was arguing with Root about field settings at one point.

Whatever the Management say, the tale of the tape is just one wicket on the final day. Two centurions in the CA ranks. No penetration. Lots of Dicking Around. I know why there wasn't, but there needed to be much more energy in the field.

The TapHouse Townsville

Surely the best craft beer pub in Townsville. I can't swear. I'm from Sheffield, England. So, I ain't visited them all. But, surely it's The TapHouse Townsville. Let's get the nonsense out the way first. They've got a Gimmick. A bench of those self pour taps. Where you load money onto a card. Tap that card onto a machine gizmo. And then use the touch screen to choose your Ale. Which you can then pour yourself. Gimmick.

I make it eight pukka Australian Micros on keg. A gaggle from Coral Sea Brewing up in Cairns. A gaggle from Slipstream Brewing in Yeerongpilly. And a mini gaggle of others.

Coral Sea Brewing Tropic Session 3.5%
Coral Sea Brewing Tropic Ale 4.2%
Slipstream Brewing Co Buggy Brown 4.5%
Slipstream Brewing Co 7G IPA 7%
Slipstream Brewing Co Stout 4.7%
Brouhaha Kaiju Collab, Kaij-Ouhaha Indian Saison 6.2%

The Coral Sea 3.5% was a bit grim looking. The Slipstream Stout was doable, but thin. The Slipstream 7G was a belter. Hop hit, fade to tropical fruits, pineapple. Then some orange, bitter coming at you until the end. Standout beer. Hid the 7% well.

The  Brouhaha Kaiju Collab was also very good. They've taken a big chance there. Hoppy Saison. A lot to go wrong. Excellent. I feel they got it spot on. The bitterness is certainly there. But, kept just far enough away at arm's length.

Townsville Brewing Co

The Townsville Brewing Co is in a prime, High St location. You could tell that a bit in the “safeness” of some of their core range. Light lager, premium lager, Mexican style lager, etc. The kit is behind glass in a corner of the very, very large bar. The BarKid was enthusiastic, but a little misinformed. He kept pushing the Red Ale as a Porter. It wasn't. All in all, I enjoyed it in there. It's classic BrewPub territory. But, some good 'uns in the range & a pleasant atmos.

Townsville Brewing Co Premium Light Bitter 3%
Townsville Brewing Co Premium Bitter 5%
Townsville Brewing Co Bandito Loco 5%
Townsville Brewing Co Tropical Coast Pale Ale 4.9%
Townsville Brewing Co Power 100 Pale Ale 4.8%
Townsville Brewing Co Digger's Golden Ale 4.8%
Townsville Brewing Co Ned's Red Ale 4.4%
Townsville Brewing Co Flanagan's Dry Irish Stout 4.4%

The Power 100 was disappointing. The Bitter, Light Bitter & Bandito pleasant enough, but uninspiring. However. The Tropical Coast Pale Ale was superb. Lovely pineapple & mango throughout. And the bitterness to keep you honest. The Stout was an eye opener as well. Not oversweet. Great espresso running through it.

BottleJob Tidy Up

Tickers dream is Endeavour. They produce 'the same” beer year in, year out. But, label it “by harvest”.

Endeavour, Growers Golden Ale 2016 Harvest from a bottle at 4.5%.
Endeavour Reserve Amber Ale 2016 Harvest from a bottle at 5.2%.
Cricketers Arms, Keeper's Lager from a bottle at 4.6%.
Cricketers Arms Scorcher Summer Ale from a bottle at 4.6%.

562/1187