Are Aussies Going Soft?

IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING, the Aussie stereotype of a beer swilling hard man – willing to speak his mind and shag the nearest sheila at the drop of a hat - is being challenged and by the looks of things gradually eroded. The hard drinking image of the average Australian is coming under fire as drinks companies switch to lower alcoholic brews in response to consumer demand down under.

After 113 years, the country’s biggest selling beer, Victoria Bitter, or VB, is to be produced in a mid-strength version to keep pace with the country’s fast-changing beer tastes. Fosters has also decided to follow suit and produce the infamous beer in a weaker yellow-label version with only 3.5 percent strength, down from 5 percent.

I know all things evolve and adapt eventually, but I rather liked the Aussies just as they are to be honest, I’m not sure I like this trend towards ‘weaker’ and ’softer’.

So what is driving this rush to sobriety and self control for Aussies then?

Well, it seems the rise of cafe/boutique drinking outlets and microbreweries is to blame. That, and the greater choice available to consumers in recent years. No longer is the average Aussie restricted to a choice of two or three beer brands. Now there are literally hundreds of options to choose from, and of course the accompanying ‘image’ (as promoted by brand marketing types) is rapidly growing in importance to Australians. There is also the emergence of the wine industry which has taken its toll on the beer drinking trends too.

It’s going to be strange seeing the culture change over time though, especially as some traditions just don’t lie down and go away without a fight. There is an old Australian addage I read somewhere which warns “Never trust a man who doesn’t drink”, so I guess the typical Aussie image is about to come under serious pressure. Then again, the growing popularity of international beers and brands can’t be ignored (2007 International Beer Grand Champion was a German brewery). And what exactly will this slide towards sobreity do for their sex lives, given that beer is the probably the best catalyst for sex ever invented?  

Still – if you need to know the rules of drinking in Australia, then look no further than this wonderful summary (a.k.a. Communication through glassware).

And of couse given that Australia is one of those places with lots of ways to die (If the sharks don’t get you, the spiders will, or the jellyfish or the crocs or maybe the snakes or hell even the outback itself… well anyway, you get the idea!) the resulting character and stereotype of the average Aussie made perfect sense to me -hard, forthright, lunatic and party loving animals.

Every Aussie I’ve ever known or worked with has more or less conformed to this view of life, male or female. I really hate to think of Australia as becoming yet another western democracy bland outpost for conformists and politically correct automotons…. and I know that’s a big leap to make from shifting to lower alcoholic beers, but it’s a slippery slope folks… a slippery slope.

Hmm… maybe this is also a time for the psychologists and shrinks to start putting their prices up too, to deal with the aftermath of going ’soft’. Damn – a whole new industry born overnight since Aussies will no longer be talking to their mates in the pub.. who the hell will they talk to if not a shrink?

The worst of it is that should the endearing image of the beer swilling, macho male die out… what will we do then for classic Aussie humour?

My favourite in this category is the classic Australian chat up line as follows:-

Astralian Male to Astralian Female: G’Day Sheila. D’ya fancy a fuck?

Astralian Female: I didn’t, but I do now you smooth talkin’ bastard!