WAtoday.com.au received this letter from reader Ian Macrae, and felt compelled to publish it in full.
It is with a heavy heart that I recount the news this week that our beloved Swan Lager is to be no more.
The first stake in the heart was the sale across the ditch to a foreign entity, followed by a further attack by a larger foreign power. Now, that symbol unique to this beautiful state, is to be no more.
When I first rolled down my school socks at the end of my final matriculation exams in the early 70s and ordered my first "draught" at the fine Causeway Pub establishment, now occupied by the East Perth Watch House, I would never have dreamt it. Advertisement
I did my bit for the G'Day WA campaign. Hard earned dollars from summer holiday jobs were poured into the coffers of the Late Des Tippet, proud publican of the Scarborough Pub. Such devotion saw the rise of the White Sands - the sparkling new abode that would celebrate the Sunday Session with a passion not seen in our previously mundane suburban lives.
The sight of the misty cold taps dripping in anticipation as jug after jug of liquid gold celebrated its arrival with a frothy head that remained kissed to that 70s moustache as you made your way back to your table. If you had two jugs and it was 7.25pm you beat closing time by five minutes and became a legend amongst friends (until Sunday at 4.30pm when you lined to stake claim to "that table", just one step from the dance floor and uninterrupted within eye's reach of the band, Fatty Lumkin).
Memories, like sands through the hour glass.
You will develop your own treasures in your time as you grace this playing field, but will you ever witness the death of such a lifelong companion as The Black Duck? Somehow I don't think the passing of some obscure Brewery in Mexico or Korea would be quite the same as the untimely death of this family friend.
As the hurt subsides into a scab of life, my attention will turn to those who treated our Grandfather Lager with the disdain of the popularist consumer enthralled by their choice of "on-trend" beers.
Enjoy your Twitterati beers, but remember, you have that privileged because of those who fought before you. As you threw away your heritage onto the stubby pile of life, were you understanding of the bankruptcy of memory and pride you were embarking upon?
We won the battle for the Sunday Arvo Session, we lowered the drinking age to 18 because we could die in Vietnam at that age. We established and supported the financial wealth of the remaining icons such as the Paddington and The Oxford.
We attended the funerals of lost family such as Steve's Hotel, The Shents, The Swannie, The Highway, The Floreat, The Herdies, The Victoria, The City (my God, it is now a European beer hall).
These places of worship were more than licensed premises; they were the lounges of desire, vestibules of passion and romance, icons of a generation of loyal trailblazers who held friendship first and foremost with loyalty.
Yes, as you sip on your foreign muck, whose name changes as rapidly as a Justin Bieber's haircut, remember this as you recount your story to your grandchildren when, as they are fossicking in the backyard and unearth one of great-grandad's king browns under the shed floor, it was you who killed this grand old friend (I can see his eyes as he looks up towards you, mouth aghast..... "it was YOU!").
Somehow "I'll have a Lady Gaga pure blonde, wheat and barley extract coldy" doesn't quite cut the cultural teeth of a nation that grew up in bare feet and proudly celebrated the chant of "it's time gentleman" with the ritual of the 6 o'clock swill.
Now, this great brown land, the wild west frontier, doesn't have a beer.
Go and buy one of the remaining slabs of our proud heritage.
Here's to you Des, "a round on the house", Swan Draught for everyone.
Wot? It's just another cat's piss label with a swan on it. Idiot. Just drink VB from now on.
stinkbug omosessuale Frank Castle is a liar and a criminal. He will often deliberately take people out of context and use straw man arguments. Frank finally and unintentionally gives it up and admits he got where he is, primarily via dumb luck! See here Property will be 50-70% off by 2016.
You would love it then. Something to indulge in when you're not partaking in golden shower fests with your fat girlfriend.
stinkbug omosessuale Frank Castle is a liar and a criminal. He will often deliberately take people out of context and use straw man arguments. Frank finally and unintentionally gives it up and admits he got where he is, primarily via dumb luck! See here Property will be 50-70% off by 2016.
This is devastating news for WA - deepest sympathies BP
VB isn't the same anymore Moops i can't drink it without having a head spasm after each swig. I must be turning into a girl.
Have a look at these two kids - the blonde guy looks like he is watching his powerball numbers come up in real time. Ah to be young again
Yeah that's an awesome age, being just out of school. How the fuck do those people skol like that?
I've decided I think cats piss beers are preferable for binge drinking, all those fancy beers are quite thick and bloating.
XXXX Gold is the most popular beer in OZ now, if you think VB is bad, try one of those. I don't get it.
stinkbug omosessuale Frank Castle is a liar and a criminal. He will often deliberately take people out of context and use straw man arguments. Frank finally and unintentionally gives it up and admits he got where he is, primarily via dumb luck! See here Property will be 50-70% off by 2016.
swan,emu,VB,XXXX - they are the beers you drink when you are too fucking poor or not old enough to know better.
with all the quality micro brewers in WA i'm surpised swan lasted this long. emu is the standard crap beer here, i wouldn't even know if the local bottle O stocked the others.
I am the love child of Tony Abbott and Pauline Hanson
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