The Silver Bullet

I came across this beer for the first time back in 1999, after I had been to the US for my initial trip. On the flight over, I met a Melbourne lady who I was seated next to. It was a loooonnnngggg flight from Melbourne to LA via Auckland (~14hrs), so we had drinks and chatted the whole way. We then had a drink in the airport bar at LA prior to parting ways. We agreed to meet up when I got back to Oz in 6 weeks, as she was only having a brief visit.

My first trip to the good old US of A will be blogged about elsewhere, so let's skip to when I was back in Melbourne. The lady I met was kind enough to let me stay with her for a couple of nights - one night I went out with her and her friends to a wine bar in the CBD. To say I was out of place was one of the most massive understatements of all time. These people were hip, stylish, well-dressed. Me, well I have always been a bit of a bum, but at this time - 1999 - I was at the height of my bummish powers, let's just say that. 

However I did survive the night, and to thank this lady for her hospitality (name evades me), I took her to a fine dining restaurant - Donovans in St. Kilda. Honestly I remember nothing about the food or even the company - all I remember is when I was scanning the drinks menu for something, the waiter suggested I try what he referred to as the silver bullet. I hadn't really tried Japanese beer at this point, so I thought I'd give it a go. Here's what one looks like below:

It's a large, 650ml can, which I presume is aluminium like others, but this one is solid - cannot be crushed. So it feels weighty in the hand, is lovely when ice cold, and delicious either straight from the can or poured into a tall glass. I could say trying it was the moment a love affair was born, but it wasn't quite like that. Although I do, even now, occasionally hanker for one, and a couple of times per year will grab one when I'm at a Dan Murphy's or similar large outlet (small ones won't stock it). It's a cracking beer, with a great bite and flavour, and very easy to drink. Also, from my hazy memory of that first night in St Kilda, easy to get drunk on haha!