XXXX (or Fourex) is a beer that’s brewed in Brisbane, Australia and is predominately consumed in the state of Queensland, but it’s also available in other parts of Australia if you look for it hard enough.
But if you’ve never come across the beer before, you probably wouldn’t think this place was a brewery if you saw this sign in the distance, travelling along Milton Road!
The XXXX Brewery
If you’re an outsider, most people would think Brisbane would be the centre of a massive porn industry! Is there such a thing as XXXX entertainment?
I mean, how could something be quadruple X rated? It therefore must be hard core!
There’s a joke that the term XXXX was invented because Queenslanders can’t spell the word ‘beer’. You know, one X for each letter (XXXX=BEER)!
Actually, the X’s were an an old measurement system used to determine beer quality. The more X’s, the better the beer.
So the name stuck and it’s been around for ages and is a regular staple of many Queenslanders. I like it best when you can drink it poured from a wooden keg at some pubs around Brisbane, for example, the historic Breakfast Creek Hotel, considered one of the best pubs in Brisbane. This means that the beer is served directly from a wooden cask or keg, which gives it a unique and fresh taste, just like wood barrels do to wine!
I’ve been on a brewery tour there and it’s an impressive production line to see where the beer is brewed to where it’s bottled and sent out to be consumed on a hot summer’s day.
It’s actually quite hypnotising to see the thousands of bottles move along the production line to be filled up with beer, capped and then packaged ready for the beer drinking market.
If you’re ever around in Brisbane, it’s worth having a look around just to appreciate the Australian appetite for beer! It’s not far from the Milton Road Nun.
But you probably shouldn’t peel off the beer label and take it home with you. If someone in customs sees it, they might think your bringing something into the country that isn’t what you bargained for!
Read more at my page on Australian Expressions and silly slang!
XXXX was one of the first beers I smashed back in sunny Blighty! 8 cans for £5 – those were the days!
Ha ha, yes, when binge drinking was socially acceptable… ;P