Drinking

In Kal, even beer brewing hipsters wear day-glo shirts with reflective strips.

Drinking is universal. But how you do it, why you do it, and what you do while doing it changes wherever you go. In 1920 Kalgoorlie had a population of 28,000 people, 36 pubs, and 14 breweries. In 2009, Kalgoorlie now has a population of 30,000, 32 pubs, and 0 breweries. It makes you wonder 1) how do more people fit in less pubs? and 2) where does the beer come from? I've discovered that the beer is now shipped in on road trains (trucks that 3-4 tractor trailers long) from large national breweries...thank you globalization. I met some gents though who are looking to return Kal to its brewing best. They're company is called Beaten Track Brewery and they were kind enough to give me some samples and show me around. It started has just a hobby for these mining dudes and then it turned into a hoppy obsession. With 8 beers in development from a Belgian Style Blonde to a Rye-Wheat Extravaganza this microbrewery would seem much more at home in Brooklyn than in Kalgoorlie.

My camera crew (background) bravely documents a fierce headlock.

What seemed much more appropriate for the popular reputation of the town as a wild west partyville was a booze-infused Australia Day celebration that I attended at a local pub. The afternoon's pasttime consisted of girls getting liquored up with Emu Bitter, lubed up with jelly, and trying to pin each other in a baby pool full of more jiggle than Bill Cosby's fridge.

Mining students studying up.
But drinking in this town is not always about getting redonkulous. In this working-man's town a beer or two afterwork is a daily ritual. A self respecting guy might even just order a midi (half pint) at the pub and then be on his way. Its as much about quenching the thirst, bonding, and letting the dust of the day settle.