BEING someone who lives near the beach, I was impressed by Carlton Dry's promos associated with the world surfing tour - especially their slogan ' Enjoy The frothies'.
So I thought why not?
I know Carlton Dry has been out in the market for a while now and you may think, ''hell Bob, that's not very adventurous'' but it doesn't hurt to venture back to the mainstream and find out what's going on.
After all, you can't always get a craft beer at big events or small, remote watering holes can you?
Dry beers were all the rage when they first came out and then were surpassed by 'blondes', 'low carbs', 'fusion' and 'summer' beers.
So why not go back and see if anything has been learnt by the big boys of beer.
Carlton Dry is a clean, crisp drop, golden and clean in appearance with a tight head and a slight hop nose.
It's a cleansing and refreshing ale, a little smoother than its main rival and doesn't have quite the bitter bite of the other from Lion Nathan.
This doesn't sit heavily in the gut and at 4.5 per cent is full strength.
For that reason, it's an extremely sessionable beer, as you might expect.
I class it as a fun beer - easy to drink, you can have quite a few without feeling bloated, it quenches a thirst and is ideal for parties, sports events and a large outdoor gatherings where drinkers aren't all that discerning.
I told by sources much younger than myself that it's ''a good beer'' so Carlton United are making inroads with their target market.
On a serious note, this is definitely better than many of the draughts but it doesn't have the character or charm of your craft beers - nor does it pretend to do so. Also I prefer this to the Drty lime infused (as I'm not a fan of 'flavoured' beers).
As someone who doesn't buy much mainstream beer - from the big brewers - I must admit I was pleasantly surprised and did, in fact, enjoy the frothies (dudes).
MY TIP
Pack the esky with ice and get these babies nice and cold. At around $14 per six pack, why complain?