Bitter dispute goes full circle
WEAK-AS-WATER VB is but a bitter memory as the lid comes off the new full-strength brew.
Beer lovers will today drink to the back- tobasics VB, with CUB caving into canned-off drinkers after the Aussie icon’s alcohol content was lowered to 4.6 per cent in 2009 to save money on excise tax.
The VB is being bundled off trucks today and devotees will have their hard-earned thirst quenched after years of fighting to get the brew back to its original form.
‘‘This is a once-in-alifetime event where people will say, ‘I was there that day’,’’ comedian Mick Molloy said.
‘‘When we lost the 4.9 per cent it left a gaping hole in our landscape.’’
Thirsty types at Melbourne’s Waterside Hotel were among the first to taste- test the brew yesterday, with the majority raising their glass to the new VB.
‘‘ There’s definitely a difference with the taste,’’ Jake Psaila said.
‘‘I prefer the heavier beer. It’s crisper, which I find easier to drink. There’s a more refreshing texture to it, too.’’
CUB general manager of Victoria Bitter, Richard Oppy, said he was overwhelmed with the consumer reaction, saying one diehard mowed a massive ‘‘4.9%’’ into his grass.
VB is also going back to original packaging and r e s u m i n g t h e famous tagline ‘‘a hardearned thirst’’.