Author Archives: gem

About gem

Born in London, lived in the Philippines, current Melbourne-based writer.

what else have I been obsessing over

I do have a shitload of beer. I’m sad that Moon Dog stopped their Moon Doggies subscription box, but understand that they need to do other things.

Because I do still struggle to finish books, and write poetry (I write most when I’m reading heaps), I turned to the arms of another for comfort.

The viola da gamba.

Here’s some of the music I’ve been learning. I try to learn all tenor parts, and if the range suits, some of the treble and bass parts too.

Pay attention to the Byrd and Lawes consorts, they are really fucking hard. But goddamn, what amazing music. Finally, now when I practise, I feel alive, and good-tired.

The first half is solo stuff, but I don’t practise that stuff as much as I do the consorts because it’s pretty rad being in tune enough to sound like you’re part of the recording. Highly recommend for happy hormone production.

Oh yeah, maybe I thought it was assumed but those of you who don’t know, I was trained as a (Western) classical music nerd before writing, which I came to through literary, cultural, and French language studies. How I got into beer or food writing is still beyond me, especially given I didn’t actually start eating that long ago, given my age (I’d say about a decade ago?). Because I no longer play flute due to overuse injury sustained whilst at a conservatory, I decided to play my ‘less serious’ (ie. I sounded absolutely shithouse on it) second instrument whose repertoire is most plentiful from 1750 and before (anything before 1750 is considered ‘early’ for the purposes of Western high art music – there’s a reason, but I don’t want to bore you to death with even a reductive explanation).

Anyway, I’m not just glad but lucky to have access to the knowledge of Western music. It’s an amazing artform, and will always be a massive part of who I am, even when mental health issues conspire to screw me over. There will always be my beloved music.

the first of many 2020 lockdown beer reviews

beer: Tallboy and Moose (Preston, Melbourne, AUS) ‘Silk Road Sunrise’ Belgian pale ale with sumac and pomegranate molasses

music: Yaeji EP2 (I often listen to music as I work)

As promised at the time, here is the first of 4-8 planned weekly reviews of beers!

In one of my trusty unlined Field Notes notebooks, I’ve used the beer stamp template for my review. Here’s what it looks like without details filled in:

As you can see, I didn’t stamp it very well, which is why I’ve included a shot of the actual stamp itself.

homemade beer stamp by a vendor on Etsy eons ago

Now for my 33 Books ’33 Bottles of Beer’ tasting journal. Again, blank page so you know what it looks like when not yet filled in:

33 Bottles of Beer tasting journal

I can’t really post much about the beer because I originally posted my notes for my Patreons, but can tell you that you couldn’t really taste the alcohol, and despite the pomegranate molasses (which is very sweet, sour and sticky!), it’s actually quite a savoury beer. It’s such a treat to have Tallboy and Moose as a hyperlocal brewery. They make so much good beer and I often have their wares in my fridge.

How cool is the ‘wheel’ on the 33 Books journal?!

Links to things of interest – where I get the above journal – https://www.33books.com/collections/beer/products/33-beers 

The song that came on when I literally started tasting the beer! Yaeji’s ‘Drink I’m Sippin On’ from EP 2 Spotify, YouTube & her website link to the EP.

Lastly, IG pics! I’m really sorry I don’t have details for the stamp. I bought it ages ago and ECT has nixed memories of where it’s even available. 

For the pen nerds: I use a Kaweco Sport, with J. B. Herbin ‘thoughtful violet’ ink (that’s the translation? I can’t type diacriticals hence the translation). I LOVE the ink colour, and the pen! What do you all think?

Especially for those in Naarm, stay safe, well, and sane, but hope you are all coping okay with pandemic life. Till next review!

If you’d like to subscribe to my Patreon, which I would so dearly love, please visit https://patreon.com/eatdrinkstagger and sign up! Tiers start from $5 AUD, and even though one person voted that they’d be happy to pay for every post, I don’t generally charge for every single one. If you want to see the makeup looks I do inspired by beer can art, then check out my Instagram.