Articles by Graham Frizzell

My epiphany beer moment was...

In 2000 my family and I relocated our half-dozen St Bernards and the remainder of the menagerie from Rockingham to Tasmania. We travelled across the Nullarbor to Melbourne by car and on to the Apple Isle via The Spirit of Tasmania.

I developed a keen interest in beer during Year 12 of high school. I learned of dark beers and stout by way of Lion Nathan's website of all places, which even then was ahead of its time, while researching for a computer studies project. "Stout tastes like coffee and dark chocolate? Yes please!" I thought.

I was delighted to find Cooper's Best Extra Stout was available at the ship's high end dining room. With no ID, I thought my five-day car journey stubble was convincing enough, and after being packed in like a sardine for much of the way I needed a beer! Miraculously, I got the nod.

It was a baptism of fire. But delicious and moreish, and everything I hoped it would be. We lasted all of three months in Tassie, but this memory will last me a lifetime.

Three beers I'd recommend to turn someone onto craft beer...

• Blasta Where The Helles Burrswood – Because this is what real lager tastes like. No shortcuts, no additives, properly lagered and with an approachable, even familiar, flavour profile that is as close to easy lager drinking perfection as it gets.

• La Sirène Saison – Every wine list in the country ought to have at least three beers from La Sirène's range, but if they only have the room for one it's got to be the Alphington outfit's flagship Saison. This wonderful ale is proof beer can be as nuanced as wine, and it's equally as adept at matching with food.

• Nail Oatmeal Stout – If you are familiar with stout by way of Guinness this one's for you. I had it for the first time on draught at a pub in South Fremantle back in '05 and the experience was as revelatory as my Coopers stout initiation. It's smoother and more rounded, with a touch of caramel sweetness underneath its gentle roastiness.

The last beer I enjoyed was...

Jack's Abbey Red Tape – A super toffee-ish and deeply malt-complex amber lager from Boston, Massachusetts.

Three things that represent me besides beer...

If I'm not wearing a brewery's t-shirt I'll be wearing one from Anjunadeep (my favourite progressive house music label), my Freo Dockers polo, or one that says #veganfortheanimals / #veganfortheplanet.