Loading ...Invert before opening
Posted by RaJ on August 30th, 2007
Recently I received an unexpected, “no particular reason” gift package from Radioactive Daughter R aka R2aD aka Annie (thanks!). She surprised me with a collection of strange and exotic beverages, which included this Australian export: a bottle of way-tasty Bundaberg Ginger Beer.
Notice anything unusual about the label, my feiends? Other than the picture of an Australian monkey rabbit icon, and the fact it’s written in English? Yes: this bottle comes with special instructions.
INVERT BOTTLE BEFORE OPENING.
Huh? At first this puzzled me; why would those crazy Aussies tell me to turn a bottle upside down before I open it? Then I remembered Australia = Down Under, and everything fell into place. So to speak. I needn’t invert the bottle, but if they don’t…
[click pic for a better view]
Consider this a toast to my (good humored) Australian feiends. And to everyone: hope you have a great, safe weekend; as for me, I’m taking a short break. Until sometime next week this is Radioactive Jam saying “so long” and! if you’re in the Dallas area, listen for “the screech of millions of mosquitoes” caught in a “once-in-a-lifetime” monster spider web.* 
* link courtesy Radioactive Daughter J aka JRaD aka Jen. Thanks Jen!
August 30th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
What else can I say but ‘cheers’!
Bottoms up
August 30th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Have a great vacation!
August 30th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Have a great long weekend, RaJ!
August 30th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
More on the giant web including a giant picture.
August 30th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
You’ve been at the Australian slang dictionary haven’t you RaJ? You wanna be careful with that thing.
For those who are wondering the real reason that it is suggested you invert the bottle: The last stage in fermentation of Bundaberg Ginger Beer (which is a very fine drop) is completed in the bottle. This means that a certain amount of sediment is likely to form, and settle at the bottom. Inverting the bottle means the sediment is mixed thoroughly with the contents and therefore not encountered as a sludge on your last swig.
It is considered a sign of pedigree with brewers here that there is some ‘cloudiness’ associated with their product. South Australian brewery Coopers even uses the phrase ‘cloudy but fine’ as an advertising hook.
And some trivia - Bundaberg is the centre of sugar and ginger growing in Australia - what better place to find ginger beer!
August 30th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
It is a delicious brew indeed. And as Anaglyph has produced many a fine bottle of homemade Ginger Beer himself, you are blessed with an expert’s comment above.
August 30th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
This makes me think of the Ankh-Morpork Watch’s ginger beer interrogation trick.
ETA: AND I just realized that the best-before date is my birthday. Am special!
Have a good weekend!
August 30th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Mcewen - ha! Perfect. Your greeting consistency bears fruit. Of the vine?
Luisa - thanks!
Braindead Betty - thanks. Hope Daisy (and Bean) make this a fine done-with-labor day for you and Jay.
Archshrk - can you say “Shelob?”
Anaglyph - careless? Moi? And truth be told I suspected some anti-settling purpose; thanks for clarifying.
Cissy Strutt - homemade? Awesome! Wait… that wasn’t part of his homunculus formula was it?
Velocibadgergirl - great, now I have to go reread a bunch of Pratchett books to find the ginger beer. But don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ll survive. Somehow.
And - glad you picked up on the special part. R2aD did that on purpose I am sure.
August 30th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
Cissy Strutt kindly neglects to mention the, ahem, rather less-than-fine bottles of ginger beer I’ve made. I think she will remember one dinner party where upon opening one of said bottles almost the entire contents were distributed in a spectacular fashion over the guests and kitchen.
Never underestimate the explosive potential of gases under pressure…
August 30th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I actually tried that beer when I went to Australia a few years back. Did you know they don’t drink Foster’s over there? Totally marketing scam. But they love BUD…and they have a weird fascination with those ice cream drum sticks. Just thought you would like to know.
happy holiday!
August 30th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Anaglyph - forgot to invert the bottle, eh?
Rhonda - at least we still have that bastion of all things Aussie: Outback Steakhouse. Or not.
August 31st, 2007 at 2:32 am
Ah! the dinner parties of our youth. Yes, Rev, I was feeling kindly, and employing selective recall. Kinda like a politician. No, wait, just the second bit is like a politician.
August 31st, 2007 at 10:02 am
few things make dinner parties more memorable than spewing liquids–better that it be the contents of a bottle than a person. i’m going to have to give that ginger beer a whirl sometime.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Hope you have a great long weekend.
August 31st, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Hilarious. I always enjoy subtle humor.
August 31st, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Love the slang. I read a quote the other day that said, “You say tomato, and I say you’re still an illiterate wanker!” I’m still laughing.
August 31st, 2007 at 6:21 pm
When I was in Australia, it took forever to get used to my hair standing on end and everything floating up into the sky if you weren’t careful.
Sometimes, when I was feeling particularly adventurous, I’d slap a kangaroo and race to the U.S. embassy where the toilets flowed in the right direction and the legal system was used to dealing with stupid American tourists.
In other news, whoo! I made the AardRoll.
August 31st, 2007 at 6:40 pm
*Whining* RaJ, Bloglandia is so BORING without a daily post from you.
*Whining some more* Still itching all over after clicking on Archshrk’s dang link.
Okay, I’ll stop now.
August 31st, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Cissy Strutt - politicians don’t admit to such things, do they?
And thanks for commenting.
Cadiz12 - I’ll be looking for more as well.
Dawn - so far so good.
Catherine - thanks!
Julie Wright - greetings! That was one of my favorite parts.
Pixelation - I’ll try to remember the US Embassy trick if I ever make it to that crazy upside-down place. And thanks for jumping in here; personally I think you’ll fit right in with this… exceptional crowd.
Luisa - I believe Rex (Toy Story) said it best: “Great. Now I have guilt!”
August 31st, 2007 at 11:27 pm
I am leaving on Monday from my home country here in Australia to fly over to the USA. But before I go, does anyone want me to ride my bike to the neighbors house, and find out which way the toilet flushes?
If not, then enjoy your bundaberg ginger beer. And as you savor every sip, remember the sweat and tears that when into squeezing every bit of monkey rabbit juice into each bottle for that extra ginger flavor.
September 1st, 2007 at 1:12 am
I don’t take no orders from no bottle of beer.
Did you man up, RAJ, and deliberately un-invert the bottle?
September 1st, 2007 at 5:52 am
So, if it really is “naturally brewed to be better” as they say, why on Earth would you still have to make the extra effort of inverting the bottle before opening it? That seems pretty UN-natural, if you ask me.
Down with false advertising!!
September 1st, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Wendy - do we want to know why you’d have to visit a neighbor to do that? As for flush rotation direction, I’d *really* like to know - and you might be able to determine these enroute - what happens at the equator? If you start an airborne, in-flight flush on one side, does the swirl change direction as you cross? If an airplane flies along the equator, does the water not swirl? Does it go back and forth?
]
Now I’m getting anxious, and thoughts of fresh-squeezed monkey sweat don’t help as much as you might expect.
[Have a safe and fantastic trip, with or without toilet flush experimentation
Elasticwaistbandlady - I did forget at first; does that count?
Nadia - I’m down with that.
September 3rd, 2007 at 4:15 am
Rhonda said: Did you know they don’t drink Foster’s over there?
Well, some people drink Fosters, but generally it’s reserved for sending overseas. We keep the best stuff for ourselves.
September 5th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
We have Ginger Beer up here too. I think Canada Dry makes it… Love the stuff.
Hope you had a great long weekend.
September 21st, 2007 at 4:32 am
[…] one of those) and a Secret Code Number!!!! How spiffingly Famous Five! Let’s have lashings of ginger beer! NOTE : We have mounted our security network to monitor every in-coming call , if we still find […]
October 8th, 2007 at 11:18 am
i live in australia, things dont fall up…
i got the bottle next to me
still got no idea what the f*** its meant to mean
on my one it also says “No Refills” at the bottom of the glass :S
October 8th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Now I’ve got “The Lumberjack Song” stuck in my head.
*sigh*
thanks for stopping in just the same.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:14 am
soo…
if you think the ginger beers good you should try our vegemite..
or our kangaroo
February 8th, 2010 at 5:28 am
Im sitting here, in Australia, quenching my thirst with a bundaberg sarsaparilla and noticed the same thing…..this is the first answer google showed me…Im not sure your logic is right though.
But yes try our vegemite and kangaroo (but marinate it first my favourite is tomato sauce basil an garlic, then cook it on the barbee quick so that you eat it blue. A delicous national symbol)