The first episode airs on Wednesday, 21st September.
Is there anything closer to the heart of Australians than beer? More than any other ritual in the past 200 years, two men sharing a beer has defined the Australian character. It's brought us together in pubs and sporting grounds, lubricating our friendships, quenching our thirst and rewarding our labours at day's end. Your Shout is a the definitive history of beer in Australia, an untold story that both delights and surprises. As far back as Captain James Cook's first charting of the East Coast of Australia in 1770, beer has played a central role in our history. Cook actually brewed beer on that voyage to sterilize the ship's fetid drinking water. When rum-fuelled drunkenness swept the early European settlement, beer was officially promoted as a healthier alternative. While home brewing was the norm for many early settlers the brewing of beer soon became one of the major industries of Australia and established some of the nation's great family fortunes. Our first official brewer was John Boston whose concoction was made from Indian corn and with cape gooseberry leaves. Then, in 1824, Peter Degraves built the Cascade brewery in Tasmania, which has survived to the present day. Today Australian beer is loved and enjoyed around the world, and two great corporations dominate local industry with sales of $8 billion a year. Your Shout is the history documentary all Australia has been waiting to see.
