SP Lager; Who serves it?

Okay, final SP post, and I still have not had anybody from the brewery contact me to say that the pallet of SP lager is on its way.  I'm still waiting...

Back to why I came here... who serves SP Lager?  Good question, we know who drinks it and we know how to buy it and we also know that it is available in Australia.  Now say this like you have a plum in your mouth; "it is an imported lager and carries the price tag not dissimilar to other fine lagers from around the globe".  I reckon' it even tastes worthy of competing with other fine lagers from around the globe.  Hey I like it but we all knew that!

My experience tells me that serving SP lager is almost as much fun as drinking SP lager, but serving and drinking SP would be some kind of retail nirvana, and I have experienced that as well.  And it was an historic moment in time, my wantoks still talk about that afternoon when I was in charge of the esky, and we had fun handing out the SP and we had fun drinking the SP.  Good times... good times.

Here's Albert, he's working hard at the Rapopo Plantation Resort over on East New Britain, it is interesting to note that there ain't a huge supply of SP behind Albert in the SP fridge.  That's because Albert and the team at Rapopo place all the day's supply of SP into a big esky on ice, because SP is best served cold, and ice is the best way to get beer to perfection.  Albert, we salute you.

Even birds at the Windjammer Hotel, Wewak, East Sepik enjoy SP and here we see a Cockatoo standing at the end of this iconic bar found in this iconic establishment.  The Windjammer is a must visit location to any trip to Wewak, and it has this bleedin' great big timber bar carved into a crocodile, known amongst locals as the puk-puk bar.  The cockatoos here would have you believe that the local name is a misnomer and that it should be called the pek-pek bar.  And drinker beware, do not get your fingers to close to their beaks!

Here is another large beak attached to another Cockatoo.

On a serious note, thanks to global warming, bars like the puk-puk bar in Wewak and many others like it in tropical locations around the Pacific are under threat by rising sea levels.  If you and your friends still want to experience places like the Windjammer, not just now, but into the future, your kids future, then write to your local Member of Parliament and let them know of the plight of these drinking holes, that these places of refuge, where one can slake one's thirst are in danger of sliding back into the ocean, back into the primordial swamp from whence they came.

I digress, here are two kekeni animase serving patrons at the delightful Japanese restaurant called Daikoku in Port Moresby.

and just take a look at what it says on the serving tray... "good times, great mates... our beer".  Just about sums it up.  Now Daikoku is a fantastic venue for drinking and of course, serving SP.  Great food, great service despite some of the kekeni animase being a little on the quiet side (speak up ladies, we don't bite) and great atmoshpere (I wonder if they still play that soaring soundtrack that reminded me of Gary Moore and did I really type atmoshpere????).  Daikoku was great for business important type lunches and dinners but also for party time with "great mates".  And the Cheesy Lobster?  Exquisite!

Now, if you don't believe me that serving SP can be almost as much fun as drinking SP, then check out these two ladies over in Morobe Province serving SP from the tap at the Sportsman's Bar at the Lae International Hotel.  Called the "Lae Inter" by all and sundry, the Inter can claim it's international status because it has five clocks hanging on the wall behind reception, all showing different time zones and not always working.  But there was nothing "international" about their beers, it was SP, SP, SP or even more SP.  Like the Rapopo Plantation, the Lae Inter also had a stash of stubbies in an esky full of ice.  Refreshing?  Hell yeah, and with great smiles and great service, why wouldn't you want to drink until closing?  Glug glug glug.

And finally, I leave you with the most Australian looking pub interior you will see north of Saibai Island, the Bluff Inn, found at 17-mile, in the Central Province on the road to Sogeri.  Found at the base of the mighty snake road, the Bluff Inn found ex-pats and Nationals drinking side by side, in a very very very dark interior with walls lined with beer coasters from around the globe and outside, the biggest beer garden ever!  What a great venue, for drivers to pull over after the arduous task of getting down the hill and to stop and wet their whistle.  For some time, it was also a good spot for raskols to stop ex-pats and have a chat about finances.  But not in the years I lived in Moresby.  The Bluff Inn, along the banks of the Laloki River, home of some tasty burgers and home to some fine cold beer (Author's note, in 2006, the Bluff Inn didn't realise that ex-pats weren't coming because the beer was warm.  When they started to keep the fridges on, the dollars started to roll their way).