Bitter and Twisted

Yesterday we headed to the edge of the Hunter Valley, which is famous for its wineries. But we didn't go there for the wine - we went there for the beer. Actually, what initially prompted the trip was the music. And in the end, we spent most of our time in the prison. :(

Kerry recently discovered Josh Pyke, an Aussie Indie/folk singer, and noticed he was going to be playing near Sydney - good excuse for a trip! Then she noticed he was playing at an international beer festival - even better!! Fast note about the beer situation here: 1) it's really expensive, and 2) there's not much variety - fun, quality microbrews haven't really taken off here. So we've been missing good beer a little bit.

So we headed off to the Bitter and Twisted International Boutique Beer Festival. And when we arrived, we were escorted to the prison. Yes, the festival was held in a maximum security prison that was closed ~8 years ago (but looked more like something from the 1800's, because barbed wire and cement were about the extent of the security measures - nonetheless, my escape-attempt was still pretty daring!).

So we tasted some really good beers for dirt cheap, listened to some good music, explored an old prison, saw a new part of the country, and even saw some more kangaroos on the drive. AND we saw more butt cracks than you can imagine - we're thinking we need to turn this into some kind of game at the next festival that we go to. What a good day!