Fun with drunk girls

Beer-soaked adventures abound on
suds-loving blogger’s site

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Laura Lloyd

Age: 21

Occupation: Writer/student/beer-guzzling enthusiast

Bio: Back in late 2008, this perky, fun-lovin’ NDG chick was hanging with her close friends Stefanie Anderson and Kristina Mahler prior to the three of them heading out of town to different destinations on vacation. “We were thinking this is going to be so cool, all the different beers we’ll be able to try in these countries.” Creaming with excitement over the possibilities, the three friends decided right then and there that they would create a blog devoted to their beer drinking experiences, a blog, tastybrews.blogspot.com, which has since become surprisingly popular and is now linked up with Vice magazine’s website. When not out boozing or studying geography and environmental issues at Concordia, Lady Lloyd is whacking her spankin’ new Jazzmaster guitar around in her band No Joy, whose debut seven-inch single “No Summer” b/w “No Joy” will be coming out later this month on the Brooklyn-based Mexican Summer label.

So what’s the deal with Tasty Brews, is it just three chicks going out drinking beer and writing about it? “Pretty much, yeah. We’re all pretty close so we hang out together several times a week anyway, and that usually involves beer. But we do go out on missions looking for new beers to review, drinking them and seeing what happens from there. Our entries are generally humorous, you know.”

Isn’t it tricky finding new things to write about beer all the time? “Not really, because the blog isn’t just about taste but the overall experience we have with beer. We’ll write about, say, a case of 24 Bud Lights we got really cheap at Super C, and while it tasted like shit, we got wasted and this is what happened. We inform people about beer on a level our peers understand. Other beer blogs go on about the flavour of some brew hinting at, I dunno, chocolate with a hint of coriander or something, but with us it’s more like, here’s Labatt 50, it tastes like… I dunno, Laurentide, you might like it if you like this, it’s cheap, and... We do lots of bang for your buck stuff as well, advising people about sales at the grocery stores and stuff.”

Does she ever worry that working too hard on this project will result in her turning alkie? “We’re always offering ourselves excuses to drink by saying, ‘Oh, it’s for the blog,’ or, ‘I’m just trying to develop my palette.’ But while drinking beer is a serious habit, it’s not like it’s getting in the way of serious life or anything. I think we can all handle a few beers a few nights a week.”

Is she a happy, sad or mean drunk? “I’m a 100 per cent happy drunk.”

Has she put on any noticeable weight since starting up Tasty Brews? “Yeah, we’ve all developed a bit of a gut. But we love our beer guts, we’re not ashamed of them, they’re like our little buddies.”

Something Tasty Brews is doing May 23: Throwing a big ol’ beer guzzling wingding to celebrate their blog. Three bucks gets you in and all the beer you can drink courtesy of McAuslan Breweries. Check out tastybrews.blogspot.com for the “secret” location.

Last book read: After Dark, by Haruki Murakami.

Musical preferences: Springsteen, Mariah Carey, Barn Burner

Words of wisdom: “Party hard!”

Comments: dimwit@hdot.net