A local beer drinker has teed off at the entire craft beer industry and claimed that Furphy is nothing more than a “tarted up” version of Geelong Bitter. Samuel Jones made the claim in a rambling Facebook post that has since been deleted, and also referred to the current craft beer movement as a “bastardisation of the previously no-nonsense drinking culture that was handed to us by our forefathers”.

Furphy seems to have taken Victoria by storm, positioned as a beer made by Victorians, from Victorian ingredients, and for Victorians to drink. It even uses the famous “Big V” on its label, just in case we weren’t able to identify its full Victorianess.

In the early days of Furphy production, some reports actually suggested that the brewers were struggling to keep up with demand, as more traditional drinkers saw it as a more accessible way to dip their toe into the burgeoning craft beer market. But, according to Jones, this is all garbage. Speaking exclusively to The Watsonia Bugle to further clarify his position, he said, “Look me in the eye and tell me it doesn’t taste like a regular Carlton Draught or Victoria Bitter. And they brew it all down in Geelong. So it’s probably just that old Geelong Bitter drop they used to try and sell down that way. Don’t let the fancier label and cool back story fool you.”

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