If the response on social media to a truck spilling a load of beer is any guide, trouble could be brewing in Western Australia's bustling boutique beer industry.
The trend towards crafty ales and hand-crafted lagers is well established here in the west ... where Sail n Anchor, Feral Brewing and Little Creatures have ruled the recent roost. In fact we led the boutique charge that's now spread east.
![The Emu Export spillage that caused Facebook users to weep.](/web/20160628020326im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/7/m/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gprb0j.png/1466804584619.jpg)
But the sight of a colourful old icon, splattered in tatters on a Perth street, had 2000 people frothing on Facebook and left us wondering if we're leading a trend back to the simple brew.
I've never seen such reverence for Emu Export from so many beer lovers after the chook calamity was posted on Facebook. Perhaps the new generation aren't as hip as they think.
![Emu Brewery, on the corner of Spring Street and Mounts Bay Road (circa 1963).](/web/20160628020326im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/0/f/j/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gprb0j.png/1466804584619.jpg)
The photo of hundreds of Emu Export cans strewn on a Perth road had Gen Ys and co crying tragedy, the post was shared 600 times, garnering 2400 likes and 3000 comments despairing the wasted death of so much "red lead".
I had no idea anyone under 30 even knew what Emu Export was. Originally owned by Emu Brewery in 1908 before the Swan Brewery bought it in 1927, Export was produced in WA until 2013 but left our drinking scene decades ago.
The general feeling towards Export among my generation of beer drinkers was "don't go near it"; despite the beer being front and centre as a major sponsor of the WAFL and other sports during the 1980s.
![Emu was a huge sponsor of footy in WA.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160628020326im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/0/f/2/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1466735727994.png)
The Emu Export Cup was a summer football competition in WA.
WAtoday editor and keen guzzler Simon White recalls being offered a sip of Export as strapping 10-year-old by his father after finally sinking a winning putt (albeit at mini-golf).
"I took a sip and thought, 'geez, is this what beer tastes like'?" he recalls. He hasn't drunk an Export since.
I was even younger when I first met Export, but that was tempered with lemonade... and there's no such thing as a bad shandy. Emu was the only beer in my Nonno's fridge, so if I wanted a cheeky drink over Sunday lunch as a young teen, it had to be Export.
I next encountered the colourful can while conducting a blind beer tasting for The Sunday Times in 2013. Up against a bevy of luxury drops that ranged from $10 a bottle to $100 (Crown Ambassador anyone?), the $5 blue-collar Export won the day, probably because we tasted it last and it cleansed our soul like sunshine on a wild winter day.
These days of course, the iconic WA beer is brewed in South Australia under the Lion Nathan banner but the taste and style is still the same - crisp, refreshing, slightly-malty, with a crystal golden head that tastes good warm and great bloody cold.
My twin daughters, on the cusp of one, are already enamoured with the Export can, eyeing its distinguished bright red branding like treasure whenever I've ripped one open to cleanse the palate with its fresh finish.
But just as beer lovers yearn for the next hop-filled, heady blend to hit the market with a name you might confuse for a WWF wrestler, just as many are drinking Emu - enjoying its simple recipe of malt, hops, yeast, water and $5 price tag (or $40-45 for a block).
While Lion Nathan couldn't provide us with sales figures for Emu Export in time for publication, talking to friends and searching online has convinced us the beer has a cult following here in the west.
The WA Facebook page Bring Back The Bush Chooks has 3000 members, while the The Cake Factory in Perth is pumping out Emu Export cakes for special occasions (that's 18th and 21st birthdays mind you, not 50ths).
![An Emu Export cake, made by The Cake Factory.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160628020326im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/0/h/9/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1466735995328.png)
An Emu Export cake for an 18th birthday party from the The Cake Factory.
Another West Aussie took devotion to the 'bush chook' to an undavisable new level in April.
Police nabbed him in Broome with blocks of Emu Export buckled up in his car.. while the kids were unrestrained.
![A Broome was charged in April for buckling up his Emu beer instead of the kids.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160628020326im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/0/f/b/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1466735920090.png)
A Broome man was charged for buckling up his Export instead of the kids.
In February, born-and-bred West Aussie Grant Wright showed how much Export meant to him when he flew a block of 30 cans to his adopted home in Melbourne after a trip to Perth.
"It was all we drank back in my young days so there's certainly a bit of sentimental attachment", he explained.
"And after trying it again after so many years, it's still a great tasting refreshing beer."
![Grant Wright showed us in February how much Export meant to him.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160628020326im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/0/f/9/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1466735869058.png)
Grant Wright with his block of Export on its way back to Melbourne.
Beer lovers have found plenty of other uses for Emu Export over the course of its history, from building bridges to Christmas trees to nursing injuries.
And it's likely WA will never house a more beautiful brewery than the art deco Emu Brewery in the CBD where Export was brewed until the late 1970s.
Despite much lobbying from interested parties, the complex fell into disrepair and was eventually demolished in 1991 after then Heritage minister Jim McGinty refused to ensure its preservation.
![Emu Export - also good for tight hamstrings.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160628020326im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/0/f/a/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1466735815738.png)
Emu Export - also good for tight hamstrings.
While we always lament the loss of iconic brands, it's heartening to see the younger generation embrace Export and ensure Emu is alive and kicking in the west.
Just keep the price tag at $5 a can please.
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