About the author

Hello!  My name is Graham Frizzell: Melbourne-by-way-of-Perth-based beer and food writer.  As someone who is profoundly impaired of vision, my place on this strange, orbiting, waterlogged rock is one of both privilege and curse, but the 9-5 "life" did not shun me; I shunned it, thankyou very much!
  

Enthusiasm for craft beer is much more than a hobby for me.  It is indulgence of my remaining, fully functioning senses.  It is also a lifestyle, a way of life.  The aromas, the flavours, the textures are what elicit emotion, memory and a sense of being.

Being legally blind/profoundly impaired of vision: “So how much can you see?” is the first question that I am asked (usually before “hey – how ya going?”) by most.  There is no short answer, for my condition is the result of retinal scarring that occurred before my birth.  I suppose what I can tell you is that I have next to no peripheral vision (under 10°), I can see the full spectrum of colour, one eye is profoundly stronger than the other and I might be able to see a bus coming from 50-100 metres away (depth and distance perception is relatively good), however I cannot see the number without a visual aid in most cases.

I am blessed in that I have enough eyesight to take reasonably good photographs.  Does this mean that the (legally) “blind” title is somewhat dubious?  Does it make me a fraud?   Well the short answer to that is: you tell me.  Blunt sarcasm aside, the upshot of sharing my experience of craft beer (at least in the photographic sense) is that it might give people an insight into just what I can and cannot see.  Meanwhile, the main aim is to share the sensory experience that is craft beer.

I am also mad about food, coffee and other pursuits of taste; experiences that I am all too happy to share with everyone.

Life is too short for lamentation, just as it is far too short for crap beer and food.

Cheers!