‘I’m gonna give the p*** up’: Why iconic Aussie beer drinker giving up the grog

An iconic Australian battler who went viral after boasting about drinking a VB long neck before 8am is giving up grog – and it’s not for his health.

Content warning: Strong language

An iconic Australian beer enthusiast who became an online sensation after drinking a VB long neck at “twenty-to-eight in the f***ing morning” has shocked his fans with a sombre message: “I’m gonna give the p*** up”.

Bluey’s reasoning? Not his health but soaring beer prices, attributed to the Australian government’s excise tax on alcohol.

An iconic Australian beer drinker, Bluey, who became an online sensation after drinking a VB long neck for breakfast. Picture:

“F***ing beer’s going up, mate,” the foul-mouthed but beloved battler declared this week.

“F***ing joke … the worker’s wages don’t go up (but) f***ing beer goes up – it f***ing stinks.”

The dejected worker aimed at the government with some choice words unsuitable for publication, claiming the working class voice had not been heard on the issue.

“It goes in one ear and out the other,” Bluey said.

Beer lovers will face another cost-of-living blow in February when the tax on alcohol increases once again.

Industry and consumers are putting renewed pressure on the federal government to freeze the excise and implement urgent reforms to ensure the viability of local manufacturing.

The beer tax will increase to over $60 per litre of pure alcohol due to the February 1 indexation, with Aussie warned to expect a pint to cost more than $15.

An iconic Australian beer drinker, Bluey, who became an online sensation after drinking a VB long neck for breakfast. Picture:

The excise on a pint will increase to about 90 cents, and the tax on a $55 carton of beer will exceed $20 plus GST.

The tax on a keg of beer increased by approximately $2 to $78 in August.

Bluey went viral in 2018, making international headlines, with the upload of a YouTube video in which he declared: “If you’re a f***ing fair dinkum full grown Aussie, this is what ya’d have for breakfast … a f***ing VB longneck at twenty to eight in the f***ing morning.”

Bluey later joined TikTok – as any good viral tradie does.

Since then, Bluey has even lent his viral stardom to a public health drive during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Get the f***ing vaccine into youse,” he said in one video.

“So I can go back to the pub and have a f***ing punt and a drink … you f***ing dog c***s.”

In another, the aging tradie said: “F*** this. Too many cases mate. Gotta get the f***ing VB into you, stay home, mask up, jab up, and we’ll all survive … you f***ing dogs.”

In response to the news he’s giving up his beloved VB, fans are praying it’s a bluff.

“Nothing is more unAustralian than a working-class king like Bluey unable to afford an ice-cold pint of Very Best,” one said.

“Bluey for Premier” campaigned one fan while another wrote: “Man of the people”.

Originally published as ‘I’m gonna give the p*** up’: Why iconic Aussie beer drinker giving up the grog