Hamish Rosser is living the dream – Rock and roller by night, beer brewer by day. Rosser, the drummer for The Vines, is currently overseeing the rapid growth of his Skinny Blonde, a low-carbohydrate beer he brewed with two mates, as well as fitting in rehearsals for his band by night.

The beer’s growing profile spiked recently when its label – a golden-haired beach bunny whose bikini disappears as the beer is drunk – attracted criticism from some. Melinda Tankard Reist of Women’s Forum Australia, for instance, condemned the packaging as “another blatant example of the alcohol industry objectifying women to move product”.

For his part, Rosser is nonplussed by the controversy and instead says the idea was to create a “cheeky” image for the beer, to draw on Australian beach culture. “It wasn’t our intention to really create a scandal,” he says. “I’m actually surprised a lot of other people don’t do it, just have a really iconic image of a girl on a beer label, I thought it was pretty obvious,” he laughs.

Clearly an aficionado of all things beer, Rosser has long been a keen home-brewer and drew on both his studies as a chemical engineer and his love of the amber fluid to create Skinny Blonde. Initially aiming for the easy-drinking, dry taste of Japanese beers like Asahi, the trio eventually settled on an end product that also drew on European influences. The process was not unlike music, Rosser explains, as the friends sought to replicate their references points, but ended up with something unique that was distinctly theirs.

Having tasted the sweet nectar of beer-brewing success with the people’s choice award at a Sydney beer show last year (“That was our first beer event as well, so it’s 1-from-1 for us!”), Rosser and friends have set up distribution for the beer. They are now looking to get it into more independent bottle shops and bars. It is currently available in Kings Cross haunts such as Melt, World and Candy’s Apartment and can be found on tap at some of Rosser’s locals, like the Beach Road Hotel and The Cricketer’s Arms. The Cricketer’s, Rosser says, is also a favourite of music producer Matt Lovell, who also has his own beer, Lovell’s Lager.

There have been setbacks along the way. The attention-grabbing label took months to get right and the initial brewing process turned dangerous when the trio’s early batches became over-gassed and exploded, apparently a misfire that every home brewer has come to know. But Rosser is satisfied the trio, who have named themselves – œThe Brothers Ink’, pulled off their “mission” of making a low-carb variety with a real beer flavour – two goals that are often hard to reconcile in the brewing game.

Making and distributing Skinny Blonde is currently a full-time concern. With plans to add more beers to the range, Rosser may well have to face a choice between making beers and pounding skins at some point in the future, a decision he is not looking forward to. “I’d hate to give up rock – œn’ roll,” he sighs “I just don’t know if I could do that.”

For now, he is happy juggling both passions and will be shortly be back on the road as touring drummer for Infusion. The Vines are also meeting regularly now and working on new material, with a couple of songs already at rough demo stage. While the band playing any shows in 2009 is an unlikely prospect, they hope to be back in the studio by year’s end, with a return to the live arena on the cards early next year.

In the meanwhile, Rosser is enjoying plenty of Australian music. Art vs Science, Children Collide, Mammal and Karnivool (“I’m a bit of metal head deep inside”) rank as some of his recent favourites, all enjoyed with a refreshing dry beer of course. Any last words? “Go FasterLouder!” I’ll drink to that.