OK just goes to show how impressions can be wrong, also how things can have a different meaning from one country to another, what we would class as a dark beer is bitter, my beer of choice would be a draught bitter.
Bottle beers are more often drunk by the younger generation and lager is popular with them.
What's a dry beer? not a term I have come across before.
What would you class as dark beer ? Guinness or similar ? these come under the heading stout.
Well, I am a Irishman but have resided down here for over 40 years. Yes, Guinness is a dark beer here & we also have other dark beers which we call "dark beer" (we like to keep things simple) & sometimes "old". The Guinness here bears no resemblance to what you can get in the UK & I wouldn't use it in a pig bait. In the UK Guinness has that creamy taste & mouth feel, its good, down here its like having a mouth full of copper coins. I don't know why? The dark beer or "old" beers are typically drunk by the ancient skeletons at the end of the bar or the homeless & considered a food, "a steak in every bottle". I am not joking when I say I know & have known several blokes who exist entirely on dark beer & yoghurt (yoghurt must be very nutritious) for decades.
Our bitters will have the same colour as Fosters (I assume most In the UK must think we really drink this down here. ROTFL), but be much more drinkable & bitter.
Dry beers go one step further that the bitter & leave you with a dry mouth feel. These have been one of the most popular beers down here for at least a decade.
It must be remembered that we will all drink several different beers depending on the circumstance. If I've been working hard, its a very hot day & I deserve a "cleansing ale" then I'll go a bitter (or three). I might switch to a dry after a few if its going to turn into a "session". If it's not particularly hot or I don't need to "quench a thirst" then I might start & stay on a dry. As the weather cools autumn or spring I might get a taste for a draught (still the same colour as Fosters & still served cold) but three beers would be it for me on this. If I was really nostalgic then I might drink a dark beer, but only in winter & only two at the most (we also serve these cold). If Guinness could be exported to the same standard as the UK it might be a hit & even be consumed "warm" but it isn't & Aussies must go to the UK to experience this.
Every beer is served chilled here, even the dark. For "warmth" what is popular (particularly in all my deer hunting circles) is to add green ginger wine to the top of a bottle of bitter (after taking a couple of swigs first) This is not a new trendy fashion & has been going on for as long as I can remember. Some of my best memories is sitting around a big fire in a deer hunting camp & swapping tall tales & truths over bitter beer & green ginger wine. There must be a fire & it must be cold, to drink this, we do have some rules.
Cheers
Sharkey