Yep it's an old joke, and one I like, but do you know the real reason behind the name? No? I didn't think so! You're not that well educated

. The real reason for the Ex's is to denote the strength of the beer. It's a throwback to jolly old England apparently (so who can't spell beer now huh?!

) The forerunner to Fourex the beer was XXX Sparkling Ale. The Ex's are meaningless with regards to beer strength these days, as the name hasn't been changed to suit any of the lower strength beers brought out by the same company, except to add the word 'Gold' to the modern mid strength as well as earlier variants. XXXX, Fourex or Barbed Wire, what ever you choose to call it, it's one of Australia's best
commercial beers.
Mick