Brewsvegas 2015 - Day 4 - Pint of Origin @ Newstead

Day 4 of Events and I had planned to go to Tippler's for their Ribs and New England Brewing special but it turns out that was so popular the place was packed and the ribs sold out so I stayed at Newstead which was my first stop anyway and just enjoyed a quiet meal and several brews!

Newstead were running an all day event with a tape take over of collaboration beers brewed between Newstead and 7 quality breweries with 6 from Australia and 1 from New Zealand with each region being represented by a brewery..

Moo Brew (TAS) - Huonwise was a hefeweizen which should be no surprise because Moo's normal Hef is pretty popular around Oz but this had some smoked wheat in it which gave a slight twist but still the familiar banana and clove flavours were the star and made for a solid Hef.

image by Newstead Brewing Co.

Ekim (NSW) - Crash & Brunette a Red IPL went down a treat and as with most of Ekim's beers it had a set of biggy hoppy balls but with just enough malt to balance it out.

Good George (NZ) - Semi Hard, a brewery that I personally hadn't heard much of but they made a tasty session IPA that sat at 4% abv and had a light fruitiness to it that was perfect for a hot and humid day.


Killer Sprocket (VIC) - Eureka Stoutade was a golden stout with coffee and cacao nibs which created a really interesting beer and obviously looking at it you expect it to be a pale or golden ale.

Big Shed (SA) - BruChoc was an attempt to bring peach, apricot and chocolate into a beer and it largely succeeded although it was not my favourite beer of the day but as I hadn't had anything from Big Shed before I will be trying some of their other beers.

Colonial (WA) - Indian Pacific Middle was a heavily malted, low abv (3.5%) english style ale with a good bunch of hops thrown in but really it was all about making a really malty beer (I got a shit load of toffee from it) that was low in alcohol and full flavoured.

Burleigh Brewing (QLD) - 8 in a Row was an amber\red ale, I honestly bombarded my palate with all 7 beers and don't remember this one too well so I won't describe it.

If you were there last night you had every chance of running into one of the brewers with most of them being in attendance, overall it was pretty fun and a fairly easy night for me after a busy week so far and an even busier couple of days to come!

I'd expect the beers to still be on tap today so if you can get down there, get to it and try some great beer from one of Brisbane's brewers and some of Australia and the NZ's top breweries.

Brewsvegas 2015 - Day 3 - Barrel of Laughs @ Newstead Brewing Co. and Fromage with Fortitude @ Tippler's Tap

Yeah, so, I may have skipped Day 2 which was planned to be the Saison launch at Super WhatNot but after Sunday's longer than expected 4 events, I decided sleep and rest for the busy week to come.

Day 3 (or Day 4 as some may say, Launch was day 0 I swear!) was overall pretty fun and entertaining with..

Newstead Brewing - Barrel of Laughs & Black & Tan

Arguably, barrel aged beers can take some getting used to, so can barrel aged ciders but that was the entire point of this event with 3 barrel aged beers and 2 barrel aged ciders on offer.

Newstead was offering a tasting paddle of four beers and a meal of pork belly for $30 but I had other events on so I went with the paddle of 4 for $15 and it was well worth it to try these beers.

I tried the Sour Saison, a Baltic Porter, a Barley wine and a barrel aged Cider (although I don't recall which one, chardonnay I think) and sat down and started tasting.

The cider was super dry and not that fruity but was a decent start to a beery evening after wandering about in the Brisbane humidity.

The Saison had an odd taste that I didn't overly enjoy but the Barley wine was decent with a big boozy hit and a rum and raisin like finish.


I completed my paddle with the Barrel aged Porter which was not dissimilar to the already good Newstead Porter 21 feet 7 inches but with a slight boozy bump from the ageing, only minor though.

From there I moved onto the Tails and Heads collaboration between Newstead and Brisbane's James Squire pub the Charming Squire.

A Black and Tan is where one beer is dark and one is light but the two are mixed together in theory to create a layer with light on the bottom and dark on top although I clearly failed at pouring mine..

Newstead brewed Tails which is the Hefeweizen and Squire brewed the Heads which is a Dark Ale, both beers work as intended but the Hef for me wasn't as strong as I'd expected.

The Dark Ale from James Squire was a solid, malty and very moreish beer that I thoroughly enjoyed, I think this style is their strong suit.

Pouring the two together however just seemed to result in me making a mess of the table as I clumsily blended the two together with varying results.

Heads & Tails are on tap for the rest of Brewsvegas so give them a go at either Newstead or Charming Squire.

Fromage with Fortitude

So when I booked this event all I was thinking about was the cheese, I thought you know I've had most of Fortitude's great line of beers, this is all about the cheese.

You know what though? I underestimated two things, the Golden Ale which I'd never had and the effect the cheese would have on the beer.

There was no hand holding just a simple introduction for each beer by the entertaining Dan Rawling's from Fortitude with Witches Chase cheese maker Millsy giving a solid run down on each cheese as well as some of his pairing suggestions.

After this we were free to drink the beers and cheeses as we pleased making up our own minds on matching which cheese with which beer.

We had dried apple, apricots, sultanas, quince paste and some crackers and toasties to pair with 5 cheese, 2 Cheddar, a Red Leicester, a blue and a triple cream brie.




For the beers there was a full range from Fortitude/Noisy Minor with their Lager, Golden Ale, Anzus IPA, Admiral Ackbar Red IPA and Yasterbov Ukrainian Imperial Stout.

I'll admit that now days I really don't go for lager, I don't enjoy the aroma and usually don't enjoy the taste but the lager did match perfectly with the cheddar and the triple cream brie with a slight nuttiness adding to the flavour.

I've had all the beers before with the exception of the Golden Ale which was the stand out for me, not only because I hadn't tried it before but because it is so full flavoured with a lovely hoppy aroma and a great smooth malty finish.

For the cheeses I could eat the Triple Cream Brie all day, it was just so tasty but in all honesty each one had something great going on... With my favourite pairing being the Imperial Stout and the Blue as it out that slightly funky flavour all the more, which may be partly because there is a hint of Belgian yeast in the stout.

It seemed everyone enjoyed the night, it was quite intimate and there wasn't a large amount of noise so it was really easy to hear everything and asks questions comfortably, I know I went away feeling very happy and satisfied.

If you are interested in the cheeses or the beers you can now get the Lager, Golden Ale and Anzus IPA in bottles around Brisbane at selected craft beer bottle-shops (check my links on the right) and for the cheeses you will have to visit Witches Chase Cheeses on Mount Tamborine but it's worth the drive!

Brewsvegas 2015 - Day 1 - Beerkary @ Hoo Ha, Wicked Witch & Groove in the Brew @ BBco. and Big, Bold, Bizzare - Bacchus @ The Burrow

Beerkary - Flavours of the Mountain @ Hoo Ha Bar 

Grey skies and a 10am start time seemed like the perfect excuse to drink beer and eat pastries so it made sense for me to start the first day of Brewsvegas by visiting Hoo Ha Bar.

If you've haven't been to Hoo Ha I really encourage you to check it out, it is a very nice venue with exposed brick, wood and nifty looking furniture and it also has a cracking food menu and a great beer range, both bottled and on tap.

Beerkary have an obvious nack for marrying beer with baked goods and for this event the theme was flavours from Mt Tamborine with native ingredients like finger limes and quandong's being used.

There was four beers matched to the menu with Beard & Brau - Tambo on Rye, Croft - Finger Lime IPA, Noisy Minor - Yasterbov (Imperial stout) and Black Hops - Beacon Street (Farmhouse Red).

The standout beer for me was Croft's Finger Lime IPA, just bursting with flavour from the finger limes but not so much that it was over powering, just a really refreshing beer with just enough bitterness to balance out the lime.

The food from Beerkary is always delicious and this was no exception with everything looking stunning, I imagine it was an awfully late night for the team on Saturday getting everything prepped.

I went with the Bratwurst on a grain roll and a Bee Sting for my breakfast and both were delicious, the bratwurst was juicy and the roll soft with a crunch from the seeds.

The Bee Sting had a really nice flavour, with a creamy filling and soft pastry which all matched perfectly with the Tambo on Rye from Beard & Brau with it's strong rye flavour and malt profile balancing any sweetness from the bee stings filling.


As always with Beerkary the event was packed from the get go with a solid line forming at the bar for food and bevies and almost no seats not long after the event started!

Some of the beers are probably still on tap at Hoo Ha so if are you wanting to try them, get down there!

Wicked Witch of West End - Beer Launch @ Brisbane Brewing Co.

Brisbane Brewing Co. is one of the newest and one of the nicest looking brew pubs in Brisbane and earlier this year they ran a home brew competition with Brewers Choice to make a dark beer with the theme being Wicked Witch of West End.

There was quite a few entries and they were all judged with the winner Dan Angus getting the opportunity to brew his beer on a commercial scale at BBco, his entry was a Black Rye IPA.

The batch made for the event has come out great with a fruity aroma and a dry, earthy bitter finish that keeps you coming back for more and I know I drank way too much of it!

From chatting to punters at the launch it seems it was well received and talking to Dan it was suggested that it won't last much longer so if you are waiting to try it now is probably the best time!

Big, Bold, Bizzare... Bacchus! @ The Burrow

If you haven't heard of Bacchus by now they are a cleverly setup micro brewery out at Capalaba with a very unique small batch way of brewing which allows for experimentation and the production of lots of different small volume brews.

This is the second year in a row that The Burrow has hosted this event and this year Bacchus brought along four unique beers which were..

Mango & Lychee - Imperial Pilsner
The most tame of the bunch, I didn't find this that interesting but it was light, fruity and refreshing.

Hedge your Bretts - Brett Pale Ale
For me this was the best beer of the event, funky yeast sourness coming through in a pale ale, something I'd pay for bottles of for sure.

Imperial Red IPA
This was good but really it is what I've come to expect from Bacchus by now, a big ballsy no non-sense Red IPA that was sitting at 12% alcohol so not for the faint-hearted.

Not the Craw!!! The Craw - Chilli Mud Crab beer
Yep. Crab and chilli in a beer, this was by far the most strange of the four and not something I overly enjoyed. It was good for a bout half a glass with notes of chilli, lots of coconut and a unwavering finish of crab but this isn't for me but glad I tried it.

Groove in the Brew @ Brisbane Brewing Co.

Back to BBco for a musical beer adventure like no other! Groove in the Brew was an hour long 4 part musical act in which pieces were performed inside the brewery by the head brewer, his brother and some of the staff.

The music was certainly original and interesting although I think by not walking to the glass and watching I missed a lot of the spectacle.

Beers for each music act were..

Slippery Froth - Belgian blonde

It was a fairly solid blonde, tasty, funky and refreshing.

Liquorice Stick

Yep, liquorice beer. Look, I don't like any kind of aniseed flavour at the best of times but whilst this smelt like a bag of liquorice all-sorts it tasted way more mellow with a slight aniseed flavour and some sweetness, was enjoyable enough but I wouldn't want more than a small glass.

Confusion

Smelt like smoke, tasted like cheap white wine. Described as having a whole heap of smoked sultanas in it, there was no confusion over how this tasted. I drank mine but most of our table were not so daring. 

Needs More Cowbell

A light red, fruity lambic and by far and away the best beer of the four. A solid take on the style and ultimately a refreshing way to cleanse out the previous 2 beers..

This was by far one of the funnest events and even with the wet weather the place was packed and brimming with on lookers.

Photo by @Potts_Cass

In hindsight I probably did one event too many yesterday but I don't have a hangover of any note and I feel pretty satisfied in participating and checking out many of these great events on offer and looking forward to what ever I do next!

To Export or Not to Export? That is the question.

Scenario:
You are a small micro brewery achieving local success and you are for the most part supplying a sufficient amount of beer to your locals which is the most important thing to begin with.

Your steady growth has seen the demand for your beer grow in other states and even countries to the point that you feel you need to satiate some of this demand.

You export a small amount of your beer and thirsty drinkers gobble it all up leaving an empty hole in shelves possibly for months at a time.

The above scenario is a very real one and one that I'm sure many breweries are faced especially as the growth of the industry continues in spades.

So as a small business operator, faced with this situation you have a few choices..

A.) Don't Export.
Don't export your product, grow your business slowly and overtime expand to accommodate the export market by up-scaling/up-sizing your business but potentially risk losing that international demand and buzz around your product that you have currently.

B.) Export small amounts.
Keep fulfilling the demands of your locals but export small amounts of your product to satiate that market. This will mean that most likely only the dedicated fans and hardcore beer geeks will pickup your beer because others may find it difficult to track down.

There is a third choice but some brewers may be resistant to this concept as it could feel like you are giving a child away..

C.) Contract Brewing.
What this means is that you find a brewery with the capacity and setup for what you need and you hand over your recipes and provide guidance for them to brew the volume you require. You do this regularly enough so that the amount produced is enough to give the export market a better crack at your beer.
There is however now some business that are making this type of brewing their job which can ease the risk and the trust involved because you are entering into a legally binding contract in some cases but in QLD there isn't anything of this type currently.

I don't home brew and haven't ever been involved in a brew before but my opinion on this is just that, an opinion. That said I'm a fence sitter on this subject, by that I mean I sit somewhere between A and B and possibly lean a little into C and can understand why as a business owner or even a head brewer you would need to way up your options before doing any of these things.

I can see the benefits of exporting a small amount to get your name out there and in turn create demand but I imagine it could be a bit of a slippery slope with bottleshops not understanding why you can't maintain a shelf spot and more so consumers not understanding why they can't get the beer they love.

Your average beer nerd realises that if you love craft beer you need to be willing to accept that certain beers will be hard to get but as the industry expands and new, potentially uneducated consumers jump on board they find may it difficult at first although with that same growth this should ease anyway as breweries expand.

As for contract brewing it makes sense in many ways and with contract breweries taking the difficulty out of it by focusing on this as their own business then it will continue to remain an option and form it's own niche part of the industry.

This post is my opinion only and not based on any insider knowledge or anything like that so feel free to add to the conversation if you'd like..

Who Let the Dogs Out - BrewDog Tasting @ Malt Traders

BrewDog, founded by the humorous but serious beer geeks James Watt and Martin Dickie (and a dog!) are arguably the worlds most famous craft brewery right now with their own TV show airing in the USA.

They have produced some cracking beers however, with many that are true to style as well as beers that transcend, test and break styles. They have also won many awards with their brews both in Scotland, the UK and Internationally.

They have also let the public, staff and shareholders choose what beers to brew and have even offered capital to grow and improve the industry by assisting new breweries to get started in the UK.

Given Australia's love of craft beer, travel and self pioneered business it should be no surprise then that a former Brisbane-ite would make their way into the BrewDog fold. Sienna was our host for the tasting session and the manager of the BrewDog pub in London and a cicerone for craft beer.

Phoenix, the importer for BrewDog (in Aus) and many other quality craft breweries along with Malt Traders, manager Greg and Sienna hosted a small tasting session for about 18 people.

As the event began we heard some BrewDog history, how they got started, what they've given back to the community and how far they've expanded since their humble beginnings in 2007.

It was also pointed out that there is potential (if we are loud enough) for Australia to get a BrewDog pub in the future so take to social media and let them know that Brisbane is the place!

We were taken through a few of the iconic brew's beginning with the flagship Punk IPA, followed by Libertine Black Ale, 5AM Saint (Red Ale), Electric India (Hoppy Saison), Hardcore IPA (Imperial IPA) and finishing up with Cocoa Psycho which is a big rich, chocolate and coffee tasting Imperial Stout.

Each brew was explained in detail so that we knew what we were looking for in tasting them along with information about it it's origins. For example Electric India was chosen and brewed by the Shareholders of BrewDog.

In between beers we were chatting to each other and others were entering the beers into UntappD which really let me know I was with some budding members the craft beer community!

Photo by Sienna

I'd had all the beers before with the exception of Cocoa Psycho which was great to try but the standout is Electric India which has a big hoppy nose with a Belgian style funk to it that is expected from a saison which results in a smooth but full flavoured and ultimately refreshing beer.

At the end of the night myself and some other attendees were able to have a chat Sienna and we talked about how Australian craft beer is booming and I suggested some beers from Australia to try whilst here or to take back to London, a great way to end a good night!

So I'm going to write this one a little backwards and finish with the venue, Malt Traders as not only did they host the event but they are a cracking little bottle shop with a rather unique setup (at least for Brisbane).

Malt has a tonne of wine, spirits, craft beer, cider and even snacks and take away meals but what makes it stand out is that you can drink what you want and do so at decent prices.

A large table can be found in the centre of the shop making it the perfect setting for a sneaky after work drink, a pre-drink or even just a quiet little session with a couple of friends.

There is also a Growler fill station with local and international beers usually adorning the 3 taps which have nifty Star Wars tap toppers.

If you drink craft beer, work in the city and haven't checked out Malt it might be time to visit this great little venue.

event pre-drink with Brisbane brewed White Lies - Chocolate Stout

2014: The Beer That Was & Hoppy New Beer 2015!

I posted the above image on instagram to give a break down of some of the stats from my 2014 beer spreadsheet so I'll re-post it here with some extra beer related information for 2014, including some of my favourite beers from the year.

Clearly I drank far too much this year but it has highlighted to me that you can drink a beer a day (or more) and only drink from Australian breweries if you want and you won't get bored or run out of choice, it is an amazing time in the craftiverse!

Favourite Australia Beer of the Year? 

Six String Brewing Co - Dark Red IPA

This malt driven hoppy beast was a surprise to me after having it on tap so much so that when the cans were announced I searched high and low. Eventually I wrote a rant post about how hard it can be to find specific beers sometimes. But not being able to easily find it just made it all the sweeter when I did get my hands on a six pack of this beautiful Australian craft beer.

If you are wanting to try this beer and live in Brisbane I would suggest trying Archive Beer Boutique in West End or Brewski on Caxton street (bar and take away) as they seem to have it more often than not.

Favourite International beer of the Year? 

Deschutes - Fresh Squeezed IPA

This is a no non-sense IPA with big a big fresh hoppy flavour but it still has a decent amount of malt, enough to give it a smooth, hoppy caramel finish.
Since being announced as a year round brew (in the States) so we have started to see it here in Australia a lot more and you can find it right now at a few bottle shops around Brisbane.

I last saw it at The Wine Emporium in Gasworks at Tenerife, just before Christmas so there might be some floating around!

There has been a lot of great seasonal and new permanent release beers this year, certainly plenty to keep the beer nerd or IPA fiend filled with hoppy joy!

Just to mention a few of the high lights from Aussie beer releases this year..

Boris from Feral Brewing: a Russian imperial stout sitting around 9% abv. and a super tasty stout at that and now a year round release for this great Aussie brewery.

Two to the Valley IPA from Newstead Brewing: a tasty little IPA that is a great entry level beer for this style and in less than 12 months of being open in Brisbane the brewery is now selling this and many other staple brews in bottles from the cellar door and bottle shops around Brissy.

Wayfarer USA from Green Beacon Brewing, changing the formula slightly since it's inception this tasty Wheat Beer adds American hops and has become quite popular especially now that the Beacon brews are available in cans from their cellar door and bottle shops around Brisbane.

Bacchus Brewing in Capalaba opened its cellar door early this year and they have a myriad of brews with 15 on tap at any one time and constant changes and additions of new brews almost daily in some cases, making this a place to check out if you are on the Redlands side of town.

Early in January I will be adding "Beerientation" section aimed at the craft beer novice to help explain the basics of styles, taste and aroma and get you on your way as you begin your journey across the craftiverse! As well as also providing some insight on where to find certain beers and also recommend some for the novice and even a couple for the experienced craft drinker. So if any of the above seems too adventurous, never fear there will be a great list of local, national and international brews to start your adventure with all on this one blog!

Cheers and Hoppy New Year.
-Roger

First Impressions: Good Bar @ Mooloolaba (Sunshine Coast)

I grew up on the Sunshine Coast but since working and living in Brisbane for most of my adult life I have not returned very often, it seems there is now a few more reasons to visit the Coast!

One of those reasons is Good Bar, located in the busy but beautiful sea side town of Mooloolaba just a street back from the beach this new addition to the Coast is pumping out some great American inspired grub matched with some great local beers.

just water but cool coasters!

Good Bar's menu and theme is focused around holyness and the "good" food with the coasters and menu items following the theme, like the Brisket burger which is called The Transcendence.         There is a growing selection of local and international craft beers with a focus on cans. This is good to see as there is still a lot of stigma attached to canned beer in Australia which stems from smashing down 12 cans of what ever flavourless lager you had on hand. The truth is cans are actually better as they let no light in (which can affect your brew) and travel better than their glass brethren.

At the time I hadn't actually sampled any Brisbane's Green Beacon cans yet so was a no brainer to start with the tasty Windjammer IPA and moving on later to Moose Drool a well flavoured brown ale from Big Sky located in Montana in the USA.    There wasn't any taps at the time but hopefully this comes later because it'd be great to see some Sunshine Coast Brewery on tap in a local bar or even more beer from Brisbane.                                   

I ordered The Good Burger, a beef burger with two patties, cheese, ranch, pickles and ketchup. The rest of my party ordered The Transcendence (Briskett), The Carolina Crusade (pulled Pork) and The Good Reuben (Pastrami sandwhich).

Double Beef, Double Cheese

All the burgers come on soft and fluffy brioche bun's which work fairly well and each burger was generously portioned with meat with prices ranging from $13-16 and each coming with fries.

I feel the only thing that was missing off the menu (that is usually a staple) is the ability to add bacon, but other than adding it to the beef burger you don't really need it so it's not too disappointing to live without the deliciousness of bacon for a meal.

My burger was juicy and tasty although it seemed more like mustard than ranch which isn't a bad thing as it just reminded me of a really good double cheese burger, with tasty mustard and pickles which is one of my favourite things to eat.

All the other burgers went down well from what the rest of my group said, the only negative is that the Reuben seems to have some seriously thick bread, possibly too thick for the amount of meat.

Pastrami + Sauerkraut on Rye

Beef Brisket, BBQ sauce and Slaw

Pulled Pork, Jack Daniel's Sauce & Slaw

What we had is really just the beginning of the menu which contains heaps of awesome sounding meals, snacks, sweets and shakes. From peppers stuffed with chorizo and goats cheese to a Peanut Butter Jelly shake to Pumpkin Pie but all of this just gives me an excuse to revisit next time I'm up the coast.

It's great to see so many new options for food and beer popping up on the coast as they have done in Brisbane, I may have to go up more often!

First Impressions: Buffalo Bar @ Brisbane CBD

Through my early 20's the Belgian beer cafe was my staple for imported beer goodness and it opened up a world of beer that was never before in Brisbane, sadly though the Belgian closed it's doors in October this year.

Brisbane has seemingly made a shift from small craft beer venues towards much larger sized venues that have a tonne of craft beer and in most cases some really great food.

The American style food geniuses responsible for the excellent Mighty Mighty have been able to transform what was the Belgian into a mecca for American craft beer and food with the new Buffalo Bar.

The venue it self is relatively the same as it was with some nice little touches like an excellent Buffalo mural adorning the beer garden, but the atmosphere especially whilst busy hasn't changed it is a large restaurant with a pub like beer garden which works just fine for a venue of this size.

The beer list is impressive with 14 beers on top ranging from Coors Lager to Brooklyn's Saision "Half" to the 8.5% Dirty Bastard from Founders.

If you don't however find something you like on tap the bottle list is extensive with some of Australia's best craft sitting along side some of America's best as well as a long list of wine and spirits and beer-ientated cocktails called "Boilermakers" which are beer and spirits combined.









The food menu is massive and in some ways maybe it is too large because I think you could eat something different here every day for quite awhile with food ranging from 18 different flavour's of wings to 10 inch rolls called Hoagies (they looked impressive!) to more knife and fork meals like beef short ribs and New England clam bake.

We worked our way through 4 of the 18 wing choices trying Salted Cola Toffee, Bacon, Cheddar & Chive, Seasoned Jerk and the standout for me the Chipotle & Garlic Salt which had that familiar garlic flavour with just a hint of chipotle.

All wings come with a butter milk blue cheese sauce with celerey sticks as a palate cleanser which you will want if you attempt any of the hot wings.

For dessert we ordered Peanut Butter Brownie w/ Peanut butter Ice Cream and Shoo-Fly Pie with caramel cream, both were decadent and exceptional tasting with it being difficult to pick a favourite but I think my love of Peanut butter wins out over the toffee flavour of the Pie.


In general the service was really good although some of the bar staff seemed to be unsure of the beers but its early days and it was in no way quiet. I had a really good experience when asking about dessert in the beer garden as it is not on the bar menu but the staff member I spoke to happily and willingly went and asked the chef if it was ok and it was! I appreciate this type of service especially on an opening weekend when things can get super chaotic.

The standout beer for me was Rogue's 7 Hop IPA which was loaded with piney resin and hoppy flavour and well worth visiting Buffalo to try if you are an IPA fiend like I am. There is however a lack of an easily visible explanation of what each beer is on tap, you can look at the beer list but as far as making a quick choice goes there could be a board or extra tap decal that says the style of each beer to minimize decision based confusion.

A dark beer on tap would also be of benefit like a stout, porter, dark lager or even a black IPA of some kind although there is plenty of choice so maybe I'm being picky here.

If you work nearby or are adventuring out in the city, enjoy chicken wings and beer or want to have a more sit down dining experience then I'd encourage you to check out this new venue it certainly has the expected polish and incredible food that have made Mighty Mighty so great and pairing that with a big beer garden just makes sense.

First Impressions: The Charming Squire @ South Bank

The Charming Squire opened its doors last Thursday the 28th of August and as expected when a juggernaut like Lion starts swinging bags of cash around you get a rather impressive looking pub, albeit dressed in hipster clothing.

The place is huge and will easily seat a few hundred people with bar, outdoor and casual dining seating areas it blends seamlessly into the ever beautiful South Bank.

The lay out is a mix of concrete, wood and steal with some benches, seats and stools for seating. As expected there is ample James Squire branding around the place with fancy lighting and other neat features.

The in-house brewery has produced a session-able ale called "Going Once Galaxy Ale" and is rather fruity upfront (thank you Galaxy hops!) with a familiar lager backbone, sure to be a hit as we head into the warmer weather.

All the James Squire staples are on tap from 150 Lashes to Jack of Spades Porter to Hop Thief and even the apple and pear ciders are included. The bottled range however is lackluster and all about Lion's "standard" range.

The plan seems to be to keep at least one unique beer on tap that is made in house which is a good idea and should keep people coming back for the seasonal drops.

There is two menus with a sit down dining experience for more serious fair like big chunks of meat and a more share friendly bar menu.

We tried the Beef Croquettes and Mushroom & Truffle Arancini Balls, both were fairly tasty but the Arancini stood out and we would definitely eat them again.

At some point I'll go back and try a more substantial meal off the main dining menu but the share prices are pretty steep for what you get the rest of the menu looks the same but I can't pass judgement without seeing portion sizes or trying the other meals.

Overall The Charming Squire seems like a good place to go and meet friends, have a bite to eat or a few beers but for any one more serious about their craft beer it's probably not going to fulfill any of your wet dreams.

The truth is there is much better places to go in Brisbane (and in South Bank) that have better portioned and cheaper eats and definitely better beer but I would recommend the Squire as a great gateway to the craft beer world. After all between Coopers and Jimmy Squizzle it's where a lot of beer enthusiasts started (myself included)

This continued growth in the beer and food industry in Brisbane is nothing but a good thing and I'm sure the Squire will be around for awhile improving as it goes.

Bacchus Brewing Co opening weekend! @ Capalaba

You could nearly say that 2014 has been the "Year of the Bacchus" with the continued growth of arguably one of Brisbane's most popular breweries.

After brewing a total of no less than 50 unique beers for Brewsvegas and winning Gold at the Australian International Beer Awards for it's Sex, Drugs & Rocky Road it's finally time for their Brewery Bar to open it's doors.

The bar and tables use reclaimed bowling lanes as well as pins for lamps. As you sit and enjoy your tipple it is very clear you are in a living brewery with barrels of ageing beer and brewery equipment being the background for the venue.

There is 15 taps (14 beer) consisting of barrel aged, cask, smooth pour and regular pour with beers ranging from mid strength English style bitters to IPA's and unique beers like Sex, Drugs & Rocky Road.


Bacchus have been known to produce some really high alcohol beers and some crazy (and awesome!) flavoured ones, currently the taps are fairly tame but with 15 there is plenty of room to rotate as people become more comfortable with the beers and seasons change.

It also seems that some of the more interesting beers will be getting bottled for takeaway and on-site consumption which is very cool.


You only need to look at my Instagram for a few seconds to know I'm obsessed with IPA's and the two currently on tap at Bacchus don't disappoint.

Pug IPA emulates the fruity deliciousness of gateway IPA's like Brewdog's - Punk IPA also offering a Black IPA named "Obama" with expected smokey, fruity and hoppy goodness.

I also tried Lamington Dark Ale which I had at Eaton's Hill Beerfest earlier in the year and it continues to be an impressively tasty beer.

Leaving my Sex, Drugs & Rocky Road taster until last was a smart move as it is super delicious and oddly session-able which is scary at 8.2% abv.

For non-beer drinkers there is Alchemy Cordials available with a do it yourself soda water and cordial setup costing only a gold coin with all money going to Alzheimer's Australia.

The pricing is very reasonable with a 5 beer Tasting Paddle costing $15 and 3 standard beer sizes ranging from $5 - 10 depending on the size.

Empty Growlers are $10 and fills range from $18-$30, they also sell 2 styles of Belgian beer glasses for $10 each.

It is a bit of a trek out to Capalaba from the North Side of Brisbane but well worth it and I suspect I will be doing regular visits for growler fills once the taps start rotating. If you are a local or can plan to make a visit you won't be disappointed with something for almost everyone.

The future of craft beer in Brisbane is an ever growing and bright one for sure!

At the time the excellent food truck The Bun Mobile was there as well so check out my post about that too!

[Edit] Bacchus now do a range of tasty and delicious Pizza's so if you needed another excuse to check it out there is one!

Tomahawk Bar @ South Bank

So it's no secret that I absolutely love Tippler's Tap so it should come as no surprise that when I heard that some of the great people behind it were opening Tomahawk Bar in Brisbane's South Bank that I had to check it out.

Although it has taken me longer than it should have to do so, it was absolutely worth the wait with incredibly tasty food to match the ever changing but always amazing tap list.

Tomahawk is by no means a copy of Tippler's, if anything it is more of a chameleon blending effortlessly into the trendy but modern setting that is South Bank. With dark hardwood and steel and benches it almost feels like it's been there for at least a year or two.

Pork Scratching's

With 13 rotating taps and a huge selection of bottled beers you'd be forgiven for not realizing that Tomahawk also has a fantastic range of Ciders and Wine for those less interested in hoppy, malty goodness.

The food is without a doubt some of the most delicious at any craft beer in Brisbane with Ribs, meatballs, Arancini, fish sticks and baked Camembert featured on the menu.

Hopcorn Chicken!

Baked Camembert

The standouts however are the pork scratching's (newly added) with red ale chilli jam and the amazing (and entirely worth going for) Hopcorn chicken with salted caramel sauce.

I can hear you asking how salted caramel can work in savoury but believe me it is one of the best tasting combinations I have ever eaten as a beer snack with the dryness and crispiness of the hopped out chicken balancing brilliantly with the sweet (but not too much!) and salty Caramel.

I'll admit that I don't normally frequent South Bank but with bars like Tomahawk beginning to popup I can see myself spending quite a bit more time there!

Pork Belly Burger

[Edit] August 23 2014

Former Chef of Tomahawk and Tipler's Ali Orchard was cooking Hopcorn Chicken and Sticky Stout Lamb Ribs at the 2014 Ekka and has released the recipes via BrewsNews check them out here.

I've also been back to Tomahawk recently and had the Pork Belly burger (photo above) which is utterly delicious and another reason to go if you haven't yet!

The Burrow @ West End

After hearing nothing but good things about The Burrow I figured it was time to finally make an effort to visit West End and check it out!

After opening the door we were instantly greeted by 2 very friendly staff who let us sit anywhere we liked.

Being a cool but sunny winters day we decided to sit out side in the lane way. Graffiti on the walls and picnic tables to sit at, the atmosphere was great and I could see myself comfortably enjoying lunch, a few relaxed beverages or even a lazy Sunday Brunch sitting here.

We received excellent table service being brought menus and water shortly after sitting down, however it was a quiet weekday at 1pm.

The Bill Murray w/ bacon, beetroot and fried egg

My friends both ordered pizzas and I ordered "The Bill Murray" Burger which is a Wagyu cheese burger jarlsberg cheese, pickle relish, ketchup & "super-dooper" special sauce and I added Bacon, Egg and Beetroot.      
   

After about 20 minutes our meals arrived, well sized and looking delicious! My burger was juicy and tender with smokey bacon and a great sauce but the standout was the beetroot with its chunky pieces it was a refreshing change to standard canned beetroot you usually get on a burger.

The side of curly fries were golden and crispy and added up to a well sized meal and good value at $16 for the burger and $6 for the extra sides.

The pizza's were tasty too with some funny and interesting names like the "Cluck Norris" and great value too at $10-15.

But what about the beer? Well will with 4 rotating taps including a list of upcoming beers and a few pages of excellent bottled choices The Burrow fits in perfectly other craft beer bars around Brisbane.

The Bill Murray burger is enough to bring me back but I will also be trying the breakfast menu at some point as it looks equally awesome!