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: Hello Harry @ Maroochydore (Sunshine Coast)

You'd be forgiven for thinking there wasn't much around the old Big Top site which has sat largely unchanged for the past 20+ years but the former shopping complex is undergoing a major face lift that should be completed in 2015.

Despite all the construction going on, you can't miss this burger shop on Ocean St in Maroochydore because Hello Harry's is packed with diners. 

As I drove past looking for a park I realized that Hello Harry's had to be popular with locals and tourists as it was almost full of hungry burger eaters before it was even 12pm!

With a no non-sense menu that is packed with tasty burgers (starting at $10!) as well as a seemingly endless list of changing specials this new burger joint is a great addition to the Coast.

I knew before I got there what I wanted and I wasn't going to change my mind (unless they ran out of beef but that's blasphemy). I went with Grass Fed Wagyu beef with double patties and bacon and I was not disappointed!

The burger came out looking ready to be devoured, bacon poking out and pickles gleaming away on their bed of beef and cheese. I was not disappointed as I consumed this tasty treat nestled between two halves of a house made brioche bun, mustard and mayo dripping out after each bite.

You get messy here but that that seems like the point and with an entire role of paper towel on each table there is no reason to complain about a lack of napkins.

The chips are also tasty with a seasoning that was unfamiliar but that matched well with the burgers.

I had to splash out and have a Salted Caramel shake and it was incredible and tasted exactly as a shake should. The creamy caramel flavour brought me back to what I remember them tasting like as a child (although I'm not sure I had salted caramel then!)

You can get beer here, they have some Monteith's and some international lager's but really I wanted a burger and a shake and I got both in spades.

The only negative I have to mention is that it was busy and the clearing of tables seemed to fall behind the wayside as I had to move someone elses mostly finished crap off the table and onto a spare seat to get it off our small table. It took about 20mins before it finally got cleared away from where I left it but they were clearly busy so I didn't think much of it.

I will be back next time I'm up the coast and may even use it as an excuse to go more often with my eyes set on a triple beef next time. That is, if I can convince the Mrs I won't die eating it!

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!

I'll just leave this here..

After putting my pork belly photo on Instagram last week I had a few queries about how I made the crackling so perfect, it is in fact really simple and perfect for a quick meal when you want pork but don't have a lot of time.

I've added the Recipe to the "Meat" section.

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: Chur Burger @ Fortitude Valley

Chur is the newest kid on the burger block with a restaurant in Sydney and now one in old Brisbane town, on Constance street right next to Kerbside.

Not a bad little spot for a restaurant like this and I'm sure if you are a local or work in this area it will become your regular burger joint for awhile.

We went in for a quiet Wednesday lunch and were greeted by a friendly staff person who helped us order and confirmed that we were new to Chur.

The way you order is familiar, rock up read the menu, pick your burger, sides and drinks. The difference being you can have the beef your way with Medium Rare being the recommended level.

Chur is set out with an outdoor area with astro turf, some graffiti and some umbrellas which creates a nice relaxed vibe.

The indoor section is more restaurant-ish with a twist, everything is adorned with "Chur" and they have some neat seating with booths, low tables with big squared cushioned seats as well as high tables. There is also these cool stools that look like 2 buckets with a cushion inset into them.

Check out the gallery on their website and facebook page if you want to see some decor shots as there is plenty!

I had a beef burger with double meat and bacon which cost $16 which isn't bad and really I could have just added bacon to the standard beef burger and saved $4 (as the portions are generous) but being my first time I went all out.

The buns are all brioche which works alright for pulled pork but it really doesn't work for the beef, my bun disintegrated almost instantly and whilst the flavour of the beef was good I missed having a bun by about half way through and being the manly specimen that I am I refuse to use a knife and fork! (although you may have caught me drinking coke through a straw if you were watching)

The pickles though are incredible, nice long thin shreds of cucumber with a not too over powering brine take pickles to a new level.

The "chilli salt" chips were alright, fairly standard chips with a chilli salt but worked well with the burger.

My girlfriend enjoyed the pulled pork although from the little bit I tasted it had a very sweet BBQ sauce but she enjoyed it.

The drinks menu is alright, some craft beer (sponsored by MOA?) but almost entirely centered around lagers which is a bit disappointing as I'd have liked at least a pale ale but it is a minor thing with Kerbside next door and The Mill up the road.

I would expect with such great breweries in Brisbane that at least one tap could be local or some Newstead bottles or some such.

Overall not a bad visit to Chur and we will be back to try a couple more menu items.

Double beef, bacon, pickles and cheese

Getta Burger @ Carindale

Mild mannered coffee shop by day, hunger fighting burger shop by night!

Well not exactly but Getta Burger does share That Coffee Joint's shop opening for burgers from Midday Saturday and Sunday and from 4:30 pm Wed, Thur and Friday.

The location is somewhat inconspicuous, right next to Carina Leagues just back from Carindale Westfield and nestled in a small "blink and you'll miss it" set of shops next to a laundromat.

Making use of the amazing barbecue that it's sister business and staple Brisbane food truck That BBQ Joint pumps out Getta Burger has something for everyone.

The range includes a pulled pork, bacon, cheese and fries monstrosity that is the Getta Pig Out to the Getta Boss with smoked brisket, cheese, jalapenos and bacon as well more traditional beef burgers like the Getta Burger or Getta Lot.

Getta Pig Out w/ double bacon

Getta Pulled Pork w/ bacon

I haven't tried any of the "normal" beef patty burgers because it is nearly impossible to pass up the amazingly tasty brisket and pulled pork not to mention the bacon which is probably some of the best bacon I've ever tasted.

That BBQ Sauce is what ties most of the burgers together and it really is a great sauce, not too sweet (like BBQ sauce tends to be) but with a good smokey flavour that compliments not drowns the meat.

Getta Boss

You can also ask for the burgers without a bun which is perfect for us as my girlfriend prefers not to have the bun however the bun is quite tasty, good size with sesame seeds, crisp outside and soft inside.

If it isn't obvious from the photos the portions are huge and extremely generous for the price which ranges from $10 to $14 for the bigger burgers.

The shop itself is quite small though so don't expect to eat there if it's smack bang in the lunch period and if it is during this time I'd suggest calling ahead and asking if there is a wait time as it can get busy.

There has been some mention of Getta expanding to another shop, hopefully on the Northside which would reduce my trips over the gateway for this amazing food.

If you are local to Carindale (or don't mind a drive) like burgers and haven't checked it out yet then I suggest you "Getta" to it.

Getta Pulled Pork with and without a bun, side of fries