Frankies Pizza

Frankies Pizza (http://frankiespizzabytheslice.com/) is a basement bar and pizza joint on Hunter Street with a focus on good food, even better beers and a dash of rock and roll to keep you in the mood for more pizza, beer (see the clever loop??). This is a place that has worked hard on its look, vibe and what it offers in a bar to really differentiate itself. Is it a pizza joint serving good beer, or is it a bar serving pizza, who cares it works. 

Damn the pole ruining my photo of the interesting range of beers on tap at Frankies!

Its served in a cool plastic cup, well easy to be a glass collector in this place!

As you can see from the photos, the look is very deliberate - old photos and posters, plastic cups (beer and wine) and just a little bit of cheesy Italian fake flowers to represent the owners! 

We went on a Friday night and it was packed with a real mix of people - from the rockers, to the suits to geeks checking out the new beers on tap. It is not often you see such a mix, especially in a small basement bar.

With the glasses above the bar, it kinda looks like the Cheers bar set doesn't it?

Booths in the corner, a big amount of high tables and a few normal tables maximises the seating of this place

They really maximise the space in this place - high tables, chairs at the bar and all along the wall means that you can grab a seat, (yes, I am getting old - that is a key bit of information) allowing you to enjoy the music and vibe (being a basement bar it has low ceilings and therefore gets load).

The pizza slices available changes and do the beers on tap (see their twitter account for the up to date beers on tap). As I have always said, to be a top craft beer pub, you need a venue that continually changes their taps. So great work guys!

I drank a Hargreaves Hill Pale Ale. It keeps its head and has a really great upfront fruity, bitter hoppy taste, but the taste doesn't hang around - it is quite thin bodied. Really easy drinking and reminds me of the Rocks Brewery ISA - a beer you can happily drink all night. Really solid effort.
I then had a few Bridge Road IPAs. It worked really well as it is similar to the Hargreaves Hill Pale Ale (fruity, lemony etc) but this isn't thin bodied and it leaves a much bigger taste in the mouth. You couldn't drink a Bridge Road followed by a Hargreaves: that's not to knock Hargreaves, it just a lighter beer...

My one leaving thought about Frankies is around price, for a glass of wine and a beer, every time it was over $20... (I changed beer and the wife changed wine a few times) which is a little steep, so after a few we left and headed to Palmer & Co - being in there though made me realise I just wanted to be back in Frankies... better atmosphere, better beers, better everything, but I just wish Frankies was a $1 or so, per drink, cheaper.

Overall, great place...

German Beer - an economists view point on craft beer...

I have a read on many great beer blogs (see my other beer blogs page here) but I never thought I would read the Economist on their views on beer! Turns out they find it a little bland...

http://www.economist.com/news/business/21608755-brash-americans-plan-froth-up-germanys-staid-brewing-business-pure-cheap-and-bit-dull

The article talks about how Reinheitsgebot, or beer-purity law, is discouraging innovation but many do not want it to change as "thats what people expect". It then discusses how an American has just opened up a brewery bar in Berlin, with the aim of producing craft ales and increase the variety in the german marketplace and to help increase price (as these beers are more fashion concious and therefore can demand a higher price). 

Now, I have had many a discussion with friends over this topic, is craft beer just a fashion craze, and therefore allows pubs to increase prices, or is it actually a taste differentiator / preference for people? I was at Frankies Pizza on Friday night (see blog) and it was awesome, but it was also $9-$11 for a schooner, as much as I loved the place that's crazy prices... 

So simply;

Do I, and many of you, only drink craft beer to be different to the person sitting beside me drinking a Carlton/Corona/etc?  

Sure hope not...

Green Beacon Brewery

When I blogged about the Quarrymans (http://craftbeerandpubguide.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/quarryman-pyrmont.html) I said I was drinking the Windjammer IPA from QLD (the brewery is called Green Beacon - click on the title to go to their website) and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Well I ended up going back to the Quarrymans recently and randomly selected a wheat beer called the 'Wayfarer'. Well it turns out this beer is also from Green Beacon (honestly I didn't know this at the time of ordering).

As you can see in my other blog's (http://craftbeerandpubguide.blogspot.com.au/search/label/wheat%20beer), I always base a wheat beer against Hoegaarden and always said "I need to find an aussie beer to compare other wheat beers against..." Well readers, I have found my new 'baseline wheat beer' !!

THE WAYFARER.

What a great beer! Very much like European wheat beers, it has no real head to it and is cloudy in appearance and just a little bit of bitterness at the end. Fantastic, if you like a 'hoeggy' or many of the other Belgium / German wheat beers, you will love this one. Now, do they serve it in those massive thick pint glasses in the brewery bar (like Hoegaarden)??? I better head up to Brisvegas to find out...

Great work guys...

3 weeds

3 weeds pub is a bit of an institution in the inner west (http://www.3weeds.com.au/), located in Rozelle but the other side of Victoria Road (i.e. not the Balmain end).

This place is huge, it has a front bar for sport and pool, a back bar which is split into 3 sections and a formal restaurant. It is the sort of pub that you find lots of families at enjoying a meal - that is where this place excels... it does good food.

We had the fish and chips and the spatchcook. The spatchcook was fantastic, a whole little spatchcook on a base of veggies... really fantastic. The wife was looking forward to the "fat chips" but she ended up with skinny fries which is a shame... neither of us are that bothered by fries...

A lot of people come here on a Sunday just for a drink and share a dessert - it's that sort of a place, good food, good range of drinks, and you can find a spot and chill out...

The taps are a mix of European lager, the usuals, one or two ciders and 2 rotating taps

Thats my 'Doppel Bock' in the bottom left corner with a picture of the other beers on tap...

Only 2 rotating taps, I think they can do better here, or at least make them small batch local craft beer...

I tried the Montieth's Bock, its a winter ale, German style beer, I could take it or leave it to be honest. Nice to try... Afterwards I had a few Steigls; now that is a great German lager. The best thing about this place is that it serves a couple of European lagers and also a much wider European wine list than most pubs which is awesome, but I do wish the rotating taps were small batch local craft beers and ales; I kinda think that's the point of rotating taps...

Décor is cool and you can see the back bar is really ideal for groups to come and eat with the big tables

We sat by the fire, its been cold recently and a fire (even if it is gas) is awesome to sit by... 

I was reading the times out "great winter pubs" and to be honest, I would say this place probably should of made the list... it is ideal for a cold Sunday session... 

Quarryman, Pyrmont

I used to live in Pyrmont, and this place was a dive. I am absolutely gutted this place didn't open up when we lived here!

The Quarryman was renovated a few months ago and has become a fantastic pub, everything has been taken back to its basics - brick walls, original wooden floors etc and the owners have done a fantastic job.

Waiting for the green man to let me into this place! COME ON!!! TURN GREEN!! Why do you take so long to turn green?!!

Back to basics feel just makes this place look fantastic.

So as you can see, I am clearly loving this place; it feels so light and airy now. Up the stairs was the customary pub quiz and on the top floor a function was being held so clearly the locals are loving this place too. We went on a Tuesday night and there were a few people in the place and very few spare seats available which is always a good sign.

"In Hops we trust" has anything ever so true been said  in a pub??

My wife enjoying a wine, and me a fantastic Windjammer IPA from Queensland

So apparently, the Quarrymans is the first pub outside of QLD to sell the Windjammer IPA. Made in an american style, it has a slightly bitter upfront taste then the fruit and hops hits you to leave a beautiful lingering after-taste - honestly I would say it was one of the nicest IPAs I have had in a long while. As you can see from the picture, the head stays as well. I have no idea how brewers do that, but I like it...

The list of the 24 beers on tap, which seems to change once or twice each week, just awesome.

Back to the Quarrymans, the list of beers the have on tap is sensational, and when speaking to the barman he was saying that one or two beers change every week, so by my reckoning that's a completely different list every 3 months.  If they can continue to source beers that haven't been poured in NSW this place will be a gold mine; it has the look and the beer list so why won't it do well?

The wife and I pop along to Pyrmont most Sundays to get fresh fish (from the Fish Market unsurprisingly) so one week (i.e. this weekend, and probably every Sunday afterwards) we will pop in here and have some food, and I will update the review.

If I were to have one comment, and I have no idea how to solve it, it would be to get a few more seats; on a Tuesday night, we could only find a seat near the toilets overlooking the back smokers section, which is a shame.

I suppose it is a hard balance to have seats and high chairs and still make the place feel airy and allow easy access to the bar. Like I said, it is the minor-est of points, to the new owners of this place-  great job and you have firmly made it to my top 5 pubs in Sydney...

We sat at the window... over looking the smokers...

Colonsay Lager

So I had to blog about this beer - if for no other reason than to prove that Leann means beer (look at the top of the back of the beer bottle)!

"Leann Chobhasa" means "beer belonging to Colonsay"

I am not sure if you can read what's in the box below "Leann Chobhasa" -  "ten percent of the island's working population, Chris and Bob, are employed here" !!! Fantastic, a true small brewery from a tiny Island in Scotland!

After a bit of asking around I actually know of 2 people that have tried this (my brother who went to the Island and the other is a food and beverage manager in a Glasgow Hotel) and both have said the same thing  -  it is perfect for when you just want to chill out, relax like time has stood still and have a quiet beer - it is so easy drinking it is untrue.  

It has a smallish head (for a lager) and a sweet finish, presumably from the fruit they add (you get a citrus smell on the nose). As you can see from the picture, it is almost golden in colour opposed to a pils which is normally lighter but the sweetness gives it a similar taste to a pils. It is a great all round lager, and they have only been brewing since 2007 so great effort guys! When I am next in Scotland I will hunt one down... 

They often do the rounds of beer festivals, and have been found in many across the UK so if you come across it do try!

They even have a blog - http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php check it out and support small brewery's everywhere!

Neil

Forest Lodge Hotel

A group of us went here for a late Sunday lunch and a few ales to quench the thirst... This is a cool place! It is down a side street so the 'Now Tapped' map was required to get us here.

Be warned, this place is very dangerous - you could end up drinking too many great beers and have an angry wife as a result... 

We named this "The Winners Wall" - the list of the beers they have had on tap!

The long walk to the bar

There was a huge array of beers on tap, and the "Now Tapped" app list of reported beers was spot on. I started with the Hop Czar from BridgePort Brewery and then had a few of the Boatrocker Alpha Ale. Apparently they no longer are brewing the Alpha Ale which is a shame, it was a very easy to drink American IPA. It is quite dark for an american IPA and quite hoppy and very easy to drink.

The Boatrocker Hop Czar is 'exactly as it says on the tin' - big hit of hopp-y-ness and citrus on the nose. Another easy drinking American style ale... See what I meant earlier - there are so many easy drinking new beers that you want to try them all, then "OK, I will have a second then, if you are"... (ever said that???)

One of my friends was about to order the Monteiths Pale Ale and the barman told him that he wasn't a huge fan of it so gave a taster - that's the sign of a great pub; honest and refreshing advise. People (like me) go to this place for its range of beers, and it is daunting seeing a list of beers you have never heard of before so advice and chatting to the bar staff is vital - too many places forget this.

This is a big place, with a number of places to sit enjoy and enjoy your beer... Oh, and to the right of the pool table is a retro pac man table, get in...

The menu and a picture of pig playing the banjo...

Our Sunday dinner was a bit mixed, I had the pork and it was good but a bit too salty and someone had the 'Portuguese style chicken burger' and it was fried - which was a surprise... in my opinion, you don't get the piri-piri flavours when it has been deep fried... Others really enjoyed their meal and we all said we would be back and would eat, so I don't want you to get the impression it was bad - it is just we have eaten better pub meals. 

This place is pretty close to being in my 'top 5 places' page but I think the Welcome (Rozelle) still just shades it, just. I will have to try both places again, and again, just to be sure... ;) 

Neil

The Rocks Brewery Bar

The list of beers on offer; organised by its 'hoppiness' (10 the highest)

So the wife and I went to the Market in The Grounds, Alexandria, which was fantastic, and then on the way back to the car we did a quick detour to the Rocks Brewery Bar as it was only 500m away.

What a great combination - I get the beer, she gets the market stalls!

The light and airy feel thanks to the windows and the fact that it is a warehouse...

You can actually see the beer being brewed, I wonder what it tastes like now...?

Is it a brewery, is it a bar, whatever it is, it works as a venue!

I didn't want to have the Convict Lager or the Hangman Pale Ale as you can find these beers in a number of bars these days (which is a really good thing - they are great) so I asked to try the Red Ale, but the bar man was very 'stingy' so all I got was the head of it so I just asked him to guide me through the list of beers. In the end I went for the ISA (Conviction Series), which is less hoppy than than IPA (the S is for 'session'; i.e. you can have a few of them) and I really enjoyed it and would agree, you could have a session on this beer, and you would be very happy!

My wife and I sitting outside enjoying the winter sun!

My wife went for the Wheat beer (The pickpocket) which has an apricot flavour to start with and then the spices kick in at the end. If you have read any of my other blogs, you will know that I benchmark wheat beers against Hoegaarden. This has a similarities to it but is fizzier and touches more of an pale ale than a hoeggy... very enjoyable, and I could go on a session on this beer too!

The venue has a great outdoor area to it and is decent sized inside but, as you can see from the pictures, great views (of the brewery, awesome! and they know how to play with it - see the sign in the picture below). A lot of the tables were booked for groups, and I really get this, the bar menu was great for sharers, the portions were huge (the guy on the table next to us ordered the chicken burger, it looked awesome and must of came from a dinosaur sized chicken) and the open feel to this place makes it ideal for birthday parties, groups to catch up etc where you have room to expand and can all hear each other (and maybe even organise a brewery tour as well).

Now Tapped app

So I was reading this article on crafty pint - http://craftypint.com/news/post/taking-on-the-taps/ and it was talking about a new app / website Now Tapped (http://nowtapped.com/). So I did a bit more research and thought "what a great idea"...

to start using this app...

This is their website homepage -

elegant and simple website...

It is still in its infancy as you can see from its map of venues -

I hate the fact that Melbourne has more venues than Sydney...

But what a great idea! Now users can see whats on in their local(s) and make a call where to meet your friends - or, to see where your favourite brewery is being poured!

A quick look has lead me to find the two places in Balmain are the Welcome and the East Village (two great craft beer institutions) but disappointingly they are "untappd reports" i.e. the pub hasn't signed up but rather someone has "reported in".

For the next upgrade of the website it would be great to search an area (i.e. whats pouring in "Chatswood" and where) and it would be great for the app to have "what's pouring around me using GPS" so that this place guides me to the right place.

I was reading Pete Brown's blog (http://petebrown.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/crap-beer-its-future.html) and not being able to find a great place in Chesterfield (England) and thought - "if this app was in the UK and he had it, then this wouldn't of happened to him" hence the "what's pouring around me" request...

The app was created by someone with a passion for beer and where it is being poured, opposed by someone looking for a quick buck or a company just doing advertising.

I kinda get quite passionate about these things as it is a great use of the internet and the connectivity of people that do things and acts for no profit for themselves... (just for the record I have no affiliation to this)

I have just downloaded the app and will start to utilise, and hopefully you and others will too..

Matilda Bay brewery bar Melbourne

A weekend away with the wifey in Melbourne and I got the pleasure of coming up with the itinerary. So after a lot of research on breweries and great bars / pubs from the many beer blogs I mention in this blog, I came up with a grand plan for the weekend... 

Unfortunately, the wifey didn't seem too keen to solely go to pubs and breweries in and around Melbourne to taste great beer... so a compromise was agreed - I got to pick a few places that I would like, and she got to go to a few nice wine bars and all the fine things that Melbourne has to offer... So I chose Matilida Bay and was thoroughly glad it made the cut! 

We were staying near the South Bank so thought we could walk to this place- google told us it would 15 mins... well my advice friends, taxis were created for a reason (and would of been like $15...so a real no brain-er). Its a walk down an industrial estate to this place and I don't think many walk here... 

This picture shows off the brewery come bar at its best... is it a brewery with a fancy bar? No and for beer lovers its awesome to sip a beer and see where it all comes from... Its a little charlie and the chocolate factory isnt it? 

The Little Ripper is just brewed for the brewery bar (they call it small batch beers)

Hmm...beer (a 'little ripper' of a beer) and a proper pint (see my review of the Wheatsheaf in South Australia)

The wifey is a fan of wheat beers so she tried the Beez Neez and the Redback. While the Redback is a more traditional European style wheat beer it has quite a 'floral-ly' taste through it while the Beez Neez is a wheat beer with a slight taste of honey and malt to make it a perfect beer for her.

I tried the'little ripper' and it was nice, and would be fantastic for a warm summer day as it is light and refreshing but in winter it maybe was a little lacking in punch. It reminded me of a Central European lager, which isn't something that I thought Matilda Bay would produce - I naturally think of them producing big and unique flavours! So it was great to try it and another reason why you have to try out the brewery bar!

I followed this up with a Duke IPA - this is a lot more like what I expect from these guys - big flavours and a bit like a beer brewed in Northern England - not that flat rubbish brewed in the South East that is warm and flat but with flavour, cold and crisp with bubbles and a head...!

If you are in Melbourne, head over to this place, and if you see the Matilda Bay range at your local, have a few for me (my favourite is either IGP, Fat Yak or Minimum Chips depending on the weather and my mood!)...

While you are there, you may as well pick up a few beers for the house! I love the new Fat Yak cans... I just dont like cans of beer though...

OK, now we are off to 'Harry and Frankies' in Port Melbourne (think bottle shop specialising in VIC wines but where you can also sit down, drink said wine and order a big sharer plate of cheese and hams)... Holidays are tough...  

The Wheatsheaf Hotel Adelaide

So I am over in Adelaide for work and a college says "do you want to go for a beer after work?" To which my answer was "damn right! And I know just the place!"

So off we pop to the Wheatsheaf Hotel (http://wheatsheafhotel.com.au) and it is a bit of a funny place to try and find (a.k.a. its not in the CBD...) and it just kinda looks like a pub when you walk in... So my new friend was not too impressed!

If you can see past the beer (is that possible?) there is a real fire, I love pubs with real fires... reminds me of home

Anyway, we head to the bar and then it became clear why it is such a craft beer institution...

This sweet yet dark beer messes with your head with its flavour combination but it works! But it is 10%!! 

I said to the bar staff "whats local" to which the reply was "pretty much everything" !! and then she told me separation of  the taps for dark beer and the taps for the lighter beer - it is so unusual to see a 50 / 50 split between dark and light beers... really great to see and shows how this places really is carrying the flag for new and craft brewing...

I order the Plasma White IPA (I cant say I have heard of a white IPA before) but it was great, hoppy and big on flavour while my friend had the Bruce English Bitter. It's made with Aus / NZ ingredients, by Kiwis working in Adelaide (for a sort stunt) and is loosely based on a Northern English / Scottish bitter - some combination and it sure worked!

We then ordered the "Thornbridge Brewery" - I tell you what, its dark and stout-y but the raspberries give it a sweet finish - amazing and soo different! Very glad the bar maid convinced us.

What isn't convincing about South Australia is the term "pint" - we were drinking "pints" and it was false advertising... so after a bit of research a pint in SA is a measly 425ml... Now I cant blame the wheatshealf for this, but as they are pioneering some amazing, new and local beers maybe they can "pioneer" a pint being 568ml????