Bryon Bay Brewery

So when you think of Byron Bay breweries, you naturally think of Stone & Wood but to our pleasant surprise, we found the Byron Bay Brewery on the way to our hotel (the wife and I had a weekend up in Bryon; great spot!).  

This place was an arts factory, then a rock and roll venue and now a cinema and brewery bar - it is one massive bar! It is slightly outside of town with a free shuttle bus to cart you from the town to the place and there is plenty of parking outside. 

The band were playing outside (if the weather is bad they move inside) in the beer garden with a steady flow of people coming through the back as this is drop off point for the shuttle bus.

Yes thats a ukulele, amazing... 

The size of the place gives it quite an American feel to it and when it's quiet, this place will really struggle with an atmosphere and it's an area the Brewery can improve on [in my opinion] - when you go to places like Bentspoke in Canberra or other brew houses in Sydney or the Hunter Valley the thing that really jumps out at you is "we love making beer" and, to be honest, the Byron Brewery Bar didn't really give that vibe off. It felt sort of felt fake and a bit "generic formula for a large brew house" if that makes sense?  

as you walk in you see the brewing process

it's a big place!

As for the beers, they have five on tap and a special beer. The special when we were there was the Special Longtime IPA which sounded awesome but it had run out by the time we made it to the brewery unfortunately. 

I started with the pale ale and it was a beer anyone could happily drink, very easy and smooth.

The pale ale

The dark lager is a bit like vegemite - you will love it or hate it - you get a dark coloured lager, with toffee English ale flavours and smells upfront but it finishes slightly sweet like a pilsner lager. For me, it is was hot and sweaty when I drank it and it was the wrong type of beer to drink in the heat - come winter, I would give it another go. 

I finished with the "Premium Ale" - such a unique beer! It tastes like a full flavoured lager with more natural carbonation and a creamy finish - quite unique and really quite enjoyable! I think the place deserves a lot of credit for coming up with a few unique tasting beers, so well done!

If they could only make the place smaller, or split it up into different rooms etc, this would be a great place to hangout and enjoy a few beers, never-the-less, sitting in the beer garden in the back, listening to the band play here is an enjoyable night out...

Record Crate, Glebe

So the wife and I fancied somewhere a bit different to the usual pubs before we went for a Mexican dinner in Glebe so off we went to Record Crate - a vinyl shop and coffee shop by day and bar at night. 

It is right in the middle of Glebe Point Road so a perfect pre meal spot. While I chatted to the owner and discussed whats on tap, the wife looked at the wine list, which she wasn't all that fussed about. I reckon it must be very difficult when you are a record store, cafe, bar to meet all needs and get enough styles of wine on the list to please all. Maybe thats the downside of a slightly different and cool bar - size and storage will limit meeting everyone's demands... 

Is it music shop or a bar?

What an awesome combo, craft beer, tunes and an ability to buy said tunes! 

So they had three Mountain Goat beers on tap and also had an Angstrom Voltaic Pale Ale - I read about these guys the other day, it is brewed by a few mad scientists brewing some interesting and unusual beers in their spare time while working at Sydney Uni! So I had a to have the Angstrom... 

Ångström Brewery Voltaic Pale Ale 

I wouldn't of said it was a wheat beer and it is quite flat, a bit like an English beer, with a solid amount of hops going on upfront in true Aussie style but the taste dies away and just leaves the orange / mango scent. I hate to say it, but I struggled to find the 'whoa' with this beer... but I think it is because I like a bit more carbonation in my beer... I hope these guys do well but it wasn't for me... 

Goat... a great brewery.

Cheers for surviving the week!

When I spoke to the owner of Record Crate, I was asking him how he found out about the craft beers and he told me a friend runs a craft beer 'meet up' so is always on top of up and coming breweries. 

I would probably say this place is a bit like a cross between Mojo Records (but imagine everyone in the record store opposed to in the back bar area) and The SG (i.e. a bit retro, a bit different and serving some cool beers with some 60s and 70s tunes playing away). 

I think the fact that this place is a bit different, and the fact that there will be new and different craft beers on tap makes this a place to come back to. I kinda think places like this show why the Inner West really is the coolest spot in Sydney...