4 pines

Is it a Microbrewery or is it a bar selling beer from a micro brewery? That is the question... Especially that 'big brother' has opened in Brookvale - http://4pinesbeer.com.au/venue/brookvale-brewery/ 

I suppose the question you will ask is, "what's the difference?" Well, I am glad you ask... The wife and I met some friends here on a Saturday night, and it was rammed! There was no way I could ask the bar staff questions, or really get a feel of the brewery part of 4 Pines, and I suppose that's the point of a brewery bar for me - it is the peeping window into the breweries philosophy and I think it is something that Batch Brewery really gets. 

4 Pines is a Micro Brewery apparently, and if you look close, there are 4 pine trees in the sign as well

The 4 Pines bar, right at Manly Wharf

Considering its small size, it is amazing it manages to fit in a brewery as well!

Pints of 4 Pines Pale Ale

As for the beer, the Pale Ale is a more golden colour, with a smooth taste and a slightly malty finish. The fruit masks the malt so the after taste is a bit of a surprise! It is a really good session beer. It was a lot better than I was expecting - Pale Ales seem to be the "anything beer" and as a result there are a lot of basic Pale Ales in the market in my opinion.

The Kolsch is full of wheat with little head and light body, just as it is traditionally made but for me, the first taste was a little too sweet for me (although it dried out on the finish). 

They had a Rye Ale as a cellar door tap and I tried to order a pint, but the waitress let me know the alcohol content - 8.4% so that was given a wide berth; on a night out, anything at 6%+ is out the window for me. I had a taster and it was nice, but as you would expect, you can really smell the alcohol on it. I was gutted as I really do like a Rye Ale to be honest, a really nice trend in the Craft Beer scene at the moment... 

The two girls had wine, and they both liked the range on offer, so it's a great place to go with friends or couples, opposed to a brew bar like the Lord Nelson, which lets be honest here, is a great pub for the boys...

So to sum it up, great bar to meet friends, but maybe go to the Brookvale site to get a flavour of the brewery opposed to this brew bar. If you local bottleshop has the Pale Ale, it's definitely worth a go...