5 posts tagged with "brewery"

We headed to Seeker Brewery on Saturday night for a night out. We read online that a band was playing from 6 pm and so we thought that we should head there early just in case it was too busy.

We arrived at 5.40 pm to Seeker Brewery in the Industrial area in Unanderra. There was some parking available, which we reversed into. As we headed up the driveway, we walked up a set of 5-7 steps, walked past a food truck which was located ~10 m from a basketball hoop. The brewery itself was located in a factory, with the entrace parallel to the foodtruck. As we walked in, it did not look busy. There were a few tables and seating available. We sat down at Table #9, underneath the stairs. Yet, we could see everything around us quite well, including the stage, located 5 metres away at 275 degree angle from us.

Img caption: My view of the bar from where we were sitting

We ordered a beer each, followed by a pizza. The staff then said that there was a 30 minute wait, which we agreed to. We drank a beer. Then another. Then the Jazz band came on. 1.5 hours past and we still hadn’t eaten. It was so upsetting that we had only ordered one. If we had known it was a 1.5 hour wait, then we would have ordered more. Anyway, 7.15 pm came and our buzzer finally rang to tell us the pizza was ready.

Sure the pizza was pretty tasty - we ate the mushroom pizza. But it was definitely not large enough to satisfy us both! I was pretty cranky to be honest. I wanted to pull my phone out and give them a bad google review.

Then… One of the workers walked up to us and gave us our money back for the pizza. I was shocked! I tried to tell her not to worry before she walked off. I was amazed at how attentive they were. It made me feel like they cared about their customers. While I felt a little bad for taking the money, afterwards, we drove straight to Hungry Jacks to further satisfy our bellies, to which we spent the pizza refund money.

I am happy with my overall experience at Seeker. The beers were great! The vibe and music was great! The pizza was pretty amazing too. The only complaint was the speed of the pizzas. I am hoping that it is not always like that? But I suspect not because they refunded us for the wait.

• Located 16a Bellambi Ln, Bellambi NSW 2518

25.2.23​

As we were walking home from the Wolf & Woman Distillery we saw a sign to indicate that there was a brewery around the corner. We followed the sign and ended up at The Barrel Shephard brewery or "blendary". Their specialty are sour beers and their beers are aged in oak! It was a cool mixture of beer and wine.

The most amazing thing about this place is that they try to use the left-over fruit and vegetables, even grape skins to maranade their drinks, helping the planet by preventing food waste.

Their extensive wine and beers lists left us unsure of what to get in our paddle. We started with the basics: (1) Otto Kolsh (2) Table Beer (8) A short walk and (9) Father mauve. The first two were pretty amazing beer.

• Otto & Table beer tasted quite light like a lager but didn't have the strange aftertaste of one. It resembled very well beer from France or Belgium. Oh how I love Belgian beer!
• A Short Walk had a strange taste to it. Definitely could taste the tropical scent, but the smell was not nice and the after-taste was almost sickening. We didn't finish this beer. I will not get this one again.
• Father Mauve was really nice! While it was aged in oak, it was infused with Shiraz. This made the beer so tasty! It literally was a mix of both and it was really enjoyable. I would get this one again. After our tasting paddle, we ate a burrito each from the Amigos foodtruck that was at the brewery and had one Table Beer each before the brewery closed, at 7 pm.

The only thing that is not great for this brewery is that it is only open on Fridays 4-7 pm and Saturday's 12-7 pm. I guess it may be from a limited liquor license. Anyway, it is a close walk for us, so it can be an afternoon treat 😊

28.4.23: Friday treat​

After work, Nick and I walked with Chip down to the Barrel Sheppard. Tonight, they were serving woodfired pizza from Cirosza pizza. When we arrived, we sat at a table and stools and then I approached the bar and ordered two beers: The Table beer and the Brett Saison. Both had similar tastes, just the Brett Saison was more like a sour, while the table beer was more like a standard lager/belgian beer.

Next, we ordered pizza: A potato/rosemary pizza initially and wow this pizza was amazing. The sauce that was ontop was 10/10. We ate this with our beers. It matched really well.

Side note: Talking to the owner of this pop-up-shop, he said that they were currently setting up a shop in Thirroul. I will definitely go here when it opens.

After the pizza, we were still hungry so I ordered another: this time the three-cheese. This one was also nice but not as good as the first one. With this pizza, we had a second round of beers. This time, we went with sours: for me, the Afterlife PE and for Nick, I ordered him the Sasura Plum. Both were delicious, but Nick's had more of a kick to it.

By the time we had finished our beers and pizza, we were ready to leave. I went to the bar and bought a bottle of the Father Mauve that I tasted last time (as they had no more on tap) and then we walked home. By 7.15 pm, we were on the lounge with tea and watching Killing Eve.

Img caption. Our orders for tonight: 1. Pizza with beer #2 and #3 on the menu, and 2. Beer #7 and the new release plum sour.

25.8.23​

Since my last post, Nick and I have been to the Barrel Shephard many times; only, I have forgotten to write about it - well not forgotten, I've been meaning to update my blog more often, but my thesis has taken priority.

Around 5.30pm, Nick, chip and I walked to the Barrel Shephard. We found seats at a barrel table and ordered two pizzas. Ciscos wood fired pizza was the "food-truck" that was serving for the weekend. Turns out, it is there last stall as they are opening a shop in Thirroul. We ordered a potato and a mushroom pizza. While we waited, we drank a couple beers. Nick went with a german ale, while I got the darker beer - the Wolf.

This beer was really amazing, and one of my favourite dark beers that I've had to date. They have two types of "The wolf" - a standard and an aged one. The standard "the Wolf" tasted like a classic stout; while, the aged one literally tasted of a Bourbon and coke. A few weeks ago, I tried both of these beers. I wanted to buy a bottle and gift it to one of my brothers (or both) but unfortunately, they don't do this beer in bottles. THe worker told me that it was because The Wolf was ready later than expected and bottling would mean that it would not be ready for the winter sales (because dark beers are typical winter drinks). He did say that it would be ready for next winter though.

Tonight, I enjoyed The Wolf and then a glass of Shiraz. The wine was not the best; and had similar flavours to some of the beers they sell.

As we ate our pizza and drank our beers, we admired how great the place is. We are so lucky that it is right down the road and we can walk there. Nick said "it's our new Friday hang out".

• location: 103 Princes Hwy, Fairy Meadow NSW 2519

#illawarra #brewery

2023-07-14​

Principle Brewing is a small brewery located in Fairy Meadow on the Princes Hwy. When I say small, I mean it! It is very small and there are no parking spots available. However, considering that the area is not busy, there is side-street parking available in McGrath street just before Principle Brewing.

The seating is also limited here, which is why I do not often come here. When I went to Principle Brewing in 2022 with a few friends after Climbing, at 12 pm on a Sunday, we struggled to get a small table. For larger groups, it is standard to book a table for this brewery.

I've tried many of the beers from here, as many places in the Illawarra has Principle Brewing on tap. Everytime I get a beer from the Principle Brewery, I am never disappointed. They are really amazing!

After I went surfing on Friday afternoon, I headed to Principle Brewing to refill our Growler. Not many breweries in the Illawarra refill Growlers from other breweries. Despite our Growler being from Reub Goldberg Brewing Machinem, they still filled our 2 L Growler for $25 with the Hazy Pale Ale. Compared to RGBM, this is very cheap! And when I compared the price of a 6-pack ($27), it was similar value - without the added waste.

2023-08-20​

Lately, we have been pretty busy with Hens and Bucks parties to attend. Nick asked if I wanted to go out, but I insisted on staying home for the evening. I also suggested that I would refill the growler after my morning surf and afternoon time in the lab.

I arrived at Principle brewery not long after 5 pm. It was not super busy and the foodtruck was parked out front. It would have been a perfect time to sit and socialise. I refilled the growler with a limited release beer that I had tried last time I was there: Sequoia. I wanted to try it again, because I thought maybe I had emphasised the taste in my head and it wasn't the true taste. However, once I tried it, I immediately remembered how great it was.

The refill once again costed $25. Considering that this beer is 6.5 % and we get ~6 drinks out of it, it is really cheap!  

• Location: 3 Dalman St, Forster, NSW 2428

Over the Easter long weekend, Nick and I headed to Forster for a small getaway in a campervan. I had previously read about this brewery: they had travelled around NSW for various craft beer festivals. They had really good reviews as well. This was our first stop in Forster on Good Friday.

Nick and I had a Paddle each (of course we shared all 8 beers). All the beers were pretty amazing - especially the Hearts NEPA. This was my favourite and I really enjoyed every minute of it. Nick didn't have a favourite but he did comment about how great the beers were. On this day, they were serving food from a BBQ food truck. Unfortunately, chip was really unsettled from the trip in that we had to leave straight after the paddle. Nevermind though, because the following day, we came back!

After a day out at Old Bar Village, we stopped in for another beer at the brewery. I enjoyed a Hearts NEPA and Nick an IPA. We also brought in our own cheese and crackers as I had previously read online that they allow external food. Also, the food truck wasn't operating at that time.

This beer for sure deserves many awards.

About:​

• Location: Tarrawanna
• Specialise in Lagers

2023-02-13​

On my way home from work on Saturday afternoon, I planned to pick up beers from Dan Murphys but I had a crazy idea to go and get a growler instead. Well actually it wasn't crazy because I had been thinking about it for a long time - I could not justify spending that much money to buy the growler: finally I had the courage to buy one. My initial thought was to go to illawarra brewing co. on Montague Street in North Wollongong, but they were closed for renovations. Next, I thought Principle brewery located in Fairy Meadow but I went the wrong way and was too lazy to turn around. Therefore, I ended up at Reub Gouldberg Brewing. Here, I bought the Highlands Rye #Porter

It was pretty light for a porter. It was super delicious though, not bitter like many other porters. I rate this beer: ★★★★★★★★★☆

2023-02-17​

Heading home from the lab, I stopped in at RGBM brewery to fill up my growler. At this particular brewery, they have pre-filled growlers which means you swap out your growler for a different one. It costs $25 to get a 1.5L or $30 for a 2L. Today, I swapped my 1.5L for 2L. I decided to go with a Dark Mexican #Lager, as I preferred it over the pale ales that I tried while I was there. (Sorry not sorry)

This beer is stronger than the porter: 4.5% but it tastes lighter. It's something that I can drink really fast, however, Nick said that he could tell it was more alcoholic than the porter. I don't think I can taste it more.

I do like this beer a lot, but I also liked the porter. I would rate them the same for several reasons:

• the porter has a more full flavour, almost like it's satisfying my belly
• The Mexican lager was light and more floral
• Both are dark beers
• Both are less bitter than pale ales but have more flavour.
• They make me equally as happy.

Carly's rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆

2023-03-04​

On my way home from my Saturday job, I stopped in at RGBM brewery. Most of the growlers were sold out. I was keen to try a pale ale or IPA, but they didn't have many options this time. (It seems each time I go there, they have different beer options).

The worker guy was really good and gave me a taste of a few different ones that might resemble an IPA. Two options were really tasty: the landbier (A fresh & golden #lager, with a bready malt character featuring Belphegor Helles Yeast and neomex hops adding pithy citrus & an earthy bitterness. ABV 5%) or the NZ rice lager (Crisp base and bright NZ hops. Sav Blanc, lychee and honeydew melon. ABV 4.9%). Both were so good, but I went with the 1.5 L of Landbier.

The beer was quite tasty for a #lager. Personally, I would never get a lager because they are usually flat tasting. This one, was very hoppy and full of a citrus flavour with some bitterness to it. The first sip resembled an IPA, but the after-taste was more like a lager.

I didn't enjoy this beer as much as the dark beers, but it was still quite tasty and definitely a well crafted beer for a lager!

Carly's rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆ ☆

2023-03-17​

Heading home from a Friday afternoon paddle, I picked up another growler. This time I got the Indian Pale Lager. This is probably the hoppiest beer that they had. Upon first taste, you think "yep its an IPA", but once you've swallowed it, the after taste resembles a lager. It was a pretty tasty beer.

About: "A hybrid style that we're calling a session IPL with a festbier grist, American hops & a Czech lager yeast. A dank aroma with hints of sweet fruit & citrus. Followed by a dry biscuity malt character, balanced by berries & piney bitterness. ABV 3.4%"

This time, I went for the 2 L which only costed $25 and was about 6 drinks in total. Another thing that I also loved about this beer is that I could drink it without feeling any of the bad alcohol symptoms (being tipsy). After drinking three beers before, during and after our dinner, I continued working on my thesis.

Carly's rating ★★★★★★★☆☆ ☆