Tag: Australia

Since our last visit to Melbourne a little over two years ago, a number of beer bars had opened in the city center (or CBD in Aussie). With one last day before flying off to Western Australia, we decided to spend the day checking out what was new in Victoria’s capital.

After arriving in Melbourne in the morning, we wasted no time in getting our day started with a bit of culture: a visit to the Old Melbourne Gaol, where we ducked in and out of numerous small cells once inhabited by some of Australia’s first residents. Prominently displayed throughout the jail were the macabre death masks of those executed, including the infamous Ned Kelly.

Although our entry also entitled us to “enjoy” the Police House Experience, we opted out of it. We weren’t quite up to re-enacting the process of being booked into jail. Instead, we headed to the first stop on our Melbourne Urban Beer Hike – The Court House Hotel.

Not a brewery but a craft beer café, the corner establishment felt like a 1920s supper club. I love the movie The Cotton Club and the music playing could have been straight out of that soundtrack. We chose a high table in the small bar area near the entrance. The first customers of the day, the bartenders had time to chat with us about Australian craft beer and the high taxes on alcohol that result in beer costing between $9-$14 a pint.

I enjoyed the Golden Ale from Mountain Goat, a brewery we had visited on our last trip to Melbourne in 2010. Of course Chris went for the McLaren Vale IPA as we snacked on a charcuterie plate and marinated feta. This was our first of five planned stops, so we took it easy and moved on to our second stop (or at least tried to).

We followed along the busy main streets of Melbourne dodging city dwellers as they went about their work week. We found Biero Bar without problem, but they were closed. As in, we’re closed indefinitely. We later learned that the owners are re-branding the place and it may or may not be a craft beer café any longer.

We continued on and ended up in the small lanes of Chinatown. The dirty and somewhat seedy back alleys were lined with yummy smelling dim sum restaurants but Penny Blue, the third planned stop on the UBH, was no where to be found.** Chris finally gave up and started looking for our fourth planned stop – Cookie.

We couldn’t find Cookie, either. So far we were one for four on this UBH, a disappointing (and frustrating) prospect to say the least. However, we popped into a convenience store with a 24-hour internet café in the back, looked up the address, and much to our surprise learned that Cookie was literally right next door to where we were.

Up a dark staircase on the first floor, we found Cookie. The most striking feature of this place was the long white marble bar. We took seats at the bar and were served by an attentive young bartender.

Home to a large beer selection, we were a little disappointed in the lack of local beers on draft. Our well-meaning server even steered me to (what I found out later was) a pseudo-craft beer. However, they did have some good beers on, like the Temple Midnight IPA, a new brewpub in Melbourne that we wouldn’t have time to visit. Midnight IPA was a dark brew with a nice hop flavor and roasty character. They also had WiFi, so Chris and I barely spoke during our stop at Cookie.

We finished up our UBH at Beer Deluxe, a slick and modern establishment in Federation Square. The first thing I noticed about Beer Deluxe was that California beers (and the Bay Area in particular) were well represented, including Bear Republic, North Coast, Moylan’s, and Sierra Nevada to name a few. Of course we weren’t there to drink our local beers, though. We wanted local Australian beers and they had a nice selection of those, too.

Chris started with Feral’s Hop Hog, while I drank the Pale Ale from Stone and Wood. Beer Deluxe had great nibblies, as well, and the Turkish bread & dips and red lentil cakes paired well with our beer. The atmosphere was nice and it wasn’t too crowded, which was perfect for meeting up with James, an emerging beer writer (beerbarband.blogspot.com), to talk beer.

James took us to a James Squire pub nearby to taste their limited release Mad Brewer’s Hoppy Hefe. Just as the name indicates, the beer was a hoppy hefeweizen a la HopfenWeisse. While it was short in the Hefe department, the beer had a pleasant hop bite. A nice ending to a challenging Urban Beer Hike.

**During our hike, we eventually found Penny Blue, but it was closed for re-modeling.

View all the images from our day in Melbourne

While most of this trip is in Western Australia, we began our beer travels exploring breweries in the greater Melbourne area. Over three days, Merideth and I made a giant loop around Port Phillip Bay. Beginning our journey at Melbourne airport after a 15 hour flight from Los Angeles, we drove east for our first stop of the day.

Hargreaves Hill Brewery, located in the quaint town of Yarra Glen, wasn’t  a typical first stop of a big trip. It didn’t count on The List, failing the brewed on premise requirement. Despite this, I wanted to visit Hargreaves Hill Brewery because I had heard good things about their food and beer.

Somewhat jet-lagged and tired, Merideth and I managed to sit down at an outside table and get a sample paddle, as they are called Down Under, ordered. It was nice to finally relax and soak in some of the summer sun after a long journey.

There were six beers in Hargreaves Hill’s lineup, ranging from a Pilsner to a Stout. Given that it is summer in Australia, both Merideth and I gravitated towards the light end of the spectrum. The Hefeweizen was wonderfully refreshing with a delicate amount of banana and clove. The Pilsner was clean and crisp, with a pronounced hop bite.

Normally, I try to order a different menu item than Merideth. But neither of us were going to pass on the succulent Pork Belly on a bed of parsnip and apple mash. It was absolute heaven on a plate. Despite not counting on the List, Hargreaves Hill was a incredible beginning to our second Australian adventure.

Backtracking west, we drove through the rolling hills of the Victoria’s countryside. As I kept my eye on the road, Merideth intently scanned the fields for kangaroos and the trees for cockatoos and other birds. Occasionally, she would point things out to me, an activity that kept us both alert and awake. In a little over an  hour, we arrived at our final destination of our first day, Woodend.

Woodend was a typical Australian small town with one main street that was home to all the shops and businesses. Holgate Brewhouse, a brewpub and hotel, was located right in the middle of the main drag. It seemed like an eternity since we had left our house, so it was nice to finally not be on the move.

Dating from early last century, the pub, with it’s warm and cozy feel, just exuded charm. Merideth and I settled in at the bar, joining a group of locals having an afternoon pint.

There were eight beers in the sample, including a Saison from Bridge Road in Beechworth. Merideth really liked the White Ale, a Belgian-style Wit and Temptress, a chocolate Porter. For being only 6% ABV, Temptress had a boozy nose, though, thankfully, not taste. It was really smooth and chocolatey.

My two standouts were Road Trip, their interpretation of an American-style IPA, and the ESB, which they had on cask. Road Trip, made with Chinook, Centennial and Cascade hops, was more well-balanced, not from the hop assault school. I was just disappointed that they weren’t pushing it through their Randall.

After dinner, a few more pints and a game of Scrabble, Merideth and I decided we had stayed up long enough. We retired to our room upstairs for a well-deserved night of sleep.

View all the images from Yarra Glen and Woodend

We were up early on Saturday morning as we had a three hour drive to our first stop of the day. Heading south from Woodend in sporadic rain showers, we reached Geelong in a few hours then headed west. Despite the early departure and long drive, we arrived at Otway Estate Winery and Brewery in Barongarook somewhat bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

We were the first customers of the day, the only other activity was the setting up of a wedding in their function room. I think the staff person was a bit surprised by the fact that Merideth and I drove three hours to taste beer before 11am. But kudos to her for scrounging us up some breakfast.

We sampled eight beers, all of which were well-crafted, in two sets of four. The Pilsner and Wheat Beer, a Wit, were both delicious. The Blueberry Hefeweizen was deftly flavored, with a dry fruit character. The Summer Ale, Merideth’s favorite, was a really pleasant, light-bodied Golden Ale that made us wish it was more like summer outside. (The skies had cleared but the temp was still only in the 60s).

The beer I was there to try was Raconteur IPA, a creation of Hendo’s, one of the Otway brewers whom we know {Hendo has since moved on from Otway]. Raconteur, also made with Chinook, Centennial and Cascade hops, was much more an aggressive beer than the Road Trip of the previous day. Much more my type of IPA, Ranconteur could stand up next to any of the hop bombs I drink at home.

From Otway, we drove back east towards Port Phillip Bay and the ferry crossing at Queenscliff. As we arrived at the ferry terminal, the wind began howling and the skies opened up with a deluge of rain. I immediately started thinking about our last ferry crossing in rough weather.

In the spring of 2009, Merideth and I took the ferry from Wales to Ireland and things didn’t go so well for me. As we sat in the car waiting to drive on, Merideth tried to calm my nerves, assuring me that it was only a short trip. Luckily, the storm quickly passed over and the ferry ride to Sorrento was quite pleasant. Thus began the Mornington Peninsula portion of our Port Phillip Bay Beer Loop.

View all the Otway, Queenscliff and Ferry Ride images