Here at EFTM HQ we have a new team member. He’s a man of mystery and frankly intrigue. You see Our Dictator Trevor Long, myself and Intern John hog the limelight. I did a bit of that yesterday when I expressed my concerns about the welfare of cyclists. But some just like to fly under the radar, so I’d like to introduce what we’re calling “The LifeStyler”. This sleuth has a taste for the finer things in life so here’s his first offering, hot off the press.
Those of you in Sydney or visiting and enjoy a beer might wish to indulge in a brewery crawl. In the vicinity of Marrickville you will currently find in excess of 10 boutique breweries all within walking distance and better still plenty of public transport.
Together with a group of friends we started our journey at 3pm from Sydenham station making the 700m walk to Batch Brewing Company. We were not the only ones with a group of Smurfs (or at least a bunch of blokes dressed up as Smurfs) also making their way to the same venue. Our first surprise was the queue at the front door. Turns out all the licensed patron numbers are strictly adhered too. Within 5 minutes we were in and quickly found a free table as inside it was not uncomfortably crowded.
Batch is your typical boutique brewery with a bar and tables at the front and a whole bunch of commercial brewing equipment at the back. Beer of course can be bought in a number of different ways from a tasting paddle to a glass to takeaway cans and Growlers (Big glass Jar they fill with your favourite from the tap and put a lid on). We went the $15 tasting paddles which came with 6 small (115ml) glasses of a set combination of their brews. We did ask for the stout to be swapped which the staff accommodated. Out front or within these breweries you find some sort of pop up food vendor and today we found “Mr Chans” whom we purchased some spicy chicken wings to ensure we had the energy to move onto the next.
The next being 600m walk to Sauce Brewing Co. A larger venue but still a queue out the front. Seems many others had the same idea and it’s great to talk to others on the street or in the lines who are also making their way from one to another for some great tips on which brewery to go to next. Sauce had 11 beers and 1 cider to choose from and again we went with the $14 4 x 184ml tasting paddle. No preset just choose your favourite 4. They have some great tasting notes to help you make your decision. To help soak up the fumes we indulged in loaded fries from the food vendor caravan. We choose to sit inside, but on this mild winter afternoon we could have sat outside in their beer garden with the crew dressed up as “Wizard of Oz”.
With the sun now firmly setting it was time to move on and we now walked 700m to The Grifter Brewing Company. No dress up’s this time but we did spend a little longer in the inevitable hold up outside to get in but made some new friends visiting from America. This place was full of Hipsters but they don’t discriminate and we easily found a table. Eleven beer’s to choose from and a tasting tray of 4 ponies (small 140ml Australian glass you normally ask for when you want to encourage all your friends to call you names). Pizza food vendor was not as appetising as previous so we settled for some nuts we smuggled in although we could have bought some over the bar.
At this point by my calculations I had consumed 2 litres of beer and visited the bathroom 4 times so I can here you thinking who had the best beer? Hold that thought till we come back again to visit the other 7 breweries. However on the day for me and my fellow crawlers the Extra Hop Sauce (west coast IPA) from Sauce seems to be the winner. Keep in mind everyone’s tastes are different but certainly the Pale Ales were good all round.
Having consumed enough beer we then walked up to Newtown and had a Burger at the famous Mary’s (also with a que. Hint look for the red light as no signage) which did not disappoint washed down by a Newtower Lager which we have visited before but not on this adventure. Newtown has so many amazing food choices it’s a great place to either start or finish your adventure but check brewery open times as some close early and they are not open to the public every day.
An amazing way to spend an afternoon with good mates enjoying a beer safari or crawl which would have described our pace rather than action by the end of the night but due to the public transport options had us home by 10.30pm. Enjoy!
