Stone & Wood head brewer Brad Rogers enjoying a fresh Pacific Ale - photo courtesy The Crafty Pint

This week, Stone & Wood Brewery received a very big accolade indeed – their Pacific Ale took the number 1 spot in the annual Hottest 100 Beers poll.

This is a great achievement for Stone & Wood, and is particularly exciting for Thirsty Critters, as we have been stopping in at Stone & Wood for almost as long as they’ve been in business! We love visiting Stone & Wood – the welcome mat is always out, and they have a cold Pacific Ale in your hand within seconds. For those unfamiliar with Stone & Wood, they also brew a fantastic lager and the occasional seasonal beer.

So, want to visit the brewery behind Australia’s #1 beer? Thirsty Critters is here to help! For the month of February and March, for groups of 6 or more we’ll knock $10 off the per-head cost of our Byron Bay and Beyond tour. For the discounted price of $140 per head, you’ll get to do a tour of Stone & Wood and sample their beer fresh off the bottling line, enjoy lunch and more fresh beer at the Byron Bay Brewery, then drop in at either MT Brewery or Burleigh Brewing on the way home. If you haven’t been on the Byron Bay & Beyond tour (or even if you have) – now is the time to get on board!

If you don’t have a group of 6 or more ready to go, get in touch and we’ll try and add you to an existing tour.

Congratulations Stone & Wood!

The Brisbane beer scene has changed quite a lot since the first edition of the Brisbane Good Beer Guide a couple of years ago, with some of our favourite haunts falling by the wayside, but also some great new places popping up. The guide below is a listing of South East Queensland and Northern NSW’s best places to enjoy a cold craft beer, or find one to take home. If you think this guide is missing anything please get in touch.

All Thirsty Critters tour guests get a printed copy of the Brisbane Good Beer Guide to keep on hand for emergency situations! And of course, you can visit all the places listed below and not have to worry about driving by joining a Thirsty Critters tour.

BREWERIES AND BREWPUBS

Burleigh Brewing Company
17A Ern Harley Drive, Burleigh Heads
Burleigh Brewing are Queensland’s flagship craft brewery. Pumping out fantastic ‘regular’ beers like 78 pale ale, Hef witbier and Bighead low-carb, they also produce acclaimed seasonal beers like Black Giraffe and Fanny Gert’s Bickie Beer. Their beers are now widely available in stores and on tap, but nothing beats a visit to their huge brewhouse, where you can find master brewer Brennan and ‘My Wife’s Bitter’ namesake Peta doing their thing. The brewhouse only opens to the public once a month, but Thirsty Critters tour guests are always welcome!

Stone & Wood Brewery
4 Boronia Place, Byron Bay NSW
A small and very friendly brewery run by a few of Australia’s most renowned brewers in the back blocks of Byron Bay. Their flagship beer Pacific Ale was voted Australia’s #1 beer in the 2011 Critics Choice Awards. They also brew a Pale Lager made entirely from German malt and hops, and the occassional special brew like Stone Beer and Red Relief. Locals also get to enjoy their Kellerbier, on tap at pubs in the Byron district only (and for those in the know – it’s also on tap at the Brisbane German Club).

MT Brewery
165-185 Long Road, North Tamborine
MT Brewery is part of a very popular and tourist-friendly complex atop Mt Tamborine at Eagle Heights, sitting alongside the excellent Witches Chase Cheese Company and Liquid Amber restaurant. There’s around 7 craft beers on tap at any time, including 2 Belgian ales and the legendary Black Cockatoo dark lager. Their Belgian ‘St Bridget’ dubbel is also highly prized.

Brisbane Brewhouse
601 Stanley Street (Cnr Annerley Rd), Woolloongabba
Many years ago Brisbane had a brewpub called Aurora’s in the CBD – the same people that moved on from there re-opened in South Brisbane at the Clarence Corner Hotel in 2010. The old pub is still at the front, but out the back is a relaxing lounge with the Brewhouse range on tap, including Sunshine honey wheat, Brisbane Pale Ale and seasonals like Up Yer Kilt Scottish Ale! Fantastic food is also available.

Sunshine Coast Brewery Bar and Restaurant
22 Ocean Street (intersection of Ocean Street & Horton Parade), Maroochydore
The Sunshine Coast Brewery itself is located in the Kunda Park industrial area, but now you no longer have to make your way out there to enjoy their award-winning range of beer. The Brewery Bar & Restaurant is located quite close to Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore and has all their beers on tap, including a fantastic Rye ESB and Best Bitter, and for the brave, a chili Beer! There is also a great variety of food on offer.

Byron Bay Brewery
1 Skinners Shoot Road, Byron Bay NSW
Located at the old Arts Factory, the Byron Bay Brewery is part of a complex also including a cinema, day spa, concert venue and backpackers accommodation! Six of their in-house beers are usually on tap, including a very good pilsener and their great ‘Billy Goat’ dark lager. There’s a huge beer garden to sit in and enjoy the good beer and Byron vibes.

Bacchus Brewing
2 Christine Place, Capalaba
Bacchus Brewing is a ‘brew for you’ type operation with a difference – they’re all-grain brewers, meaning your beer is brewed exactly like your favourite craft beer is made. They can brew a huge range of beers for you, and friendly proprietor Ross is always happy to take you through his range of beers available for your brewing pleasure. Some of their beers are starting to appear at beer festivals and on tap at places like Archive, so keep an eye out!

International Hotel
525 Boundary Street, Spring Hill
With the demise of Oxford 152 and The Brewhouse, the International Hotel is currently Brisbane City’s only microbrewery. They’ve got four on tap, including a wheat beer, pilsener, Irish ale and midstrength.

BARS, CLUBS & PUBS

Archive
100 Boundary Street, West End
With the demise of the Platform Bar, Archive is now Brisbane’s only ‘A Grade’ craft beer bar. Their front bar maintains a steady range of excellent Australian craft beers on tap, while their ‘Next Door’ bar showcases even more on constant rotation. They hold very regular craft beer appreciation evenings and the occasional craft beer festival. After you’ve sampled a few draught beers, head out the back to their bottle shop to take some home – they have the best range of take-away craft beer in Brisbane. You can also buy a growler to refill each time you come back!

The Spotted Cow
296 Ruthven St, Toowoomba
Toowoomba is the unlikely home of the Queensland pub that has been the most vocal supporter of craft beer for many years. They always have a few great taps of Aussie craft beer on the go, a huge range in the fridge, and constant lashings of live music to enjoy your beer with. Their inaugural ’Milking The Cow’ craft beer festival in 2011 was a huge success, and promises to get even bigger thanks to the huge amount of support that the beer-loving folk behind ‘The Cow’ have cultivated. A must-visit if you’re up on the range.

Kerbside
Constance Street (Ann Street End), Fortitude Valley
The only place you can get a decent beer in the Valley. No taps, but a great range in the fridge, including selections from Yeastie Boys and Holgate. A wonderful place to relax with a cold beer, with great ambience and superb retro decor.

Brisbane German Club
416 Vulture Street, East Brisbane
An amazing range of German beers you won’t find anywhere else, including the bizarre rauchbier (smoked beer) and wonderful weissbeir (wheat beers) like Maissel’s Weisse. Awesome German food at great prices too.

The Pig & Whistle
123 Eagle Street, Brisbane
Worth a mention here because they always have Stone & Wood on tap. The ‘Spitfire’ is actually a bitter brewed by Burleigh Brewing, and they have recently had Murray’s Punch & Judy Pale Ale on tap too. Worth a look if you’re down that end of the CBD.

Platform Bar @ Grand Central Hotel
270 Ann Street, Brisbane Central Station
Now defunct, thanks to the major brewers stamping out their craft beer taps.

BOTTLE SHOPS

Next Door Cellars
85 Russell Street, West End
So called because they’re next door to Archive (you have to actually walk in the back door of Archive), Next Door Cellars is one huge refrigerated room full of tasty, tasty craft beer from Australia and abroad. An outstanding selection, including some very rare and premium beers under lock and key!

The following bottle shop chains stock a very good range of Australian and international craft brews:

Festival Cellars
87 Charlotte Street, Brisbane
196 Musgrave Road, Red Hill

Chalk & Cheese
Locations in Kelvin Grove, Fortitude Valley, West End, Tenerife & Auchenflower

Melbourne Hotel Cellarbrations
2-12 Browning Street, West End

OTHER

Good Beer Lunches
Join renowned beer expert Matt Kirkegaard (ex-Beer & Brewer editor and regular contributor to The Punch) on a journey through great food and beer. Held regularly at beer-friendly venues around town, each Good Beer Lunch matches four gastronomic treats with a fantastic beer. A highly recommended experience.

Thirsty Critters Microbrewery Tours
Just in case you’ve surfed into this Good Beer Guide from Google, make sure you consider a Thirsty Critters tour, who put together this guide. Thirsty Critters are South East Queensland’s original and best guided microbrewery tour, taking in all of the breweries listed above. The tour includes transport, lunch, and tasting beers at each brewery. A guided tour by a master brewer is optional. Get in touch to make a booking.

Discount shopping books are nothing new, they’ve been around for years in various guises offering cheaper meals, products and services to those who buy a booklet of coupons. While those booklets offered all sorts of discounts – often with pretty terrible conditions attached – there’s a new player on the scene offering a much simpler discount proposition.

The Brisbane Voucherbook offers 2-for-1 meals at 25 great Brisbane restaurants for only $29.90. That in itself is a pretty good deal, but what makes it even better is that several of the restaurants have outstanding beer selections. The Brisbane German Club and Black Forest Cafe have their renowned selection of German beers, while the International Hotel actually brew their own range of lovely craft beers.

Good beer awaits you at the Brisbane German Club!

The Brisbane voucher book is significantly cheaper than other discount shopping books, and there’s no strings attached – just 2-for-1 meals at every restaurant in the booklet. You can buy online, so what are you waiting for?

In the interests of full disclosure, Thirsty Critters knows the good people behind the Brisbane Voucherbook quite well, but we really do think it is a great product

I’m a father, and I have had a sizeable volume of burnt toast force-fed to me in bed because of it.


That’s what happens on Father’s Day… you lie in bed, fingers crossed for a treat, and instead you get crumbs.


Let me break it to you gently, kids – forget the toast, can the socks and ditch the undies, your dad wants something that doesn’t make him feel likr he is in a remake of The Brady Bunch.


What he wants is something that makes him feel like he is starring in a remake of The Wild Bunch.


Something like a Thirsty Critters tour would certainly do the trick (www.thirstycritters.com.au).


This neat little business based in Brisbane was fathered by Peter Luetjens (pictured) about a year ago and has since grown into a healthy toddler, ferrying small busloads of beer lovers around some of the growing number of craft breweries operating in southeast Queensland and northern NSW.


Peter, 30, had the idea of doing boutique brewery tours when he drove up to Mount Tamborine one day to visit the MT Brewery and left frustrated that he couldn’t sample more of the tasty beers made there because of the car keys in his pocket.


Trouble is he now drives the bus so he still hasn’t found a way to enjoy all the beers on offer.


“I thought there was a gap in the market for this type of tour, so I quit my job (in advertising) to give it a red-hot go,” Peter says.


Thirsty Critters offers two main tours, but can also tailor the journey to suit the clients.


The Byron Bay-Mount Tamborine circuit – taking in a visit to three breweries in two states in one day – is the most popular, but not by much. It costs $145 per head, including lunch.


The other one, a Brisbane-Mount Tamborine tour ($120 a head with lunch), takes in two breweries, a winery and a distillery. Both can take up to 11 people.


Breweries visited can include the Stone & Wood Brewery in Byron Bay and the MT Brewery at Mount Tamborine, both of which make terrific beer that is often hard to obtain, adding to the appeal of the tours.


“When I first started I told myself that if I could do two tours a month I would be happy, and I have achieved that,” Peter says.


“I have no marketing budget so I have to rely solely on word-of-mouth. My aim now is to do three a month.”


Highlights of the tour include being shown the beer-making process from go to whoa by one of the brewers and pouring yourself the freshest beer you will ever drink, straight out of the maturation tanks.


Thirsty Critters isn’t a glorified taxi service for people wanting to do a long-distance pub crawl.


“The clients so far have been pretty evenly divided between people who already know a lot about beer and want to see what these craft breweries are doing, or people who are just starting out with their beer education and are keen to learn more,” Peter says.


It’s not just for the dads either. Plenty of women go on these tours, in line with the growing curiousity about beer that has seen an explosion in attendances at beer and food matching events and tastings in the past few years.


So, kids, make sure you remember that when Mother’s Day rolls around in May.

“Creamy… that’s a good word… a heritage word!”

Australian craft beer lovers look longingly to overseas countries such as… well, anywhere, really, as bastions of relaxed drinking cultures. Almost everywhere outside the Islamic world seems to be free of the nanny-state restrictions we are increasingly shackled with. Plastic cups, restricted trading hours, horrific excise, no drinking in public, even being forced to drink midstrength beer at festivals in Queensland – the list of can’t-do-that’s goes on. If I were more jingoistic I would say these infringements of our drinking liberties were downright un-Australian, but we’ve somehow ended up here and I don’t think we’ve seen the worst of it.

Germany in particular is one country that has always seemed to have it’s drinking culture sorted. A nation where you can legally drink at 16, buy a beer in pretty much any retail outlet, and celebrate beer for a whole fortnight at Oktoberfest seems like a pretty fun and relaxed place. They’re still not free of their own fun police, though, as this recent article in The Local attests:

Cities consider ban on ‘beer bike’ tours

Vehicles for city tours such as multi-person bikes offering free-flowing beer are increasingly sparking the ire of both motorists and pedestrians in Germany, leading some cities to consider banning them. The wide, multi-seat conference bikes, often converted to “beer bikes” with a keg in the middle, create traffic jams on narrow streets, according to Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel.

The beer bikes, which allow for passengers to imbibe while a sober driver guides them on their tour, are particularly controversial, the paper said.

The rolling keg parties have been visible on Berlin streets for some time, but were allowed to hit the southern city of Stuttgart’s streets just this summer following approval by the Baden-Württemberg state parliament.

Meanwhile the Rhineland city of Düsseldorf is concerned about the “indiscriminate peeing” and noise that accompanies the beer bike tours. The municipal public order office there tried to have the vehicles banned last year with a successful case in the city’s administrative court, but failed to convince an appeals court.

The state’s top administrative court in Münster will now address the case in October, and the nearby city of Cologne plans to model their regulations accordingly, the paper said.

Officials in the German capital have also decided to wait for that ruling.

“Then we’ll discuss it,” Mathias Gille, spokesperson for the Berlin city government’s traffic control office, told the paper. “There are no motions to ban them. The beer bikes and rickshaws are not to be overlooked, though.”

But deputy leader of the Berlin Free Democrats, Klaus-Peter von Lüdeke, told Der Tagesspiegel that he wants the vehicles banned.

“These rolling beer bars take up the width of a car and are real traffic impediments,” he said.

Beer bike drivers are required to remain sober while they guide the tours, but Lüdeke said they still could not be trusted to negotiate traffic.

But Green party state parliamentarian and member of the committee for traffic and development Claudia Hämmerling rejected a ban on the vehicles.

“There’s also a danger from regular bike riders,” she told the paper.

Now I don’t know about you, but riding a beer bike around a beautiful German city on a sunny day sounds about as much fun as one can possibly have while sitting down. It also boggles my over-regulated Australian mind that such a thing even exists, although I have heard of similar contraptions operating in Portland, USA. It would be a shame for such beautiful and practical pieces of machinery to be regulated out of existence.

Granted, the Germans have a long way to go before the fun police bring things down to the level we’re on here in Australia now. But it’s worth keeping in mind that we’re not the only nation that has to deal with wowserish fun police.

A world where your custom-made beer costs half the price that craft beer costs you in the shops.

Many Brisbanites are already aware that such a world exists in the guise of Brews Brothers in East Brisbane. I’m constantly surprised at the amount of people who’ve never heard of the Brews Brothers service though.

For the last few months I have been embracing the Brews Brothers concept and enjoying every moment of it.

The process starts when you wander down to their ‘shed’ in East Brisbane, and enjoy a friendly greeting from Mike, the owner of Brews Brothers, or one of their courteous staff. You’re then welcome to peruse their massive range of 225 brews – each matched to a well-known brew so you know what to expect. Examples are Victory Bitter (VB) St Ella (Stella) and Carl’s Lager (Carlsberg). There’s also plenty of copies of much better beers than those just listed, and a few special ‘in-house’ brews. A lot of the varieties are bottled and chilled in the fridge for you to sample before you decide.

Welcome to Brews Brothers!

Unlike your local bottle shop, you’re not going to walk out of Brews Brothers with a carton. You’re committing to a keg of beer, or roughly 6 cartons of beer. Depending on which style you buy, this costs between $140 and $180. While more of an investment than a single carton, you are actually getting incredible value. For the premium ($180) range – which I heartily recommend – you are looking at a per-carton cost of $30. That’s the same price as a shitty carton of megaswill, and believe me, the final product at Brews Brothers is anything but shitty.

Once you’ve decided which brew you like, it’s up to you how involved you’d like to be with the brewing process. Mike or one of the staff will walk you through every step, or you can just pay your money and come back when its ready, which is anywhere from two to four weeks, depending on the quality and strength of the brew.

Sterilising and washing the bottles

After you beer is finished brewing, the real fun begins. If you like, you can take the whole keg home – they have taps and gas you can hire if you’d like to have a proper keg party. But if you want to enjoy your brew over a period of time, you can bottle the whole keg up yourself. Obviously you have to collect 6 cartons worth of bottles to bring in, which isn’t too much of a challenge for beer lovers.

With our beer 'Christmas tree'!

On bottling day, you firstly wash and sterilise your bottles, then rack them on the ‘christmas tree’ to dry. The Brews Brothers crew tap your keg next to a bottling bench, where you fill your bottles one by one, then cap them with a bottle capper.

The team at Brews Brothers supply you with glasses and encourage you to enjoy as many beers as you like while you’re bottling. Of course, if you drive down there to do your bottling, drink responsibly!

Filling and capping the bottles

And so ends the bottling at Brews Brothers. Now you’re free to go home and enjoy your brew! Before you leave, make sure you order your next keg

Sound like your kind of thing? Then head on down and say hello to the Brews Brothers team!

Thirsty Critters tours can stop in at Brews Brothers if you’d like to spend some time down there sampling their brews. Interested? Get in touch!

The unassuming exterior of the Barossa Brewing Company

When one thinks of the Barossa, they think of wine. Loads and loads of wine. Thankfully, I’m pleased to report, the Barossa has it’s fair share of decent breweries too. On a recent trip there I experienced almost all the beer that the region had to offer, and I was well impressed.

The first brewery we visited was right in the heart of the Barossa – funnily enough called Barossa Brewing Company. This little place is run by a very dedicated couple who work in other jobs during the week, the brew like crazy on the weekends. Their setup is small but effective, churning out a range of 4 standard lines. I don’t want to understate how blown away I was by all four of their varieties – they were magnificent. I was particularly pleased by their Miller’s Lager – to be honest it’s the first lager I’ve really enjoyed in a long, long time – so full of flavour! And nothing like almost any other lager you’ll find in a shop.

In addition to the lager they brew a Wheat Store Ale, Greenock Dark Ale and a Victorville Ale, which is their American Pale Ale variety.  All are good – so good that I had to order a carton to be shipped up to Queensland. Expecting to pay handsomely for the privelege, I was delighted to find that it only costs $15 to ship a carton of beer from SA to Qld! So if you’re keen on trying these wonderful beers, it’s not that difficult – just enquire here. It’s probably the only way you’ll get to sample this wonderful beer because the only place it’s on tap is just down the road at the Greenock Tavern!

After the delights of the Barossa Brewing Company, next on the list was the Lobethal Bierhaus. This isn’t technically in the Barossa – it’s about an hour away in the Adelaide Hills. It’s a sight to behold from the outside – a beautiful old woolstore that’s been converted into a brewery and brewpub. We arrived at midday on a Sunday and just as well – almost every table was booked and by 12.20 the place was full. The beer was excellent, as expected, but the real treat at the Bierhaus was being able to buy my very first growler.

For those unfamiliar with growlers, they are large vessels (around 2 litres) that are commonly sold by craft breweries in the USA. You buy a full growler, take it home, then bring it back for refills as often as you like. They’re unheard of in Australia, and I was taken aback to see them in the fridge at the Bierhaus. Needless to say, I had to have one. Despite me being unable to return and fill it up, I now have 2 litres of Lobethal Chocolate Oatmeal Stout chilled in my fridge ready to drink. It was a right pain in the ass to bring back in my luggage from SA, but it will be worth it.

After Lobethal we hunted down another small brewery, Grumpy’s – which also moonlight as a pizza joint in a sleepy little town called Verdun just outside Hahndorf. Sadly I only got to try a couple of their varieties as I was driving, but the beer available is less important than the fact that places like Grumpy’s exist. Here is South East Queensland we’ve recently witnessed the demise of Eagle Heights Brewery, and it’s a struggle for many of our craft breweries. But here, on a Sunday afternoon, was a packed-out venue serving pint after pint of delicious beer and tasty pizza. It’s testament to how far we have to go up here.

So, next time you’re in the Barossa, give a few of the wineries a swerve and try some of their breweries. You won’t be dissappointed!

First up is the ever-reliable Back Alley Beer Club, this Friday at Platform Bar. This time around they’re ‘turning Japanese’ and featuring the Hitachino Nest range by the Kiuchi Brewery.

The Kiuchi Brewery was founded in 1823 and still remains family owned and operated today. Famous for brewing Sake, Kiuchi didn’t begin producing beer until 1996 but has already built a strong reputation.

We will be tasting five beers from the range, including the Belgian White, IPA and Belgian Strong Ale, and light nibbles will be served.

Back Alley Beer Club starts at 5.30pm for 6pm.

The Back Alley Beer Club is massively popular these days and numbers really are limited! You can reserve you spot here.

Next on the agenda are two events to celebrate International Brewers Day! One at the Platform Bar and one at the great new West End craft beer hangout, Archive.

The Platform Bar event is shaping up to be massive in every way!

Ticket price includes a souvenir tasting glass, five beer samples and a light meal. We will have more than 18 beers available throughout the evening. The launch party will bring together the best range of Australian draught beer that Brisbane has seen in one place, as well as some of Australia’s best craft brewers.

Brewers:

Chuck Hahn
Malt Shovel Brewery
(Kosciusko Pale Ale)

Luke Scott
Otway Estate, Barongarook, Vic
(Otway Ale, Otway Red Ale, Otway Farmhouse Ale)

Ben Kraus
Bridge Road Brewers, Beechworth, Vic
(TBA)

Ian Watson
Murrays Craft Brewing Co, Port Stephens, NSW
(Grand Cru, Icon 2IPA, Whale Ale, Nirvana Pale Ale, Pilsner, Dark Knight)

Hayden Mokaraka
Blue Sky Brewery, Cairns, Qld
(Smoked Wheat, Choc-cherry Stout, Pilsener, IPA)

Brad Rogers
Stone & Wood Brewing, Byron Bay, NSW
(Stone Beer)

Brennan Fielding
Burleigh Brewing, Burleigh Heads, Qld
(Black Giraffe)

Other breweries to feature include MT Brewery (Mount Tamborine, Qld) and Sunshine Coast Brewery (Kunda Park, Qld). We will also have a collaboration beer brewed in collaboration between Ross Kenrick from CraftBrewer and Canberra’s Wig & Pen Brewery. The beer, a 7% black IPA is called Obama IPA, is in a style becoming increasingly popular in the US.

Tickets are $40 each (bargain!) and available here.

The Archive event is on two days later. It will be similar to the above – heaps of beers on tap, brewers on hand to have a chat with (and give a hug to), and good times guaranteed! Tickets are $20 each and available here.

Naturally, I will be at all 3 events, so if you see the Chief Critter about, be sure to say hello!