# Oxford 152



## Ross (3/4/05)

I took my wife for lunch at the new micro in Bulimba (Oxford 152) the other day.

The dcor of the place is very minimalist complimenting the new face of Bulimba high street, which has become a mix match of trendy eateries, boutique shops & a wonderfully refurbished old fashioned cinema.
The lunchtime menu was small but quite varied & I chose the Tazzie oysters ($27 a doz) followed by battered barramundi ($22) with side order of green beans in almond butter ($6). Jacky, keen to go & give the shops a whirl, went with just the steak sandwich ($15). The food, like the dcor, was minimalist, with the oysters presented beautifully on ice in a sloped bowl but with only a slice of lemon to accompany. The Barramundi was presented in the same style with 3 battered fillets on a bed of crispy fries, accompanied simply with some tartare sauce. The open steak sandwich was put together in Turkish bread, again on crispy fries & looked extremely appetising. The presentation & taste of every dish was excellent. 

Now the real purpose for the visit the beers - Suffering with a cold, was not the ideal way to be tasting these beers & probably the reason why they seemed to lack aroma, but here goes anyway:

Started with the Oxford 152 (mid strength $3.80) This was very disappointing, tasted to me like a typical megaswill Aussie midstrength, no discernable aroma & quite bland.

Followed with the Pale Ale ($3.90 as were all the full strength beers) This was a huge improvement & served interestingly, unfiltered, looking more like a wheat beer. This was a typical American style ale with lovely aroma & a taste to match. Not in the league of something like LCPA, but enjoyable nevertheless.

Followed with Oxford cloudy (wheat beer) my experience of wheat beers is very limited & Grant (assistant brewer) told me later this was their hardest beer to get consistent quality - but I found this a delight. Not sure how true to style it was, but extremely refreshing.

Finished with a few glasses of the Oxford porter more of a brown ale in my opinion, but definitely the highlight of the visit. Beautiful chocolate & coffee on the palate (just wish my nose could have enjoyed the subtle aromas that Jacky informs me were definitely there). Grant later revealed that they add 1.5kg of ground coffee to a batch, as they find this is the only way to get those coffee notes (which inspired my Brazilian porter, mashed yesterday).

Jacky went off to peruse the shops while I requested a tour of the micro. Brennan the owner/head brewer had just left, so I was introduced to Grant, who took a 45 minute break from his duties to show me around & who turned out to be a pleasure to chat to. The micro was bought from England & instantly recognisable, with its wooden clad coppers, as from the now defunct Firkin chain (What went wrong there? Hadnt realised these wonderful pubs had called it a day). The micro is in a glass fronted room enabling clear viewing. The Oxford holds public & private beer appreciation evenings providing both beer & nibbles with the brewers in attendance, for approx $20 a head, which would make it a good venue for a beer club outing.

I hope to visit again soon, when my palate can do the beers more justice & to take Grant a bottle of english bitter (he's NEVER tasted one) - Is there anywhere in Brisbane that brews authentic English bitter?? Surely there's a market for it...


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## Hoops (3/4/05)

I'll have to get down there some day soon.
Maybe a chance for a Brisbane HBers get together? :chug:


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## Ross (3/4/05)

Hoops said:


> Maybe a chance for a Brisbane HBers get together? :chug:
> [post="52393"][/post]​



I'd be in on that - New to this site compared to most & would love to put a few faces to the names...

++++

Bloody hell - just noticed I've become a triple centurian, would never have guessed it ....


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## Dunkel_Boy (3/4/05)

I'd be up for that, I was in the area a week ago picking up some chemicals at Banksia, why did I not drop in??


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## Ross (3/4/05)

Dunkel_Boy said:


> I'd be up for that, I was in the area a week ago picking up some chemicals at Banksia, why did I not drop in??
> [post="52413"][/post]​



You shoud have!!!

I welcome guests anytime (within reason) & work from home, so usually here, unless at the HBS - Those that play pool & pinball especially welcome


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## Dunkel_Boy (3/4/05)

No worries. :beerbang: 
I think we should organise a few people to go along in a week or two, sounds like it's better than Cheers/Aurora...


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## Ross (19/5/05)

Boots was in town last night & caught up with Hoops, Snow & myself for a few ales - We started at the Regatta, where we noticed the micro on display was under a thick layer of dust - the barmaid informed us it stopped brewing 2 years ago - what a waste!!!
Snow was on kiddies duties so left us after a couple of rounds, but we then headed across to the Oxford 152 as I was keen to try their ales again, while not full of cold. 
What a fantastic night!!! Great company, superb ales, lovely food, delightful waitress... The APA was unamiously voted the outstanding beer of the night, so much flavour crammed into a glass, but all the beers were excellent & a top night had by all - We craftbrewers have to be one of the most sociable groups anywhere... :beer:


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## Snow (19/5/05)

Oh you buggers! Shame to miss out on going to the Oxford with you guys  . Oh well - I watched TV and drank my own pale ale  

It was good to catch up with Boots. Sounds like you Adelaide guys have a pretty good scene going on down there.

- Snow


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## Hoops (19/5/05)

Will put comments later but my head hurts too much!

Rock on APA is all I will say for now


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## Dunkel_Boy (19/5/05)

What do you think is the best St Arnou beer?
I know the pils was meant to be the award winning one, but I found that lacking in pils character. The Belgian was pretty good, peachy and sour. Pale ale was I think the best; delicate and fruity. And the Irish Red was a bit of a joke.
Don't know what you guys think.
I'll have to drop into Oxford 152 soon... I can't believe how busy I am, not complaining but frustrated that beer is taking 2nd place to work/business/chores/family.


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## Boots (19/5/05)

Had a great evening .. but I'm hurting now......

I really wanted to call the brew police and get the owner of the Regatta arrested. Such a waste!

The Oxford 152 was certainly a great place - and I'd go as far as saying it's a must see if you are in Brisbane. We didn't try a bad beer the whole evening there.

Food was very good (but make sure you order a side dish with your main), as was the service (even though the first bar lady wasn't quite sure what was going on. Prices were pretty high tho, and i felt like I was in a metrosexual magazine with some of the peacocks strutting around.

The APA was on steroids. It had a moderate cascade / ? aroma - but nothing that smashed you in the face. However, take your first taste and WOW .... the brewer certainly isn't afraid of hops :beerbang: IMO it wasn't really a balanced beer - what it is, is a showboat for hop flavour.

The other beers we had were the Oxford Nights (very nice stout), another dark one (can't remember the name) which to me was the stout brewed with a lager yeast ... and there must have been a few others we tried ... i just can't remember them  

The waitress even rang the head brewer for us to pass on our respects. The evening was so good, none of us had any idea of the time, and i was wondering why they were trying to rush us out .... it was then we realised it was after 1am.

Thanks for a great evening Snow, Hoops, and Ross - it was one to remember.


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## Sean (19/5/05)

Boots said:


> The APA was on steroids. It had a moderate cascade / ? aroma - but nothing that smashed you in the face. However, take your first taste and WOW .... the brewer certainly isn't afraid of hops :beerbang: IMO it wasn't really a balanced beer - what it is, is a showboat for hop flavour.


Isn't that the point of an American Pale Ale?


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## lou (19/5/05)

Its a real shame about the Reggatta - i didn't realise they had stopped brewing
it wasn't 2 years ago as i used to pop in there now and then for an ale when i lived around the corner and that was only last year.

They did a very nice irish ale - incredibly chocolately with loads of hop flavour and a nice fruity ester profile . The pale ale was nice too - what a tragedy - although the atmos of the place was always pretty bad. The scene is just not right for quality beer appreciation - loads of trendy w*nkers

lou


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## Kai (19/5/05)

Sounds like a great night was had by all... except poor old snow.


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## Hoops (19/5/05)

Man I was in a hurt locker this morning!

The Oxford Nights was actually the Swarzbeir (no idea on spelling) which tasted like a stout fermented with lager yeast, the Stout was the Oxford Black.
Certainly way too many metrosexuals in pink shirts!
I had the Kangaroo fillet which was really nice, done medium which is really a bit overdone for Skippy. The meal was very nice but very small but we made up for it with beer!
We checked out the brew gear through the glass, (I think I drolled on the glass a bit much) and I think we worked out how it all worked and what all the gear was for (except those 7 SS containers? - maybe for hop additions?). One fermenter had a tube going into a bucket of liquid and was going nuts, so at least you can tell they actually use the gear.

Certainly somewhere I will go again soon. 

Hoops


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## Ross (19/5/05)

Hoops,

I shaped up really well this morning, up at 6.00am & felt pretty good - must be a bad indication of my drinking habits if you guys were suffering...

Definately a night to be repeated, when we can get a few brewers together...


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## BrissyBrew (19/5/05)

I loved the Pale Ale, it was brilliant! I was upset I left it for last, I will definately return but will be ONLY drinking the pale ale.

As for the rest of the beers, better leave them for the rest. I was sadly disappointed, the only saving grace was the pale which was to risk repeating myself brilliant. A nice hops aroma, off the nose it was smooth and commanding, the palate displayed a good balance between malt and hops flavours, and I am not a hop head, but the malt and fruity overtones from the yeast was in perfect harmony with the hops.


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## adam (19/5/05)

they have had some great sunday sessions there lately - with a great band and crowd. i have been to about 4 over the last 2 months and had a ball.
shame they ran out of their beautiful porter but i still enjoy the pale ale and cloudy!


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## BrissyBrew (20/5/05)

I asked for the porter and they stated they stopped making it so I can not comment. The Pale Ale still does it for me, their cloudy needs more carbonation IMHO


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## Jye (9/12/05)

I was at the Oxford Wednesday night and the pale ale is still kick ass :beerbang: The let down of the evening was their seasonal beer 'bee sting' which was completely devoid of any honey flavour <_< and the oysters served warm with the tomato and bacon topping are a definite winner.

Jye :beer:


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