# Sydney's Best Micro



## schooey (16/3/11)

Article in the SMH today about Sydney's best micro... I think they only gave the guy a city circle bus pass by the look of it! Can't believe the Schwarz beat Harts!


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## Silo Ted (16/3/11)

No 4-Pines ? What a joke. 

Still, it's a good thing that craft beer is getting media coverage.


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## earle (16/3/11)

I don't think the numbers in the article are a ranking. This is how the voting stands. Closes in 76 days.

Redoak Beer Cafe 23%The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel 53%

Schwartz Brewery 6%King Street Brewhouse (formerly James Squire) 8%

Harts Pub 10%


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## warra48 (16/3/11)

Seems to be Sydney CBD only (including The Rocks).

Have only tried the King St, Redoak, and Lord Nelson. 
My vote goes to the Lord Nelson, because they brew a better UK ale than I do.


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## hsb (16/3/11)

How is Redoak, got a tasting session voucher for there at Xmas, haven't booked it yet. 

Last time I was at the Nelson -must have been a year ago- the beer was icy cold, was cupping my Three Sheets to warm it up. Is it still a banker for a great ale?


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## Silo Ted (16/3/11)

hsb said:


> How is Redoak



In a word, BRILLIANT ! 

Although proceed with caution if you think the Berliner Weiss sounds like a good idea on paper :blink: 

On the 'must try' list should be their Irish Red and their Oatmeal Stout.


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## hsb (16/3/11)

Thanks Ted, sounds great, scored a good Xmas bonus there then, hadn't heard of them before. Will definitely make a note to check the Oatmeal Stout out and skip the Weiss!


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## Bizier (16/3/11)

If you can make it happen, Red Oak have some expensive special little bottles of strong/aged beers behind the bar, and they are really worth it.


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## shmick (16/3/11)

hsb said:


> How is Redoak, got a tasting session voucher for there at Xmas, haven't booked it yet.
> 
> Last time I was at the Nelson -must have been a year ago- the beer was icy cold, was cupping my Three Sheets to warm it up. Is it still a banker for a great ale?



Bring your ski gloves. They were nearly freezing a few weeks ago when I was there for lunch.

Irish red was off according to bar staff - I hope they just meant off tap.

Food was great. Enjoyed the Rauchbier but not for the faint-hearted (leave it until last if you do) :icon_drool2:


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## Silo Ted (16/3/11)

Bizier said:


> If you can make it happen, Red Oak have some expensive special little bottles of strong/aged beers behind the bar, and they are really worth it.



At $75 for a 330mL bottle, I would expect to drink it from a virgin's navel.


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## Bizier (16/3/11)

Silo Ted said:


> At $75 for a 330mL bottle, I would expect to drink it from a virgin's navel.


I was referring to the $15-$30 ones, but yeah, I agree with you. My comment still stands though, they are some very good beers, and I would chose one bottle of their baltic porter or St Nick, over two or three pints of many other beers.


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## Phoney (16/3/11)

If the author of that article bothered clicking on the links, they would see that JS brewhouse is now the King st brewhouse. They have no affiliation with James Squire anymore.


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## hsb (17/10/11)

Since this seems to be the most recent thread referencing Redoak, I'll report on my 'Beergustation' from the weekend @Sydney Redoak.

Was a Xmas present from wifey, took a long time to sort babysitters/time off!

4pm arrival for an introductory glass of 'German Wheat Beer' or Cider. I went the wheat and thought it was OK, seemed like a bold interpretation of style being very banana-y/murky, but a nice drop.

Followed by 6 more beers/food and some presentation/talking pitched at the general public level. Didn't really get much from the talking but it was interesting enough to get conversation flowing and I appreciated the sentiment/the level they were pitching it all at, plus it felt welcoming/genuinely intentioned and not snobbish in any way.

The beers - my first visit to Redoak

English Bitter - very fruity and at only 3.5% I was definitely impressed at the amount of body/character it still had - very sessionable and very drinkable - would quoff this one readily.

APA - was OK, having been bombarded by megahop US style APAs of late, I found this one very slight, was OK. Much prefer Harts Hangman for a much more malty/citrusy APA.

Honey Ale - I'm not into the Honey in beer thing, this didn't change my view, but very noticeable honey taste for those that do enjoy bee food in their brew.

Irish Red Ale - found it bland and uninteresting but again, not my first choice for style. It might have taken a hit being amongst all these different beers/foods - the subtelies (if they were there) not standing out.

Oktoberfest Lager - very very nice. Really enjoyed this. It probably benefited from its very sweet caramel notes in the same way the Irish Red suffered. We were all craving sweet tastes a bit at this point I think but I would definitely like to 'get to know' this one a bit more.

Porter - nice Porter. Enjoyed it.

ESB - just a taster on the way out, was in full _diaphragm-spasm_ mode by now  - was OK, preferred the standard Bitter but on paper I prefer ESB to sessionable bitters. Testament to the 3.5% bitter really.

The food/setup was OK, lot to get through - good for an afternoon with the Mrs.

Would definitely go back to try the Bitter, Oktoberfest and Porter again. No idea on prices, all the above were included with the gift. :icon_cheers:


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