# Just launched a brewery!



## mandrake (28/7/14)

Hey there, just wanted to post that my brewing buddy and I have just launched our brewery - Ironbridge Brewery. We have 6 taps of our very own down at a new bar in Chippendale, Sydney - Knox St Bar (9 Knox St)

Four taps running right now:

A Fistful of Barley (pale ale)

Rye o' Rye

Domino Dark (stout)

Knox St Cider (we brew this one onsite in a 600l tank)


We will be bringing in some interesting American and European beers on our guest taps and have a nice selection of bottled beers too - the Langunitas _Lil' sumpin sumpin_ a personal favourite.

Love to get some feedback on our brews!


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## mckenry (28/7/14)

mandrake said:


> Hey there, just wanted to post that my brewing buddy and I have just launched our brewery - Ironbridge Brewery. We have 6 taps of our very own down at a new bar in Chippendale, Sydney - Knox St Bar (9 Knox St)
> 
> Four taps running right now:
> 
> ...


Nice one mandrake. Good timing too. I am looking for a place to go this thursday night! You know the drill, load up, grope someones wife, punch on with the hubby, smash the place up a bit. Cops get called.

Seriously, I will check it out. Is it your pub too? If not, good work getting 6 taps! Where's your production brewery?

Congrats mate.


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## Not For Horses (28/7/14)

Sensational! Best of luck with it. I'll be sure to drop in next time I'm in Sydney.


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## Crouch (28/7/14)

Nice work ... love you brew the cider on location! I get to Sydney a few times a year for business, I'll try and pop past next time I'm in town. Cheers

+1 to the "is it your pub too" question ....


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## Kranky (28/7/14)

Any connection with the Ironbridge Brewery in England?


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## mandrake (28/7/14)

Cheers for the congrats!  to answer your question, no not our bar. We started chatting with the guy building the bar a few months back and we got along well and he liked our beer and so forth so he brought us on board to manage the beer side of things. Great little place with a good crew running things. Plenty of work to be done to make it a success but loving the challenge - and loving seeing people enjoying our beer! 

We have our little brewery in Lilyfield and brew the main stuff with St Peters brewery. And i'll take the chance to say a big thanks to Matt at the brewery for helping us bring it all together!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Iron-Bridge-Brewery/232076290249513?ref=hl

https://www.facebook.com/knoxstreetbar

http://www.stpetersbrewerysydney.com.au/


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## mandrake (28/7/14)

no, no connection with them, though love the look of their place.

The name has been a battle and trying to get trademarks on our ideas has been a pain. I hope they don't have an issue with us sharing the title - can't see us ever stepping on their turf! We are based just by the Iron Cove Bridge in Sydney, so since we couldn't have Iron Cove, we went with the bridge.


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## Kranky (28/7/14)

Congrats and good luck with it. I'll try and get to the bar next time I'm in Sydney.


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## Bribie G (28/7/14)

Nice one, I'll be staying at the Y City South on Cleveland St in a few weeks, know the area well ... a much needed watering hole in Chippendale. :super:


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## vykuza (28/7/14)

Congratulations! I'll be 100% certain to drop in in the next couple of weeks for a few. Good luck to you all!


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## mandrake (28/7/14)

Thanks for the support! Hope to see you guys down there sometime and I really hope you like the beer!


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## mckenry (28/7/14)

mandrake said:


> Thanks for the support! Hope to see you guys down there sometime and I really hope you like the beer!


Hopefully I'll be in a good enough state on Friday to do a write up on here.


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## H0U5ECAT (28/7/14)

Craft beer club Friday night in Glebe, then followed by Knox St....

Winner winner chicken dinner.

Are you doing bar service at your brewery in Lillyfield?


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## mandrake (28/7/14)

no bar service, at the moment the Knox St Bar is our only commercial outlet. Looking to focus on this place for a bit and work with the kitchen and so forth to give the punters some good beer/food options and see what people think of the brews.


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## benralouf (30/7/14)

I discovered your bar, and it's nice, very eclectic. The food was great, but the beers were even better! in particular the Rye O' Rye. What a delicious beer. 

I think this place might become my head quarter soon.

Thanks for the delicious beverages.

<Dreaming>Any chance you share the recipe?</Dreaming>.


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## Charlie Miso (30/7/14)

22 min walk from the office (thanks Google Maps) - will head down in the next week or so to check it out. Congrats!

Looks good from the pics - apart form the seizure inducing background on the main site!


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## mandrake (30/7/14)

Pleased you like the beer! The Rye o' Rye is our favourite beer so we thought it couldn't hurt to see if others felt the same!  give me a bit of time to make sure everyone gets down to the bar and has a taste of ours before we give you the keys to making it at home 

yeah I hear you about the website, we were discussing this today! it's all a work in progress and finding our feet as we go.

any feedback good or bad greatly appreciated.

cheers


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## Dennis Hopper (31/7/14)

Hi Mandrake, 
Just wanted to wish you all the best with your Brewery. I was in Syd over the weekend and a friend took me to Knox st to check it out and I was blown away by the quality of the craft brews! Especially liked the rye beer, great bar too - hopefully we get a chance to see quality rye beers like yours up here in Brisvegas. I'll be back when I'm in town !


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## mckenry (1/8/14)

I went there last night.
I was a bit out of place with my naked face. Beards everywhere, including the chicks, but that chippendale for you...
As a venue, pretty cool, but music is way too loud for a craft beer bar.
Had the pale ale. Not a big fan of Topaz. For me (and all thoughts here are just my non BJCP trained opinion) the Pale Ale was a bit 'under done' Not enough hop punch and the head dies really quickly. At $9 for a 385mL, well, we moved to the next beer
Rye O Rye - Fantastic. Excellent Spice, colour is mesmerizing and the malt flavour is still there too. We really enjoyed this beer. Good head retention and lacing to the end. Had two.
Dark something? Cant remember the name. I thought it wasnt really a stout. A bit thin in the mouthfeel and the dark malt (was it roast malt?) was a bit ash-like. I felt like it could do with another handfull in the grist if you know what I mean. I know it was aimed at being low bitterness for a stout, but it was more like a brown ale, not that it really matters, its just trying to fit a name and a style to it. It was a drinkable beer, not what I expected from the menu write up, but overall I felt a bit underdone again. Tan head lasted all the way to the end.

Some feedback for the venue;
Too loud - but I am in my 40's..
The two staff were great ambassadors for your beers.
$9 for a small beer is a bit much. e.g. at the Quarryman, right in Pyrmont, you can get pints for $9 and we slipped into the Lansdowne 100m from the Knox St and had a Young Henrys Newtown Pale for $6 a schooner.

Overall beer feedback;
A little bit (more) goes a long way. I reckon just bumping up the showcase ingredient will turn the pale and stout into awesome beers. I've had rye beers before that are light handed with the rye and youre begging for a touch more, but this one has nailed it. Theres enough showcase ingredient and probably why everyone is raving about it.
I will go again for sure, purely for another rye o rye.
so congrats, it must be a great feeling to have your own brewery and get your beers on tap. I hope it goes well for you.
mckenry


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## mandrake (1/8/14)

Hi Mckenry,

Thanks for taking the time to give us some feedback on the beer and bar! It's fantastic to hear an unvarnished review.

So I'll start with the good  pleased you liked our Rye! We basically made it exactly as we like it and have it on our taps at home. I love the spiciness of Rye and I think a lot of Ryes suffer from being too high alc which dilutes the flavour for mine, and too low rye, which was never going to be a problem for us .


Price was always going to be a challenge in a cocktail bar, no question things are cheaper up at the Lansdowne and realistically we can't compete with them on a price basis. We had our concerns with the price at the tap and have been discussing this with the owner. I am pleased to say we have agreed to a reduction in price on the glass to $8 from tomorrow. We are looking at reducing our costs so we can help to bring them down a little further. I would much rather people can sit and enjoy a few beers than baulk at one.


With the Pale Ale, I can understand where you are coming from, we went with Topaz and the lowish levels largely because we wanted a change from the heavy floral aromas that seem to dominate most pales I taste these days. In the past we tended to use a pretty healthy dose of Castle to give it a bit more malty ooompf, so perhaps we need to review this and our hopping and see if we can't amp things up a little bit on the flavour.

The stout is light on, but we had aimed for that. I dig a nice chewy stout myself but we were a little unsure as to how well (and to be honest, how quickly) a true stout would sell to the public. Being our first outing into making beer for people other than just ourselves and fam/friends I guess we are feeling our way a bit and seeing what works and what doesn't.

As for music and so forth, hey we are just getting old! the kids seem to enjoy it . We do have two sections to the bar and try to keep the area up top a bit quieter - working on getting a separated sound system at the moment. We have a great DJ in on the weekends who plays some good tunes.

The bar isn't really intended to be a craft beer bar, more a cocktail/food bar that has good - and working to be great!  - beer for those of us who enjoy a hearty glass of ale to a cocktail. The guy who built the place is an amazing fellow, he and his old man pretty much built the whole bar themselves.

And yeah, seeing people drinking my beer and enjoying themselves is pretty bloody marvellous! My colleague and I were walking around with grins from ear to ear all opening night!

Not sure if you're a cider fan but would be keen for some feedback on those if you ever come back in. Just ask for a taste to see what you think. Anyone else who is into cider if you have a taste would love to get some genuine feedback on them. like all of it, it's a work in progress and we can only benefit from hearing what you all think. 

cheers, and thanks again,

Trevor


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## Bribie G (1/8/14)

Hi Trev, my buddy (who works in Surry Hills) and I will be round there late afternoon Fri 22 Aug so you'd better have some Snickers on hand.


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## mckenry (1/8/14)

Hey Trevor. Yes to the castle for the pale! I understand your thinking with the stout. I don't mind cider so I will have a try next time. Good times ahead.


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## mandrake (2/8/14)

hey all, now not to be crass but hell we are trying to get this brewery going so I am not agin a little self promotion, anyone willing to do so, we would love to get some likes on Facebook! I have come to it reluctantly but it's the world we are living in.

If you like our beer or do so in the future, come on over and like our Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/ironbridgebrewery?ref=hl

Iron Bridge Brewery


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## Porkchop (4/8/14)

Good work! I'll be up in syd soon I'll drop on in.


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## vykuza (4/8/14)

I'm dropping in Wednesday afternoon before the ISB monthly meeting. Have your best DJ spinning and beer pourer poised! :beer:


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## MastersBrewery (4/8/14)

I dropped in last week with my young niece, she loved the cider and I got a taster of the rye, they aint open for lunch but the boys were good enough to stop and have a chat. Going to have to book up some brownie points so I can get an afternoon leave pass and get a proper tasting session in.

Love the Rye

MB


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## mandrake (4/8/14)

The beer will be flowing...but the DJ just does weekends  Hope you are able to come on by and have a try! Ask for Trev or Simon and we can chat if we're about. 

And thanks for popping by Over Carbed, nice to meet you and your niece, pleased you enjoyed the Rye! If we're about always happy for a few tasters and a chat about brews!

cheers
Trev


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## mandrake (4/8/14)

If anyone is popping around of an afternoon, the opening hours are 4-11pm for the moment. Looking to get a Friday afternoon lunch time opening once we are armed and fully operational!

Trev


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## Bribie G (9/8/14)

My train from Taree gets into Central just in time for Beer O'clock :super:


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## mandrake (9/8/14)

Nothing like a Rye o' Rye to quench that thirst!  Hope you enjoy the beer Bribie, let me know what you really think of the beer.

cheers!


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## Bribie G (9/8/14)

I've only ever had one rye beer and that was a Baltika 4 dark beer 5.6% and it was lovely, have been searching for it ever since. Looking forward. I'll be at the Y and that's my stamping ground when I'm staying in CBD Sydney, drop my bags in the room, then up Abercrombie Street and the world is one's oyster 

Haven't been in Chippendale for about 3 years and at that time there was SFA apart from Tooheys New pubs and a surprise Balmain Lager at the Australian Hotel opposite that site where the crane collapsed.


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## Bribie G (26/8/14)

Sampled a couple on Friday. Fistful of barley and Rye o Rye.
I'd waited for my buddy at the Lansdowne and we had sunk a few Young Henries so it was interesting to do an almost side by side. Compared to the YH the fistful was less fragrant but far fuller in body and bready. Very enjoyable. 

I was surprised that the rye was similar to the APA in colour. I'd been expecting a red or dark beer. Not to worry, rich and smooth and very bready.

Only suggestion is that many craft brew followers might be looking for a hop hit first up.
I'm more of a malt freak so well pleased anyway.

Buddy and I were only shaved males in the place. Lol.
Didn't enquire about the shaving routines of the females.


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## mandrake (6/9/14)

Hey Bribie,

Thanks for coming in and the review. Got to admit I'm one of the bearded ones - but you got to have a winter beard, it's damn chilly!

We had a pretty big change in colour from our little brewery to the rye from the commercial one, working to try and bring back the red but still a work in progress.

I'll be honest and say we have deliberately done a little less on the hop and more on the malt side of things, just cause it seems to me to be all hops these days and malt and yeast seem to take a bit of a backseat. But we have a new brew on its way that is all about the hops so hope that one fulfils the hop-hit bill!

Thanks again for taking the time, shout you a beer next time you're round 

Cheers!


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## Porkchop (30/12/14)

Trying to find your beers on tap ATM and the Knox was closed and forest lodge didn't have it any more. But don't worry I'm still hunting.


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