James Squires' Brewhouse And Restaurant

[Doc]

Was out for lunch this afternoon at Xerts on the King Street Wharf in Sydney today.

They had a notice saying the were closing for renovations. When they re-open in early September they will be the James Squires' Brewhouse and Restaurant.

I asked them a few questions and they will have a micro brewery on the premises and have some nice big chesterfield lounges etc.

Sounds great to me. Bring on Septemeber.

Cheers,
Doc

 

[Jazman]

You sydney siders are luckey we dont have that sort of stuff here not to metion JS beers we can only get the amber ale and pilsner

 

[Gough]

How good does that sound! Looks like I've got another excuse to make a trek down the freeway... We've got a few pubs in Newcastle with the Amber on tap and one with the Pilsner (my fave) and we can buy all the varieties by the bottle, but I've read about Chuck Hahn and his beer/food tastings with envy. A restauraunt JS combination could be deadly!

Gough

 

[Linz]

Geez, I really had to dig for this one!

But anyway, The other night the wife and I went along to an invitation night from The Malt Shovel Club in the city.
The feature beer was their IPA. A free one first up, then $3 a schmiddie(less than a schnooner[425ml] but more than a middie[285ml]) from 5.30pm till 7.30pm with the standard finger foods.
Anyhoo, the wash up was ,apart from Chuck and his boys and girl announcing the new home brew cans, was their pending opening of their brewhouse and brasserie(2-3 weeks/months) on the King St wharf. the upside was that although they have already opened on in Melbourne(why hasn't there been a write up about this already..hhmmmmm??)and they will open one in Sydney in the very near future, they plan to open one in EACH capital city!!!

How do you like them apples!!



:chug: :chug: :chug:

 

[Gout]

I'll keep you informed when i get down there, i hear its only open one night a month.... and with all the adds on the radio its bound to be packed!

Ben
Melbourne

 

[Doc]

Was down in Darling Harbour today and looking for somewhere for lunch. Remembered the James Squires' Brewhouse And Restaurant should now be open so headed for King Street Wharf.
Unfortunately it isn't open yet.
Still black paper on the windows.
The ceiling isn't in yet either.
So much for opening in early Sept and in time for the Rugby World Cup.
Well the RWC starts in under two weeks so I guess there is still time.
Will be checking it out again during the world cup festivities.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Trev]

Now, who asked for a review of the JS pub in Melbourne?

I had the fortune to be in Melb this weekend, and not being a devotee of AFL wondered what to do on Saturday afternoon - Why not check out the James Squire Brewhouse in Russell St!!!

Well, what a great experience. As well as the standard JS beers we all know, they also had a few extras that are brewed in the micro on the premises. There was an American Pale Ale that I believe was called 'Portland' (very, very nice), an Irish stout called 'Craic' which I didn't try, and another one that I've now $%&^ forgotten. I got talking to the manager and he tells me that the bar is owned by Lion Nathan/ MSB and that each 2 weeks or so a couple of the brewers from Sydney come down to brew up the next batch of specials. I believe the standard JS brews are shipped down in Kegs.

The bar is fitted out very well, with some lounges etc so my partner and I sat back and relaxed over quite a few. Definately worth more than just a casual visit.

Given that between us we tried 6 of the brews, and had got the taste - we then walked down Little Collins St to the St Arnou. Another great spot. They have 4 of their own brews on tap as well as a host of other Victorian microbrewery wares in bottles. They were serving free food all afternoon whilst the football was on so we managed to spend another couple of hours there and tried all 4 of their own brews as well as one of the Mountain Goat.

Their Pilsner was very nice, although not quite as much tang as I prefer from either Pilsner Urquell of the JS version.

Their St Cloud was a great example of a belgium Wit. Good citrus flavours and really clean aftertaste. Probably could have done with slightly higher carbonation, but only a minor point.

Their Lager was also good, mind you by now I was starting to get just a little bit of a jaded palate, either that or I was getting a bit pissy.

Their fourth brew is a Brown Ale called Kildara. Now I didn't like it one bit but then I don't think I've ever enjoyed a brown ale, it's just not a style I like. This one was very rich and buttery and left a bit of a choking aftertaste. Never mind - 3 out of 4 is not too bad.

Just to be sure that I hadn't lost my edge , I tried one of the Mountain Goat ales which was nice enough but not so much that I'd want more.

Then I had a Becks - just to see how it tasted to my memory to see just how bad the palate had become. Surprisingly I still thought that it tasted like a Becks.

Then I went and had a little lie down


Trev

 

[RobW]

Trev

Nice review. Was the JS one you can't remember the Irish ale called Highwayman. They'd run out of that when I was there but the Craic was good.

 

[Trev]

Keneasy,

They did have the Highwayman on tap but no, that wasn't the one I'd forgotten. The other we tried (it's all coming back to me now :unsure: ) was called 'Speculator'. I only had a sip of that, my wife finished it before I had another chance. I believe it was a Special Bitter or the like.

Will definately drop in again next time I'm in Melb.

Trev

 

[Doc]

Just read in the paper this afternoon that the Sydney JS Brewhouse and Restaraunt is now open @ King Street Wharf.

I'll be trying to check it out in the next couple of weeks.

Beers,
Darren

 

[Linz]

Maybe chrissy drinks for the Sydney AHB group there instead???


:chug:

 

[Wasabi]

Going to check it out this weekend for lunch on Sat. I'll let you all know how I go!

Could be a better option than the Nags Head as the beer there can be a little unpredictable....

 

[Wasabi]

Well, first of all let me get this disclaimer in. Perhaps going to the Brewhouse on the day of the Union final is going to colour my impression a bit.

The place is huge, and I mean enormous. You can basically sit out the front looking out over darling harbour, at tables in the front room or walk down the back to what is more bar-like (boothes, pool tables etc)

We sat out the front. Food is pretty much standard fare, but the quality is great. It's a little expensive, but considering where it is located, not suprising. Burger and chips was $14.50, bangers and mash was $19.00.

But about the beer.

It was great to get to drink them on draft. A bit pricey, Schooners were $5.50 and Pints $7.00. You can pick squire amber on tap for about $3.50 a Schooner in town, but getting the chance to drink the others on tap was probably worth it.

I started with the Colonial Wheat, which I must comment was absolutley fantastic and one of the nicest Wheats I've had (never tried it from the bottle so hard to compare).

I wanted an IPA next but they had run dry so I went for an Amber. Moved onto the porter next, and I have had this from the bottle before, and getting it on tap greatly improves it. Really chocolatey without being overpowering. Returned back to the wheat after that.

The three "brewed on premises" beers haven't started yet and they won't be available until 2004, so it's probably worth returning when they are available. They are going to be around the $8.00 a pint though.

It's really nicely set up, and I want to get my hands on a few of the pint glasses they use. Very simple but they look fantastic. Of course I took my digital camera with me to Sydney and them promptly left it in my bag when we went out.

The service seemed a little bit disorganised and chaotic, but I think that was laregly due to the sheer number of people (plus I think they had hired some temporary staff to help out).

It's not problem to just drink and not eat, but I'm not sure how it would work. We just ate and drank and received a tab at the end, but I'm not sure if that is going to be standard practice if you drop in for a drink.

They've spent a bit of time and money on making it look just right and I think they pulled it off pretty well. I think it needs to be pretty full to get the atmosphere right, but it certainly worked packed full of Football fans!

 

[Doc]

Went down to the new James Squire Brewhouse for lunch on Saturday to check it out and catch up with some friends for a xmas lunch.

As Wasabi wrote in his review they have done an awesome job on fitting the place out.
The brew equipement is all sitting in the restaurant and behind nice glass windows, but none of it is plumbed in yet.
They reckon they will have their first beers brewed on the premises available end of Jan/early Feb.

The food varied a little in the portion sizes but was all very good and priced accordingly for the location.

Beers,
Doc

 

[big d]

shame the location always seems to demand higher prices.i would go to these places for the beer not the food and view.
price ya pay for living in sydney i guess.

give me a northern state sunset and a seafood platter(mudcrabs,prawns,bugs etc)any day.mind you the beer isnt always much chop. :blink:

merry xmas
and a happy brew year
big d

 

[Doc]

Went and paid the place another visit last night (before going to watch Metallica kick some ass), and they still don't have their brewing equip plumbed in.

It is all sitting there and they have put nice signs on each piece of equipment to inform the punters of what each bit does.


They were supposed to (informing patrons anyway) have their brewed on premises beers on tap end of Jan, early Feb.
Even if they got all the equipment connected up and ready for action in the next couple of days there will still be no brewed on premises beer there until near end of Feb.
The place has been open since October. I wish they would sort their shit out and get some brewing happening down there.


Doc

 

[johnno]

Doc ,
I reckon the wait will be worth it. I reguraly drop into the one down here for a quick one at lunchtime and the brews done on the premises are awesome.
Wonder if they will brew the same beers there as here.

 

[Doc]

Johnno

yeah, all the brews are listed on the menu now (although they are crossed out and say not yet available).
They are the sames names that I've seen you guys mention like Highway Man etc.

Beers,
Doc

 

[joecast]

sorry doc, metallica (although a few years past thier prime) and js brewhouse?? youve got nothing to complain about.
joe
ps. how was the concert??

 

[Doc]

Joe,

Mate, 2 1/4 hours of full on Metallica entertainment.
James related to the audience really well, and the auidence (all 11000 or so) were on their feet for the entire concert.
None of this sitting down during the slow numbers crap.

THEY KICKED ASS

An aging grey haired Metallica fan,
Doc