Sydney Brewery Tour – January 2013

By Kevin Hingston, Social Secretary

Thanks to a little something called the Sydney Craft Beer Week, the club’s 2012 Sydney trip had to be delayed.

Never ones to be kept apart from their beer, Canberra Brewers wasted no time getting things moving for 2013 and on the refreshingly mild morning of January 19, two carloads of Canberra Brewers headed for the big smoke.

After finding our hotels, hostels and holes in the wall we headed to 4 Pines.

Unfortunately the weekend visit left us unable to see the brewery in action but we did take the opportunity to check out the range on offer and catch up with some members of the Macarthur Ale and Lager Enthusiasts (M.AL.E.) brew club who were also in town for the day.

Most of us were familiar with the 4 pines range and didn’t really find anything too exciting but the limited edition “Keller Door” beer – a handpumped Summer Ale, was definitely a talking point.

Had we been there the day before the beer may not have had the chops for a 44 degree day, but as the sea breeze kicked up and I regretted my thin t-shirt it proved a very refreshing English summer beer for what felt like a very English summer day.

With food in our stomachs and beers in our belly we headed to the Bavarian Beer Cafe.

The customers, staff, and beers all gave off a different and much more commercial vibe here, but it was great to sit outside recounting international beer stories and observing the melting pot that is Manly on a Saturday afternoon.

Then the rain came good with its threat and we retreated inside for some tasty pretzels and to share a metre of various interesting Schnapps…a bit of a deviation from our mission, but a tasty one!

As 6pm rolled around we slapped ourselves back into sobriety and headed up to Murray’s for our dinner and guided tasting.

Ashleigh Howe, Murray’s daughter, was there to give as an insight into the business and its ethos.

While the tasting paddles and extra samples were great across the board, it was especially interesting to hear the Murray’s story.

We heard how Murray discovered craft beer on a trip to the US and how it struck him so strongly he started the Murray’s business.

As brewers, it was a little odd to imagine a ‘non brewer’ having so much passion as to open a brewery!

It also surprised us to hear what a successful relationship the brewery has with bigger distribution channels such as Woolworths.

We often hear allegations around the big guys trying to squeeze smaller players, so it was refreshing to hear how Murray’s are using these channels to their advantage.

A few paddles and pints later, we were definitely feeling the day catch up to us.

Although it was only 10pm, it had been a day of early starts to both drive and drink, so an early finish made sense.

Let it never be said that Canberra Brewers don’t know when to call it a night.

Most of us pulled up fairly well on Sunday, with a cohort heading to Yum Cha to ensure all of the Saturday was well absorbed before heading home.

All in all, we had a great weekend. Thanks go to 4 Pines and especially to Alex, Ashleigh and the team at Murray’s for making us feel so welcome.