Six String Brewing

Brewer

Name
Six String Brewing
Address

4/330 The Entrance Road
Erina
NSW 2250

Phone
(02) 4365 4536
Open Hours

Wed to Sat: midday to 9.30pm
Kitchen: midday to 3pm & 5pm to 8pm
Sunday: 10.30am to 4pm Kitchen: 10.30am to 3pm

Regular events

Tours:
From Nov 2020, on weekends
Numbers limited to 10 Bookings essential: bookings@sixstringbrewing.com.au
Brew Days:
Monthly – returning in 2021

Tours

By appointment (max 15 people)

If you want an example of the passion that drives the craft beer industry in Australia, look no further than Erina's Six String Brewery. This brewery, set up by longtime friends Chris Benson and Adam Klasterka on the New South Wales Central Coast, is a lesson in following your dream no matter what gets in your way.

When they first attempted to bring better beer to the Central Coast in 2010 by opening their own brewery, little did they know that what followed would be three years of struggle spanning four different sites, battles with planning permission, bureaucracy, council by-laws and even public opposition from figures in the community. But where many would have crumbled at such obstacles, Chris and Adam dug in, kept up the good fight and listened not to the knockers, but to their growing number of supporters who signed petitions for, and not against, the presence of a brewery in their community. Their persistence eventually, finally, wonderfully, paid off in early 2013 as they were able to roll up the brewery doors to the public for the first time. And since then they've been going gangbusters.

When you walk in, you won't see any evidence of the difficult times. If you know the story, all you'll think is: "Why would people try to stop this?" Set up inside a large warehouse on an industrial estate, the space is open but split neatly in two. Along one side is the domain of the brewers: a big row of shiny tanks and brewing equipment. The other side is for the punter: tables lined up all the way along the wall until you reach the bar.

The bar takes centre stage because, well, it pretty much is a stage - the name Six String comes from Chris' penchant for playing the six string bass guitar and the brewery rocks and rolls to a music theme. However, the spotlights above the bar aren't pouring light on musicians, instead illuminating a row of taps delivering beer that's brewed only a few steps from where it reaches your glass. Here then, you have two of the essential pillars of life, beer and music, served up in whatever order you prefer (both at the same time recommended).

As for the beer, taking a trip through the Six String range is a natural progression for the palate via the Coastie Lager (an AIBA trophy winner in 2021), Pale Ale, the flagship (very) Dark Red IPA, and more recent core range additions On Tour Mid and Shreddin IPA. This core range is supplemented by monthly limited edition brews in cans, occasional keg only brews distributed across NSW and occasionally into Victoria and Queensland, an small batch brews – one or two kegs – just for the bar. As a fairly early Aussie adopter of canned beer, all their mainstays are available for takeaway – as are a cider and non-alcoholic lemonade.

If your reason for travelling here is to try what's on tap, it's well worth grabbing a tasting paddle (or two, depending on how many beers they have pouring) to get started, as well as a bite to eat: BlackBear BBQ is now in permanent residence in the kitchen. If you've got the time and are interested in finding out how the magic happens, you can sign up for a brewery tour or just park up at the bar opposite the tanks and have a chat to the brewers while they do their thing. There's a suitably relaxed vibe to the whole place that's a far cry from the drunken raucousness objectors had originally feared. In fact, it's a place so laid back that families can, and do, spend the afternoon.

In a region blessed with boundless surf, sun and beaches, the boys and girls at Six String have generated a nice little wave of interest in local beer and they're getting plenty of people along for the ride. They've even gone so far as to open a second venue, Sounds On West at Umina Beach which serves up smokehouse food alongside Six String beer, all Aussie wines and all Aussie spirits.

Nick Oscilowski

This is a directory listing. To find out more, head here

Stories featuring Six String Brewing

Core Range

Six String Brewing Hazy
Hazy Pale Ale
5.0%
Six String Shreddin' IPA
IPA
6.0%
Six String Brewing On Tour
Mid-Strength
3.5%
Six String Dark Red IPA
Red IPA
6.6%
Six String Pale Ale
Pale Ale
4.8%
Six String Brewing Coastie Lager
Pale Lager
5.0%
Six String Brewing Tropical Pale Ale
Australian Pale Ale
4.2%

Limited Releases

Six String Brewing Sour Symphony
Fruited Sour
3.0%
Six String Brewing Saudade IPA
West Coast IPA
6.8%
Six String Brewing Stout
Stout
4.4%
Six String Quadruple Dark Red IPA
Dark Red IPA
14.0%
Six String Urban Bohemia & Wet Wet Wet Hop Pale Ale
Pilsner & Fresh Hop Pale Ale
5.2% & 4.6%
NZ Hops 2022: Deeds & Six String
Hazy IPA & Dip-Hopped DIPA
8.0% & 9.0%
Six String Cold Dip & In Bloom IPAs
Cold IPA & IPA with Honey
6.0% & 6.4%
Six String Electric Feel: West Coast IPA
West Coast IPA
7.2%
Six String Double Trouble & Crème de la Crème Is Who I Am
Double Red IPA & Dessert Imperial Stout
10.0% & 8.9%
Six String Brewing Sleight Of Hand White Chocolate Stout
White Chocolate Stout
6.8%
Six String Pinoy Fiesta
Pineapple Gose
5.0%
Six String Hop Hesher DDH IPA
DDH IPA
5.5%
Six String Strange Brew Oat Cream IPA
Oat Cream IPA
7.0%
Six String & Distillery Botanica Mr Black Coffee Milk Stout
Coffee Milk Stout
8.0%
Six String Brewing Space Hop Odyssey IPA
Hazy IPA
6.0%
Six String Blood Orange Vanilla Magik
Citrus & Vanilla Kolsch
4.7%
Six String Foxy Dragon XPA
XPA
4.2%
Six String Triple Dark Red IPA
Triple Dark Red IPA
12.0%
Six String Brewing Five
Whiskey Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
9.4%
Six String Brewing Chai Porter
Chai Porter
4.7%
Six String Brewing Black & Gothic
Stouts
5.1% & 9.4%
Six String Up Jumped The Devil
Hoppy Lager
5.8%
Six String Garage Born IPA
IPA
6.0%
Six String Brewing Aloha NEIPA
Juicy NEIPA
7.5%
Six String Ram Stein Märzen
Märzen
5.4%
Six String Double Dark Red IPA
Imperial Dark Red IPA
10.0%
Six String Hella Good IPA
IPA
7.0%
Six String Mor Lam IPA & Celtic Stout
Spiced IPA & Coffee Stout
7.0% & 4.7%
Six String Brewing Bobby Brown
American Brown Ale
5.1%
Six String Brewing Saison
Saison
4.6%
Six String ESB
Extra Special Bitter
5.4%
Six String Hefeweizen
Hefeweizen
5.2%