Beer Travel: Brothers In Beer

April 10, 2013, by Crafty Pint

Beer Travel: Brothers In Beer

Beer reps and Beer Snobs Dan Hampton and Tim Fishwick recently embarked on a road trip from Sydney to Brisbane, calling in on breweries along the way. There, they gathered beers to be presented at an event at Archive at the journey’s end. 

We thought it sounded like heaps of fun so asked them to tell us all about it. Which they did…


Scenario: Two craft beer loving mates from Coogee in Sydney... Both finishing up with Little Creatures yet still in possession of the company car and petrol card (ssshhhh, that's a secret)... Keen to check out some new NSW microbreweries... Love sharing beer and stories.

Result: A three day road trip from Sydney to Brisbane and back with a craft beer tasting at Archive Beer Boutique in the middle.

With the car already stocked up with the essentials – growlers from Young Henrys, The Grifter and Doctor’s Orders, and some bottles of booze from Balmain Brewing – Dan "the Beer Snob" Hampton and Tim "The Fish" Fishwick are on their way. Oh yeah, also packed up with a few freshly ironed on logo'd tour t-shirts, clean undies, some homemade zucchini slice and spray deo (for any unwanted smells that often come from craft beer loving males in their sleep).

7am: Double macchiato at a café in Parramatta, then 7.30am pit stop and chat with Dave from Riverside Brewery just down the road. Dave loves a chat but at 7.30am everyone's still asleep and we don't even sample the brews (BLASPHEMY!!!). There isn't a bad beer amongst this range though... and I've tasted them all... often! 

The car is now a few growlers heavier but happier with the addition. Traffic is shite for a bit but Thornleigh drive-thru McDonalds is resisted... only just.

Next stop is brekkie on Terrigal beach before knocking on the newly opened doors of Six String Brewery in Erina. Chris the brewer is on hand to give the Six String spiel (what a nightmare... with happy ending – see here for full story) and it’s time to taste some beer!!!

Tough life... beer tasting at 10am. All good brews and awesome venue vibe. Loved the extensive merch offering so much that t-shirts and hats are purchased. Still super new brand so keep your eyes, ears and mouths open for where you can sip some of their fine beers. Make sure you drop in if passing by though as it’s not far off the highway.

Grab some more growlers and off we head again... next stop the big PM.

Early arvo: Arrival in Port Macquarie's industrial area, where we decide to drop in and meet the guys at Black Duck brewing first, as knowing Warwick from Little Brewing quite well – and therefore knowing his ability to chat at length – we don't want to miss Al altogether.

The first thing that catches our attention at Black Duck is the massive Great Dane "keeping an eye" on the place. The dog was three metres tall... almost. Friendly as anything so all good. The second thing we noticed was the old school brewing equipment. Al tells us it’s date stamped 1969, so has been around the traps but in storage for the last 20 years. Pretty sweet little eBay pick up there, mate!

Al's a country lad legend and we have a great chat with him while knocking back a few of his in house beverages. Al has no plans for world domination; he’s very content to keep the locals watered, and the locals are happy to oblige. Very refreshing... both his beer and humble vision.

Now to visit my old mates Warwick and Kylie Little of the Little Brewing Company (they're old friends, not friends that are old… well not too old haha). Warwick is, in my opinion, one of the best brewers in Australia. I freakin' love his beer, especially the Mad Abbot range. Top shelf stuff. Get to sample some Tripel out of the ferment tank (always makes you feel special). Have a few other samples and a bit of a chat (this may or may not have been over a two-hour period) and then get on our way again with some stubbies under our arms…

…As far as the local pub... not a good idea to keep driving after the arvo of sampling we've had.

Day two: Up early and off with plans for hitting Brisbane just after lunch – snappy little 550km trip. Coffs for brekkie, Tweed for lunch, lots of roadworks, chico's and Triple J in between.

Hit Brisbane mid arvo, just in time to drop off the booze to Archive Beer Boutique and head over to the Green Beacon Brewery in Teneriffe, for a couple of sneaky ones. We find our mate (ex Little Creature) Morgan behind the bar and do the tasting paddle thing. Morgs knows his stuff and takes us through the ins and outs of each brew. Looking around, there are a few other craft beer bar flies (smart, educated, good-looking), but apparently this joint absolutely goes off with the after work crew and weekends are massive. Not surprised: great fit out, especially with the shiny tanks right behind the bar. Beer was tops and I see what all the chatter has been about... great work GB!

Afternoon: Quick S.S.S (that's a lie... as if I shaved) then off to Archive.

Now to be honest, the actual event isn't the biggest I've done in my years of Beer Snobs, but those in attendance get to experience something that most Queenslanders won't get to for quite a while, if at all, with a NSW craft beer quiver that consists of:

Balmain Pilsner 4.5% ABV
Young Henrys Hop Ale 6% ABV
Doctor’s Orders Iron Lung Black Imperial Pilsner 7% ABV
The Grifter Sheep Shed Saison 4.5% ABV
Riverside Amber 44 6.5% ABV
Six String Dark Red IPA 6.6% ABV
Black Duck Heron's Craic Irish Red Ale 4% ABV
Little Brewing Co's Mad Abbot Dubbel 6.9% ABV

HOLY FULL ON BEERS, BATMAN!

It isn't the most style balanced beer tasting I've hosted either but, my God, it was the tastiest! Prob had a few too many "tasters" on the night but we had a Brisbane local driving us home.

It’s a great night and we love seeing the Archive Beer Boutique absolutely cranking on a Wednesday night. The craft beer locals are super spoilt in West End; I hope they know and appreciate that.

Day three: Next morning we hit the road with plans of catching up with our mates at Stone & Wood. As it happens, we arrive at the same time as two 10,000 litre fermentation tanks are being carefully winched into the brewery. Witnessing this is like watching a piece of Australian craft beer history. The lads at Stone & Wood have done all the right things and as such continue to grow at an awesome rate. Love their work.

Anyway... fun stuff over... nearly 800km to get home, but completely stoked we made the trip and a massive thanks to all the guys who gave us beer and let us into their awesome beer making homes (otherwise known as breweries).

The "Brothers in Beer" Road Trip and Craft Beer Celebration has come to an end but the future looks bright for the "Brothers" post Little Creatures.


You can follow Dan’s adventures in beer on Twitter here and he’s assured us he’ll be back with news of the next step in the post-Little Creatures Beer Snobs world soon…

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