Beyond Craft...

April 3, 2014, by Crafty Pint

Beyond Craft...

Had enough of craft beer? Then how about cult beer? Clearly, the owners of a new bar in Melbourne feel it’s time to take things a little further, with Two Row announcing itself as a home for “cult beer, wine and spirits”. The intention is to pour nothing but the weird, the wonderful and the downright strange through their five taps and to line their fridges and shelves with off-kilter wines and spirits too. No accident, then, that among the beers pouring when they open today is Hipster Ale.

The arrival of Two Row continues the gentrification – or should that be craftification? – of the road once known as Smack Street, with new bars and eateries stretching ever further from the Gertrude Street end into the territory traditionally occupied by clothing outlet stores. Other recent openings in the vicinity include Lot 347, a bar offering more traditional craft beer fare directly next door, and La Condesa, a new Mexican bar/restaurant a couple of hundred meters away on Johnston Street with a sweet selection of beer on tap and in cans.

Two Row, which takes its name from the type of barley most popular in brewing, comes with impeccable craft beer credentials. It was conceived by Chris Menichelli (above left), the founder of Australia’s first craft beer only bottleshop Slowbeer, and Tiffany Waldron (above right) who, under the Beer Girl Bites banner, works throughout the craft beer industry advising on everything from social media to beer lists and is also part of the Good Beer Week team. The third owner is Stewart Went, who runs Cloud Wine in South Melbourne.

“We both wanted a bar and we both had the same idea so it made sense to open one together,” says Tiffany. “We started planning about a year ago and were originally looking in the western suburbs but nothing popped up.”

Then the venue on Smith Street became available and they headed to the inner north. There they have created as minimalist a bar as you are likely to visit. Downstairs, the walls are painted plain, decorated with just a handful of wooden crates and lined with small tables and chairs. The centrepiece is a large wooden table that would seem to lend itself to hosted tastings or to encourage communal drinking and socialising among guests. Upstairs, the walls are exposed brick with the room (or rooms) filled with tables, chairs and sofas; it almost feels like attending a house party, which would seem to fit with the laid-back vibe the owners wish to create – despite the “cult” status.

 

Two-Row-2
Communal cult boozing at Two Row

 

“We wanted to differentiate ourselves,” says Chris. “A lot of places are moving across to craft beer so we want to push the fact that we are more than that. Cult is a good term because we are looking to feature beers with a following.”

Hence why the other beers being tapped for opening include Yeastie Boys Gunnamatta and the latest draught arrival from Italian sour stars Loverbeer, a beer that has got every bar pouring it rather hot under the collar (“It goes from one to 100 in a second,” we were told by one enthusiast this week).

Aside from the five taps, there is a well curated bottle list and a cellar for ageing “ultra-rare and ultra-limited brews”, plus a small selection of wines and spirits. There will be food, in the form of grilled cheese sandwiches designed to match to different beers on tap, but they’re not quite ready to roll (or bubble) just yet.

Two Row is more than a bar, according to Tiffany. It is, she says, “a place to escape from the mundane and into a haven of intense hops, rarefied botanicals, and quirky vintages. Our mission is to showcase the best, the wildest, and the most passionate expressions of beer, wine and spirits.”

If that sounds like your kind of thing – and why would it not – then they open for business from 4pm today.


Two Row is at 351 Smith Street, Fitzroy, and will be open 4pm to 11pm Wed to Fri and from midday on weekends.

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