Marching Strong with Beer

Friends, we have had an amazing month of arrivals making their way into the Oak Barrel this month. Ranging from incredible local, national and international brews spanning all walks of beer-y life, we can certainly say that choosing the following beers have tricky to say the least.

We also held our first beer tasting event in quite some time see some amazing beers from the Garage Project team dazzle the palates of those quick enough to book their spots. Keep your eyes peeled because the next event will be a total ‘rocker’.

Nine Fingers Brewing

After losing a finger in a building accident and helping us to understand how their name came to be, Nine Fingers Brewing was culminated in the public eye when David Anderson winning the 2018 Fresh Hop Harvest Festival, and as his prize, was able to commercially release his winning beer ‘Smoke on the Porter’ with some help from festival organisers Frenchies. Although this was the first time that the Sydney beer community got to see a 20-year journey for David in a can, the concept for Nine Fingers was instilled in him by his father, who believed in ‘refreshing traditions’ and creating beers with respect for styles they are creating but making subtle adjustments here and there for the modern drinker.

Waltzin ma Pilsner Australian Pilsner

Proclaimed by David for being a ‘beer’s beer’, Waltzin ma Pilsner takes what you would think an Aussie Lager would be; refreshing, crisp, slightly bitter and perfect to battle the beating sun and hanging by the barbie with your mates. In my opinion, this is the best Australian Lager I have had the chance to taste in the past year, and since we can’t really predict the weather now, keep some stocked in your fridge for that break in the clouds to keep you feeling fresh.

Boatrocker Brewers and Distillers

Yes, I know what you will all say, “is she really going to talk about Boatrocker again??” So I won’t go deep into their brand history, how fond of them I am and the fact that I will genuinely think they are one of the best breweries in Australia. But damn, they keep coming with new and returning heavyweights that really deserve a mention when they come around.

Braeside Crown Cola

Let’s go back in time to 2016, Matt and the team released a bourbon barrel-aged scotch ale that straight up reminded them of a bourbon and coke; Braeside Crown Cola was born and it nice as heck to have it back. The 2019 release was tasting insane in barrel in January, and the finished product with the appropriate level of carbonation brings it all together. Aromatics of coconut, vanilla, chocolate and bourbon follow through on the palate along with that cola note and is truly best drunk from the can!

The Grifter Brewing Company

In the modern age of brewing, we are seeing so many individuals take their time to learn the craft in the comfort of their own homes before taking the plunge into the big, bad world of commercial brewing. For Trent Evans, Matt King and Glenn Wignall the time was 2012, and the foundations for the Grifter Brewing Company was born with the guys exchanging home brew recipes in their kitchens. Having been offered a chance to have a run through the as-yet-unopened Young Henrys site in Newtown, the trio went about creating a crowd-pleasing pale ale that saw the first keg blowing two hours since it was tapped. Fast forward to 2015 and the guys had been laying low, gypsy brewing wherever they could and working on a cohesive visual and product platform to launch from their new Marrickville brewpub, bringing beer lovers from all over Sydney and afar into their world. If you’re in Sydney and haven’t yet experienced Grifter’s HQ, then hurry up and jump into their nostalgia-laden games room come bar that they have brought to life.

Big Sur West Coast IPA

One of the original line-up of Grifter’s beers that helped build a name for themselves around Sydney, Big Sur is unashamedly hope driven. The concept for the hop drive in the beer came down to the Grifter team trying to jam as many hops through the brew until they had blocked the heat exchange. This heavily hopped (care of citra, simcoe and colombus hops) IPA is big on the pine, grapefruit and surprising sessionability which has kept this beer in constant production since the setting up of the brewpub in 2015. In cans at Oak Barrel for the first time and an absolute favourite for you hop heads.

Garage Project

Yes, Garage Project gets another mention because we were so overwhelmed by the amount of love from our event this week and also because I will be heading over to Wellington next week to witness their Hopi Symposium and beer festival (don’t worry, our Instagram @oakbarrel will be teeming with goodness from this) which will be an incredible time. We’ve all heard about their amazing beers at one point in time, but today we will take you through some products from their Wild Workshop; a brewing space dedicated to the weird, wonderful and messed up beers that can be conceived by the team in this dedicated innovation space.

Muse: Au Naturel House Sour

The greatest thing to think about the Wild Workshop releases from Garage Project is that they mostly start with one beer. In fact, this beer. A barrel-conditioned sour created by combining their house saison yeast blend with lactobacillus that sets the backdrop to all things fruited and flavoured from this space. A blank canvas in essence but the flavours of spice, sour, funk and freshness result in a beer that in its initial state can stand up for itself. Pairing this with freshly cut fruits, grilled seafood or lightly roasted pork will keep everyone happy or even better, pair it with another sip of itself.

Oh What a Lovely Day, Let’s Go Pick Some . . . Blackberry

A long name that tells a story. This beer is a step further into the unknown at the Wild Workshop, where we see spontaneous fermentation allowed to occur through the combination of indigenous atmospheric yeasts in the brewery along with whatever strains are present on the locally foraged blackberry flowers steeping into the light golden base. Once the fermentation has done its thing, the beer is left in wine barrels to condition before being refermented on blackberry fruit that yields a slightly tart, vibrantly red bursting with berry goodness all over. Super limited and super tasty, act fast!