Nick and I took to public transport to take us from our CBD workplace to Newstead. The day was perfect for a few birthday brews. A sizzling 30 degrees in the City ensured the necessity for a few cold ones.
A quick jaunt through Fortitude Valley on one of Translink's Natural Gas buses followed by a 10 minute walk though suburbia and there we were stood in front of Tippler's Tap. Finally, I'd made it.
We were greeted with the sight of 8 or so people sat outside smiling contently over their beers. Happy clientele is always a good sign. We wandered in past the kitchen and the chef who greeted us with a welcoming smile and a "G'day". We then found ourselves at the bar pondering over which of the 11 beers to choose from (10 taps plus 1 handpump).
I opted for a Matt Armstrong/Bacchus combined effort called Trouble & Strife - a 6.1% Black IPA and Nick chose a Feral Smoked Porter (4.7%). Matt is from The Grizzly Paw Brewery, Alberta, Canada.
We grabbed a table as quick as we could because people started flowing in heavily behind us. This influx of custom was nothing to do with us!
The table that we sat at was bang in the corner and gave us not only a great perspective of the place but also a decent view of the blackboard behind the bar which listed the current tap offerings. This view was essential because our next beer was going to take some planning.
We got quite comfortable on our tall stalls and watched as customer after customer came in through the door. We'd certainly timed our visit right because Carl (Rhodes) served beer constantly for about an hour after we'd arrived. He was serving alone though and it would've frustrated me to have been waiting for a long time at the bar to be served. Nevertheless, I'm certain that all patrons would've had their frowns turned upside down after sipping any one of the beers.
We also noted a fairly large group all order food from the Chicago-style menu and see it arrive at their table within 20 minutes. Pretty good for a busy bar during a Friday lunchtime rush. If we had more time on our hands, we would've eaten too.
Nick's second purchase was off the handpump - Bacchus Bushfire Smoked Rye Schwarzbier (6.2%) and mine was 4 Hearts Oktoberfest Bock at 7.5%.
I want it on record that the Oktoberfest Bock was one of the best beers that I've ever had.
Sadly, due to work commitments, our stay was limited. After all, we had to get a bus back to work. We will definitely be returning and next time hope to take a few more fellas from work along with us.
Tippler's obvious selling point (to me anyway) is the amount of taps and the constant turnover of beers on these taps - similar to The Scratch in Milton. In fact, even while we were there Tap No. 9 finished up and was replaced with a newbie right in front of our eyes. The fact that none of these taps are contracted to a specific brewery is extra appealing.
I highly recommend a visit. I'll be back with no hesitation.
Tippler's Tap, 22 Masters Street, Newstead QLD (07) 3122 9886.
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