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 Need an ale-friendly watering hole? Beer & Brewer gives you the good oil on each state's best neck oileries
Wig & Pen ACT
Canberra House Arcade, Alinga Street
(02) 6248 0171.
www.wigandpen.com.au
This olde worlde little brewhouse has been an institution on the Canberra social scene since 1994. Six beers are brewed on site, including Kanberra Kolsch and Kiandra Gold Pilsner plus six seasonal sippers. Rustic, no-frills gut luggage abounds too, all with recommended beer accompaniment (Mr Natural, their low-alcohol draught topped its class at the 2007 AIBAs). Try the Ploughman's Lunch with pickles, pork pie and cheeses or the bangers ‘n' mash with beer-gravy and you'll leave the Wig & Pen as full as a Fishwick fireworks factory.
Sail & Anchor WA
64 South Terrace, Fremantle
(08) 9335 8433.
www.sailandanchor.com.au
Birthplace of Aussie microbrewing, the Sail and Anchor is where the first Matilda Bay beers were brewed and tapped in mid-1984 and it's been mecca for beer lovers ever since. Now, with the arrival of the sexy Red Room Bar, the S&A's balconies aren't the only zone for beer and food fandangling. Most of the neck-oiling goes on in the Brewers Courtyard where the hard toil of the ale alchemists behind Fremantle Pilsener, Brass Monkey Stout, Buckleys (a spicy wheat), Brewberry (a fruity summer ale) and Chilli beer can be observed through glass!
Transport VIC
Federation Square, Melbourne.
(03) 9654 8808.
www.transporthotel.com.au
Claiming to be "Melbourne's first new pub site in over 50 years", Transport was a shock to the system when it arrived late in 2004 with a steely-design better suited to Sydney than the cosy bars Melbourne has long specialised in. But there were 120 reasons to love Transport - that's how many beers they have here - everything from VB long necks (at $8 a pop) to Chimay Grand Reserve for $26 a longneck. There's great food upstairs in the uber-cool Transit or, if you're firmly ensconced in the buzzy bar, orgasmic organic pies over the counter.
Spotted Cow QLD
Ruthven Street, Cnr Campbell St Toowoomba.
(07) 4639 3264.
www.spottedcow.com.au
A whistle-wetting legend up north, the Cow has regularly been hailed one of Australia's best beertopias since opening in 2004. No wonder - they have 70 beers on tap (150 on sale all up) and, on Saturdays, host Ian Watson, the nation's only beer sommelier for quips, tips and sips. The Oropa Beer Cafe's serves a famous 1 kilo pot of Belgian mussels and the sports-mad bar is the only one in the sunshine state serving Little Creatures and Matilda Bay's Crema on tap aplus one of just nine nationwide hosting Cooper's Stout - fresh from the udder!
The Australian NSW
100 Cumberland St The Rocks Sydney.
(02) 9247 2229.
www.australianheritagehotel.com
Built in 1913 with a licence in continual use since the early 1800s, The Australian is a wondrous watering hole and site of many a beer festival. The true beauty of this bar is the location (end of The Rocks drinks strip under the Bridge) and the al fresco street-sipping. There's a magnificent seven brews on tap - including the Burragorong Bock, Beez Neez and the Matilda Bay limited-release Rooftop - plus100 more in bottles, all companionable with a crocodile, emu or kangaroo pizza or a braised beef and Picton bock pie so good it hurts.
Shenannigans NT
69 Mitchell Street NT 0800.
(08) 8981 2100.
www.shenannigans.com.au
When its too hot on the Darwin streets, Shennanigans is a fun place to cool your heels and chip away at joining the pub's 100 Pints (of Guinness) Club while watching "The Build Up" manifest itself as karaoke and pub trivia. Guinness on tap comes creamy and chilled alongside Coopers, Stella, Harp Lager and a host of blue collar brews, all excellent liver-cleansers and all able wingmen to the restaurant's famous kangaroo or barramundi burgers, guinness-stewed beef dishes or salt and pepper crocodile skewers.
The Earl of Aberdeen SA
316 Pulteney Street Adelaide 5000
08-8233 6433.
www.earlofab.com.au
This mahogany drinking palace has 18 beers on tap, all belters, and a bistro serving princely mod Oz cuisine. Better yet, the Earl has two regal necking rooms named in honour of brewing icons, Maxwell and Thomas Cooper. So if you can tear yourself from the conviviality of the Alehouse, Arnou or Carrington bars to the upper echelons, you'll find The Max room with marble fireplaces and an expansive balcony and the Thomas room with its own bar. Publican Oliver Porter is so hospitable he's had a type of beer named after him!
Hope & Anchor Hotel TAS
65 Macquarie Street, Hobart.
(03) 6236 9982
www.hopeandanchor.com.au
An old-school icon of a bar which poured its first beer in 1807 and now claims to be Australia's oldest pub. Regardless, it's a great place for a cold pint and hot pie. Roaring log fires and walls bejewelled with maritime history offer a warm welcome from the get-go and two story-soaked bars pump neck nectar from Boags, Cascade and co with aplomb, leaving you to nestle into snug nookeries or cosy lounge settings. In the elegant upstairs deckings you'll find terrific tucker like the Whaler's Bounty Salad or, better yet, Thylacine Nachos.
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