The Australian Bar Awards once again recognises the best in the Aussie bar scene

Best Specialty Beer Venue

As a real passion for quality imported and locally brewed beer grows, so too have the venues specialising in the service of fine brews. This award recognises those bars and pubs that have a great beer selection, informative service and beer knowledge that sets them apart from the pack.

Winner- Josie Bones, Melbourne

Finalists –

  • Josie Bones, Melbourne
  • The Local Taphouse, Sydney
  • Archive, Brisbance
  • 4 Pines, Sydney
  • Cookie, Melbourne
  • Biero, Melbourne
  • Redoak Boutique Beer Café, Sydney

Note – The list of the finalists for the Beer & Brewer Awards will be going live on our web site soon, so bars, pubs, beers and beertenders can all prepare for a trip to Sydney to attend the Presentation Dinner and Trade Show on Tuesday, October 25 at The Sebel Hotel, Surry Hills, Sydney.

Click hereto book your tickets to the dinner (7-10pm) and register for free for the Trade Show (12-4pm).

Details on the Australian Bar Awards:

September 14, Sydney- Last night 600 of Australia’s finest saloon owners, boozeslingers and barkeeps donned their best ‘Mad Men’ threads and congratulated themselves on another fine year for the bar industry. As a key part of the Sydney BarShow Week line-up and with a new waterside location at Doltone House, the Bartender Magazine Australian Bar Awards proved once again that it is the highlight of the bar industry calendar.

With Sydney And Melbourne still battling it out for the mantle of ‘Best Bar Town’, it seems that Sydney has come up trumps this year, scooping a bunch of awards. Popular bartender haunt Eau de Vie (Darlinghurst) capped off a winning year with two gongs while nearby venues such as The Victoria Room, and The Winery both took their places on the winners’ podium. Sydney small bars also showed some promising signs with Shady Pines Saloon (East Sydney) and The White Hart (Neutral Bay) sharing the title of Best Small Bar for 2011. And on the bigger end of the spectrum, Sydney newcomer, The Norfolk (Surry Hills), won the prize for Best New Hotel, while The Beresford (also Surry Hills!) was recognised as the country’s finest hotel.

Melbourne attendees still left the awards night with their heads held high. Josie Bones was recognised for its top notch beer selection while Match Bar was awarded the prestigious title of Bar of the Year. Some of the most sought after prizes were also won by Melbourne’s Old Faithfuls. The team from Black Pearl & The Attic won the Best Bar Team award while the Der Raum crew won Cocktail List of the Year. The individual awards were also a big hit with the crowd. It was great to see Monica Place from Cushdy in Adelaide step up to take the Rookie of the Year award while Geoff Hayward, Perth publican extraordinaire, made an eloquent speech when accepting the Outstanding Contribution award. The crowd were also on their feet when Tim Philips took out the Bartender of the Year title and made the speech of the night.

Aside from all the wonderful silverware, the beautiful weather and superb location made it a perfect night for some serious celebrating. “After 10 years, it was time for a new location, and Doltone House was amazing,” says David Spanton, founder of the Bar Awards and Publisher of Australian Bartender Magazine. “The bar industry folks really turned up the heat with some amazing outfits to fit with the Mad Men theme.” The two best dressed on the night also took home their very own IPad!

Presented by Australian Bartender magazine, the Bar Awards has been described as the ‘Oscars of the bar industry’. The national awards are now in their 11th year and recognise excellence and innovation in bars, hospitality, drinks and hotels across Australia.

See full list of winners below.

Click here to see a full list of the finalists.

Check out the BarShow Week Facebook page and loads of pix from last night here: http://www.facebook.com/barshowweek#!/barshowweek

The Winners

Operator of the Year, Multiple Venues – Merivale Group

Operator of the Year, Single Venue – Andy Freeman & Michelle Mok, Luxe Bar Perth
Nightclub of the Year – Eve, Melbourne
Best Specialty Beer Venue – Josie Bones, Melbourne
Best New Venue Design – Ms G’s, Sydney
Best Music Offering – Spice Market, Melbourne
Best Marketed Venue – Eau de Vie, Sydney
Best Drinks Selection – The Victoria Room, Sydney
Cocktail List of the Year – Der Raum, Melbourne
Hotel of the Year – The Beresford, Sydney
New Hotel of the Year – The Norfolk, Sydney
Rookie of the Year – Monica Place, Cushdy, Adelaide
Wine Bar of the Year – The Winery, Sydney
Best Bar Food Selection – Gardel’s Bar @ Porteno, Sydney
Bar Manager of the Year – Evan Gamkrelidze, Hugos Manly, Sydney
New Bar of the Year – Canvas, Brisbane
Small Bar of the Year – Shady Pines Saloon, Sydney & The White Hart, Sydney
Cocktail Bar of the Year – Eau de Vie, Sydney
Bar of the Year – Match Bar & Grill, Melbourne
Bar Team of the Year – Black Pearl & The Attic, Melbourne
Training Program of the Year – Diageo’s Alchemy
Brand Ambassador of the Year – Robb Sloan, Reserve Brands
Best New Launched Product – Ocho Tequila
Bartender Magazine Bartender of the Year
WINNER – Tim Philips, Ivy’s Level 6, Sydney
2nd place – Chris Hysted, Black Pearl & The Attic, Melbourne
3rd place – Lee Potter-Cavanagh, The Victoria Room, Sydney

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