Sydney has gone and got itself a proper beer hall, and people are justifiably stoked. We harboured high hopes for the Wayward Brewing Co tasting bar when we took a sneak peek inside the brewery earlier this year, and they didn’t let us down. Camperdown now has a rollicking craft beer bar to call its very own and it’s already jam packed.
There are few better ways to get a run-up on a Saturday evening than by knocking back a tasting paddle of kooky brews from this slightly left-of-centre brewery. And yes, those are muffin trays supporting the six 120ml pours straight out of flavour country.
You can start off gently with an easy drinking Bavarian amber lager, or you can dive in at the deep end with the Sourpuss Raspberry Berliner Weisse – it's tart, sweet and weird. If you like to stick to the middle of the beer spectrum knock back the XPL Session India Pale Lager that gives crisp pilsner a fresh, bitter, hoppy punch.
Being community minded sorts, Wayward save space for a brew each from Grifter, Shenanigans and Batch, because Inner West is best, but there’s also wine for the barley-averse, cans of soft drink for designated drivers and pizzas delivered from up around the corner after 5pm. But time your visit right and you might get your hands on a tasty saltbush lamb wrap from the barbecue stall set up in the entrance.
On a Saturday evening the place is rollicking along nicely, so you might have to weave through the tall tables in the belly of the brewery back to where they’ve busted open the old, wax-lined wine cellars to create extra enclaves for shooting the breeze while Creedence Clearwater Revival provide a little twang to proceedings.
Camperdown has long been the understudy to its more night-time inclined neighbours, Glebe and Newtown, but now that it’s home to a proper Sydney beer hall, it’s getting top marks in after-hours appeal. Gold Star!