Shady Pines Saloon

Shady Pines Saloon lies behind an unmarked door in an alleyway off Oxford St. The venue is themed after an old western Saloon with kitch to match all over the place. The bar looks good from behind its layers of string lights and mounted jackalopes and the crowd scene was hip, younger and relaxed. To cap it off the place has an excellent selection of brews and its pretty darn close to my residence. Barkeep! Send down another round, I think I'm gonna be a regular.

City Nights

So the other night Brittany came out to the city for the Sydney International Food Festival event, the Noodle Markets. Every year about 50 noodle shops set up pop-up stores in the park and sell their various forms of noodles and asian cuisine and sydney-siders from all over come eat and bring beer and wine and relax in the park. Its a really cool event and right next to our apartment.

After enjoying some good food and a couple beers while listening to the DJ in the park we decided to try a new bar I'd heard of near by. Down a tiny alley off the hustle and bustle of George st. you'll find Grasshopper. A small, 2 level bar and eatery hidden off the beaten path with a really cool

style and amazing cocktail menu. Grasshopper is well near our house and in th

e center of roaring CBD, but feels

exclusive and private with its decor and location.

Hidden Alley to Grasshopper

Redoak: Boutique Beer Cafe

My quest for good beers in the austere brewing environment of Australia has lead me to Redoak Beer Cafe. The bar brews a large selection of its own craft beers and is only a few block from my house (how fortunate).

My Favorite Aussie IPA to date.

Today was my first visit and I was very pleased with the pint of IPA I ordered; hoppy and bitter with a nice full taste (despite only being about 6.5% abv). Although not as strong as home the flavor was there. I like their selection of beers but the bar was a bit sterile and the clientele was a bit too corporate and stuffy, which I guess is understandable considering its proximity to most businesses in CBD. Anyhow, I'll be back for the beer, but The Local Taphouse still holds the title for my favorite in Sydney.

Pub Check: The Local Taphouse

The Beer List

The Product

The Bar

Hooooraaay Beer! Finally found a pub with a large list of craft beers on tap, a harder task than you might expect here. Felt right at home except for the fact that they only serve their IPA's in the smaller size due to the high alcohol content... come on Aussies thats part of the fun. Nevertheless, I was overjoyed to indulge in an extra hoppy IPA.