There’s nothing like kicking back with a beer on a summer afternoon, and letting the icy cold liquid gold cool you down from the inside out. We’ve been on the hunt to find the best bars in Brisbane to get this summer sensation and what to order from said haven. And with a huge number of craft beer bars popping up all over the city, there is a beer out there for everyone!
#1 Murray’s Pimms & Judy | Archive Beer Boutique
This list wouldn’t be complete without at least one beer from Brisbane’s craft beer masters at Archive Beer Boutique in West End. Murray's Punch & Judy's Ale is based on the English Bitter style, and is a full flavoured Amber Ale, layered in nutty and caramel malt flavours - with a hop aroma that really packs a punch.
#2 Red Dot Brewhouse Summer Ale | Saccharomyces Beer Café
Nestled at the end of Fish Lane, SBC is bringing a new range of craft beers to South Brisbane this summer. One of their newest additions, Red Dot Summer Ale boasts a golden, nice bitter, and malty flavour, perfect for those summer Friday afternoons.
#3 Mountain Goat Rare Breed Fancy Pants | Super Whatnot Bar
The philosophy behind Super Whatnot in the CBD is not that you drink a lot, but that you drink well. Specialising in craft beer, they have delivered their promise with Mountain Goat’s specially released Rare Breed Fancy Pants: stupid name, but serious beer. Using Galaxy Flowers to give a full-on tropical fruit and spicy aroma, the beer also boasts traditional ale malt, a little wheat and fermented with an American Ale yeast.
#4 Two Birds Bantam IPA | Brew Café and Wine Bar
Nestled in Lower Burnett Lane in the CBD, Brew boasts an extensive craft beer menu, making it the perfect way to escape the heat come the warmer months. One of their best is Two Birds Bantam which shows tropical and fruit salad notes, with refined bitterness, giving it great drinkability. This brew is smooth, clean and fruity, which is everything anything wants in a summer beer.
#5 Green Beacon Windjammer India Pale Ale | Green Beacon Brewery
Brewed right in our own backyard, Teneriffe’s Green Beacon have a delightful India Pale Ale for the summer! With aromas of fresh lychee, candied orange, resinous pine needles and dried mango that lead into subtle sweet malt flavours and are punctuated by a firm lingering bitterness, it’s like Green Beacon have captured the essence of summer in a keg.
#6 Paulaner Salvator Doppelbock | Bavarian Bier Café
Are you still suffering from post-Oktoberfest depression? Not to worry! Bavarian Bier Café in the city is open all year round, and is always stocked up with specialised German bier. Although there aren’t keg tappings, BBC offers a range of the biers you grew to love on tap! One of our favourites is the Paulaner Salvator Doppelbock, which has a beautiful combination of molasses, dark chocolate and cherry flavours. If a lighter ale is more your thing, try any one of their Abbaye D’Aulne biers – there’s something for everyone!
#7 Mornington Peninsula IPA | Tipplers Tap
With 11 taps on constant rotation, a bunch of bottled beer and some seriously good food, Tippler's Tap in Newstead exists to sustain the good beer drinkers of Brisbane. One of their best for this season is Mornington Peninsula’s IPA. The American India Pale Ale delivers rich stone-fruit aromas of peach and apricots. With an initially sweet malty taste, it then hops to fruity flavour and rising bitterness that will satisfy the bitter beer drinker.
Image credit: Esteban Rivera
Looking for more of the best bars in Brisbane? Check out our article Brisbane's Best New Secret Bars!