The setting was what you'd expect from a trendy upscale bar/restaurant in SoHo. Well dressed 30 & 40 somethings mingling through dimly lit rooms accented in dark wood and brick. The surroudings had a warm blend of classic and modern design. And you thought I only talked hops and malt. The party cuisine was a colorful collection of petite, delectable, artsy h'ordevours that I managed to consume more than my fair share of and still remain hungry. A problem solved later in the evening *. Overall everything came together perfectly for the occasion. What I didn't expect was the Australian twist to the food and drink menus. The owners describe the cuisine as "free spirited-fusion" so no Outback Burgers, Koala Fries and Bloomin' Onions served under blazing yellow Kangaroo crossing signs. Think specialty lamb, New Zealand venison and Kangaroo. For beer? Skip the over played tinnies of Fosters Lager. Instead there were bottles of Coopers Sparkling Ale and James Boag's Premium Lager.
The Cooper's wasn't much of a surprise. It's fairly well known and I've had it on one other occasion. It's what you would get if a Pale Ale got into a fight with a seltzer bottle and lost. Over carbonated, citrusy and light with a bready taste that leads to a slightly bitter hop finish. Not bad, just not very interesting. A Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale would of been a better fit to the evening.The James Boag Lager also fell into the catagory of so-so. Calling it a green-bottled-straw-colored-euro-lager is probably enough explanation. This easily goes into my Heineken catagory. Simply meaning, if I'm somewhere and the choice is Bud/Miller/Coors and Heineken I'm going little green bottle and praying it's not light struck. Of the two beers the Coopers came out on top.
The final score of the evening: Public food and atmosphere 4 stars and Australian beer 1.5 stars out of 5. *Grabbing 2 huge slices of NY pepperoni pizza at 1:00am on the way back to Philly, priceless.
2 comments:
It's so sad to see as an Australian, that the only examples of Australian beer they can come up with is Coopers and Boags...
While I'll admit I do like to throw back a Coopers Sparkling Ale every now and then, Boags is just plain boring. It hurts me to say so, but Australia is eons behind the US in the craft beer market, but there are some absolutely stellar examples out there if someone could just bring them in!
Check out http://maltshovel.com.au, http://knappstein.com.au/ or https://www.littlecreatures.com.au for some delights that are unavailable here as of yet :)
Yeah there was nothing interesting about Boag's. My guess is they are playing it safe for the masses of macro drinkers.
I'd love to try the Knappstein Reserve Lager.
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