Redoak
Boutique Beer Café
By Franz Scheurer
For a nation of self-confessed beer drinkers we are an unadventurous and undemanding lot. Most of us are content to drink the commercial, sanitised beers widely available, and hardly notice the complete lack of real taste and texture. Small boutique breweries are slowly changing this by educating their patrons and by introducing them to new taste sensations. David Hollyoak from Redoak brewery is one such enthusiastic individualist.
An ardent home brewer, starting with ginger beer at the tender age of fourteen, he managed to fool his parents for a while that his brew contained no alcohol. He soon progressed into beers, experimenting with malted barley, different yeasts and hops. A few ‘study trips’ to Europe later (not a bad tax deduction to go on a beer drinking spree across a continent), he convinced his sister Janet to go into business with him and not only open a brewery but also open a beer café to showcase his merchandise.
Redoak is a grand room with very European chandeliers, high ceilings and a long bar taking up one whole side. Tableware is excellent and glassware outstanding. Stunning old Jarrah has been used to make the bar and bar tables and they’re a woodworker’s dream. Service is friendly and informed.
David’s beers are all premium quality beers. He uses only the best and freshest ingredients and absolutely no additives or preservatives; almost guaranteeing a ‘head-ache free zone’. German, English and Belgian beers influence his beer brewing style, with Czechoslovakia getting an occasional look in.
Not content to simply educate their clientele by serving almost 20 different beers, each one in its own special glass, he and Janet have come up with a terrific way to show off each brew by matching it to food. If you dine a-la-carte, then every dish has a suggested beer match, but the best way to introduce these wonderful brews in my opinion, would have to be the ‘Tasting Menu’, a selection of tasting boards. There is a ‘Seafood Tasting Board’, a ‘Meat Tasting Board’, a ‘Vegetarian Tasting Board’ and a ‘Sweets Tasting Board’. What you get are four different morsels of food with a tasting glass of beer matching each one. Presented on a wooden board, this is attractive, educational and responsible, as you won’t end up on your ear after one of these. We tried the ‘Seafood Tasting Board’ and the ‘Meat Tasting Board’ and I must admit that the matches work impeccably. This doesn’t mean that they’re the only matches that will work, but I suppose if you’re starting to experiment by selecting a different beer with the food, then David has succeeded in his mission.
Roedoak brews Hefeweizen, Biere Blanche, Organic Pale Ale, Bavarian Pilsener, Special Strong Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Berlinerweisse, Vienna, Dunkel Weis and Bock to name a few. I was knocked out by the Rauchbeer, a dry, smoky extravaganza and a perfect companion to cold cuts as well as a fantastic match to seared scallops, where the sweetness of the shellfish contrasts with the smoky dryness of the beer. Another beer I instantly fell in love with was the Framboise Froment. I have tasted raspberry flavoured beers before but nothing this clean, fruit forward and alluring. It works wonderfully as a ‘starter’ or as a palate cleanser and has just enough fruity sweetness to work well with a dessert. My companion fell in love with the Belgian Chocolate Stout, a gorgeously dry, chocolaty, full flavoured beer and probably the only chocolate infused beer in the world that manages to maintain a good head.
If the same attention to detail that goes into the making of these beers can be applied to the food then you would attain beer nirvana. The food needs a little work, especially the desserts. They’re only new and no doubt they’ll get there.
Even if you are not a beer drinker, this is one beer experience not to be missed!
Score:
Beers: 9.5/10
Ambience: 7.5/10
Food: 5.5/10
Note: I don’t usually split up the scores, but in this case I have no alternative (the AGP scoring system doesn’t allow a score of 6 or above unless Food, Service and Ambience are all good. In this case, a combined score would have to be 5.5/10, which is not representative of the whole).
For more information or bookings:
Redoak Boutique Beer Café
201 Clarence Street
Sydney
Tel.: 02 9262 3303