Canberra - My Biggest Crafty Crawl Ever
During winter, Australian food and travel writers get to visit all sorts of excotic locations. Hopefully, I wondered where I would be sent this winter. Perhaps the sunny, stony shores of Italy, the tranquillity of the Canadian wild or hustle of Tokyo where a moment’s peace is found in a sip of rice lager.
Then Crafty Pint owner James called me and said I was going to Canberra this winter. Then he hung up.
As you can tell by reading the above (which was oppressively edited out of the final article) I had some ways to go when it came to Canberra as a destination. My experience with it was of an educational year 6 camp and being utterly shocked every time someone I knew actually moved there.
James had wanted me to go to Canberra for years as there are no Crafty Pint writers based in Canberra. I kept putting it off because I was making money writing about other places. But 2024 has been tough for writers. I’ll take the job. I’m very glad I did because I learnt so much about why people love Canberra. The drinking culture is how it’s supposed to be; focussed all around community.
As far as good drinking spots are concerned, there is a lot to cover in Canberra. Katie and I visited 17 venues in two and a half days determining which were worthy for a full write up and making extensive notes on each. We had so much it ended up being a two part article broken up geographically. Part 1 covers the North and West of the city while Part 2 the central, East and South.
Enjoying myself at the highly recommended Durham Castle Arms.
Before I share my brewery top tips, here are the venues/breweries in parts 1 and 2 respectively.
Herbert’s at Evatt
The Pot Belly Bar
Page Bottler
To All My Friends
10 Yards
Cypher Brewing
The Old Canberra Inn
Dickson Taphouse
Bentspoke Brewing
Brew Nation
The Durham Castle Arms
Zierholz Premium Brewery
Capital Brewing
Meating Room
PWB – Pizza Wings Beer
Before I give some recommendations I would just like to clear something up; I did not go to every venue on this list. Usually in my writing I won’t promote a business I haven’t been to but James assured me he knew the other businesses well enough to write up himself which saved me and Katie the hassle during the busy weekend.
The stops I didn’t visit for this article were Page Bottler, Cypher Brewing, Bentspoke Brewing and Capital Brewing. Apart from that, every other stop including the Other Venues at the end of part one.
In Canberra you can find quality venues in the corner of a shopping centre. In fact, so many shopping centres that keep the community stocked have a place to drink.
Before jumping on Crafty Pint to read this admitedly dauntingly large list, I’d like to share some of my top picks.
Best venue - The Old Canberra Inn. Beer selection may not be as varied as other venues (it’s still all craft) but the building itself is a gorgeous slice of history. Especially during the winter with the fire burning, it feels like an honour to be in there.
Meanwhile, the Pot Belly Bar is a lesson in modern history. Find it in Canberra’s historic underage drinking district (no seriously, that’s what everyone told me it is), ask the friendly guy with the beard at the bar and he’ll tell you all about their history as a safe bar for women that goes back to the first days of discovery regarding fetal alcohol syndrome.
Best food - PWB or Herbert at Evatt - Both of these neighbourhood bars serve up great snacks and dinner on very different sides of the spectrum. Pizza, Wings, Beer is like the name implies while Herbert is more funky and upmarket.
Local special - You cannot get 10 Yards beer anywhere else. It is purpose brewed just for Two Before Ten (the businesses cafe persona) and features multiple styles with interesting tastes and ingredients.
Likewise, Zierholz Premium Brewery, the brewery on wheels, was a very special experience as on the day we visited it was parked by the iconic Lake Burley Griffin.
