Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

4.3/5  rDev +11.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I had two weeks in Sydney, mostly trying beers and different bars.

This was my favourite drinking establishment. Open plan, plenty of serving area around the large bar and a good choice (mainly British style beers) on tap.

It is located a short walk from the louder, youngster style bars of 'The Rocks' and well worth finding.

I liked the list of names on the wall. Every person who arrived on the very first flotilla bringing convicts to Oz are on the lists. The lists are by ship, it just sends you back to the birth of a nation, it made me think a bit.

08-11-2006 09:04:27 | More by BlackHaddock

sulldaddy

Connecticut

3.61/5  rDev -6.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

I visited this pub after a day of tooling around Sydney. The pub is easy to find on the corner of two pretty major roads. Walking in the door there is a fairly large bar area with some tables placed around the walls of the bar. Some tables are placed on old wooden barrels.
There are various flags hanging from the ceiling and the floor is hardwood and the walls and ceiling are as well. There is a rectangular bar in the center/left of the area and several bartenders are serving up drinks.
Most of the bartenders are younger women and are fairly attractive, if that helps to get you to attend. WE stop by on a Friday evening right after work and the place is pretty packed with folks slingin suds!
The beers available are on a chalkboard behind the bar They have six standard house beers ranging from pale ale to porter to strong ale. They also have a special one off beer today that is a trafalgar day ale I think. It is pretty jam packed so we only have one drink, plus we really came for dinner and food doesnt start being served till 6:30 and it was 5:30 when we arrived very hungry.
The restaurant area is on the second floor and looks very formal and nice. The menu is rather short and slightly upscale so maybe it is better that we didnt eat here. They have a series of clocks on the wall set to different time zones. Instead of country they identify each time zone by a major beer from the country. Time to test your beer origin knowledge. Pretty cool.
I would like to stop again earlier in the day and sample each beer.
Overall it is worth a stop as a historical location and for decent beers. Go when less crowded for a more relaxing visit.

12-08-2005 04:41:48 | More by sulldaddy

joedon

Minnesota

3.95/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

This place hasn't changed much since my last visit in 1993. Very old stone building that says "quaint". You can easily imagine sailors drinking here who have hiked up from the quay. Decorated much like a British pub with navy signal flags, old photos and nautical knick-knacks.

Nice selection of beers; five taps working during our visit. My wife (who is not a beer drinker) had the Trafalgar pale ale and decreed it to be quite good. I chose the Old Admiral which was a strong brown ale at 6.7%abv. Really excellent brew!

We stopped by at five pm but the kitchen didn't open until six so we ordered a "ploughman's plate." This consisted of pickled onions, hot mustard, chutney, about five slices of brown bread and a generous serving of cheese; must have been about a pound!

The brewery is quite small. On display were what appeared to be three serving tanks and one fermenter. No brewmaster on duty so I couldn't quiz him about the beers.

I thought we received good value at the Lord Nelson. The food was AU$10 and the beers were AU$6 per pint. Total of about $16.50 US.

Highly recommended! We plan at least one more visit during our Australia vacation.

08-17-2006 22:05:37 | More by joedon

porter17

New Jersey

3.29/5  rDev -14.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | $$$

This place was nice but I was a little disappointed by some surly old guy who worked there, who, although he may have been the help, was of little help. Anyway, they don't do samplers although the bartender let me try three. They were out of the porter. The atmosphere was nice but touristy. The quality seemed ok but there was little pride evident in their attitudes toward their beer. The selection was ok--6--with the porter. Didn't have any food. The beer was not cheap. All in all, worth the stop if you have the time.

12-04-2006 02:44:50 | More by porter17

zerk

California

4.06/5  rDev +5.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

The Lord Nelson is located in The Rocks area in downtown Sydney. It's a quite old bar and hotel... built in the mid 1800's I believe. The mood of the place is quite cozy, with a nice dark wood bar. I was there on a Thursday night, and it was quite busy. They have a good selection of their own beers... probably 7 or so, with mostly British styles. My favorite was the Victory Bitter. I tried a few of their selections, and was generally quite impressed. They must have made some improvements since the last beer reveiws were posted.

07-15-2005 14:37:15 | More by zerk

MrKennedy

Australia

3.63/5  rDev -6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Tucked away a bit in The Rocks is the oldest brewpub in the country and one of the seemingly many Sydney pubs with claims to be the oldest in the country.

An old sandstone building with timber everywhere inside, including well worn timber floors. Nice lantern style lights go with the obvious nautical theme. Huge timber beams in the ceiling from which a barrel and many nautical flags fly. The walls are adorned by old brewery photos as well as honour boards for sailing races that the pub used to run. The place gets a good buzz about it with all the hard surfaces as the pub fills up, but is nice and relaxing at lunchtime midweek to just chill and have a beer when it is less crowded. Expect for it to be busy all weekend and on Thursday and Friday nights.

Service was ok, nice and polite and efficient. The person after me was after the beer closest to an IPA and she suggested Trafalgar would be the closest but acknowledged it wasn't on at the moment. So solid beer knowledge.

The beers have a British slant to them, which should come as no surprise given the name of the place. Currently 11 taps devoted to beer, 7 for the house brews (Quayle Ale, Trafalgar Pale, Nelson's Blood, Victory Bitter, Old Admiral and Three Sheets, plus the current seasonal One Eyed Rye), though Trafalgar, Nelson's and One Eyed Rye were not pouring today. Coopers Light is the low ABV offering, while Coopers Pale, Coopers Vintage and Paulaner are the others. 2 taps for cider. The Coopers taps aren't surprising as the pub has always been a good supporter of Coopers. As the story goes, they once sold a cellared version of Coopers Extra Stout which was so well received it prompted Coopers to cellar the beer themselves and release it as Special Old Stout.

Prices aren't the cheapest at $4.70 for a 10oz pour of the Victory Bitter. However, this is The Rocks, so its a bit of a case of expectations being met. Beer is now available "to-go" with the 3 bottled ales (Quayle Ale, Three Sheets and Old Admiral) selling for $5 a single, $19-$19.50 a 6 pack and $66-$71 for a case of 24. Bear in mind the bottled beers are brewed under licence off-site.

The beers have their ups and downs and the brewery seems to have a pretty high turnover of brewers. Also if you are into Rum, it has one of the better pub selections in Sydney and likewise for single malt Scotch. The pub itself is one of the best in Sydney for character. If you like crowds, pick your moment and if you like space, also best to choose the best time to visit. Worthwhile visting if you are in The Rocks.

11-13-2012 02:03:45 | More by MrKennedy

drtth

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$$

Reviewed from notes taken on a recent visit to Sydney.

Made the visit on a busy Saturday evening. The downstairs bar was quite crowded and somewhat noisy but we found a barrel to stand around and set the beers on while chatting and waiting for a table to open up at the restaurant upstairs.

Generally the amosphere in the bar was congenial and everyone was clearly there to enjoy themselves and relax. Lots of wood in evidence and its clear this place has been in business for a quite long time. Struck me a nice place on a quieter evening to stop by, have a couple of beers and a good chat with friends. (No TVs!) The bar was busy but service was just fine. The range of beers on offer was limited to about 5 of the Lord Nelson's range but those we tried were fine, if not outstanding.

Going upstairs for dinner was like entering a different establishment. The room was well appointed and quiet, tables were widely spaced and it was clear that this was a place for fine dining. The service was very attentive and the server very knowledgeable. I had a preparation of Barramundi I'd not tried before and found it to be excellent.

However, with the US and Aussie dollar almost at parity while I was there I did experience some sticker shock at the price of the food.

11-02-2010 02:05:13 | More by drtth

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$$

Sitting in the old section of Sydney called "The Rocks" is a neat stone brewery called Lord Nelson's Brewery (LNB)!!! It certainly did not take a full nelson to get me into this place. It is very invited from the entry way, which is in on a diagnol to invite parched patron on either crossing street. The neighborhood, "the rocks", offers a charm of its own cuz it provides a little bit of local flavor...meaning even the locals enjoy it. Unfortunately for the world visiting LNB or Australia for that matter...you have to get used to the slow un-urgent service. Once you get past that and enjoy the beer it has to offer you soon can forget about the poor service. What is interesting about LNB is that it has a wonderful old world pub feel at the main level, but the upper level where the Brasserie is...is quite different. The brasserie has white table clothes a select wine list and wonderful....and I mean wonderful....food, but it is pricy...even for Sydney. At a minimum I highly recommend a visit to at least taste the beer....if hungary and have extra cash in the pocket head up stairs for a bite....no doubt you will enjoy!

02-15-2011 11:38:02 | More by WoodBrew

brendan13

Australia

3.84/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Visted on a rainy, humid Friday afternoon that extended into early evening. Busy enough to ensure that no seats were available but still pretty quick to get a drink.
I started with a pint of the Quayle Ale which was pretty refreshing. The stand out was easily the Nelsons Blood followed by Victory Bitter.
Didn't need to ask the bartenders about the various beers as they have chalkboards with decent descriptions above the bar.
Had 6 of their own beers on tap as well as both Coopers Sparkling & Pale. Also had Guiness & Chimay White as a guest tap. Most people seemed to be drinking LN beers but there were a few suits drinking Corona & Peroni...

The only complaint I have is that there was a table "reserved" in the corner. Since when can you reserve tables in a pub??? Added to this was the fact that it was staff who had just knocked off or having a break that were sitting there. I'd stop that sort of thing if I was the manager, particularly on a fairly busy Friday night.

01-19-2008 02:04:09 | More by brendan13

vancurly

Australia

4/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

This is where it all started for me.... where I learnt there was more to life than Tooheys New. It was also here where my passion began, courteousy of Blair Hayden, Willie Simpson, and the One Eyed Beer Tasters Club.
This monthly bacchanalia is now defunct unfortunately, but I have vivid (and blurred) memories of Willie rambling on about Crystal Malt and "bl**dy Wine Wankers".
The hotel itself has remained untouched in my memory, and is one of several that make the claim of being Sydney's oldest.
It's a lovely place: sandstone and well-worn floorboards. The brewery is visible to those who circumnavigate the bar; if you're early or lucky enough, you can grab a much sought-after stool at the bar, or a table near the winter fire.
The beer is fresh, and good. I usually start with a cleansing Three-Sheets, before settling into the Victory Bitter.
Usually a pie, mash & peas is good fare, particularly on a cold day with a pint of Old Admiral. Also highly regarded is a mid-afternoon Ploughman's lunch.
One of Sydney's finest; a mandatory stop on any Rocks pub-crawl.

07-17-2006 05:47:40 | More by vancurly