Tourism Australia + Craftbeer

Discussion in 'Australia' started by Japancakes, May 16, 2013.

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  1. Japancakes

    Japancakes Aspirant (291) Jan 1, 2010 California

    Hey guys,

    I'm up for a job at Tourism Australia called "Chief Funster" who does everything associated with nightlife, events, pubs, food, etc. and runs social media and blogs for all of it. 310,000 people applied for 6 different jobs, but there's only 3 of us left in the running––myself and two girls, one from the US and one from the UK. Winner gets the job + $100k salary for 6 months work ($50k cash/$50k expenses). I'm posting here for 2 reasons:

    a) I'm trying to learn anything and everything about the craftbeer scene in NSW before I show up.
    b) I'm looking to connect with the Aussie craftbeer community who has a vested interest in seeing good breweries get promoted.

    Craftbeer is one of if not my biggest hobby. I homebrew, I trade, I drink a lot and love the scene. I'd love to hear a bit about the best local places, events, people, etc. Part of our week of "challenges" there before they pick a hire is to create content and make blogs. You best believe I'm headed straight to the microbreweries and craft pubs on day one. If anybody has any contacts or leads, I'd love to hear them. Maybe I'll bring some Black Tuesday or Chocolate Rain to coax it out of you...

    Cheers!
     
  2. heygeebee

    heygeebee Pooh-Bah (2,101) Aug 6, 2010 Australia
    Pooh-Bah Society

    what city are you landing in?
     
  3. sinkas

    sinkas Initiate (0) Jul 9, 2008 Australia

  4. scmorgan

    scmorgan Initiate (0) Apr 5, 2005 Australia

  5. dgilks

    dgilks Initiate (0) Jul 14, 2008 Australia

    If NSW (and thus Sydney), you are going to want to hit up Manly for Murray's and 4 Pines. For something a bit unusual (given the location), try Riverside in Parramatta. For the historic nature of it, The Lord Nelson in The Rocks is good and comes with the benefit that Hart's Pub and The Australian hotel are nearby. This lets you combine history, tourism and great beer.

    If you are going further afield than Sydney (but staying within NSW), some options are:

    Stone & Wood in Byron Bay
    HopDog in Nowra
    Illawarra Brewing Co in Woollongong
    Wig & Pen in Canberra (technically the ACT but given it is the best brewpub in the country I think you should count it as NSW)
    Thirsty Crow in Wagga Wagga

    Hope that helps.
     
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  6. Japancakes

    Japancakes Aspirant (291) Jan 1, 2010 California

    Hey guys, thanks for all the replies! Getting back to PM's. I'm landing in Sydney on the 12th and staying til the 21st where they announce the winner. The job will eventually be based there and promote all things fun to do in NSW only. I'm a bit short on logistics of freetime, tasks they want us to do, etc. but I'll be posting here as soon as they let us know. I'm aiming schedule some pub crawls, a tour or two, and maybe some meetups? There's going to be a lot of publicity covering this whole ordeal so I'd love to funnel attention to craft breweries.

    Sounds like Manly's and 4 Pines are places to go for sure. Anybody know a contact email there so I can get a quick interview with someone working there?

    Out of all these places, which ones double as the best "nightlife" or "fun" spots? I know a lot of craft places can tend to be mellow, which is great, but I might actually go seek out the more lively spots first.

    Cheers!
     
  7. heygeebee

    heygeebee Pooh-Bah (2,101) Aug 6, 2010 Australia
    Pooh-Bah Society

    try Spooning Goats for 'Fun' ...... centrally located, as well....
     
  8. mulder1010

    mulder1010 Initiate (0) Aug 29, 2008 Australia

    Frankie's--------- Just for the "night life" in the area.
    4 Pines has the better location as near the ferry wharf and closer to Hugo's. Can be a real pain in the butt to get into 4 Pines.
     
  9. Lukie

    Lukie Initiate (0) Jun 16, 2007 Australia

    Turns out an independent study on consumers and craft beer found that NSW consumed more craft beer then any other state.

    Hipsters.
     
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  10. scmorgan

    scmorgan Initiate (0) Apr 5, 2005 Australia

    Can we leave hipsters out of this forum please ... ;p

    Emails and contacts I got a plenty, and you have to personally visit Stone and Wood. One thing some o/s folks fail to grasp is the big spaces between cities. If we thought about it, we all really should just live around Byron ...
     
  11. Japancakes

    Japancakes Aspirant (291) Jan 1, 2010 California

    Hey guys, sorry I'm slow on the responses. I'm in Abu Dhabi, UAE right now and came down with stomach flu. Got totally raped the last 2 days... Ugh

    Anyway, thus far I have these almost for-sure on my list. Open for feedback.
    Strictly craft locations:
    Murray's At Manly, also for a nice meal or wine
    4 Pines
    Hart's/Rocks w/ Scotty
    Potential bottleshare w/ mulder1010 (any pubs want to host some Chocolate Rain?)
    ---------
    Other:
    Frankie's as a pre-game to a mental night out
    Spooning Goat's for low-key night

    Not sure if I'll have time to make it to Canberra for Wig & Pen just because I don't know how much that will help me w/ content creation as well. If anybody would like to make any food suggestions or "things to do" that lean on the side of fun or high energy, I'll take those, too!

    Cheers!
     
  12. mulder1010

    mulder1010 Initiate (0) Aug 29, 2008 Australia

    Forgot riverside :slight_smile:. Dave would be happy for something like that.
    Flat rock cafe is a chill venue with good beers, or east village in balmain is also a good venue
     
  13. danieelol

    danieelol Initiate (0) Jun 15, 2010 Australia

    The Union Hotel in Newtown is pretty much a must-do these days. Close to Newtown and/or St Peters station. Would easily be one of the best for atmosphere, and it's close to numerous other pubs/bars.

    Otherwise Frankie's is probably what you're looking for in terms of a crowd/ambience and centrally located (in the middle of the CBD).
     
  14. scmorgan

    scmorgan Initiate (0) Apr 5, 2005 Australia

    The Union is good, and there are a few other spots around, Midnight Special in Newtown, Little Guy in Glebe, The Clare at Broadway, Petersham Bowlo ...
     
  15. dgilks

    dgilks Initiate (0) Jul 14, 2008 Australia

    Congrats on getting the gig Andrew. Hopefully the beer is good enough to get you through six months.
     
  16. Japancakes

    Japancakes Aspirant (291) Jan 1, 2010 California

    Hey guys, sorry for being so MIA this whole time. We were underwater with things to do and different challenges trying to get this position, but as @dgilks said, I won. I'll be moving to Sydney (probably Surry Hills?) near the end of this year. I'm stoked!

    To celebrate, myself, some of the others from around the world and locals are going out today to have some beers. Anyone can come! We'll probably do Harts/Rocks, Lord Nelson, ferry to Murray's and 4 Pines. My local phone number is 0455 583 447.

    I'm so stoked. I'm going to use this job to promote the crap out of local craftbeer whenever possible. Excited to join up the growing community later this year!
     
    mulder1010 likes this.
  17. scmorgan

    scmorgan Initiate (0) Apr 5, 2005 Australia

    Congrats, drop me a line and we will catch-up.
     
  18. Japancakes

    Japancakes Aspirant (291) Jan 1, 2010 California


    Dropped by Hart's yesterday, heard you were at an event! No worries though, I will absolutely be back later this year. We'll have to collaborate on making some awesome craftbeer content for Destination NSW.
     
  19. scmorgan

    scmorgan Initiate (0) Apr 5, 2005 Australia

    Yep, had a beer festival up the Coast @ Kincumber. Nice pub and some interesting Yokels. There was a small piece in the SMH about the 6 winners.
     
  20. MrKennedy

    MrKennedy Pooh-Bah (1,814) Dec 29, 2006 Australia
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

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