Archive Beer Boutique – Australian for Beer

Last night I had the pleasure of spending a few hours in a great little establishment in Brisbane’s West End Neighborhood – The Archive Beer Boutique.

As most of you know – good beer is a fairly large vice of mine. When I am traveling I like to find the local spots and partake in some of the local brew. Anything that I can’t get in Texas – which is quite a bit – is fair game. I’ll try anything once and will pretty much travel any distance within reason to get it. The Archive is located just a short walk from the Brisbane City Center – about 20 minutes walk across the river and then up Melbourne Street. I had been to Archive a couple of times before during my previous Brisbane visits – it’s one of my must stops in the city.

Archive is very cool – kind of a shabby chic vibe with super food and a great beer list. There are comfy couches spread around the place, with a large number of books and newspapers available, so you can settle in and really make yourself at home. The front of the bar is open and looks out onto Boundary street – where there always seems to be a bit of interesting people watching to be had.

The beer list has a few belgian, german, and american beers on it – but it is by far and away dominated by the great craft beer that is made right here in Australia. A lot of this beer isn’t exported out of the country – and even more of it is hard to find in bottle shops throughout the country. The Australians have really figured this beer thing out – it’s no longer just Coopers, XXXX, or Tooeys that dominate the shelves. There is quite a variety from well established and up and coming brewers.

My favorite beer that I sampled last night was Barrique O’Karma from Feral Brewing. Feral is based out of the Swan Valley near Perth in Western Australia. I have had a couple of their beers before and have never been disappointed – the Hop Hog IPA is one of my favorite IPAs. Barrique O’Karma is no exception – it is a Black IPA that was aged in French Oak barrels. It was quite simply amazing – Look for it in an upcoming Beer In Review article.

During this visit – I didn’t eat at Archive – but that doesn’t mean their food isn’t any good. They make some incredible chips (french fries) and their Wagyu Beef burger is amazing. It’s the best burger I have had in Brisbane (and I have had a few). I am sure that I will end up eating there before I leave Brisbane on this trip – I won’t be able to resist.

I’ll end this by saying that if you’re ever in Brisbane for a few hours and you’re thirsty, hungry, or just want a cool place to hang out with friendly, beer knowledgable bar tenders. Take the short walk over to the West End – it’s a nice break from the city centre and experiencing some local, australian brewed beer is worth the walk!