Soda Factory

After work on Tuesday, a few of us from work went out to the Soda Factory. It's a bar that has $1 hot dogs every Tuesday. Sweet! They ended up being smaller than a normal hot dog (I had 3 total), but they were kind of fancy. The "Texas Redneck" had BBQ sauce and chili on it. The "Frank Sinatra" had pickles, mustard, and onion rings. Then there was a chicken one (forget the name) that had buffalo wing sauce on it. All pretty good. Their fries (chips) were really good, too.

The place had a great vibe and was popping. When the band wasn't playing, the speakers were belting out 1950s ice cream parlor songs from bands like the Beach Boys.

As I walked home, I stumbled upon Redoak. I've been looking for some good beer in Sydney, and this place looked legit. I later looked it up and saw that it has good ratings, too.

I took a look at the menu and saw an IPA brewed with American hops.

Obviously that's what I was going to order. Can't wait to try this.... oh, they're out of the IPA. Dangit. Well, the bartender suggested I try another beer. It was a Belgian-style wheat beer that he described as a little hoppy with a mango taste. Doesn't really sound similar to the IPA I wanted, but he gave me a taste and, wow, I liked it so I ordered a, uh, whatever size this is in Australia.



 

It had a nice golden, cloudy color to it. Definitely a crisp, mango taste to it. Not overpowering in a sweet way, but subtle with a hint of bitterness. Didn't quench my IPA thirst and I'm not usually a huge fan of Belgian-styles, but this was a great beer.

 

I struck up a conversation with Connor, the bartender, and learned that the actual brewery is in Camden (about an hour away from Sydney I guess). The brewer's name is Dave. Apparently no one but him goes to the brewery. He brews all of these beers (although Connor guesses Dave has people help him clean). This story seemed pretty crazy to me, but apparently it's true (I hope to get more details upon my eventual return to this place). He brews dozens and dozens of different beers and styles each year. The man loooooves beer.

 

During our conversation, Connor poured me a couple other tastes on the house. I got to try the weiss beer (weiss means "white" in German and is a wheat beer) which was really amazing. He mentioned that he actually had some of the IPA, but it was some leftovers from the keg a couple hours ago. It was flat and stale, so couldn't discern much from tasting it.

 

He then asked if I liked ciders. I had to be honest and said no, not really. But he poured me a little and it was the best cider I've ever had. Very crisp and very, very dry. Not sweet like other ciders I've had. The last thing he poured was their lager. I smelled and tasted slightly like Tootsie rolls. He seemed to prefer the descriptor "chocolate."

 

OK. That's enough of my rambling on about the brewery. Time to go watch the State of Origins. It's a rugby match against New South Wales (where Sydney is) and Queensland (the state north of NSW). Headed to a pub with a co-worker and his pals.