Thursday, February 3, 2011

FIVE ISLANDS BREWERY

02/02/2011. I went to Woolongong yesterday to see Billy Connelly at the WIN Entertainment Center, so of course had to go to the Five Island Brewery to try the beer there. Actually ended up at the place three times in the one day. I will get back to this in a minute, firstly we stayed at the Ibis hotel, within walking distance from the theater and so convenient for us.A bit of a budget place I think put served the purpose. The rooms where a bit tight and the shower cubicle definitely was smaller than it might have been.
What I called a theater is in fact a sporting venue, I don't know what for, probably cricket or hurling or volley ball on ice or some other meaningful pursuit. Anyway it sat about 5000 and as far as I could see it was full house, Remember that number,5000.
Before I get back to the Five Islands Brew House I first have to admit that I also stopped in at the Hotel Illawarra, I won;t be doing it again, I was going to have a middy of Asahi, thought it might have been the go after the walk in the heat and humidity. We don,t do middies or schooners here the barchild told me, only schimidies,You have too be joking I said, I thought they had stop using those wanker glasses years ago. And any way what is a shmidy, how much beer is that. After turning the glass upside down and a lot of squinting I was told it was 362 ml. Does anybody know how that relates to a standard drink. She then informed me that before the schimmdees the hotel served beer in a plastic beaker. I said if she had poured me a beer in one she could put it back in the keg and I would go elsewhere.
Back to the 5 Islands. AS I have said it was a hot day and we had just driven about 3 and a half hours to get there plus the walk from the hotel so we where ready for a beer. There where two of us and we started off with a pint of Barbeerian Wheat and a Tall Boys Koelsch, These hardly touched the sides and went down very quickly, then if memory serves we had a pint of Dapto Draught and a Rust Amber ale and then tried a Long Board Pale ale and a South Peach. We then went back to the hotel for a few hours returning at six to have a bit of a meal and another beer before the show and as well as another go of a couple of those already mentioned added a Bulli Black and so completed the list of their own beers on tap.
The place was pretty full at lunch time with a couple of bus loads of tourists and even fuller before the show .
The meals hear are good and the place is nicely set up with a fair amount seating outside. Could have done with a bit of shade and it would have been nice to go a bit further out and sit on the grass but I don,t suppose the council would have liked that.
Even in a place like this that serves its own beer and not a bad range of beer at that particularly considering what is available to the beer drinker normally, it is a real shame to see how many young people insist on drinking central american beer with fruit bashed down the neck of the bottle.
Anyway you will recall mention of the 5000, well after the show and admittedly it was Wednesday but out of those 5000 after the show no more than 10 went around to the bar
Oh and I nearly forgot ,toilets, generally I think they where alright here but beware, when they start reducing the lights in the bar area you might need a map and good night vision to find them

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