PRIMARY FLAVOURS

• Lemon
• Honey
• Melon
• Crisp

Story

There's a huge spoiler that comes with the Quakers Hat brewery - it is not near the place it was named after.

Instead, Quaker's Hat Bay lies about 10km away from the brewery in Mosman and sits below the family home that brewer Cam Robinson grew up in. The family connection is important, though, because the whole Robinson clan works in this small beer operation, including mum Sue & dad Dave, plus brother (and the website designer) Nick, all pouring beers in the taproom of a weekend.

That's the joy of a business like this - it's beer served real. Tucked into a side street in suburban Manly Vale on Sydney's Northern Beaches, the brewpub has a real charisma to it, including the quirky furniture and fittings that have come via Sue & Dave's antique business.

Meanwhile, the beers (and the excellent pizza) also have authenticity and flavour, from the renowned depth of the Red Rye IPA right through to the innovative seasonal releases that come from Cam's fertile brewing mind.

Then again, Cam used to be a removalist, and you can only imagine how many removalists constantly dream of doing something other than carrying furniture in the rain...

The Kolsch was effectively the first Quakers Hat beer and still the most popular. Kolsch is a very old-school German style of beer (historically brewed around the town of Cologne) that sits somewhere between a cool, crisp and classic Lager and a more fruity modern Ale. In this Quakers Hat version, you can taste honey and melon with more classically grainy, bready notes, too. Generous and refreshing all at once, this is peak Northern Beaches refreshment.

Specs

PAIRING GUIDE

Who’d have thought you’d be able to pick up a pitch-perfect German Kolsch beer from a brewery in Sydney’s Manly Vale? This crisp and light beer is a fantastic homage to a bonafide classic of European brewing, and it’s hard to think of a better drink to enjoy on a sunny afternoon with friends and food. You’ll get excellent results pairing this one with tried-and-tested matches like Wiener schnitzel and chips, chicken with fennel, potato salad, currywurst and cheesy spaetzle, but it’s also just as good with a Thai green curry, sushi with plenty of wasabi, or a fiery Indian vindaloo. Roast white meats, prawns with chilli and garlic, Chinese cuisine and meat pies will also hit the spot very well indeed.

RECIPE MATCHES

• Chicken, Potato and Fennel Traybake
• Roasted Pepper and Three-Bean Chilli
• Texan-Style Smoky Wings