Bar Reviews > Brisbane
Oxford 152   by B Shankarnarayanan

Oxford Brewing Company
152, Oxford Street
Bulimba, QLD 4171
Australia
Phone : 07-38992026
Glass of home brew A$ 4.50 for 350 Ml.
A sample selection of 6 home brews is available for A$10

In Australia, a brewpub is one with a microbrewery on the premises. The various vessels and kettles lined up along a sidewall behind a clear glass partition are visible from the bar area. Beers are continuously brewed and available fresh on tap.

The Oxford 152 , reached by a short walk from the City Cat catamaran stop of Bulimba in Brisbane has been recently renovated to reflect contemporary styling. A blockwide open frontage one level up looks down on the street. The U shaped bar, all gleaming stainless steel with banks of 4 taps every 5 feet, is at least 25 feet at the base. One side of the U faces the microbrewery and the other the restaurant. A band livens up the evenings. High bar tables are spread all over and a lounge area with sofas is located at the far end near the microbrewery. The layout gave a feeling of vastness and space with lots of natural light and breeze flowing in. An evening visit is highly recommended.

This brewpub has created 22 types of beers in 2006 and serves up 6 homebrews on tap at any given time. The ones available during my visit were Asahi dry - Japanese style, Cloudy, the signature 152, Premium sparkler, Pale, Stout and an aromatic Night.

I love dark, full bodied, bitter beers and both the Stout and the Night were excellent. The Night with a hint of Angostura, is less bitter than a Stout and a favourite of the ladies. I tried the Premium which is close to a Kingfisher. The Cloudy lived up it's name. A delicious hint of cloves and banana. Quite unlike anything I had tasted before. And a thirst quencher to boot. For $10 one gets a sampler of each housebrew. The house wine by the glass ($5.50) was a Semillon Chardonnay which my wife fully approved of.

A variety of food is available for an average price of $10-12. We ordered a veggie pizza for one with fetta, tomato, onion jam and mushroom topping. One of the best we've ever had. The most popular item seemed to be the open burger topped with crisp fried bacon and a large serving of fries with Aioli.

In the final analysis, it's a great place to visit and enjoy. The best part is that it's walking distance from the ferry station and one need not drive after drinking!!