HomebrewandBeer.com forum

Finally managed to find a computer to log in to after a full on day in the nations capital - actually, took me most of the day just to get here, bloody qantas....

Anyway, will be hitting the wig and pen from about 7 for dinner.

Cheers
DrSmurto

Man thats a good pub.

Nice burger followed by a tasting plate of 4 of the beers then pints of the ones i liked the look of most.

Proper hand pumped british ales. Drooooooooooooooooool.

Gorgeous. Bulldog bitter was sublime, the IPA sent shivers down my spine.

Only disappointment was the light beer. Thin and watery but low alc beers are bloody hard to make taste anything but thin and watery.

The cream stout that was poured using nitrogen was 10x creamier than guinness and tasted like you were munching on a block of dark chocolate (the >85% cocoa variety).

I will be back there next time i drop in.

Cheers Tourist for the company. Good to meet and put a face to a name.

Yeah, great way to spend a Tuesday night. Also mad props go to Debacle in Braddon for an impressive selection of imported and local beers on tap, as well as in the bottle.

Give us the heads-up next time you're making the effort to come all the way from SA and hopefully some more forum regulars will make the effort to cover distances from Northern Canberra (and the like) all the way to Civic for a great beer and even a face-to-face convo.

Going to Canberra tomorrow morning and coming back (to Sydney) Sunday. Will probably sample lots of beers as the Hotel isn't too far from the Wig and Pen. Menu looks very reasonable too.

Try the Rumpole PA. It is drinking beautifully.

The Uni Pub isn't too bad....annoyingly though Coopers Pale just went up to $5.40 a schooner. Not far from the Wig and Pen, on University Ave. (Not to be confused with the pub on the ANU campus - also a good pub.) On Thursday nights the Bistro on Level 1 does a cook-your-own rump steak (includes self-serve salads) + James Squire Amber for $10.00. Probably the best meal-deal in Canberra.

lob wrote:The Uni Pub isn't too bad....annoyingly though Coopers Pale just went up to $5.40 a schooner.

Shouldn't complain, the last time I was in All Bar Nun (O'Connor) about 4 months ago the price of James Squire Amber shot up to $6.50 a schooner. (I think it was previously around $5.60.) Never been back. Pity, because I like the small little suburban pubs. There's good one at Ainslie also, but they closed for a week about a month ago for renovations. I'm dreading going back....closing for renovations often means the price of a schooner going up, especially on the quality beers. Not paying more that $5.60 for a schooner of Coopers or James Squire. Shouldn't even be paying that. Why don't they put the price of New or Carlton Draught up to $5.60 or more?

Schooner of Coopers Pale costs:

Jerrabomberra Hotel | $4.50 | 2 Limestone Dr, Jerrabomberra | Steak sandwich $8.50
Soul Bar | $5.00 | Ground Floor, Bank House, Town Square, Woden. | Coopers Sparkling. (Pale had run out. I'll update on my next visit.) Cost of a burger: 13.90. Pizza $10. Note: only open Monday to Friday.
PJ O'Reilley's Tuggeranong | $5.00 | Reed St Nth, Tuggeranong | Irish Theme Pub; Cost of a burger: $12.50
Lighthouse Pub | $5.00 | 80 Emu Bank, Belconnen | Fat Yak (No Coopers on tap)
The Australian | $5.00 | (approx) 175 City Walk, City. Near the merry-go-round. | It's got the silly 'corrugated iron and timber knocked up with a few rusty nails' theme. The seating is made from conversion of large metal drums. Though there's a large seating area out the front, in the City Walk paved area, where you can relax with your beer and avoid the over-the-top silly theme. Cost of a burger: $14.00. New pub, just opened, and $4.50 for Coopers better not be some opening special... UPDATE: Yip, it was an opening special. Also, seems to have become something of a bogan-magnet.
O'Neills | $5.20 | Wooley St, Dickson | Irish theme Pub; Cost of a burger: $10.50
Uni Pub | $5.40 | 17 London Circuit, City | Modern decore; No burgers, $9.50 cook your own rump steak
The Civic Pub | 8 Lonsdale St, Braddon | $5.40 | Cook your own steak (includes salad and roll) from $9.50 (rump.)
All Bar Nun | $5.50 | MacPherson Cres, O'Connor | Cost of a burger: $16.00
Sub-Urban | $5.80 | Cnr Cape and Wooley St, Dickson | Trendy art deco Pub; Cost of a burger: $16.00
Debacle | $5.90 | 30 Lonsdale St, Braddon | Cost of a burger: 18.90 (chicken) to 19.90 (steak.) Note: Pizza costs as much as $31.50! Lots of large groups tend to dine here, including familes with loud children and babies.
Calwell Tavern | 1 Webber Cres Calwell | Megaswill only | I could tell from the tavern exterior, with its extensive VB advertising, that it was megaswill only; I only went in there because of this stupid post I started...
Kambah Inn | Primmer Court, Kambah | Megaswill only | There is Old on tap, but they were out. The barmaid told me if they had Coopers on tap, no one from 'round here would drink it. She's probably right. Managed to find a bottle of Sparkling ($5.10), drank it quickly and got the f--- outta there.
George Harcourt Inn | 3 Gold Creek Road, Gold Creek | Megaswill Only | Weird: An English (theme) pub with the two usual beers found in Irish (theme) pubs on tap, with the addition of Old Speckled Hen, and then only Aussie bland beers, including Aussie Stella. No Coopers Pale, and no LC . Yeah, and being English, if you ask for a schooner they hold up an empty pint glass and say "pint?" FO
Not a pub in Queanbeyan with drinkable beer on tap; Walsh's did have Coopers Pale until recently: The manager told me they were lucky to go through a keg per week, so got rid of it.
Royal Hotel | 85 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan | Megaswill only
Walsh's Hotel | 40 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan | Megaswill only
Tourist Hotel | 31 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan | Megaswill only
Hotel Queanbeyan | 59 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan | Megaswill only
Chisholm Tavern | Halley St, Chisholm | Megaswill only
Kippax Tavern | 84 Hardwick Cres, Holt | Megaswill Only
Mooseheads | 105 London Circuit, City | According to their ad/link when you Google 'Mooseheads Canberra': "Mooseheads has Canberra's best beers on tap. Canberra's Biggest Bar..." BS. Nothing but fake imports and the usual bland Aussie fodder. No Coopers, No JS, No LC. FO.

OTHER:
I can't really include these places in the list because (a) they don't have tap beer, or (b) their glass sizes are smaller than a schooner. So, they're in a separate list here : )
Kremlin Bar | Cnr Alinga and Northbourne Ave, City. | I really like this place; just 'round the corner from Wig and Pen. No tap beer, bottles only. $5.50 for Coopers Pale. $7.00 for Hoegaarden. Russian beers are $9.00 each. Must sample some next time I'm there.
Ha Ha Bar | 102 Emu Bank Belconnen | $5.00 for a "glass" of LC Bright ale. Slightly larger than a middy perhaps. Also has on tap two Australian brewed beers, pretending to be from Japan or Germany.





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I'm going to do a Price Review of all Canberra pubs [other than the Wig and Pen which everyone knows is the best pub in Australia] and place them in this post (I'll just edit it every week.) I'll use the following format, and list the pubs from least (top) to most expensive (bottom):

Cost of a schooner of Coopers Pale

Name of pub/bar | $x.xx | Address | Notes:

If there's no Coopers, I'll substitute Little Creatures. No LC, I'll substitute JS Amber. No drinkable beer on tap: Megaswill Only. (Megaswill Only pubs/bars will be listed on the bottom...places to avoid.)

Notes: Mostly regarding the decor: Original/Rustic decor; Housing Commission also operates pubs decor; Trendy-Nightclub decor; Modern possibly a tad boring decor; Over-the-top arty decor; Too many plasmas decor; etc etc.

Why? Pissed off that a Schooner of Coopers Pale varies in price from $4.50 (Jerrabomberra) to $6.50 (Dickson.) It's a local beer just like Carton Draught or Tooheys, and should be priced about the same.

I'm not going on a pub crawl so don't expect this Review to happen over night. It'll take me around three months probably. I won't be reviewing any Clubs. Of the few I've been to, most seem to have megaswill only.

Went to the Wig & Pen yesterday. Found the staff downright rude, so we left and spent our money elsewhere.

jello wrote:Went to the Wig & Pen yesterday. Found the staff downright rude, so we left and spent our money elsewhere.

Really? I go there at least twice a week; I've never had a bad experience. Always found the bar staff to be somewhat laid back, but always friendly.

btw there's free wifi at the wig and pen also, just ask for the login details.

jello wrote:Went to the Wig & Pen yesterday. Found the staff downright rude, so we left and spent our money elsewhere.

There's one bar maid there- the fat one, who is very unpleasant. I haven't seen her for a while, so hopefully she's gone.

On the plus side, the W&P has a tasty barleywine on at the moment.

Folks,

Just bumping an old thread ...

I'm off to Canberra for work in a couple of weeks for One Night Only.

Is the Wig and Pen still the place to get great beer and a feed? Or drink there, eat elsewhere?

Cheers,

Oliver

Don't really go there much anymore. Got back from the States middle of last year, and just feel like everywhere in Canberra either provides (i) lack of choice (ie VB, New, etc on tap only), (ii) inflated prices, and (iii) crap food.

I have not found a place that provides good food, good choice of quality beer, and reasonable prices. And, here's my beef with the Wig & Pen: (i) The food tastes like leftover fridge contents slapped together. Although they don't charge $17 and up for a bloody beef burger like many wanky pubs, christ, all their beef burger consists of is an oversized patty (probably bought frozen in bulk) on a crusty roll with lettuce and sume chutney. And, then like every f---ing pub/club/bar in Canberra, a healthy serving of cheap FROZEN chips (every pub/bar/club provides FROZEN chips. Too much of a headache going to the Farmers Market on Saturday mornings I guess. And then, they'd have to wash and cut the damn things. In Sydney, another brew pub, Redoak, makes their chips from fresh potatoes...lots of pubs in the UK and Europe still do this as well.) And, btw, the Wig & Pen website has not been updated for a long time. You can add an extra $2 to all the food items listed. And the beer.

And then there's the beer: Overpriced. I can't get my head around the fact that I can buy Zierholz at the Labour Club in Belconnen for $5 a schooner, but at the Wig and Pen I'm "forced" to buy beer by the Pint (works out noticeably better value than buying by the schooner..cunning way to get everyone to upsize. What did they do, bring in some consultant from McDonalds?) with almost no change from $10.00. I mean Zierholz is brewed in Canberra and then sold to the Labour club. Zeiholz makes a profit selling it to The Labour Club, and The Labour Club at Belconnen makes a profit selling them for $5 a schooner.

I can't believe I used to *like* the Wig and Pen. Here's how they could probably, but won't, fix things:

1.Sell beer via schooner (after all this is Australia, and most Canberrans drive everywhere), and reduce the price to $5.50 (I might be prepared to pay $6.)

2. Take some of their enormous PROFITS they make each year, and instead of buying another investment property, or doing a silly home extension, or buying a new SUV, pour the money back into the business and employ someone who actually knows how to cook. Here's a good recipe for a burger btw:

http://www.squidoo.com/wendyscopycatrecipes

The tacky fake interior: All the tables are made from MDF (same with the silly exposed beams.) For f--- sake, I knows it's cheaper than real wood, but it does tend to "puff up" with moisture/spilled beer, go out to Thors Hammer in Yarralumla, and get them to make you up some table tops using recycled hardwood.

http://www.thors.com.au/

This has been a free consultation from lob <burp>

1.Sell beer via schooner (after all this is Australia, and most Canberrans drive everywhere), and reduce the price to $5.50 (I might be prepared to pay $6.)

Er, they do sell by the schooner, what I mean is sell for the same value (by volume) as a Pint.

I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise regarding my comments that a schooner of Zierholz can be purchased for $5 at the Belconnen Labour Club (and the obvious insinuation that the Wig & Pen is "Price Gouging" much like, let's be honest, almost every Australian Retailer.) No, went there today for lunch, and they're $4.50 a schooner.

You can't really complain that a breweries beer is to expensive using the argument that this other place sells craft beer for $4.50, I gather in canberra a schooner is 425ml, you say "reduce the price to $5.50 (I might be prepared to pay $6.)"
5 odd bucks will get you a South Australian schooner, 285ml in many craft breweries but more like $7 for 425mls.
You say this other place is a club, the 'labor' club, whatever that makes it, they must not require any real revenue from selling this beer at this price as their money must come from elsewhere, providing that beer cheap is something they do, good on them, it must be cheaper to drink it there then the brewery itself though which is a worry.

Its cheaper then swill in nearly all pubs across the country if its 425ml 'schooners' also a bit of change from ten bucks for an imperial pint is pretty much spot on, most woolies owned irish/english git pubs and so on will charge that for UK swill.
A pint ~560ml at 9-10 bucks works out around the same per ml as 7 dollars for 425ml, which I think is the appropriate price.

I see no problem there, as far as the food I have always got what I paid for and been happy with, you walk in and theres a dude with a pony tail listening to alice in chains in a small bar, I could not be more comfortable and after a few beers need something to eat so you can keep going. Its all good, love it and can't fault it and find no need to be overly critical about some of those other things you mentioned.

285ml in many craft breweries but more like $7 for 425mls

Really? Do you ever get out of Canberra much?

What about this place in Sydney: Happy hour, all beers $3 a schooner. $4.20 for a schooner of their "award winning" Pilsner. Then again, maybe they actually loose money on each schooner sold, they have heaps of Pokies like the Canberra Labour Club, and their cheap beer is just a front to lure in new pokie addict recruits.....

http://www.paddysbrewery.com/index.htm

Also, I used to frequent a bar in Mascot two or three time a week - near my wife's old work. Their food menu was the pits, it consisted of frozen supplies placed into fat (fish, chips, wedges, meat patties for their expensive burgers, etc etc) but the beers, not brewed on premises, but supplied by a Sydney Brewery, were great, and were $5 a schooner.

Also, I've never had a problem with the staff at the Wig & Pen. You may have noted that I've defended them in a previous post. The staff don't set the Price for a schooner of beer, the food menu, decide that MDF is great for a table surface, etc. And, btw buying a pint of beer at the Wig & Pen works out noticeable cheaper than buying a schooner. That's why you see almost everyone in there drinking pints. If you want proof I'll go in their this week, buy a fricken schooner (Rumpole Pale is my fave) and sit down and work out the cost per ml: schooner vs Pint. I'm pretty sure the schooner will work out about 30% more expensive. I could be wrong, maybe it's only 28%.

And, regarding the MDF table tops: Firstly, MDF doesn't handle moisture well, it "puffs up". Secondly, MDF is f---ing dangerous:

"Formaldehyde resins are commonly used to bind MDF together, and testing has consistently revealed that MDF products emit urea formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds that pose health risks at sufficient concentrations, for at least several months after manufacture. Urea formaldehyde is always being slowly released from the surface of MDF..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard


Next time you're in the Wig & Pen tell them to update their website.

I may have to start charging for these consultations...

lob wrote:Next time you're in the Wig & Pen tell them to update their website.

Interesting point, that. My legal adviser (aka missus) has just confirmed that having goods on a website consitutes an "invitation to treat". You could probably make a fair case that they are legally obliged to honour the prices at which they advertise their meals on their website.

Unless a QC out there would beg to differ

Perhaps I'll try it on when I'm up there in a couple of weeks.

Cheers,

Oliver

At Common Law, an Invitation to Treat does not constitute a valid offer for the purposes of a contract on the part of a seller. It is in the nature of an advertisement or an enticement to a buyer to make an offer to purchase. The offer to purchase is then open to a seller to accept or reject. If accepted, it is the basis for a valid contract.

Now, that's the position at Common Law.

However, there are several legislative provisions nowadays which override the Common Law position. For example, advertising or ticketing a product for sale at a specified price would generally be binding under the Trade Practices Legislation. To do otherwise would be to engage in misleading conduct in the course of trade or business etc etc.

By the way, when I was examining in Commercial Law and Contract Law, one smart alec student tried to convince me that an Invitation to Treat is the first step in a contract between a patient and a doctor. He didn't score the points for that one, even though he deserved it for inventiveness.

Law lecture over. Back to brewing considerations.

It's the constitution. It's MABO. It's just...the vibe