4 Pines Brewing Manly

     Located in Manly, 4 Pines Brewing overlooks the ferry terminal and gives you a great view over that part of the harbour. Created in 2008 4 Pines Brewing takes its name from the 4 pine trees that were removed from Manlys foreshore for a gun emplacement during WW2. 4 Pines are dedicated to bring you the best in craft beer and food to match, to this end all their beers are brewed on site and the turn over is such that freshness is garanteed.
     The dinning area ranges from the outdoor balcony with its great views all the way back to the dimmest darkest back corner which is where we found ourselves friday nite, even at 5pm the place was packed and everyone was enjoying themselves with the music helping to build the atmosphere and at a volume that was right for conversation - 4 Pines has really brought it all together, right down to the walls being covered in beer info.
     Now to the Beers, 4 Pines offers 5 standard beers 2 specials and a Cider with a tasting sheet to help you recognise what your drinking.

The standard beers are:

Hefeweizen - 5.2%   17 IBU   Nicknamed the "Hefe" this german wheat beer is cloudy and full clove and banana scents and uses Southern Cross and NZ Hallitau hops. We found that the bottle conditioned beers had a better aroma than the draught.

Kolsch - 4.7%   22 IBU  It starts light and citrusy, moves through with a hint of crystal malts and finishes very clean this is a very easy drinking beer and uses Southern Cross and B Saaz hops.

Pale Ale - 5.1%   35 IBU It was hard to get past the piney / grapefruit taste of the hops, to get to the malt that should have been there underneath. A nice moderate bitterness and an otherwise pretty standard Pale Ale. Uses Citra,Cascade and Amarillo hops.

ESB - 5.6%   40 IBU With a malty slightly cloying taste, we found that the bitterness was lacking, tasting a lot less bitter than the Pale Ale. Uses Target, East Kent, Fuggles and Willamette hops.

Stout - 5.1% 40 IBU Starts with a coffee nose it goes through to a smoky bacony aroma and taste we found it very thin with little body. Uses Target and Fuggles.

The specials were:

Choc Orange 4.4%   33 IBU Very mild orange taste in this light bodied stout, so overcarbonated it just foamed in the mouth.

Russian Imperial Stout 8%  72 IBU A very bitter stout with a nice mouth warmth from the alcohol and a strong coffee aftertaste, we found it hard to drink.

Cider - 4.4%  Tart with a nice balanced low sweetness and a great apple taste.

Steves pick - Hefeweizen     Wifes pick  - Cider

The tasting paddle comes with all 5 of 4 Pines standard beers for $15, all 8 cost $25.50
The 5 standard beers cost $20 for a 6 pack and growlers cost $35filled with the bottle,and then $20 refills
The food is definately worth going back for, although you are paying Manly prices with 2 fish and chips and 2 schooners costing $53. (public holiday surcharge included)

Brewery tours are not available as a service but if you drop in when its not to busy a staff member may be able to take you through the brewery.