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Overview
When it comes to relaxing with some buddies and some brews, living in the Sunshine State certainly has its advantages. Warm weather, for most of the year, for one. And an abundance of outdoor areas catering to this lasting balminess, for another. Let's just call Brisbane a beer garden haven, shall we?
Brisbane's local pub scene certainly proves it, offering up more spaces that combine fresh air, cold drinks and hanging out than you can shake a stick at — if, for some strange reason, you're carrying casual shaking sticks around. We suggest something a little less odd, like visiting them all instead. In partnership with Hahn Brewers, here's our list of the best beer gardens in Brisbane. Enjoy that outdoor serenity.
RIVERBAR
When is a beer garden more than just a beer garden? When it's an inner-city outdoor area with an epic river view. Riverbar and Kitchen's Eagle Street Pier digs were made for lazy afternoons looking out over the water — and drinks, and plenty of them. Whether you're perched under an umbrella on a sunny day or soaking up the twinkling night sky once darkness hits, you're going to want to have an icy cold beer fresh off the tap in your hot little hands.
FITZ AND POTTS
Two words: fake flamingos. And another word to cement the picture that's already forming in your mind: astroturf. Now, once we explain that you'll find these things on Fitz and Potts' deck in suburban Nundah, you'll probably have the urge to rush there straight away. Not only a garden-focused establishment for knocking back brews but a rooftop bar as well, this retro-outfitted northside spot is the epitome of a relaxed hangout. That means furniture that'll make you feel like you're hanging out in someone's house, but with a killer food and drink list. A jaffle platter and a beer anyone?
SOUTHBANK BEER GARDEN
Looking for a beer garden in South Bank? Sure, there's plenty of drinking areas to choose from in and around the city's major outdoor destination; however there's only once place that's called the Southbank Beer Garden by name. Smack bang in the middle of the parklands, it boasts plenty of breezy vantages over the water, a food menu filled with burgers and share plates, everything from the usual array of beers to colourful cocktails — and it's also the only beer garden in Brisbane that's by the beach. Okay, so it's a man-made beach, but in Brissie, that definitely counts.
LONDON FIELDS
A little piece of Britain in a different West End, as well as a gastropub that lives up to both the meal and refreshments parts of the package, London Fields has proven a welcome addition to Brisbane since opening its doors in 2015. And while its outdoor area is more of a sail-roof courtyard, it's still overflowing with light and greenery to make you feel like you're out in the elements. Oh, and it's the absolute perfect spot to enjoy a homemade pie and pint deal, while working your way through a couple of beers, often while listening to live music. Beverages and tunes — it's a beer garden all right.
THE TRIFFID
Since opening in October 2014 in a revamped World War II hangar, the venue owned by former Powderfinger bassist John Collins has become a second home to many, and not just those seeing one of the many gigs brightening up its stage. The constant crowd can be explained by the beer garden, which is open to everyone — whether you're attending a show or not — from Tuesday to Sunday. As well as a buzzing, busy space to enjoy a beer, it also features a cassette tape mural paying homage to some great Brisbane bands, plus Howzat burgers and Howzat ice cream sandwiches for lunch and dinner.
SOUTHSIDE TEA ROOM, DEATH VALLEY AND RED ROBIN SUPPER TRUCK
Good things come in small sizes in an ordinary strip of shops in Morningside. Great things, in fact. That's where you'll find Death Valley, which might just be Brissie's best suburban dive bar with the quaintest little beer garden out the back. Once you walk past the old school Ghostbusters pinball machine and grab a brew, head straight to the deck, which is where the Red Robin Supper Truck is permanently stationed. Locals come here for the food alone, with the rotating menu featuring everything from burgers (including beetroot and walnut, kimcheese, and watermelon and bacon) to fish tacos to Dr Pepper buffalo wings — and the must-eat morsels that are their lasagnugz (yes, they're crumbed lasagne nuggets).
THE APO
It was once an apothecary, dispensing medicine to cure a variety of ailments. Now, in the same heritage-listed site that dates back to 1862, The Apo offers tonics of a completely different kind. And in a variety of spaces, too — eat in the dining room downstairs, drink at the upstairs bar, hang out on the balcony or kick back in the sizeable courtyard, the choice is yours. Of course, when the weather is warm, it's the latter that keeps calling. Where better to sip one of the four beers on tap, or eight bottled varieties?
BRISBANE GERMAN CLUB
Like a certain classic Aussie movie once told us, sometimes it's about the vibe of the thing. That's the case at the Brisbane German Club at East Brisbane, which might lack a pretty view (depending on your thoughts on overlooking cricket/football grounds, i.e. the Gabba) but does boast plenty of atmosphere. Perhaps it's the extensive array of drinks on tap, or the signature pork, sausage and schnitzel dishes on the menu, or the kitschy one-man band that is resident entertainer DJ Andrew. Maybe it's just the no-fuss attitude that greets anyone and everyone looking for nothing more than a place to eat, drink and be merry, even while sitting at a shared table on a slab of concrete.
THE CHARMING SQUIRE
Some beer gardens look just like you think they will, with trees, seats and maybe even some grass nestled out the back of an old-looking building. Some beer gardens are exactly what you make of them, such as a strip of streetside seating in a leafy area. Given that the entire ground floor of the Charming Squire, one of South Bank's newest drinking establishments, merges the lines between inside and out, we think it counts. Just. Either way, it's a casual, central, open and partly outdoor space to devour a meal.
Sign up to Hahn Brewers and sit back with a drink in a sunny beer garden.