Honey Rider Bar and Sculpin IPA

Let me clear this up straight away. They don’t sell Ballast Point Sculpin IPA at Honey Rider Bar. It is just another non sequitur BotF post where we’ve got to include a beer in the post, even if it has nothing to do with the main story. The main story is about a small bar in Neutral Bay called Honey Rider Bar. Neutral Bay is not a part of Sydney normally frequented by this correspondent. It’s not that Neutral Bay is a hole, it’s just I pass through it in the morning on the way to work and avoid it all together if I’m heading home by ferry. I’ve often looked at the Honey Rider Bar as I by on the bus but it has been hard to imagine how I’d get there.

On this particular evening, I just happened to be in Neutral Bay for business at the right end of the day. Business over – a post meeting de-brief was required, and I convinced my colleagues to by-pass the Oaks and work a further 500m to the Honey Rider. Amazingly, I bumped into a fellow correspondent and we were able to check the Honey Rider together. It’s a nice little space. There’s a bar at the front and a corridor down the side with old fashioned high tables with bar stools that allow for good conversation. The wall art is very clever and intriguing. You’ve gotta love the tap rack. Through the twitterverse, we’d seen that Doctors Orders Iron lung was on tap (and that got a nudge), but the other 3 taps were occupied by Lord Nelson, Mountain Goat and Australian Brewery. All good. Reasonable prices too – with schooners at around $7. Might have to find another reason to get to Neutral Bay.

BotF’s great friend, Rachel, had been on another jaunt to the US and brought back another offering. We’ve had Ballast Point before and Dan Murphy’s has put a couple of varieties on the shelf. I have not seen this particular variety in Australia, and having sipped it, I’m lucky Rachel chose well. One of the best beers I’ve had. illiards and I both had a lash – and one word came to mind – Grapefruit, and not in a bad way. Really, really good beer – and hopefully Dan adds this to the line-up. By the way, the Sculpin is a fish (Like all Ballast Point beers).