The Balinese craft beer scene isn’t going too bad. As I type this post at the airport three craft breweries are represented at various airport restaurants. You’d struggle to see that in Sydney. Kura Kura, Island Brewing and Islands of Imagination are on tap or in cans at the pretty smart restaurants in the departure area of the Bali Airport.
After a very long walk from the beach immediately north of the airport to Petitenget Beach, I was shot to bits. I had a couple of swims, but the heat is punishing. I made one stop at a beach bar to have an Island Brewing unique, but I was saving myself for South+East Brewing Co. That said, the tiny bars along the Kuta and Legian beachfront have some amusing signs.
Googling South+East had certainly whetted the appetite and built up the anticipation. And it didn’t disappoint. 24 taps of Indonesian beer and South African (Soutb) + Indonesian (East) influences on the food promised a unique drinking experience. The setting is bloody fabulous. An open air but partially covered area backs onto a rice paddy. It is all a little incongruous, but that adds to the charm of the whole joint. South+East is located a village called Dalung, Kuta Utara. North of Seminyak and east of Canggu.
The 24 taps feature plenty of Islands of Imagination beers as well as an assortment from Kura Kura, Island Brewing and Black Sand. There’s no beers from South+East Brewing Co, but they own the joint and I think Islands of Imagination. The Islands of Imagination beers are eclectic and use local ingredients. Wikipedia got a workout as I tried to determine what was in my beer. Jeruk Limau, Salak, Jatiliwuh Rice.
The whole place is fun and the evening entertainment includes comedy, bands and beer fests. The food menu features Indonesian and South African classics like Rendang and Boerewors. South+East is sublime – and any visit to Bali by a beer drinker should include a long afternoon or evening here.
I really wish the same could be said for the Stark Beer Garden. The Stark name has apparently fronted a hotel and a spa for 25 years and PT Lovina Beach Brewery claims to be Bali’s longest running brewery. Back of the Ferry first drank Stark beer back in 2012 and it is widely available across the island. The Stark Beer Garden is in Kuta at the Southern end of JL Kartika Plaza, which is the first strip of the bars and shops north of the airport.
The Stark Beer Garden is big and deep. There’s a stage for a band, which looks like it get well used if the Insta account is anything to go by. I was a little early (maybe 7pm), but the joint was empty. I’d had Stark in bottles, but I love trying the beers off the tap. Unfortunately, no one on duty at Stark Beer Garden had a clue on my visit. Three beers, three five minute waits to get a schooner. I don’t whether it was the cellar master (or lack thereof) or the bloke pouring the beer, but the wastage trays got a workout. I reckon it took 3 litres to get one schooner – on each beer. Ridiculous.
Bali’s oldest craft brewery really deserves better. Very tough to recommend this place – better to grab some stubbies and enjoy back on the balcony of your hotel room.
back of the ferry 