A gaggle of BotF inductees headed up the Central Coast last weekend. The principal objective of the trip away was to see the ageless Hoodoo Gurus play the album of our HSC year – StoneAge Romeos – back to back at the Gosford Racetrack. But some time to kill, #2 identified an untried brewery nearby.
And what an enjoyable little detour we had. BIG little Brewing is just north of the Gosford Showgrounds in a little industrial estate. A food truck welcomes you, you walk down a narrow corridor, which opens up into a cavernous space of bonhomie and good cheer. Plenty of punters were watching the big screen and playing pool, and the outside tables were reasonably full as well.
Many tables were advertising the 100 Pint Club. We asked the very friendly barman whether anyone had made it into the Club. “Yeah, mate #3 and #5 are at the bar now“. Back of the Ferry knows plenty about big numbers when it comes to beer drinking, and we recognised that we were in the presence of greatness. BIG little hasn’t been open that long, and given that the pub is open 5 days a week – these blokes have been going solidly. Cheers to you both.
Nice solid line-up of beers ranging from the seemingly obligatory Mexican Lager through to a classic IPA. Your correspondent was driving, and restricted myself to a tasting paddle. For mine, the Nitro Stout is an absolute standout. Inductee #150, a known dark beer fan, did not have the same constraints and smashed out a couple of pints of the beautifully smooth, coffee tinged liquid.
One our number is an acoustic engineer, and whilst #1 and #2 were tapping furiously away on Untappd, our engineer was checking the decibel levels of BIG little’s main room. 78 decibels, which is apparently pretty punchy, but not bad for your health. Matt asked whether this might be a future feature of BotF brewery reviews.
What was substantially louder than 75db was the Hoodoo Gurus. Formed in 1981, the Gurus released their first album in 1984. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this wonderful record the band has been touring the world playing the album back-to-back to open the show, before playing a stack of their hits from later albums.
The album stands up well. One of the best track 11s on any album would have to be “I was a Kamikaze Pilot”. I’d forgotten how good Leilani was and the Gurus smash it out live. The boys were extremely match-fit having played a series of gigs in the US in August and September. They’ve always been good live and Dave’s banter between songs is always enjoyable. A few of us saw them at a farewell gig at the Revesby Workers Club in the late 90s(?). I don’t they’ll ever stop playing.
BIG little Brewing: 7 Kirrawee Road, Gosford NSW
back of the ferry 