BentSpoke Brewing Co
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by vincehayter from Maryland
4.23/5 rDev +1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 3.5
4.23/5 rDev +1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 3.5
I visited this place on a recommendation from some friends while visiting Australia (from the States). This is my second time to the country and during my first visit I was baffled by the lack of variety of beers in the places I visited instead finding a relatively small variety of indistinguishable pale ales. During this visit, that impression was smashed to pieces by a visit to Bent Spoke. I got two of the samplers while I was here and didn't have a bad beer in either bunch! The food was a bit pricey but very good and filling. I'd strongly recommend this spot for anyone visiting the Canberra area.
Oct 21, 2015
Reviewed by doktorhops from Australia
3.98/5 rDev -5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5
3.98/5 rDev -5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5
Bentspoke, the new mirco-brewery in Braddon (Canberra) was coincidentally founded by a former Wig & Pen head brewer... rivalry much? Strangely no - due to Bentspoke's focus on American craft Ales and Wig & Pen's English Ales the two are different enough that rather than poach each others customers they end up becoming separate stops on the classic Australian past-time: The pub crawl. Doc's tip: Start at Wig & Pen, then go to Bentspoke.
V: The decor at Bentspoke is what I would deem "Modern Australian" with stainless steel vats and piping everywhere and a heavy reliance on Australian timber for the bar/tables/chairs. It has a nice and simple paired-back clean look to it. The customer base is a mixture of uni students, craft fanatics and public servants (with more money than they know what to do with). 8/10.
Q: Quality of the (all-tap) beers are excellent, as expected from a former W&P brewer, with empty growlers on sale (along with t-shirts and other merchandise) there is much incentive to take home a top-notch craft beer. 9/10.
S: The staff are all new, so their beer knowledge is lacking somewhat, they'll learn though - just give them time. They are however all very eager to provide service, coming around to the tables quite regularly and checking on the customers. 6/10.
R: With 18 taps of micro-brewed craft goodness the range is indeed glorious. However I would say around half of the beers (and cider) on tap were lighter crowd-pleasers, which leaves less choice for a DIPA loving brutha to revel in... oh well, it's still an awesome selection. 9/10.
F: Food is, according to their website "a modern take on the classic pub menu". It's good food, a little pricey for what you get but it all matches well to their brews. 7/10.
VFM: Not so great - slightly more expensive than Wig & Pen's prices, which is one of the reasons I would start my micro-pub crawl at W&P. Pints are $11, which is borderline expensive in Canberra.
Feb 10, 2015V: The decor at Bentspoke is what I would deem "Modern Australian" with stainless steel vats and piping everywhere and a heavy reliance on Australian timber for the bar/tables/chairs. It has a nice and simple paired-back clean look to it. The customer base is a mixture of uni students, craft fanatics and public servants (with more money than they know what to do with). 8/10.
Q: Quality of the (all-tap) beers are excellent, as expected from a former W&P brewer, with empty growlers on sale (along with t-shirts and other merchandise) there is much incentive to take home a top-notch craft beer. 9/10.
S: The staff are all new, so their beer knowledge is lacking somewhat, they'll learn though - just give them time. They are however all very eager to provide service, coming around to the tables quite regularly and checking on the customers. 6/10.
R: With 18 taps of micro-brewed craft goodness the range is indeed glorious. However I would say around half of the beers (and cider) on tap were lighter crowd-pleasers, which leaves less choice for a DIPA loving brutha to revel in... oh well, it's still an awesome selection. 9/10.
F: Food is, according to their website "a modern take on the classic pub menu". It's good food, a little pricey for what you get but it all matches well to their brews. 7/10.
VFM: Not so great - slightly more expensive than Wig & Pen's prices, which is one of the reasons I would start my micro-pub crawl at W&P. Pints are $11, which is borderline expensive in Canberra.
Reviewed by MrKennedy from Australia
3.95/5 rDev -5.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
3.95/5 rDev -5.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
Only been opened a couple of weeks in the trendy suburb of Braddon in Canberra.
A very costly fitout by the look of it, seemingly no expense spared (perhaps a decent sign out the front is the only thing that was spared). Huge timber doors to walk through and then lots of stainless, recycled timber and concrete around. Bar stools, chairs and even kegs with cushions on top provide the seating. All the brewing gear on display and upstairs has a wall decorated with grain bags. The cycling name rings true with a few chandeliers very well done out of bike sprockets of varying sizes.
Buzzing atmosphere at 2pm on a Saturday and later at 10pm that night. It seems like the in place to be in Canberra at the moment and hopefully it continues to be well supported. Very young crowd, some there for the beers, some also there as its new i suspect.
Service was good, enthusiastic and efficient.
The beer range is just starting off, only 5 beers to begin with, but they hope to have 18 of their own beers on the taps (i think i counted 27 taps in the downstairs bar, plus the handpumps) by the end of the year. The Morts Gold Pilsner was good, the oregano spiced Barley Griffin was like drinking a pizza and was a bit heavy on the spice for me. The Crankshaft IPA was good and probably will get better as they get used to the new DME brewing system. So the beers are solid at the moment, will be keen to revisit as the range expands as i'm generally a fan of what Richard Watkins puts out.
Prices were about Australian standard at $7.50 for 10oz and $11 for a 20oz pint, so good incentive to go the larger serving size.
I left really amazed at how much they had spent on this venue. Hopefully the Canberrans continue to support it. One of the best brewers in the country and definitely a place to visit in the nation's capital. Maybe give it a few months for a more expanded range of beers.
Jun 19, 2014A very costly fitout by the look of it, seemingly no expense spared (perhaps a decent sign out the front is the only thing that was spared). Huge timber doors to walk through and then lots of stainless, recycled timber and concrete around. Bar stools, chairs and even kegs with cushions on top provide the seating. All the brewing gear on display and upstairs has a wall decorated with grain bags. The cycling name rings true with a few chandeliers very well done out of bike sprockets of varying sizes.
Buzzing atmosphere at 2pm on a Saturday and later at 10pm that night. It seems like the in place to be in Canberra at the moment and hopefully it continues to be well supported. Very young crowd, some there for the beers, some also there as its new i suspect.
Service was good, enthusiastic and efficient.
The beer range is just starting off, only 5 beers to begin with, but they hope to have 18 of their own beers on the taps (i think i counted 27 taps in the downstairs bar, plus the handpumps) by the end of the year. The Morts Gold Pilsner was good, the oregano spiced Barley Griffin was like drinking a pizza and was a bit heavy on the spice for me. The Crankshaft IPA was good and probably will get better as they get used to the new DME brewing system. So the beers are solid at the moment, will be keen to revisit as the range expands as i'm generally a fan of what Richard Watkins puts out.
Prices were about Australian standard at $7.50 for 10oz and $11 for a 20oz pint, so good incentive to go the larger serving size.
I left really amazed at how much they had spent on this venue. Hopefully the Canberrans continue to support it. One of the best brewers in the country and definitely a place to visit in the nation's capital. Maybe give it a few months for a more expanded range of beers.
Reviewed by dgilks from Australia
4.4/5 rDev +5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
4.4/5 rDev +5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
So after a long period of anticipation BentSpoke is open. A big space over two levels, it is full of industrial stainless steel, concrete and wood giving the whole space a really nice modern feel.
The quality is there too. The beer is very good and the other beverage selections are high quality. The beer is served well.
Service is good and friendly. The staff try hard to please. Despite being completely packed service was reasonably quick. Very happy.
The selection is good. When they have all their taps full there will be 18 beers running. There is a good balance to what is there already. In addition, there are a range of local wines and good spirits for those that way inclined.
I didn't try the food on this visit. What I saw come out of the kitchen looked very good though serving sizes looked a little miserly.
Jun 12, 2014The quality is there too. The beer is very good and the other beverage selections are high quality. The beer is served well.
Service is good and friendly. The staff try hard to please. Despite being completely packed service was reasonably quick. Very happy.
The selection is good. When they have all their taps full there will be 18 beers running. There is a good balance to what is there already. In addition, there are a range of local wines and good spirits for those that way inclined.
I didn't try the food on this visit. What I saw come out of the kitchen looked very good though serving sizes looked a little miserly.
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