Matching Pints to Snacks at Karrinyup’s Good Company Bar

Karrinyup Centre may have recently welcomed another 50 new major international and Australian retailers on top of the 60 that launched on the ground floor of the $800 million redevelopment in July. But for food and drink lovers the good news is only just getting started.

Recently opened is Good Company, a beer hall that will provide some refreshment between shopping splurges.

“It’s a friendly open space, a lot of sunlight, very modern,” says bar manager David Looker. “The fit-out [features] a lot of wood. We are relatively close to the ocean here, giving off that Miami beach-meets-restaurant vibe.”

The bar will serve beach-appropriate cocktails and wines ranging from modern skin-contact types to local classics. But it’s the frothies you’re here for, with plenty of options from locals such as Bevy Brewing Co and Little Creatures.

There’s also an exceptional food menu, and with Looker’s guidance, Broadsheet discovered a couple of killer Good Company food-and-beer pairings to sample.

Bevy Brewing Co XPA
Pair with: Sautéed calamari with parsley, garlic, charred onion and cherry tomato, chilli and lemon
Bevy’s XPA is a little twist on this modern classic, being a touch richer and fuller than you’d expect.

“It’s a heavier XPA,” says Looker. “It has wheat and rolled oats in there so you’re going to get a bit of a darker note from the beer itself but it’s still quite sessionable.”

Those darker qualities of the beer help it stand up to those earthy, charred onion and cherry tomatoes in Good Company’s sautéed calamari.

“You get a bit of grapefruit and pine needle that come through in this beer, but there’s more of a toastier note which is going to really complement that charred vegetable backing.”

Those lighter, fruitier notes sing with the sweetness of the calamari too.

Running With Thieves Hazy Pale Ale
Pair with: Kingfish crudo with blood orange vinaigrette, toasted nori powder, radish and citrus yoghurt
This fresh and complex dish combines the subtlety of the raw kingfish with a bright and zesty backing. The Running With Thieves hazy pale works by playing alongside that brightness, bringing in plenty of stone fruit and citrus notes.

“It’s loaded with flavours of yellow peaches with nectarine and a hint of cherry,” says Looker. “The blood orange vinaigrette is going to complement that peach flavour and that hazy style.”

The beer reinforces the zingy vinaigrette, giving the kingfish space to shine without overwhelming its subtle characters.

Little Creatures Pacific Ale
Pair with: Tiger prawns with achiote paste, charred lemon and coriander
“This is an easy drinking ale,” Looker says. “It’s more like your hazy pale ales except there’s no haziness. There’s a lot of passionfruit throughout this beer – it wants to be an easy drinking ale with a lot of tropical flavour.”

The dish balances those sweet-and-earthy tiger prawns with the nutty complexity of achiote spice and the zesty charred lemon. Once again, the beer works with subtle flavour pairings, reinforcing rather than overwhelming.

“Obviously the prawns are a little bit earthy, they’re going to complement that passionfruit really well,” Looker says.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Karrinyup.