It won’t come as a surprise to Sydney’s craft-beer drinkers that the local scene is flourishing. The only issue is that, with so many up-and-coming breweries vying for limited tap space at inner-city venues, the whole industry is starting to feel the squeeze. Darren Common and Marco Vargas of 12 Taps hope to remedy that problem with their new brew bar in Glebe.
As soon as you enter you can’t miss the chalked-up tap list featuring a dozen micro-brews you’ve probably never heard of. And that’s the whole point: to exclusively showcase emerging, regional and independent breweries wanting to break into Sydney’s crowded craft-beer market.
Common and Vargas, of Australia’s first co-op brewery Hopsters, in Enmore, have partnered with the Mudgee Brewing Company and Coastal Brewing (from Forster, NSW), and the two companies will have permanent taps pouring their beer. The others will feature seasonal and small-batch brews of every style, so long as the brewery is independent.
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SIGN UPCraftiness aside, the vibe is super casual and 12 Taps is very much a neighbourhood bar – a spot for local families, as much as the beer-nerd set, to relish the sunlit backyard beer garden.
There’s a fully fledged kitchen behind the long oak bar but no resident chef (the space was previously a Japanese restaurant). The aim is to rotate pop-up food vendors, much like a brewery would on the weekend. But instead of doing two days, they might get a whole week or month residency. There are no rules. In the meantime, you can match a hazy interstate brew with local pies and rolls delivered daily from The Pie Tin in Newtown.
Like most venues on Glebe Point Road, this one has its Victorian-era brickwork and floorboards intact. Head to the second storey for Jacaranda views from the back window, or pull up on the balcony for the best seats in this former terrace house.
The team is working on a 12 Taps Marrickville but there’s no date set yet.
12 Taps
29 Glebe Point Road, Glebe
1800 199 644
Hours:
Wed to Fri 5pm–10pm
Sat & Sun 12pm–10pm