An old beer barrel

So you’ve come to visit Hobart and have decided what attractions you might want to see.  You’ve come across the beer tour at Cascade Brewery.  How much fun would that be!?  Well it is fun but make sure you allow yourself the time to explore and enjoy the gardens and have lunch in the café as well.  You won’t be disappointed.

Wayne and I have been to Cascade Brewery on numerous occasions, our first time as a tourist (before we made the big move to Hobart).  That was quite a few years ago now but on that occasion we did the brewery tour as we both like a good beer, well Wayne actual ‘LOVES’ a good beer.  I will tell you about the tour, the grounds and the walk in a future post but today we will talk about the important stuff!  FOOD!

A small portion of the Menu at Cascade Brewery

The Cascade Brewery Visitors Centre houses a lovely café/restaurant where you can relax after the brewery tour, a walk or just because you want a lovely afternoon out with good food, wine and beer, of course!  And that is exactly what we did a few weeks ago.  It was a lovely sunny Sunday, we had been for an invigorating morning walk which made us very hungry.  We rocked up without a reservation and lucky enough there was a table just waiting for us!  Now you can eat indoors looking out -as there is a wall of glass overlooking the gardens- or outdoors where you will find tables scattered in and around the gardens.

A view from the cafe to the bar

Once seated we purchased our drinks from the bar, sat back with a cold beer and a cool wine and read the tummy grumbling menu.  With so much to choose from and all of it sounding fantastic we decided on some Panko Crumbed Onion Rings to share, while I was salivating over the description of the Ploughman’s Lunch, Wayne was debating over a few of the items but gave in to the need for red meat and had the Cascade Steak Sandwich.

Hungry! Here comes lunch!

With our order in we watched as plate after plate of food wound its way past us to hungry diners.  I can honestly say that all of it looked great and we were feeling happy, excited and hungry.  Our meals arrived looking very appetising and appealing.  Good start!  After taking the obligatory photos we tucked in and enjoyed.

The golden, crunchy and hot onion rings tasted just as they should.  Real rings of onion, cut into large rounds and battered (not crumbed as was stated on the menu) which had a nice crunch when bitten into followed by soft juicy onion.  My only complaint with this side dish was the fact they hadn’t been drained properly so the last couple in the basket were sitting in a small pool of oil.

Crispy golden onion rings

My ploughman’s lunch was laid out on a wooden board showing off all the treats you would expect of a good ploughman’s platter including Mercury Cider poached fruit.  The ham in large wedges was moist and tasty and the cheese, well I am a great cheese lover and double cream brie has to be one of my favourites, especially if it’s from King Island!  I was very happy to see decent size chunks of both the brie and a Surprise Bay Cheddar along with a little salad, pickled onions, Branston Pickle, the tasty poached fruit and some lovely fresh chewy bread.

Ready to eat!

All the flavours worked well together and it was fun having a bit of this and a bit of that, sweet, sour, savoury, yum.  Wayne of course went for the steak sandwich and was not disappointed.  This consisted of a perfectly cooked piece of scotch fillet topped with bacon, egg, cheese, beetroot, lettuce and tomato and served with hot, fluffy, crispy fries.  The steak was tender and juicy and the fries were some of the best we have had for a while.  We were quite happy and content.

Now that’s what I call a steak sandwich

The service was good, the food came out in a good amount of time and the meals were cooked to our liking.  You do have to go to the bar to get your drinks which is not a problem but be aware it can take a while if a tour has just ended and all the samples/tastings are being handed out.  The room is bright and airy and the gardens are a great place to sit and relax with a cold beer under one of the big trees.

All done!

So if you are heading to Cascade Brewery  for a brewery tour make sure you leave enough time for a great lunch and a cold beer.

Oh and stay tuned as I will be sharing with you a bit more about the brewery, the tour and the Cascade Rivulet walk in a future post.

For more information feel free to check out the Cascade web page at www.cascadebreweryco.com.au.