The Rainbow Hotel 23/02/11

Attendees: Ben, Cam, Michael, Nick, Richo, Jos
Price: Quite reasonable for boutique beers.
Location: 27 St David St, Fitzroy - off Brunswick St
Distance: 10-15min walk
Ambience: Very quiet, lacking vibe due to lack of patrons midweek
Character: Loving the deck. Outdoor pool table - good use of space. Simple, basic but effective.
Patron attitude, patron hottness: N/A (cold night!)
Beer garden: Awesome, top marks. Everything you would want. "Sociable" placement of TV - you could watch if wanted but discourages large crowding around.
Decor: Too clean cut - gentrified.
Selection: Top notch, local boutique beers on tap with a great selection of bottled.
Obscurity: Local hero. Bit of an aussie battler.
Specials: Famous for its music.
Service: Good, firendly - knew stuff about beer.
Staff hotness: Cute, but not great.
Amenities: Cool toilets. Exposed bluestone. Good artwork in shitter.
Comfort: So many options. All comfort. Good backrests in outdoor timber booths - cushions get bonus points. Nice purple velour.
Notes: Some new B.E.E.R.S additions - "Cheers B.E.E.R.S!" introduction to proceedings. New comfort category - thanks to Nick for the innovation.
Memorable quotes: "If you don't think you were a fuckwit when you were 18, you still are"

Arbitrary score: 78
A legendary live music venue that has been revamped and cleaned up into a very respectable pub. Lost some of the grime but more than makes up for it with its classy new feel

Prudence 16/02/11

Attendees: Ben, Cam, Michael, George, Bec, Rachel
Price: Bit steep. $8.50 pint Carlton
Location: Victoria St Nth Melbourne. Not close to much but the market, but close enough. "Arse end of the city". 368 Victoria St, North Melbourne
Distance: Not walking distance. Easy ride or a complicated tram journey
Ambience: Very cool. Records playing behind the bar, good music, good atmosphere.
Character: Chilled. Weird opshop shit. Pretty cool. Worth noting - Iggy Pop record on the wall in his sober period = awesome.
Patron attitude: Isolated booths, intimate. Kick off your shoes and read a book or have a quiet catch up with some old friends.
Patron hotness: Older indie crowd. Average.
Beer garden: Totally enclosed, doesn't really feel like outside but nice surrounds.
Decor: Very quirky and alternative - eclectic. Good feel
Selection: Above standard - good selection of bottled beer.
Obscurity: Right on a main road but easily overlooked due to not being in a nightlife area.
Specials/events: None
Service: Very friendly and helpful.
Hotness of staff: Very trendy and stylish (but not hot)
Amenities: Pretty cool
Notes: Minimum eftpos $20 (kinda shit)

Arbitrary score: 78
Great use of limited space to create an intimate environment. Good for a quiet drink, catch up, date.

Zink Bar/Restaurant 09/02/11

As Cameron was away for this week, he decided to check out one of the local drinking spots in Cronulla and see how the B.E.E.R.S. formula held up interstate. Needless to say it failed in comparision with its Melbourne counterparts.


Attendees: Cam
Price: Bottled beer only, $6.50 Corona - pretty cheap.
Location: Right above Cronulla Beach. Nice view of the park and beach. 1 McDonald St Cronulla
Distance: NSW, so fucking far!
Ambience: Very sydneyside beach crowd, older rich bogans, try hard upper class feel. Not a great vibe.
Character: Nil
Patron attitude: See above, older rich bogans (but 6.30pm thursday might not be best time)
Patron hotness: Not great while I was here, however average Cronulla people are quite hot so it may be better here on the weekend.
Decor: Modern beachfront but looks cheapish.
Specials: $20 buckets of beer (4), cheap cocktails friday, live music sunday. Does food
Outdoor area: Balcony overlooking beach & park
Service: Good (but it wasn't busy)
Staff hotness: Quite good.

Overall score: 31
Way too tacky Sydney! Need that Melbourne vibe!


An average Zink Bar punter, courtesy of the Cronulla Sharks fan forum:
JADE
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Years as a cheerleader: 1
Favourite restaurant: Zink Bar
Favourite TV show: Sex and the City
Favourite Footballer: Craig Wing
Perfect evening: Going out for dinner with the girls, then going out dancing ... to come back and slumber
In 10 years time ... Scuba diving of the coast of the Caribbean

Caz Reitop's Dirty Secrets 09/02/11

Attendees: Ben, Jim
Price: $7.50 Monteith's Golden Lager (schooner)
Location: 80 Smith St Collingwood, near Gertrude St
Ambience/vibe/character: Underground cruisy bar, easy to walk right past without noticing
Attitude of patrons: Broad range, easygoing. Jim feels welcome and not out of place
Hotness of patrons: Very low key, many more blokes than girls.
Beer garden/outdoor: On-street tables, basement room/bandroom
Decor: Antiquated/homely/chilled. Could be your loungeroom.
Selection: Limited but excellent
Obscurity: Hidden in plain sight.
Specials: $10 cocktails wed-fri 5-7pm, sun 5-7pm $10 jugs. Wednesday night comedy
Service: Fast and friendly (though they weren't exactly busy!)
Hotness of staff: Very cute and chatty
Field notes: Wednesday crowd comes and goes for the downstairs comedy. great on-street seating on Smith St. Extra marks for the cave-like basement. Live music drifts across from others venues, has a good nightlife ambience.

Overall score: 67
A very pleasant evening, needs a couple more patrons midweek to get a good vibe going. Potentially a great spot for an intimate setting on the weekend

The Union Club 02/02/11

Price: Slightly lower than average - pint of Carlton $7.20
Location: Tucked up a side street but still close to Smith St, 164 Gore St Fitzroy
Ambience: Subdued, downstairs pretty cool
Character: Good, funky
Patron attitude: Chilled, multiple large group dynamics
Patron hotness: Average
Beer garden: Two levels but no bar. Upstairs deck pretty nice but was debated
Decor: Good downstairs, traditional 'local pubby'. Upstairs pretty bare, but coolly rustic
Selection: Bog standard
Obscurity: Slightly tucked away but a local hero.
Specials/events: No but reasonably priced
Service: Pretty shit mix. Barman was a bit of a surly smartarse
Staff hotness: 'Raggedy assed mofos' (a hot bussy though)
Amenities: Bad

Overall score: 70
Gastro pub that could be great in winter or spring for a cosy night. Need an air conditioner. Was lagging in the high 60s but bumped up to 70 due to its redeeming features.