Avoca Hotel

CUISINE Modern Australian
WINE LIST Ian Urquhart
WINEs ON LIST 224 (19 by the glass)
WINE PRICES $$ ($16-$7 by the glass)

The Avoca Hotel has much to offer – wine, with a special focus on local offerings (the Pyrenees region of Victoria); sake; cocktails; and spirits, especially gins. Where they shine, however, is with a world-class array of beers. In 2018, they won Best Beer List and they have repeated that this year, deservedly winning again.

Plenty of typically popular ales and lagers, as one would expect, but they have gone above and beyond to compile an extraordinary collection. The Avoca has sourced their beers from every corner of the globe. Feel like a Mexican pilsner or a Sardinian lager, a Japanese IPA or a Californian wheat beer, a Norwegian saison or a Belgian trappist tripel? Well, this is the place. There are light beers and strong ales and even gluten-free beers. And a wonderful assembly of fruit beers, sour beers and lambic beers.

The highlight, especially for fans of the style, must be the stouts and porters. From renowned breweries from around the world, these are a treat. Pricing, for the most part, is appealing, though you can go as high as $60 for a 500ml bottle of the rare North Coast Barrel Aged Old Rasputin XVI from California. A list worthy of raising a glass.  

‍KEN GARGETT