Up until I got to Brisbane, I only stayed in each stop for a maximum of 3 days. I knew I was ready to unpack for a bit and I had a lot of blogging to catch up on.
Since I didn’t book ahead of time, I frantically dialed every hostel number until settled on a place called Banana Benders, up the hill from the Central Station. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this bright yellow house with a strip club and a church as neighbors, but I was pleasantly surprised. It had a deck overlooking all of the hills around Brisbane, the perfect spot to cultivate my inner digital nomad.
I didn’t see many of the “sights” of Brisbane, including a few art museums, the Australia Zoo and the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, but I knew I couldn’t miss the XXXX Brewery. I’ve been to quite a few and couldn’t miss the chance to cross an item off my Life List.
I had never sampled the famous XXXX Gold because it’s “Queensland’s beer,” but was ready to see what all the fuss was about. We had to wear fluorescent vests and safety goggles since we go through the actual bottling plant.
If you’ve been on a brewery tour before, the beer-making process may not interest you, but what I took away from the tour is how the XXXX brand was created. Two rivaling breweries created one of Australia’s most well-known beers.
The tour ended with the best part, four free samples. I picked the XXXX Summer Bright Ale, a light “girly” beer since the Ale House is the only place with it on tap. Next was the legendary XXXX Gold, followed by James Squire Pale Ale and XXXX Bitter. For $25, it’s one of my favorite things I did in Brisbane.
The rest of the week was spent living like a local, having barbecues and swimming in the lagoon. It’s a beautiful city that I wish I’d visited sooner. If I’d had more time, I would have visited the art museum or gone on a history walking tour. Next time!
I haven’t been to Brissy in years! I really want to go back and see the ‘banana benders’ haha – what a great hostel name.
The XXXX brewery tour sounds interesting. But you didn’t say – was the beer any good? ;)
Glad you had such a good time and got to tick something off your life list! :)
I really liked Brisbane. I went on a solo trip my first year living in Oz. A lot of Australians said it wasn’t worth visiting, but I disagree. The riverfront is terrific.
Brisbane sounds like a cool city I am really looking forward to seeing it!
Good to hear that you had a great time in Brissy mate! It’s the only city in Oz I reckon that has that “big country town” feel about it.
Yeah mate! It was everything I want in a city: decent transportation, art scene, good restaurants and nice people.