If you’re parched and in the West End area, check out Parched, Brisbane’s newest craft brewery!
Up for sharing cold beers during these hot summer nights, nibbling on some finger-licking bar bites when you’re feeling peckish, and reconnecting with friends you haven’t seen for some time?
Former mining engineer Carl Hallion is the brains behind Parched. Carl has long harboured dreams of running a bar where guests could chit-chat and reconnect over a few pints of beer, from the time he began brewing beer as a young adult in Adelaide.
It took a couple of years for Carl to hatch plans for Parched with his wife Pauline. Sometime in 2020, the couple found the right spot tucked along a laneway on Montague Road. Despite some hitches and amidst the havoc COVID wrought on the hospitality and construction industries, and their supply chain, they kept the faith.
Everything came together eventually, and Parched finally opened in mid-December 2021.
Parched is slightly bigger than Carl’s original ideas for a bar but the building had plenty of space for communal dining, the bar and taproom, the kitchen, the actual brewery, and the warehouse at the back.
Divided into two levels, Base Architecture designed Parched with a seating capacity for 200 people. Sometime this year, the deck should be built to accommodate more guests.
At the brewery section of the venue are two tanks that can make 2,000 litres a day. From the brewery, it’s straight to the 16-tap bar which stands out in the room because of its green tiling.
Parched’s initial offering includes eight kinds of beer concocted by Carl himself:
- Brave New World hazy IPA
- Creaming Soda vanilla-milkshake IPA
- Mi Amigo Pagara Mexican lager
- Smiling Eyes Irish red ale
- Sunset Sour wild pomegranate kettle sour
- The Pilot mid-strength session IPA
- The Old Enemy old English IPA
- Tewy’s Misery Australian pale ale
Meanwhile, head chef Breanna Dent runs the kitchen and prepares the delectable pub-style dishes matching the beers. For dessert, craft has heaps of beer-infused cold treats from Lick! Ice-Cream.
Follow Parched on Instagram for store updates and offerings.
“Great beer, great service, the food smelt amazing, the ribs looked divine. I’ll have to have them next time. There are some strange reviews for this place but be assured the beer is excellent.”
Phil Heitt
“Had a great experience with a group of my friends. Everything about this place was great. The place was clean and smelled good. The staff was very nice and friendly. They worked as a team in bringing and cleaning up our food. The beers and the stories around them are awesome. Also, great varieties of beers and added values to West End. The food was fresh and awesome. Then we also had dessert and that was really good as well. I love Parched Beer Ice-cream. Great atmosphere with really nice people. We’ll definitely come back. Highly recommended this place.”
Nadeeka Silva
“First visit to the new brewery. Pomegranate sour was a favourite – not too sour and the pomegranate flavour was subtle. The old English ale and the red Irish ale were very similar in taste to traditional uk and Irish ales, which being a Pom I appreciated! Also tried the oatmeal-based brew which was well balanced; it had a bitterness from the roasted oats to compliment the sweetness of the beer, but it wasn’t overly done. Tried the tacos, which were the two veggie / vegan options – the dragonfruit taco was delicious with plenty of filling and sauce. The vegan cauliflower option needed a little more flavour although it was good to see so many vegan and vegetarian options on the menu. Great customer service with really pleasant staff, who enjoy talking about the beer. Dog friendly too which is a great addition. Looking forward to visiting again soon!”
Jen Foster