The Cassels & Sons Brewery(or The Brewery for short) in Woolston has fast becoming a popular hang out for after work gathering and lazy weekends. Located in the middle of an industrial area, The Brewery was renovated from an old tannery. It has a large courtyard perfect for warm sunny days, with regular live music events. It is reminiscent of the old Dux de lux at the Art Centre, which my friends and I have been missing.I have been to the Brewery twice this year, both time to celebrate friends' birthdays. The first visit was at the end of January, after work on a Friday evening. Those living in Christchurch might recall the unnaturally cold summer this year. So despite being a summer evening, it was a little cool. The place was packed, but we managed to grab one of the last tables in the courtyard and huddled together. Fortunately they have outdoor heaters, which were turned on later in the evening.
On my second visit, it was a rainy Saturday lunchtime in early March. Luckily birthday girl N had booked a table inside,so we all got to keep warm and dry. Most of the photos in this post were from the second visit, as I had been experimenting with DSLR camera, and didn't quite get the right settings the first time.
As the place is called The Brewery, they serve a great selection of their own beers, bitters, and ciders. They also sell a selection of guest beers and wine. My friends all enjoyed The Brewery's beers and were impressed with the variety. C was in love with the raspberry cider, which was fruity and not too sweet.
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| Clockwise from left: Te Oka, Loburn, & Horotane |
I am not really a beer person, so I was looking forward to the food (as usual). We have heard great things about The Brewery's woodfried pizzas. All the pizzas were $16 each (add $3 for gluten free base), all with unique names and local ingredients. On my first visit, we ordered one of each, and were impressed with all of them. The pizzas were freshly made with great flavours, plenty of toppings, and beautiful thin bases. On my second visit, we ordered a few to share. One of our favourites was the Te Oka, with prawns, pepper, chorizo sausage, mozzarella & tomato base. The Horotane with pear, blue cheese, thyme, & smoky bacon was also a crowd pleaser. The Loburn with Canturbury three cheese and summer herbs was another winner.
Other than providing gluten-free options, they also cater for the vegetarians. Apart from the Loburn, there was the St Alban (above) with roasted tomato, Karikaas feta, fresh oregano, chilli, garlic, & parmesan. And the Avoca, seasonal vegetables with herbs and goat's cheese.
The Brewery also serves a selection of starters and mains, with food from both the land and the sea. We didn't pay a lot of attention to these, as we were quite happy with our pizzas. I did get to try the calamari with chipotle chilli mayo ($12.50), which was delicious. The calamari was cooked and seasoned well, and the chipotle chilli mayo was sweet & spicy and quite yummy.
On both visits, we had ordered the homemade fries with tomato sauce & aioli ($7.50 and add $1.50 for aioli). These shoe-string fries were great. Hot, crunchy, with the right amount of salt. The tomato sauce and aioli were the perfect accompaniments.
On my first visit, we had ordered the Ploughmans Platter ($28.50) as a starter to share. This came with a selection of Maasman cheese, pickles, cured meat, hummus, salad, & bread. Very generous serving with lots of yummy things. Although a bit more bread would be even better.
The cabinet was very enticing, with lots of gorgeous food. There were sandwiches/bagels on the bottom, salads in the middle, and desserts on the top. We were sitting close to the cabinet on my second visit, and I couldn't help constantly checking out the food! So after the pizzas, we were all keen to have something sweet, even though our stomachs didn't have much room left!
Our friends' 3 year old son got it right, and actually had a hot chocolate and meringue at the start of the meal. I was impressed with the mini hot chocolate, which was super cute! Unfortunately I didn't manage to take a photo of the meringue before L got to it, but it looked delicious, and L was very happy with it.
Some of the grown-ups had coffee with the dessert, and I had my usual soy latte. They used beans from Lyttelton Coffee Co., another support for the local businesses. I have to confess I don't remember much about the coffee, but I think it was nice.
We got 2 desserts at our end of the table. The first one was the vanilla panna cotta with rhubarb jelly ($6.50), shared by C and G. It was beautiful with cleverly done layers. C liked the panna cotta, although G wasn't as sure about it. I had a spoonful, and thought the jelly was a bit tasteless. So probably not a dessert for everyone.
W and I shared a slice of the sour cherry,almond & chocolate brownie ($4). This was scrumptious with rich chocolate, lots of tangy cherries and nuts. A great treat!
We had a bit of trouble finishing our brownie, so G, the chocolate lover, happily came to the rescue.
I have had two great meals at the Brewery. The food was wonderful and the staff were friendly. A good place to come and relax with friends.
The Brewery is opened 7 days from 7am till late. Breakfast is served from 7am, and woodfried pizzas are available from 12pm. Check out their website for the menu and live gig guide.
The Cassels & Sons Brewery
3 Garlands Road
Woolston
Christchurch
(03) 3895359
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