9861 West Swan Road, Henley Brook
Ph: (08) 6192 1830
www.baileybrewingco.com.au
It’s pretty outstanding, really…
Since opening in November 2020, Bailey Brewing Company in the Swan Valley has proven extremely popular and appears to be the brewery of choice for many families. It’s not hard to see why – there’s an 850sqm nature playground to keep the children occupied, leaving the grown-ups to relax with a beer, while live sport plays on big screens throughout the venue. In large writing on the main building’s roof is Bailey’s slogan: it’s pretty simple, really. This is a message that appears to inform everything the brewery does, from the beer to the food, to the layout of the venue, Bailey is a shining example of simplicity done well.
The huge, 9.5 acre venue has plenty of parking, a main brewery building with an indoor dining area and a mezzanine upstairs with its own bar, a large beer garden that contributes to most of the 245-seat capacity, the aforementioned playground and a picnic area that is open on special occasions, where there is plenty of room to kick a footy. For weddings and large functions, there is also a big marquee with its own bar and kitchen, as well as an additional outdoor area used for ceremonies and concerts.
For a relatively new venue, Bailey Brewing has a surprising abundance of character. This has been achieved by paying homage to the property’s previous owner, Alton ‘Toppy’ Geer, a beekeeper and collector of cars. The cars in the playground were already on the block when it was purchased, tools from Toppy’s shed have been painted on the walls, while two beehives on site have been put to use by the brewery, in a Honey Pilsener and a Honey Kolsch.
Bailey’s Executive Chef, Alan Desouza has created a menu that covers a range of cuisines and is full of pub favourites. The menu is separated into six headings, Little Bites, Grill, Big Bites, Kids, Pizza and Sweets.
We started with a couple of ‘Little Bites’: Chilli Prawns and Fried Chicken Wings. The prawns were tender, full of flavour and came served in a glossy chilli tomato sauce, grilled sourdough and a wedge of lemon.
The sauce had the perfect balance of sweetness and chilli kick, and was gloriously jammy, just begging to be mopped up with the sourdough.
The Fried Chicken Wings (available in 500g or 1kg) were a generous serve and outstanding value for money. Large chicken wingettes were coated in a crunchy, slightly spicy batter and came with a container of spicy sauce (BBQ sauce is also an option). They were satisfyingly savoury and not too greasy – perfect beer food.
Speaking of beer, unsure which of Bailey’s brews would pair best with our lunch, we opted for two tasting paddles and sampled their full core range. This comprised an Apple Cider, Draught (pale lager), Ginger Beer, Hazy IPA, Mid (3.5% ale), Pale Ale, Red Ale and Summer Ale. All were good and I was particularly impressed by the Pale Ale, a classic American-style beer that offers an appealing balance of citrusy hops and toasty malt flavours, with a pleasantly dry finish and lingering bitterness.
Next up was a Jerk Spiced Marinated half Chicken, which came with a cheesy baked potato and house salad. There was choice of garlic butter, spicy or BBQ sauce. We went with the garlic butter and I strongly recommend doing the same. It was utterly delicious and added a level of decadence to an already cracking dish. The half chicken was beautifully cooked with a moist interior and darkly caramelised skin. The house salad was great too and came with a punchy, aromatic mustard dressing. It is a generously portioned dish that could easily serve two, especially if you are having starters.
Unafraid of more spice, we moved onto the Chicken Tikka Curry, which Desouza described as ‘medium plus’. Tender bite-sized pieces of chicken thigh came in a creamy, aromatic and spicy tomato gravy, which was served with steamed rice and pappadums. Deeply satisfying comfort food for any curry lover.
The lamb pizza was cooked in the big, bronze wood-fired pizza oven located at the back of the indoor dining area. The crispy, slightly charred crust was topped with thick, fudgy slices of lamb and rosemary sausage, along with a bitter rocket pesto, salty feta and sweet red capsicum.
Wanting to sample from the Kids Menu, we finished our lunch with a Kids Parmy, Veggie Sticks and Chips. A half-serve of the Chicken Parmigiana from the Big Bites section of the menu, the Parmi was topped with ham and Napoletana sauce and served with crunchy golden chips, which are bound to please the little ones, while the veggie sticks should keep health-conscious parents happy.
Too full for dessert, we did not want to leave without trying the coffee. Bailey’s have a coffee roastery on site and produce their own range of espresso beans, named ZAAM Coffee after the initials of the owners’ four children. After our impressive lunch it came as no surprise that the coffee was also excellent.
Bailey Brewing is open Tuesday to Friday from 11am to late and on weekends from 8am to late, with the weekend breakfast menu available until 10:30am. Be sure to bring the whole family because there really is something here for everyone.
By Jeremy Sambrooks
