Soapbox Beer - Fortitude Valley

Friends would know that through my association with Iron Fist, he has introduced me to a fair bit of drinking culture, but beer has never been something he's been particularly keen on, so I had never tried too much of it. Having heard of the fairly new craft beer brewery and restaurant in the Valley, Adam and I strolled over for an early dinner after work a few weeks ago.

Situated on Gipps Street, Fortitude Valley, it was definitely a busy area and parking would not be easy, but the brisk walk after work was definitely welcome. 

Seated inside, air conditioning was strong and we liked the rustic industrial vibes with their wooden tables and mismatched chairs. 

 

We found the menu to be very interesting. Every food item on the menu had beer as a component of the dish, from share plates, mains to desserts. The drinks menu, as you would expect was very substantial, but luckily we didn't have to make a choice on those.

Starting off, we had a taster plate each for all the beers. Adam's favourite was the dark beer with a toasty coffee flavour to the brew. My favourite was the crisp and refreshing pale ale. 

Our food came after our a short wait whilst we were enjoying our drinks.

First we had the Saikoro steak, wagyu cubes, julienne apples and beer mustard. Four cubes of bite sized tender beef morsels, these were a little more cooked than my usual rare steak and were a little chewy but moist. I did really enjoy the beer mustard and crispy apple slaw. 

Our second starter was the pork belly bites, crispy pork, pickled daikon and honey mustard sauce. The crackling atop the pork belly was deliciously crunchy, but the meat had dried out considerably resulting in a fairly chewy cube of meat.

Our shared main was the Grilled Wagyu Beer Steak, 250g rump, mashed potatoes, mushrooms and porter onion gravy. Compared to the beef entree, this was cooked to a perfect rare. The steak was fairly tender and delicious. The mushrooms tasted like the canned variety, but were still delicious when soaked in onion gravy. The steak itself was tender and cut easily, we both really liked it. The added meat juices and gravy also complimented the smooth potato mash quite well. We both enjoyed this dish.

Of course a side of mash is not enough for the two of us, so we had a side of soapbox fries, chicken salt and beer gravy. Freshly fried, sprinkled with chicken salt and doused with gravy, it was the perfect comfort food.

Not one to miss out on dessert, Adam ordered the Fudgy beer brownies with hops salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. I for one wasn't overly enthused by dessert, but it was surprisingly delicious. The brownie was unbelievably moist and chocolate-y. Served warm it provided nice contrast to the vanilla ice cream. I really enjoyed it.

Price Range: $30 - $50pp

Taste: 6.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10