Chris Shanahan: Lord Nelson hits the bottle

One of Sydney’s enduring pub breweries – the Lord Nelson – now offers a couple of its brews online and in a limited number of bottle shops.

The Lord Nelson – located in Kent Street, The Rocks, and built of convict-hewn sandstone – claims to be Australia’s oldest continuously licensed pub. But its modern fame comes from beers brewed on site, good food, great location and unique ambience.

And it’s a watering hole for the wine industry, thanks to the involvement of Yalumba proprietor, Robert Hill-Smith. This connection gives the packaged beer effective distribution, too, reaching all the way to Canberra and the south coast, albeit in a limited way.

Like all craft beers, the Lord Nelson brews are best enjoyed on draught a few metres from the fermenters. But from the one bottle tasted here in Canberra, the idiosyncratic style survives packaging and transport intact.

The beers can be found at Plonk, Manuka, Café della Piazza, Civic and, down the coast, at Mogo Village Cellars and Narooma Cellars.

The Lord Nelson also offers two brews — Old Admiral (a full malt, high alcohol ale) and the tangy pale ale, Three Sheets — online for $59.90 a slab of 24 X 330ml bottles, plus delivery.

See www.lordnelsonbrewery.com.au