[CLOSED] Growlers Craft Beer & Bistro

Very sad to learn that today is Growlers' last day. Thank you for the good beers!

Meanwhile, this just means I should check out their flagship store Hospoda Microbrewery soon.... 😉 🍻

Growler's has overhauled their menu a month or so ago, and one of the new kids on the block is this chicken schnitzel ($18++).

Coated in cheese, this pleasant piece of poultry is breaded before being fried to a beautiful golden brown. Then, it is plated up with a generous helping of house made ratatouille and a glut of thick cut fries. The schnitzel is undeniably tasty, but it's a tad dry.

Fortunately, the unexpectedly ravishing ratatouille is in the house to save the day. I can't quite explain what made the ratatouille so damn irresistible, but all I knew was that I had polished it off with great exuberance and furious delight. Those fries are well salted, and pair perfectly with Growler's homebrewed beers.

Growlers Bistro & Craft Beer Bar doesn't just brew up some sterling spirits, they do offer some solid sustenance selections as well.

Their Beer Battered Fish & Chips ($17++) is constructed from two gargantuan fillets of seabass battered in their homebrewed ale batter and served with an abundance of thick cut fries. While I appreciated the firmer flesh and drier, meatier texture that the seabass offered over the normal dory fillets, the batter left quite a bit to be desired.

The batter was quite uneven, which resulted in thin, excitingly crispy batter at some points, while the batter was slightly undercooked at others. Fortunately, the batter still clung onto the fish for dear life and didn't separate easily despite my sawing into it. The fish fillets themselves were slightly under-seasoned and seemed to rely a little too heavily on the batter to provide flavor.

Overall, Growlers' Fish & Chips are pretty decent, but they would benefit from a few tweaks and improvements to their processes. Also, I would be indescribably excited if they were to introduce a cod fish variant for their fish & chips, and I would quite happily pay for the difference in cost.

Growlers is yet another pub that brews its own beers, and they've done a pretty fantastic job of it despite them being new to the game.

Their Bohemian Pilsner ($10++, half pint) is the quintessential, inoffensive crowd pleaser. Light and moderately carbonated, every one of these blondes go down easy. It also helps that the light yeastiness is paired with a pleasant tinge of sweetness, and a little hint of fruit inside.

Of course, Growler has more complex, heavier hitting options on tap, but when you absolutely, positively gotta crack open a cold one with the boys, you simply can't go wrong with the Bohemian.

Definitely, if you are into bar grubs and craft beers. This newly-open bistro has five types of craft beer made by Circa 7 Brewing Co., and each pint goes at either S$14.00 or S$16.00. I tried "Pursuit of Hoppiness IPA" and "Bohemian Pilsner" craft beers, and I have mixed feelings about each of them.

The "Pursuit of Happiness" (S$14.00 per pint) comes across as a typical kind of beer that I reckon with fruity notes and with that smooth and clean finish, but it has this so-called "biscuity malt" aftertaste which I don't exactly enjoy. On the other hand, the "Bohemian Pilsner" (S$12.00 per pint) promises a nice sweetness aftertaste, but has this different kind of smell and initial taste as I took my first gulp. Then again, everyone would have their preference to how their beer should taste like, so even if I prefer the "Pursuit of Happiness", first-timers can consider trying them all for a more personalised preference.

Moving on to the food. The Beef Sliders (S$16.00) comes with three mini-burgers with beef patty, cheese, coleslaw and bacon between the crispy toasted buns. The fries were given with a decent portion, but turned out to be a tad salty. There isn't much of a "wow" factor from it, but given that it went well with the beer, I'm happy enough.

This laidback cafe-bar is taking beer into the heartlands — specifically the Potong Pasir neighbourhood. Come by with friends for some hearty chow and a few rounds. The food menu features mostly classics like Beer Battered Fish & Chips ($17), Truffle Fries ($10) and Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Burger ($16), and they also do brunch (11.30am-3pm on weekdays; 11am-3pm on weekends) with options like Eggs Benedict ($16) and Bangers & Mash ($15). While compact, the list of beers on tap is well-curated — Growlers is run by the same people behind Hospoda Microbrewery. Craft beer newbies can start with the easy drinking Working People's Golden IPA ($12 for half pint/$16 for full), while those with a heavier palate would likely appreciate the more robust Bohemian Dark Lager ($11 for half pint/$15 for full). Love their beer? Take your favourite home in special two-litre bottles known as growlers (the inspiration behind their name, perhaps?), available from $50.
Avg Price: $35 per person
Photo by Burppler DC GT