Old Swan Brewery

Clinging to the Swan River this weekend. I had lunch with my Mum at the Swan Brewery. It's no longer the font of West Australian beer and hasn't been for quite some time. For a long time it served as a fairly harmless shell of late Victorian Industrial Architecture with some lights that made the shape of a ship and a swan alternatively that was pretty interesting on my trips to Perth as a kid.

The development to it's present state as a reconstructed complex of restaurants and million dollar apartments was as divisive a non-footy related local issue as I can remember.This piece from the time gives a rough idea of the mess. Was it worth it? Possibly if you've got one of those apartments otherwise, probably not.

The parking lot was built across the road after the original stables handily burnt down. So you cross over the busy two-lane road and into their beer garden. Service was slow and forget the cutlery type stuff. Brother-in-law had dhufish on mussels in a broth, which didn’t work, but my sister had Moroccan Chicken on tabouleh and eggplant, which was so excellent I didn't get to have any of it. I had the salt and pepper squid - which was great for an entree size but the mayonnaise was a little heavy for a light dish. The weather was gorgeous and I enjoyed the pale ale, which they make there but don't seem to have anywhere else.

Better pubs by the water in Perth but given the threat of them being stuffed up, ironically the same company that worked so hard to get this one built, we may have to take what we can get.