It was sunny and windy on my way from Clarke Quay station to Brewerkz – a perfect day for a pint!

You can’t really miss the venue. There are many blue Brewerkz banners on the building along the river side, with tables and chairs set up outside on the stretch of the restaurant.

There were already a few tables with tourists, sunglasses on, watching the river and enjoying their beer when I walked by. It was early afternoon, the restaurant’s shutters were still down and it looked like the guests just couldn’t wait for the bar to open before helping themselves to a few gulp of the fermented beverage.

Entering through the main door, I came to a foyer with a tall shelf displaying merchandises from the restaurant. Passing the foyer was the 800 people capacity restaurant and bar, I could see the brewing tanks behind the restaurant. My aim of visit was the beer no doubt but most importantly was to find out why people are so hooked to this place and their beer and I gather I’ll find that out at the brewery.

As what I would normally do visiting any bar, I walked straight to the counter where the bartenders are serving. I ordered the Pilsner and then Mad Bee together with some mini sausages. The Pilsner had a light hoppy taste, after a few sips it tasted floral that brought a crisp bitter after taste on the palate that stayed on only slightly and left a hint of lemon freshness on the nose.  For the Mad Bee, it was honey alright! Sweet at the first sip with some sourness on both sides of the palate, then bitter after taste with an oatty and caramel smell afterwards.

Mini-sausages

The mini sausages came in 3 different flavours - bite-sized bratwurst, spicy Italian and bockwurs, decorated with marinated cabbages German style. They were not “MINI”, I could hardly finish them on my own together with the 2 half pints of beer! I wish my gang of hungry friends from KL were here so that I could try more from the menu.

Tour of the brewery
Kim Wong – the Brewster brought me around the back of the restaurant and had a look at her “workshop” with tanks double my height. Kim brought me through the whole process of beer making at Brewerkz, the wheat they use, where the colour came from, the flavour adjustments and her new inventions. I am unable to disclose here of her new and upcoming brews now but I promise to keep you updated at the News Flash section on Thirstmag.

A little give away – Kim let me take home some hops that look like rabbit food but smells fragrantly fruity of a local apple-mango (that’s how we call it in Chinese, the round apple shape like mango, which tastes extremely sweet) as shown in picture. She also let me try some pink colour liquid which can easily be 12% alcohol by volume. This product will be available end of the year.

Hops (top) that look like rabbit food and malt (the rest)
I am curious about why Brewerkz is so widely known and that people keep coming back for the beer. Have they put in "addictive' ingredient into their brew? Kim Wong told me that she has been asked the same question many times – it must be a 'secret ingredient', many speculate. Kim said there is no secret ingredient, only good ingredients and 100% of them in the beers brewed in Brewerkz. "Also there's that 'homey feeling' when foreigners drink our beers. Just like your mum’s home cooked food, wherever you go for the same food, it won’t taste as good as your mum’s cooking. Why? It is because you have been brought up with your mum’s food and that’s what your palate is used to. Same goes to Brewerkz beers, if you have been drinking and following our beer, it is no wonder your palate grows accustom to our beer and grow fond of the the taste." the brewster explained.

Restaurants
Brewerkz started its operation in 1997 aiming at producing fresh good beer with American style food to the locals and also to make the American expats feel at home. There are two sites for the restaurant and bar, one at Riverside Point near Clark Quay and the other at Singapore Indoor Stadium. The former accommodate 800 pax, making it the biggest restaurant in Singapore; whereas the latter fits 300pax.

Breweries
The microbrewery attached to the restaurant at Riverpoint though is smaller in size, but it brews 85 hectolitres (equivalent to 85,000 litres) of beer per week! This brewery attached to the restaurant is the main base for their seasonal beer such as Kolcsh, Black Pig, Mad Bee, White Rabbit, Wheat Beer, Honey Apricot and Brown Ale.

Brewerkz has an off-site brewing location at Kampong Ampat that was built in 2007 that produces nearly 3 times the amount of beer than the one at Riverpoint. This marks Brewerkz the biggest microbrewery in Singapore and also the only that has an external brewing premise.

Another credit worth taking note of Brewerkz, which is probably acquired by accident due to the recent change in ownership of Tiger beer by Dutch brand Heineken, is its brand status in Singapore. Being an originally Singapore established company despite being marketed under an American-style restaurant, Brewerkz can now claim to be the biggest local beer brand in Singapore.

Brewing station

Food
At the Riverside Point venue, signature food in Brewerkz is their burger. From their juicy pate to the grills, salad and the fries that go with the mains, are all made in the house. As for the Indoor Stadium venue, the famous brick oven pizzas are the highlights. This is on top of the traditional dishes which are already offered at the former venue.

There is a different promotion for their burger every week that for the selected on promotion burger, you get to order 2 house brews at SGD10 each (which normal price would have been SGD17 for the most expensive type).

Sacks of malt at the storage

Beers
At Riverside Point venue, they have 13 different types of Brewerkz on tap every night, these include 6 favourite house brews plus one or two monthly new beer. To support the local microbrewery, Brewerkz has also included two brands – Jungle Beer and Red Dot onto their menu. At Indoor Stadium, 9 different hand-crafted brew served here including the 6 favourite and a few seasonal brews.

The daily Happy Hours at Brewerkz starts from 12pm which beers are sold at the cheapest price. This daily promotion is run at set times from 12-3pm, 3-5pm and then every hourly up to 8pm. The waiting staff will notify you every time before the last call ends so that you won’t miss out on the protion you have come for.

Every week, a different beer is set on promotion to give away SGD2 discount before 6pm and SGD1 before 7pm.

Kim Wong the brewster
Entertainment
What’s better than to drink with a few games and good friends, or to make new ones? It is trivia night every Tuesday at Brewerkz Riverside Point venue in the Annex room which can fit in 100 pax. Each team is formed by 8 persons and it is only SGD5 per person to participate. The registration fee will go to the pot where the winner team of the highest score will take away. The game is so popular we suggest you pre-register with the restaurant to avoid disappointment. Here you can sure see the go-all-out-to-win spirit and can be competitive, so make sure you gather geeks from different fields to cover every topic possible.

For sports fans, there are 10 large-screen television at the Riverpoint venue and 5 at the Indoor Stadium outlet. Brewerkz even put on a list of programs on their website so that you can check if your favourite sport is being played at the time of your visit.

The usual pub/bar essentials such as pool tables and dart boards are always available at these venues.

Opening Hours
Brewerkz Riverside Point (RP)
Mon - Thurs & Sun 12:00 - 00:00
Fri, Sat & PH Eve 12:00 - 01:00
Public holiday open from 12:00

Brewerkz Indoor Stadium (IS)
Mon - Thu 17:00 - 00:00
Fri & Sat 12:00 - 01:00
Sun 12:00 - 00:00
PH eve open till 01:00
Public holiday open from 12:00