“Canberra is the premium beer capital of Australia,” my host claimed during a recent visit to the nation’s capital. It wasn’t a proposition I’d really considered before but – by the end of a three-day tour of duty which included re-aquainting myself with what is probably the country’s busiest brew-pub, discovering another worthy craft brewery, several top-notch bottle-shops and a couple of European-style beer cafes – I had come around to his way of thinking.

Throw in the fact that you got all those well-paid public servants, boffins and academics, and it’s entirely possible that Canberrans consume more quality beer per capita than any other Australian city.

You really need several sessions at the Wig & Pen to do justice to the 13 house beers on tap, and the rotating seasonal brews are always interesting and, sometimes, challenging. Last time I visited brewer Richard Watkins had knocked out a Berliner Weisse that was one of the sourest and more extreme beers I’ve ever tasted, but still utterly faithful to this style of wheat beer. Currently, he has a version brewed with elderberry puree which is both lactic and bracingly acidic, and a spectacular shade of deep vermilion.

“Ï add the elderberries into the primary fermentation and again in the secondary ferment,” he says. Having visited the Great British Beer Festival in London a couple of months back, Watkins was inspired to try his hand with a traditional English Mild. So-called Mild Mannered, is dusky and full of dark chocolate and coal dust notes with a moderate 3.1% alcohol and deliciously easy to drink served from the hand-pump.

Since my last visit, the Wig & Pen has upgraded their beer dispense system and cellar and installed a new bank of four wooden handled hand-pumps. Judging by the amount of real ale I saw being pumped out during my multiple visits, they probably wore out the previous equipment.

Christophe Zierholz is a champion home brewer who has made the leap into commercial craft brewing and is about to open a restaurant within his cellardoor brewery in Fyshwick. He specialises in German ales and wheat beers and his brews are on tap in numerous Canberra bars including Café Debacle.

If you want to witness Canberra beer chic on show, then Debacle is the place to visit. The food menu and beer range has a European vibe but the ambience is solidly Aussie and far more relaxed than the likes of a Belgian beer café. Among the beer taps you’ll find such varied brews as Chimay White, Gambinus – a Czech lager - and Zierholz German ale – in the style of a Dusseldorf altbier.

Gourmet pizzas and tapas feature on the beer-friendly menu but, mostly, it’s a great place to watch the locals lapping up the beery ambience – a pair of well-heeled ladies tipping up tall glasses of Franziskaner hefeweizen or a couple of students drinking bottles of Delerium Tremens straight from the neck, while their girlfriends tackle Coronas with obligatory lime wedges.

Like the Wig & Pen, Café Debacle is a VB-free zone which further reinforces Canberra reputation as a classy premium beer destination.

CANBERRA’S TOP BEER SPOTS

WIG & PEN BREWERY/TAVERN

Canberra House Arcade, Alinga Street

10 regular house brews on tap plus three seasonals (four beers on hand-pump).

www.wigandpen.com.au

ZIERHOLZ PREMIUM BREWERY

Unit 7, 19-25 Kembla Street, Fyshwick

Craft brewery specializing in German style ales; restaurant opening soon.

www.zierholz.com.au

CAFÉ DEBACLE

30 Lonsdale Street, Braddon

Belgian, German, English and Australian beers on tap in this Euro-inspired restaurant/bar.

www.debacle.com.au

COX KELLY FINE WINE CHEESE & CHOCOLATE

Shop 3/1 University Avenue

Tel: 02-6262 7744

Great browsing bottleshop/deli with sound range of local craft and imported brews.

PLONK

10 Palmerstone Lane, Manuka

Impressive range of premium beers including wide range of imports; excellent beer knowledge from staff.

www.plonk.net.au