The Scratch

Before any other bar in Brisbane offered tastings of their beers; before Queensland had more breweries than people; before your nanna realised her floral print couch was missing… there was The Scratch.

Australia was a little late to the game with the craft beer movement, and Queensland was at the tail end of that. But, in a late country and a late state, The Scratch was one of the earliest adopters. 

Since opening in 2011, the bar has held the position of the weird-but-cool older cousin of the Brisbane beer scene. A huge part of that reputation has been down to their eccentric style and natural cool – a refreshing contrast among some of more straight-laced venues found in Park Road, Milton, (or, as The Scratch website calls it, “Brisbane’s best fake-euro wine ‘em and dine ‘em restaurant strip"). 

It’s no longer unheard of for a bar to have weathered wooden bar tables and couches that scream op shop chic. But not many other haunts have a wooden shark head and inverted army men on the ceiling, or a giant gramophone horn on the wall, or a mural of a moose and octopus dressed in tweed jackets. Bonus points if you spot the mannequin leg, the stuffed badger and the longhorn skull [under which Crafty Pot Jr was serenaded with "Happy Birthday" as he turned one – Editor].

This dimly lit, paraphernalia-filled hole-in-the-wall may give you the impression that a creepy dude in a trench coat will step out of the shadows and wheeze: “You kids wanna buy some beer?” But the staff (dubbed "Good Family Scratch" in their annual staff photos) are rather more pleasant than that, if no less colourful. They’re neither at the wanky and elitist end of the spectrum, nor the apathetic and ignorant end. Instead, they’re chilled but passionate, helping new punters understand the beer list by explaining styles and offering tastes, and talking flavour notes and limited releases with beer aficionados.

And what a beer list! The nine tap lineup is constantly rotating, but there’s always something sessionable, always something sour, and generally something dark (The Scratch is one of the few bars in Brisbane that doesn’t shy away from imperial stouts in summer). 

Local lagers, approachable pale ales and fresh IPAs sit alongside three or four taps of more adventurous or outright bizarre beers, including pretty much anything by Brewtal Brewers, a Scratch family gypsy brewing outfit. There’s also an extensive and exciting bottle and can list, where most of the beers on the menu fit into one of three broad flavour categories: HOPS, MALT, or YEAST. And, if you’re after a nightcap after a few beers, a back bar of schmick whiskies and gins has got what you need.

When you get peckish (you will – you’ll be here awhile), you can grab a cheese board with dairy or vegan cheeses and the briney goodness of locally made Picklehead Pickles. But, if you’re four beers deep and need something more substantial, take advantage of the BYO food policy, the stack of takeaway menus and the kindness of the nearby restaurants who will happily deliver your food to the bar. You’ll make everyone else mighty jealous when your Indian, Thai or metre-long pizza gets delivered directly to your seat.

Just about every week there’s some event or other to give you an excuse to visit The Scratch (like you needed another one); some are purely beer-related (new beer launches or tap takeovers to showcase a brewery), while others are centred around art or pop culture (local art exhibitions, life drawing, B-Grade film nights). 

But the real heroes of the calendar are their unapologetically, ridiculously themed annual summer festival and winter festival: the former – Weekend of Tartness – is a celebration of sour beers, with the whole bar decked out in funky decor and the staff in whatever glitzy costuming fits this year’s theme; the latter – Weekend of Darkness – brings to life creatures from the depths of your nightmares, along with a full lineup of crazy, hard to find, and mind-blowing dark beers; the promo videos provide some quality entertainment too.

If you’re not yet convinced that The Scratch is the centre of the universe, there's more: they have free peanuts in the shell. Form a disorderly queue.

Mick Wust

Name
The Scratch
Address

8/1 Park Road
Milton
QLD 4064

Phone
(07) 3107 9910
Open Hours

Monday: 4pm to midnight
Tues to Sun: midday to midnight.

Current Cabal offers

Two for One at The Scratch

This is a directory listing. To find out more, head here

Regularly featured brewers

3 Ravens

3 Ravens

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VIC 3071

7 cent Brewery

7 cent Brewery

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VIC 3437

Akasha Taproom & Brewery

Akasha Taproom & Brewery

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All Inn Brewing

All Inn Brewing

189 Elliott Road
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Archer Brewing

Archer Brewing

1/278 Newmarket Road
Wilston
QLD 4051

Bacchus Brewing

Bacchus Brewing

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Ballistic Beer Co Salisbury

Ballistic Beer Co Salisbury

53 McCarthy Road
Salisbury
QLD 4107

Balter Brewing (CUB/Asahi)

Balter Brewing (CUB/Asahi)

14 Traders Way
Currumbin
QLD 4220

Batch Brewing Co

Batch Brewing Co

44 Sydenham Road
Marrickville
NSW 2204

BentSpoke Brewing Co

BentSpoke Brewing Co

38 Mort Street
Braddon
ACT 2612

Black Hops Brewing

Black Hops Brewing

15 Gardenia Grove
Burleigh Heads
QLD 4220

Blackman's Brewery

Blackman's Brewery

26 Bell Street
Torquay
VIC 3228

Boatrocker Brewers & Distillers

Boatrocker Brewers & Distillers

34 & 51 Macbeth Street
Braeside
VIC 3195

Bridge Road Brewers

Bridge Road Brewers

Old Coach House
Ford Street
Beechworth VIC 3747

Bright Brewery

Bright Brewery

121 Great Alpine Road
Bright
VIC 3741

Brisbane Brewing Co

Brisbane Brewing Co

124 Boundary Street
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QLD 4101

Brouhaha Baringa

Brouhaha Baringa

1 Edison Crescent
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QLD 4551

Burleigh Brewing Company

Burleigh Brewing Company

2 Ern Harley Drive
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QLD 4220

CoConspirators Brewing

CoConspirators Brewing

377 Victoria Street
Brunswick
VIC 3056

Dainton Brewery & Taphouse

Dainton Brewery & Taphouse

560 Frankston Dandenong Rd
Carrum Downs
VIC 3201

Feral Brewing (CCEP)

Feral Brewing (CCEP)

PO Box 3265 Bassendean
WA 6942

Fixation Brewing Co (Lion/Kirin)

Fixation Brewing Co (Lion/Kirin)

414 Smith Street
Collingwood
VIC 3066

Fortitude Brewing / Noisy Minor

Fortitude Brewing / Noisy Minor

165-185 Long Road
North Tamborine
QLD 4272

Green Beacon (CUB/Asahi)

Green Beacon (CUB/Asahi)

26 Helen Street
Teneriffe
QLD 4005

Grifter Brewing Company

Grifter Brewing Company

1/391 Enmore Road
Marrickville
NSW 2204

Hargreaves Hill

Hargreaves Hill

Factory 60
64-86 Beresford Road
Lilydale 3140

Holgate Brewhouse

Holgate Brewhouse

79 High Street
Woodend
VIC 3442

Hop Nation

Hop Nation

Unit 6, 107/109 Whitehall Street Footscray
VIC 3011

Hope Brewery

Hope Brewery

2213 Broke Road
Pokolbin
NSW 2320

KAIJU! Beer

KAIJU! Beer

27 Hume Street
Huntingdale
VIC 3166

La Sirène Brewing

La Sirène Brewing

2 Wingrove Street
Alphington
VIC 3078

Little Bang Brewing

Little Bang Brewing

25 Henry Street
Stepney
SA 5069

Mash Brewing

Mash Brewing

10250 West Swan Rd
Henley Brook
WA 6055

Modus Beer

Modus Beer

14 Harkeith Street
Mona Vale
NSW 2103

Moon Dog

Moon Dog

17 Duke Street
Abbotsford
VIC 3067

Mornington Peninsula Brewery (Tribe)

Mornington Peninsula Brewery (Tribe)

New England Brewing Co

New England Brewing Co

19 Bridge Street
Uralla
NSW 2358

Newstead Brewing Co

Newstead Brewing Co

67 Castlemaine Street
Milton
QLD 4064

Pact Beer

Pact Beer

Paragon Mall Lane
Fyshwick
ACT 2609

Pirate Life (CUB/Asahi)

Pirate Life (CUB/Asahi)

18 Baker Street
Port Adelaide
SA 5015

Rocks Brewing Co

Rocks Brewing Co

Building 2
160 Bourke Road
Alexandria
NSW 2015

Rocky Ridge Brewing Co

Rocky Ridge Brewing Co

10 Marine Terrace
Busselton
WA 6280

Sailors Grave Brewing

Sailors Grave Brewing

7 Forest Road
Orbost
VIC 3888

Six String Brewing

Six String Brewing

4/330 The Entrance Road
Erina
NSW 2250

Slipstream Brewing Co

Slipstream Brewing Co

94 Wilkie Street
Yeerongpilly
QLD 4105

Stockade Brew Co (Tribe)

Stockade Brew Co (Tribe)

25 Cadogan Street
Marrickville
NSW 2204

Stomping Ground Brewing Co

Stomping Ground Brewing Co

100 Gipps Street
Collingwood
VIC 3066

Stone & Wood (Lion/Kirin)

Stone & Wood (Lion/Kirin)

100 Centennial Circuit
Byron Bay
NSW 2481

Temple Brewing

Temple Brewing

122 Weston Street
East Brunswick
VIC 3057

Thirsty Crow

Thirsty Crow

153 Fitzmaurice St
Wagga Wagga
NSW 2650

Two Birds Brewing (Lion/Kirin)

Two Birds Brewing (Lion/Kirin)

136 Hall Street
Spotswood
VIC 3015

Wayward Brewing Co

Wayward Brewing Co

3 Gehrig Lane
Camperdown
NSW 2050

Wildflower

Wildflower

11-13 Brompton Street
Marrickville
NSW 2204

Wolf of the Willows

Wolf of the Willows

39 De Havilland Road
Mordialloc
VIC 3195

Young Henrys

Young Henrys

Units D & E, 76 Wilford St
Newtown
NSW 2042