Wig & Pen Tavern & Brewery

Had some great beers from this brewery at their previous location many many years ago. So have been keen to come back. The ambience is weird - it's a modern Uni building on campus. The decor sits between English pub and student common room. Early on a Monday night it was very quiet. Good selection of beers. The could I tried were good, but not great. I do remover some excellent beers from here - RIS I think. Friendly service. Quiet comfortable place with good beer.

Located on the ground floor of the ANU's school of music with minimal signage. It's a swine to find. Inside is a functional if uninspiring copy of a modern English pub. I liked the beers but not the jazz (too loud for Saturday afternoon in a small room) so I sat outside in the ANU's brutalist ambience. Go for the beer (hand pumps!).

Pretty good place if you like a beer somewhere fairly quiet and unpretentious. The place is a little hard to find and under-promoted, but they have a decent selection of beers, all brewed by themselves I believe. Compared to the other Canberra (Bentspoke), Wig&Pen is more British-styled than American, and overall a little lower quality. Still worth a visit if you have a few days in Canberra.

Located right on campus - seems a bit strange for a brewpub, but it works. Feels very student-y with mostly students as clientele it seems. 14 house beers on tap when we visited. You can order a paddle of 5 for $20, which is rather exorbitant especially considering it’s on campus. Beer quality was mediocre, mostly standard styles with a couple of more ambitious ones. Service was friendly and helpful. Worth stopping when in Canberra, but the new BentSpoke Brewing provides a much better experience all round.

Not too bad for canberra

One of the original Australian brewpubs and still one of the best. I’ve been coming here for years (in the old location) and always loved the experience. The new location is in the ground floor of a concert hall on the ANU campus and retains much of the same vibe. Once they have their outdoor area sorted it will be even better. The beer itself is all brewed on site and there is always at least a dozen on offer including regular, seasonal and one-off brews.On food, the wedges are great but the rest of the food is average pub style at best and not always available. All up the Wig and Pen is an outstanding venue and must be on the ’to do’ list of all serious beer drinkers. I love it.

Pub is located in central Canberra near the university. It is not much to look at from the outside but inside looks more like a Engish pub with low ceilings. It is fairly small but never seems crowded. In the back is where the beer is produced. The bartender is very knowledgeable about the beers on tap and will provide a sample if you are not sure about a particular beer. There is a small menu of pub grub, but everyone is here for the beer and good company. Too bad that Canberra is so far off the beaten track. Worth checking out if you are ever in the area.