Bucket Boys Bar, Marrickville

More or less a year after the Bucket Boys bottle shop opened up in Marrickville, the boys have opened up an upstairs bar.

A bar was always part of the vision to become a broad ranging “beer company” but initial licensing issues delayed the opening.

Now though, the familiar pastel colour scheme of the Bucket Boys bottle shop has spread upstairs. The decor sits somewhere between the palette of a Wes Anderson film and the children’s bedroom section of Ikea.

The bar has its own character, that’s for sure. It’s very different to the austere Scandinavian or stylised speakeasy aesthetics of many other small bars. If anything, it’s fun, reminding you that the beer is to be enjoyed.

The physical layout, while windowless, is conducive to a range of drinking experiences, depending on what you’re looking for. Sitting at the bar, chatting to staff and other enthusiasts is going to appease many of Sydney’s beer lovers, while individual tables work well for cracking a bottle of something special and sharing it over the course of an evening. Lounge seating enables you to hunker down for the night and rest your bones.

Refined Beer List

As you’d expect from the guys behind Bucket Boys, the beer list is exemplary. There are ten taps featuring a range of styles, including a number of their own beers. The tap list combines accessibility with more adventurous styles.

If you’ve visited the bottle shop you’ll know that one of the focuses is on providing a wide range of styles including benchmark examples of each. These benchmarks are the type of beer you might refer to if studying for Cicerone or BJCP certification. This very particular curation is echoed upstairs with some classic beers appearing alongside local favourites, spanning a variety of flavour profiles. And that’s just the main list.

There’s also a cellar list which you can flick through at the bar. Alternatively, you can peer at the bottles in the special cellar fridge and make your pick there.

Between the taps, the main list and the cellar list, there’s a beer for almost every occasion. Light lagers and pale ales are perfect thirst quenchers on the way home from work, while the bottle lists include refined and elegant classics alongside weird and whacky once-in-a-lifetime beers. There are even a few verticals built into the list so you can try different vintages side by side. It means there are options to ponder over and options to enjoy without thinking too hard.

While good beverages are the focus of the bar, you can snack on bread, cheese or charcuterie which go down pretty well alongside the beers on offer. It provides something to keep the munchies at bay while working the beer list.

Beer is at the heart of what Bucket Boys is and does. However, they’ve always had time for local, independent wine and spirits and this extends from the bottle shop to the bar. There’s a solid variety of wines, including some funky natural and organic stuff. If you want to go down the spirits route, there are some fantastic options too.

The Bucket Boys bar is a fun space where the eclectic beer list takes centre stage.

Have you been to the Bucket Boys bar in Marrickville? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.