Brewing up a good time at Atomic Beer Project and Yulli's Brews

Beer. Curry. Dumplings. Our needs are simplifying, our pleasures are more modest. As someone who has always sought out the most refined flavours in the land, it occurs to me that I may have missed out on a lot of good times.

Dining out, for the foreseeable future, will be set in the foothills and valleys rather than the mountain tops. Look at what's happening out there.

Cafes and pubs are doing restaurant-quality food and chefs are making their specialty dishes accessible to a wider group of people with pick-up and delivery.

Now breweries are upping their game and becoming interesting places to dine; especially appealing when they explore the relationship between craft beer and Asian flavours, like these two here.

I'll always be ready to climb the lofty peaks of gastronomy, but in the meantime, how good is a beer and a curry?

Atomic Beer Project, Redfern

There's something extremely comforting about sitting in a warehouse brewery, surrounded by looming, stainless steel vats and pallets of beer crates.

Atomic Beer Project is the first east coast venue from Fremantle-based Gage Roads Brewing Co, and a handsome venue it is.

The work of YSG Studio, the two-tiered space is a darkly raucous mix of polished concrete, industrial girders, subway tiles, bold primary colours and a 12-metre-long bar serving up beers straight from the tanks.

Those beers include a very drinkable Atomic Pale Ale ($6.50 middy) with light citrus notes, a fresh, tropical, lightly bitter XPA ($6.50), and a rotating selection of seasonal and experimental brews from head brewer Nick Ivey.

Chef Jordan McLeod, back from cooking Greek and Thai food for The Apollo and Longrain in Tokyo, turns out everything from glazed chicken wings to porter-braised wagyu beef cheek with shallots and fermented chilli tucked into a croissant.

Skip the turmeric pork and kaffir lime sausage roll ($5), which is nothing special, and stick to the sticks – skewers of remarkably tender pork belly with shichimi togarashi ($4) and whole, fresh king prawns bathed in green curry butter ($6).

Service is scattery, and tables wobble on the rough-cast floor (mind your beer) but you're in a brewery, OK? Curries are a sure bet, whether with roasted cauliflower or massaman lamb, and Chiang Mai-style curried chicken egg noodles ($24) are richly sauced and nicely balanced.

It's a noodle-fest, laced with tender chicken, pickled mustard greens and chilli jam and topped with a perky disc of crisp-fried noodles ready to pick up and shatter over the top. Add a side order of golden, scrunchy roti bread ($4) for mopping up juices. And maybe another beer.

Address 158 Regent Street, Redfern, 02 8367 5888, atomic.beer

Open Daily 10am-midnight

Cost About $80 for two for lunch and dinner, plus drinks

Yulli's Brews, Alexandria

I'm having a beer with Norman. Well, actually, the beer is called Norman, and he's cold, fresh and nicely bitter, like a VB. Norman has travelled about three metres from vat to keg to bar, then been carried upstairs to my green velour sofa in a funky little dining space that hums to an industrial fan.

The team from Yulli's much-loved vegan restaurant in Surry Hills has recently branched out into vegan yum cha at its down-to-earth Alexandria warehouse brewery.

Trays of steamed dumplings are brought to the table, working out at about $12 a serve. Rice net spring rolls crunch into the softness of sweet potato and purple yam, and gyoza-like dumplings of shiitake mushroom and leek are snappy with the crunch of water chestnut. The fillings are fine, although some of the wrappers feel tough and under-cooked at the seams.

But hey, a middy is $5, with smaller taster glasses pegged at $3 for those who might like to meet Eugene (umeboshi lager), Big Willy (double IPA) or Dolly Aldrin (fruit-flavoured wheat beer).

It's all very kicked-back and casual; leisurely bordering on slow. And Norman is excellent company.

Address 75a Burrows Road, Alexandria, 02 9519 0161, yullisbrews.com.au

Open Sat-Sun for yum cha, 11am-3pm (two sittings)

Cost About $60 for two, plus drinks