16 Sydney Inner West Craft Beer Bars for the Best Booze Tour
It’s easy for a first-time visitor to Sydney, Australia to end up seeing only the city itself and perhaps the Blue Mountains and one of its famous beaches. You’d be sorely missing out, however, on many Sydney Inner West craft beer bars and breweries, in places such as Balmain, Camperdown, Enmore, Marrickville and Newtown.
These Sydney inner west craft beer bars are only a handful of stops from downtown on the railway lines, so they make a fine excursion. However, if you make your base there, you’ll also get to enjoy really cool neighbourhoods that have no high-rise buildings and plenty of affordable and delicious food from around the world. That said, it’s in the flight path to the airport, so expect the noise of planes coming in to land between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Not sure what to try? You can always refer to my handy introduction to craft beer.
Marrickville–Sydney Inner West Craft Beer Taprooms
You can string all these together in a single bar crawl, with each being no more than a five-minute walk from another taproom. It feels semi-industrial and the lack of high-rises (due to its proximity to the airport) lends the area a special feeling.
12 Taps
You’ll find some lesser-known breweries from New South Wales on tap here, and enjoy them with a homemade empanada.
Batch Brewing Co.
They have taprooms in Camperdown and Darling Harbour, but Marrickville is where it all started. My favourites remain their seasonal brews Juicy as Phuck and Little Lou’s Creme Brulee Pastry Stout, but of their core stuff, Pash The Magic Dragon is a refreshing mix of dragon and passion fruits that I haven’t seen in other breweries’ sour beers.
Bracket Brewing
These guys make top-notch IPAs that are so flavourful and yet easy to drink. A variety of core beers and specials flows from their twelve taps, but you’ll have to find your own hot meals.
Kicks Brewery
The latest brewery to join the scene has a range of styles, all brewed in-house, on their taps.
Mixtape Brewing and Bar
No longer the new kid on the block, Mixtape opened in March 2022 and provides a large, airy and light-filled warehouse space to sample their beers as well as guest ones. The kitchen serves up pizzas and other bar food
Sauce Brewing
The food tent has really cool Asian fusion dishes, while the difference “levels” of Sauce pales and IPAs are the mainstay. For a real flavour explosion, the Trubble and Squeak triple IPA is the beer to have, but the regular Bubble and Squeak is still very tasty
Stockade Brew Co (closed)
Stockade’s vibe was as good as each of the others and the barrel room was the place to be to try their most-unique barrel-aged one-offs, such as the Old Money imperial stout.
Wildflower Brewing & Blending
The daddy of wild ales in the area, if not the state. The brewery taproom and tours have resumed operations. If you adore funky and sour beers (and wines), you have to come here. Reservations recommended at peak times during their short opening hours. Food is also available to order.
Alexandria Craft Beer Bars
I’m being cheeky but I think Alexandria is close enough to the inner, being no more than a 10-minute bus ride from Newtown.
2 Halfs Brewing Distilling
A good range of classic styles, including their Extra Special Bitter, and a few modern ones.
The Beer Bar
It’s hard to beat 42 taps of craft beer from independent Australian breweries on rotation. On weekends, there is a guest food truck too. Cuisines will rotate depending on who’s operating; it could be anything from German to Filipino food.
The Iron Duke Hotel
Craft beer on tap from the likes of Bracket nearby and Mountain Culture (great if you can’t make it to these breweries when their taprooms are open), along with macro brews for less adventurous friends in your party.
Enmore Craft Beer Taprooms
Hopsters Co-operative Brewery
Being Australia’s first co-operative brewing makes this place unique, but you don’t have to be a member to enjoy the beers, which are brewed at Frenchies. There are also several guest taps available. Bring your own food; order a pint and you can ask for a discount voucher to use at the nearby pizza shop.
Newtown Craft Beer Bars and Taprooms
Odd Culture
The group runs a few hotel bars but its standalone bar surprises with a few (pricey) imported beers on rotation that are hard to find, such as the Penyllan Carolyn that I had during my visit. The sticker shock doesn’t extend to the wide variety of beers in the bottle shop.
The Union Hotel
The Union Hotel feels like a lot of hotel bars in the area with the exception of pouring mostly Australian craft beers, including some of the best from around the country. The bottle shop is also very well-stocked; there’s a discount on buying six or more beers, including hard-to-get ones and foreign imports like Other Half and The Veil from the United States.
Young Henrys
Young Henrys may be a big deal by now, with their Newtowner pale ale available everywhere including the airport lounge, but their taproom has a undeniable grungy vibe. It would also be a shame not to try the specials–when I was there, the 10th anniversary strong ale was that.
Botany Bay Brewery Taprooms
A 20-minute bus ride takes you to the neighbourhood within sight of the airport as you come in to land.
One Drop Brewing
Thick and juicy lushie sour beers and sweet pastry stouts are what this brewery does best. Call it gimmicky or whatever but you won’t likely find these flavour combinations at any other Sydney microbrewery.
Slow Lane Brewing
In contrast to what One Drop does, Slow Lane specialises in traditional styles, so you will find a Belgian-style stout, spiced ales, wheat beers and more.
Other Sydney Inner West Breweries and Sydney Inner West Craft Beer Bars
I didn’t visit these but you should if you get the chance to!
- Marrickville (add them to the bar crawl above!): Thirstville (formerly Bucket Boys and Local Drinks Collective), The Grifter Brewing Co, Philter Brewing
- Balmain: White Bay Beer Co
- Camperdown: Wayward Brewing Co (and we get their beers in Singapore)
- St Peters (close enough to Marrickville and Newtown!): Willie the Boatman, Future Brewing