Batch Brewing Company
The Marrickville passion project of two beer-loving American expats.
Overview
Heading down vaguely eerie Sydenham Road, you may fear you've missed a turn somewhere along the way as airplanes swoop directly overhead. Just when you're sure the street is a tad too quiet, around the bend — marked with a giant painting of a lumberjack-like brewer in overalls — you'll find Batch Brewing Co inside one of Marrickville's roller-doored spaces.
The warmth of the space, lit by strings of fairy lights, radiates onto the footpath as locals catch up over a few fresh glasses from the brewing team — American expats Andrew Fineran and Chris Sidwa. Long, high tables lined with bar stools fill the front of the ex-industrial building, making plenty of room for their usual bustling crowds, eager to get a pint from this week's offerings. Father back into the venue, Batch makes little attempt to hide the giant steel fermenting tanks, with plush leather booths lining the walls directly facing stacks of canned brews and machinery. And should they have to? Sydneysiders today are keen to know exactly where their products come from — and these boys aren't hiding a thing.
Batch was the first of the now numerous craft breweries to open in the area, paving the way for Marrickville to become — as Fineran puts it — "the craft beer capital of Australia." Since opening in 2013, the pair have faced legal difficulties, treading a path no one had walked before, but with City Council support Batch Brewing Co. opened, and Marrickville is all the better for it, gaining a vibrant and diverse community built from the ground up. And with the addition of the new Sydney Metro at the Sydenham train station just a five-minute walk away, traveling to this suburb staple has never been easier.
With a consistently stellar core range — a standout being their nitrogenated Milk Stout — these Marrickville veterans would already be worth a visit. However, on average the brewers produce a brand new beer every five days, meaning taps rotate out consistently. "For us, it's really just about just keep the variety coming in, making something that we're interested in," says Fineran. "That way, people know they're most likely going to get something different every time they come in... there's a good chance there's a beer they've never tried." Be sure to check their website regularly for what's on tap that week, and stop in Tuesday through Sunday for a bite from local food trucks — best enjoyed with a cold glass.
"Our thing is to live our name Batch," Fineran says. "Do new and different beers all the time."
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