Meet the Trailblazing Brew Masters Behind Marrickville's Booming Craft Beer Scene

Since the arrival of the First Fleet in Warrane in 1788, beer has been a staple of Australian life. However, until relatively recently, the scope of Aussie-made brews had been largely dominated by English-style ales and lagers, leaving a yawning gap in the market for craft brewers to exploit. Marrickville, an area once best known for its industrial parks and manufacturing businesses, has become the epicentre of Sydney's ascendant small brewery scene, thanks to a collective of independent brewers who have made the Inner West a surefire go-to for beer lovers.

The first brewery to plant its flag in the area was Batch Brewing Co. in 2013. In the decade since then, a craft beer boom has seen Marrickville become densely populated with specialised breweries that offer as much to the first-time beer taster as they do the seasoned suds seeker. The remnants of Marrickville's industrial past — a handy smattering of empty warehouses dotted throughout a swath of abandoned commercial land — have made the area uniquely primed for breweries in search of ample space for stills and tap houses. Today, the suburb has cemented a reputation as one of the city's coolest drinking destinations.

Batch Brewing Co. founder Andrew Fineran

"We're far enough away from the city that people can afford to have industrial areas here, but we're close enough to the city that you can be at Central in five minutes" American ex-pat and Batch Brewing co-founder Andrew Fineran says.

However, the industry's success here is not just courtesy of Marrickville's convenient location and easily repurposed infrastructure. "We've developed a good relationship with the council to make sure that we're able to create something sustainable," Fineran notes. "Because the council supported and there was a groundwork, [Marrickville has become] a good spot for other people to come and set up their breweries as well."

Since Batch Brewing pulled its first pint in 2013, eighteen more independent breweries have opened in Sydney's Inner West, with nine alone in Marrickville itself.

"I think the cherry on top was that there was a lot of precedent for breweries in the area. It had become quite a burgeoning community of like-minded businesses that we really admired." says Nathan Lennon, co-founder of Marrickville's newest attraction, The Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre. This popular tap room from Hawke's Brewing is named and themed in honour of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who even assisted in co-founding the company.

Hawkes co-founders Nathan Lennon (left) and David Gibson (right) with former PM Bob Hawke (centre).

"We felt that we could complement that community and bring something unique, and unique to us as a brand within it, to help drive the idea that Marrickville is one of the craft beer capitals of Australia," Lennon adds.

Wildflower Brewing and Blending, which opened its Marrickville HQ in 2016, takes the yeast cultures it uses to ferment its brews from NSW wildflowers (hence the name). Co-founder Topher Boehm likens his small-batch ales, which employ diverse and regenerative brewing methods, to the "sourdough" of beer.

Wildflower co-founder Topher Boehm with a bale of hops at his Marrickville brewery

A longtime friend of Fineran, Boehm believes the variety every local brewery brings to the table creates an "overall vibrant community". But as he and Fineran point out, breweries aren't the only hospitality businesses revitalising the suburb.

"It's not just beer that's made in Merrickville. There's such a vibrant community of industry vendors," Boehm explains. "I don't want to overlook the council's support of what we do … they've been overwhelmingly supportive of these industries and hats off to them for that. They've been supportive of business development and economic growth in their local community. And we've been the beneficiaries of that.

"It's something in the Australian psyche to be a community person … I'm gonna promote community first, I'm gonna promote my neighborhood first. That's an investment in your locality."

Support for the flourishing beer scene comes not just from the council and fellow brewers, but from the locals themselves. "You have a lot of people living here in the Inner West who are more 'think global, act local' kind of people who spend their money on independent businesses," adds Boehm. "That's what I love about Australia. Locals like the sole traders, they like the small business and they're actually somewhat happy to pay for that.

"It's something in the Australian psyche to be a community person … I'm gonna promote community first, I'm gonna promote my neighborhood first. That's an investment in your locality."

However, despite this enthusiastic local support, Marrickville's breweries have still faced challenges. Like other areas of the hospitality industry hammered by the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, craft breweries are going under across Sydney and beyond. Malt Shovel Brewery, one of Sydney's oldest craft breweries, was closed by corporate brewer Lion in August of this year, ending decades of proud brewing heritage.

Wildflower Brewing and Blending, Marrickville.

The rising price tag of making and distributing beer for independent brewers has made it increasingly difficult for independent breweries to keep up with the wide networks and expansive resources of corporate competitors. "It can't be left unsaid that it just is difficult to maintain businesses of smaller sizes because you don't have the economies of scale," says Boehm.

However, it seems brewers and employees alike have hope for the industry's future. Indeed, those who pour their love and dedication into Marrickville's craft brewing industry are what truly make it noteworthy. Whether that be carefully brewing a new and somewhat strange beer in the back of a warehouse down or stumbling through the streets and raising pints with your friends in honour of another night well enjoyed.

"It was just sort of like that perfect storm really of the industry had enough people within it or outside of it that wanted to build breweries, but also the pathway became a little bit easier economically because of places like Marrickville, which had the infrastructure, had the sites, had the council permit, the council quite supportive of that type of business," Lennon concludes. "And the kind of crowd within the Inner West area is one that would be willing to try new things and really fit with the growth of breweries in the area.

"Did we choose Marrickville or did Marrickville choose us is the question."\

You can discover the best Marrickville breweries, as well as the broader craft beer scene of the surrounding suburbs, on the Inner West Ale Trail. Visit the website for details.