We’ve always known Marrickville is the gem of the Inner West, and now the rest of Sydney is catching up. Not only are we home to some of the best restaurants (Vietnamese, anyone?), coffee and bars, but 2204 is also swarming with hardworking breweries and is fast becoming the craft beer capital of Sydney.

As the Sydney Morning Herald reported this week, the Inner West area has been marked for a 12-month trial to allow craft breweries to operate as bars, so we can only expect our favourite brew spots to flourish from now on.

No plans for the weekend? Here’s a list of Marrickville’s best breweries to get you round the craft ale trail. The best bit, they’re all within walking distance of one another.

WILDFLOWER BREWING & BLENDING

Wildflower is unlike any other brewery. Along Brompton Street expect to find oak barrels and cutting of Australian natives – reminiscent more of a European 19th-century winery than an A-class brewery.

The beer itself is also very different. Wildflower’s brewer, American expat Topher Boehm, opted to brew with indigenous yeast he sources locally from bush cuttings and trips to the nearby Blue Mountains. Wild by name, wild by nature.

Wildflower don’t themselves have a brewhouse, working closely with Batch Brewing just up the road for their three signature brews – a gold, an amber and a table beer. The brews are then transported to the Wildflower barrels for blending. Boehm is fond of beers that can be paired well with food and describes his gold and amber ales as white wine versus red wine.

Wildflower kicks off the craft ale trail in perfect fashion, getting the palate ready for the craft beer sensation you’ll find across 2204.

Wildflower Brewing & Blending
11-13 Brompton Street
Marrickville NSW 2204

wildflowerbeer.com
facebook.com/wildflowerbeer

THE GRIFTER BREWING CO

Like any good brewery story, Grifter started off as a home brewing job between owners Trent Evans, Matt King and Glenn Wignall. With the first batches of their trademark orange-labelled brew out the door in 2012, they opened a brewery bar in 2015 in our favourite suburb (Marrickville, of course).

The bar itself sells all the Grifter favourites on tap – including the staple Bright Eye Pilsner and the Pale Ale – on tap in an industrial, minimalistic setting. The brick bar was homemade by friends and family as was most of the taproom, so a lot of blood, sweat and tears brought Grifter to where it was today – and that shines through the great brews on offer.

The brews change regularly, with a sake pilsner, a watermelon pilsner and a pink lemonade sour some of the more experimental brews on offer of late.

Grifter prides itself on collaborating with the local Inner West community, having hosted nights in partnership with Newtown’s Hartsyard and Enmore’s Bovine and Swine in the past.

Grifter Brewing Co
1/391 Enmore Road
Marrickville NSW 2204

https://thegrifter.com.au
facebook.com/TheGrifterBrewingCompany

SAUCE BREWING CO

Sauce opened its doors last year by Mike Clarke and wife, Kate McBean following many years of the pair “gypsy brewing”.

Their brews are ultra-hoppy and experimental, including a porter-based beer infused with chipotle and cacao to imitate the Mexican mole sauce, and the regulars on tap Hop Sauce, Extra Hop Sauce and Mega Hop Sauce. Yes, you can see a continuing theme here, at Sauce Brewing Co it’s all about the sauce, raw sauce.

There are also special batches on rotation, everything from a breakfast smoothie (tropical hazy IPA) with a touch of milk sugar to a Cascadian Dark Ale – smooth dark and hoppy.

Sauce is in prime position across from the Marrickville installation of Bourke Street Bakery on Mitchell Road. Out back you’ll find a grassy, sunny beer garden with a selection of food trucks, the perfect spot for an afternoon brew on a sunny weekend afternoon.

Sauce Brewing Co
1a Mitchell Street
Marrickville NSW 2204

sauce.beer
facebook.com/saucebrewing

STOCKADE BREW CO

Opening in May this year, Stockade Brewing Co is the newest kid on the block along the craft ale trail. After many years of local support for the Stockade Brew, it made sense for Stockade’s brainchild Anton Spzitalak to open its doors in the Craft Beer Capital of Sydney.

Stockade is an art-déco inspired brewery, complete with an expansive bar, custom light box menu boards and an intimate tasting room (fits 14 persons). The venue has a vibe that fits in with the surrounds, think industrial factory with terracotta tiles and handmade wooden furniture.

The whole space was created to celebrate what Stockade loves most (beer), while still appealing to locals who prefer to unwind with a cocktail or wine in hand, with an extensive list of both on offer.

There are four core beers on offer – an 8 Bit IPA for all of the 80’s nostalgia, Chop Shop pale ale, Duel hoppy lager and Hop Splicer XPA, alongside their out-there limited edition brews, like the maple syrup beer or the white stout with cacao and chilli.

Stockade is also serving a number of revolving guest taps, including other Marrickville favourite, Bucket Boys.

On the food front, Stockade is collaborating with a changing line-up of food trucks. Expect to see a Stockade twist throughout, including Marrickville’s Baby Rey’s who added Stockade Brew Co’s Mountie stout to their maple bacon jam – yum.

Stockade Brew Co
25 Cadagon Street
Marrickville 2204

facebook.com/stockadebrewco/

BATCH BREWING CO

If creativity is what you look for in your craft beer, Batch Brewing Co is your place. Americans Andrew Fineran and Chris Sidwa became pals after meeting in Sydney while playing lacrosse and their friendship flourished when they realised both were keen home brewers.

When you get inside the Batch you’ll see black walls, pallets splayed around for sitting and a concrete bar top, with some worn brown leather couches and milk crates for good measure.

There is a steady stream of locals most days, likely trying the latest batch (the options change over every two weeks) to see what they’d want to take home in a growler. The regular brews on tap include an American IPA and pale ale.

Batch’s brews tend to push the boundaries, with names like Pash the Magic Dragon (a fruited sour ale), the Big Kahuna (coconut brown ale), Voodoo Gold (Trippy Hippie’s Voodoo Gold) and the Elsie Milk Stout. Food trucks are set up four nights a week so while you’re along the craft ale trail and feeling a bit peckish, Batch has got you covered.

If you’re keen to get behind the scenes and see where the magic happens, Batch offer private brewery tours on Saturday and Sunday. Tours are available to book through their website, here.

Batch Brewing Co
44 Sydenham Road
Marrickville NSW 2204

batchbrewingco.com.au
facebook.com/BatchBrewingCo

BUCKET BOYS CRAFT BEER CO

What started off as a bottle shop with an art gallery feel has expanded into so much more, with Bucket Boys Craft Beer Co now the spot for true beer aficionados. Even the keenest of beer nerds are sure to learn a thing or two from the buckets.

The boys behind the buckets are Clint Elvin and Jonathan Hepner, who have a longstanding and diverse background in beer, having worked across bars and pubs (including one of our Marrickville favourites, Gasoline Pony) before pooling their expertise to create a specialist beer store unlike any others in Sydney.

Now operating partially as a bar, the whole joint has a vibe that makes you want to sit around for many hours trying all the beers on offer, which they source from all parts of Australia – even somewhere you will find nowhere else.

If you’re feeling peckish, the lovely lads also let you BYO food from some of the neighbouring restaurants, try our pick of Vietnamese.

Bucket Boys is the perfect place last stop to round out your Marrickville craft ale trail.

Bucket Boys Craft Beer Co
300 Illawarra Road
Marrickville NSW 2204

bucketboys.com.au
facebook.com/bucketboysbeer

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Walk the Craft Ale Trail

The local’s guide to Marrickville’s breweries