Sydney Brewery took one small step for craft brewing, which has transformed into one giant leap for the industry.

Sydney Brewery’s history began relatively quietly in 2005 when Jerry Schwartz set up an 800-litre wood-clad brewhouse in the basement of the Macquarie Hotel on Wentworth Avenue and created beers under the Schwartz Brewery name.

Gaining notoriety for championing Sydney’s identity through names such as the Paddington ‘Paddo’ Pale, the Darlinghurst ‘Darlo’ Dark, Surry Hills Pils and Potts Point Porter, the brewery quickly established itself in the city, leading to a name change – to Sydney Brewery – in 2012 with a bold new image.

Since then, Sydney Brewery has expanded significantly, winning numerous awards for its craft beers and ciders, adding a major production facility at Lovedale in the Hunter Valley, the Sydney Brewery Surry Hills brew pub and bistro and now, Sydney Brewery Alexandria, following the takeover of Rocks Brewing Co. earlier this year.

The 20hL brewhouse in Alexandria will help cater for the massive increase in demand for Sydney Brewery beers and ciders, along with a new 30hL brewhouse at Lovedale, scheduled to open by July.  It will complement the existing 18hL Brewhouse.

Dr Schwartz said that the official launch of Sydney Brewery Alexandria was a very positive way of celebrating the 20th anniversary.

“The milestone is important not just for Sydney Brewery, but for the whole industry,” said Dr Schwartz.

“When I established Sydney Brewery the craft brewing sector was in its infancy, and we have managed to grow our capacity and range progressively ever since then.

“Unfortunately, the past few years have been very unkind to the craft brew sector, but the fact that Sydney Brewery is investing heavily in increased capacity highlights there is still strong potential for craft brewers that produce the right sort of product.

“We will more than double our production capacity at Lovedale in the Hunter Valley, and by the time everything is operational, our total potential capacity will exceed three million litres annually across our various breweries.

“Having popular public-facing brewpubs such as our Surry Hills and Alexandria venues has really helped, as has our long-time support of events such as the Canberra Craft Beer and Cider Festival. We also have direct access to a network of 15 SFC-owned hotels in NSW, ACT, Queensland and Victoria, and our team has built a strong presence in the retail trade.

"Sydney Brewery’s longevity and success are no small part due to the fact that many of the people working for the business date back to the early years of the operation and have ensured the business and our partnerships have grown organically over the years.

“The newly launched Sydney Brewery Alexandria introduces a new chapter to our story and with its new menu, drinks selection, branding, website and management we believe it will be a highly successful addition to the inner-south hospitality scene.”

Sydney Brewery Alexandria is in the Sydney Corporate Park, 160 Bourke Rd Alexandria with easy access from Sydney CBD and the Sydney Airport precinct.

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