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The best breweries in Sydney highlight independently brewed beers that stand out against the big names with flavours, food, and great vibes. Few things in life are sweeter than enjoying a schooner from the very spot it’s made, knowing your hard-earned money is going straight back into the pockets of the local economy and brewers. However, with countless spots popping up around Sydney, you’re not short of options when it comes to indulging in some beer straight from the source.
Whether you’re a self-proclaimed beer expert, an avid drinker, or just looking for something fun to do, beer-fanatic Ben McKimm and our team of editors have selected their favourite watering holes below.
Where to find the best breweries in Sydney
There are two main beer scenes in Sydney, so we’ve arranged our list of favourites by area. If you’re visiting from out of town, we recommend checking out the beer scene on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Catch the ferry from Circular Quay and start beer hopping from there.
If you’re a Sydney local, we recommend checking out the best breweries near Sydney CBD. Catch the train to Central Station, jump on a bus/Uber, and work your way around the best craft breweries around Marrickville. If you’ve tried them all, there’s an emerging craft beer scene on the outskirts of Sydney CBD, including Hornsby and Five Dock.
We’ve included our favourites below. As always, if you have a beer tip, do let us know!
RELATED: For the best things to do during the Festival of Light, check out our Vivid Sydney Guide.
Breweries Near Sydney CBD & the Inner West
1. Young Henrys
Founded by Oscar McMahon and Richard Adamson in 2012, Young Henrys is the embodiment of Newtown in a glass, all rock’n’roll energy and inner-west grit. You can sit and watch the brewing happen right in front of you, or book one of the famous brewery tours. There’s no kitchen, so local food trucks handle the eating.
Location: 76 Wilford St, Newtown NSW 2042
Founded: 2012
Known for: Newtowner Pale Ale, Natural Lager, Motorcycle Oil Stout
Taproom: Yes, open daily with weekend brewery tours
Website: younghenrys.com
2. The Grifter Brewing Co.
Started in 2012 by three cycling mates who brewed their first commercial batch at Young Henrys, The Grifter set up its own Marrickville taproom in 2015. It is now a fixture of the Inner West Ale Trail, marked by a 10-metre grain silo painted in the style of its Orange Goblin Pale Ale can.
Location: 1/391 Enmore Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
Founded: 2012
Known for: Orange Goblin Pale Ale, Serpent’s Kiss Watermelon Pilsner
Taproom: Yes, open daily
Website: thegrifter.com.au
3. Yulli’s Brews
Yulli’s opened its Alexandria brewery and taproom in 2018 as one of Australia’s only fully vegan brewing venues, where every beer, wine and dish is free of animal products. The industrial warehouse is dog and family-friendly, and its pours reach more than 200 venues nationally.
Location: 75a Burrows Rd, Alexandria NSW 2015
Founded: 2014 (taproom opened 2018)
Known for: Norman Australian Ale, Seabass Mediterranean Lager, fully vegan kitchen
Taproom: Yes, Wednesday to Sunday
Website: yullisbrews.com.au
4. Philter Brewing
Founded in 2017 inside a converted Marrickville yoghurt factory, Philter has grown into a multi-level venue with a public bar, a rooftop bar and a sports bar. It was voted best independent brewery at the 2025 Australian International Beer Awards.
Location: 92-98 Sydenham Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
Founded: 2017 (taproom opened 2019)
Known for: XPA, Session Red Ale
Taproom: Yes, Wednesday to Sunday, with a rooftop bar
Website: philterbrewing.com
5. Bracket Brewing
Bracket is a father-and-son Marrickville brewery known for high-powered hazy and West Coast IPAs that regularly top Untappd’s ratings. It moved into a larger Addison Road taproom in early 2025, right in the heart of the Inner West Ale Trail.
Location: 2/48 Addison Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
Founded: 2020 (larger taproom opened 2025)
Known for: Recap pilsner, By Hook or By Crook DDH IPA
Taproom: Yes, Thursday to Sunday
Website: bracketbrewing.com.au
6. Kicks Brewing
Kicks is a small-batch Marrickville microbrewery built on fresh, drinkable beers, with punchy American IPAs as its calling card. Its 40-seat art deco taproom sits inside the working brewery and welcomes both families and dogs, with food trucks most weekends.
Location: 31 Shepherd St, Marrickville NSW 2204
Founded: 2020 (taproom opened 2023)
Known for: Punchy American IPAs across a rotating 10-tap range
Taproom: Yes, Friday to Sunday
Website: kicksbrewing.com.au
7. Future Brewing
Future Brewing is a sleek St Peters newcomer that has quickly made its name on the Inner West Ale Trail for IPAs, hazies and hoppy lagers. The taproom wraps around a long bar with tables out front, opposite Camdenville Oval near Sydney Park.
Location: May St, St Peters NSW 2044
Founded: 2023
Known for: West Coast and hazy IPAs, hoppy lagers
Taproom: Yes, with weekend food trucks
Website: futurebrewing.com.au
8. Batch Brewing Company
One of Marrickville’s founding craft breweries, Batch opened its Sydenham Road warehouse in 2013 and remains independently run. The dog-friendly, pallet-built taproom pours across roughly 20 rotating taps, with a resident food truck most days of the week.
Location: 44 Sydenham Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
Founded: 2013
Known for: Marrickville Original Pale Ale, Elsie the Milk Stout
Taproom: Yes, open daily
Website: batchbrewingco.com.au
9. Sauce Brewing Co
Sauce runs one of Marrickville’s largest brewery venues, with a sprawling tiered beer garden anchoring its spot on the Inner West Ale Trail. Founded in 2016 by Mike Clarke, it pours adventurous hop-forward beers alongside rotating food trucks and Thursday pizza.
Location: 1a Mitchell St, Marrickville NSW 2204
Founded: 2016
Known for: Trouble & Squeak mango NEIPA, Forest Pulse native ale
Taproom: Yes, Wednesday to Sunday
Website: sauce.beer
10. Frenchies Bistro and Brewery
Frenchies channels French brewing tradition across 12 taps in Rosebery’s Cannery, from bieres de garde and pilsners to barrel-aged cherry sours and hazy IPAs. The brewhouse sits beside a red-leather dining room serving a full French bistro menu, with a bakery added in 2023.
Location: The Cannery, 6/61-71 Mentmore Ave, Rosebery NSW 2018
Founded: 2017
Known for: French pilsners, bieres de garde, barrel-aged sours
Taproom: Yes, 12 taps alongside a full bistro
Website: frenchiesbistroandbrewery.com.au
Visit Frenchies Bistro and Brewery
11. The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel
Originally built as a private residence by a convict-turned-gentleman publican all the way back in 1841, The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel is a proper living piece of Sydney history. We love coming here to soak up the old-world charm as Australia’s oldest continually licensed hotel. That’s right, they’ve been brewing their own English-style natural ales right on-site since 1986, sticking strictly to malt, hops, yeast, and water.
Because everything’s completely unfiltered and unpasteurised from mash tun to tap, you can always count on getting the absolute freshest ales in Sydney. While you can find their famous Three Sheets Pale Ale pouring all over the city, nothing beats drinking it straight from the source.
When winter hits, this is the ultimate spot to escape the cold. You can settle in downstairs next to the roaring open fireplace in the public bar with a fresh pint and some classic pub grub like pork pies or Welsh Rarebit. If you’re dropping by on a weekend, we love treating ourselves to their British-style Sunday roast experience, which runs from 12 pm until close throughout the entire venue. You can grab a Solo Roast for $35, or team up with a mate and tackle their signature Shared Roast for $70, which lets you feast on all three weekly-rotating meats alongside crispy potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, and rich gravy. For a slightly more refined sit-down meal, head up to the heritage sandstone dining room, Upstairs at The Lord, where Executive Chef Tanoy Biswas delivers traditional British comforts alongside an award-winning wine list.
- Location: 19 Kent St, The Rocks NSW 2000
- Founded: 1986 (hotel dates to 1841)
- Known for: Three Sheets Pale Ale, natural unfiltered ales, British winter Sunday roasts
- Taproom: Yes, open daily, with a restaurant and heritage accommodation
12. Sydney Brewery, Surry Hills
Sydney Brewery celebrates everything that makes the city tick, right down to beers named after its most famous suburbs. The award-winning microbrewery inside Rydges Sydney Central pairs that range with classic pub grub and regular live music.
Location: 28 Albion St, Surry Hills NSW 2010 (Rydges Sydney Central)
Founded: Award-winning microbrewery
Known for: Surry Hills Pils, Pyrmont Rye IPA, Lovedale Lager
Taproom: Yes, with pub grub and live music
Website: sydneybrewery.com
13. The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre
Hawke’s Brewing Co’s Marrickville home is named for the beer-loving former PM, and leans into it with a Chinese restaurant, table tennis and a sprawling beer hall. It is one of the inner west’s biggest and most family-friendly brewery venues.
Location: 8-12 Sydney Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
Founded: 2017 (Hawke’s Brewing Co)
Known for: Hawke’s Lager, Hawke’s Pale Ale
Taproom: Yes, open daily
Website: hawkesbrewing.com
Visit The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre
14. One Drop Brewing Co
Set in a light-filled former paper house in Botany, One Drop is about as local as it gets. Alongside plenty of refreshing, fruit-forward beers you’ll usually find food trucks and live DJs, making it a chilled-out tropical oasis tucked into the back streets.
Location: 5 Erith St, Botany NSW 2019
Founded: Independent Botany brewery
Known for: Fruity, tropical-leaning beers
Taproom: Yes, with food trucks and DJs
Website: onedropbrewingco.com.au
15. Mixtape Brewing & Bar
Craft beer, natural wine, whisky and a proper kitchen: Mixtape takes no shortcuts. The Marrickville brewpub runs 18 taps pouring its own beers alongside guests like Yulli’s and Frenchies, with dumplings and chicken wings on hand to soak it all up.
Location: 142A Victoria Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
Founded: Marrickville brewpub
Known for: 18 taps, natural wine and an onsite kitchen
Taproom: Yes, brewpub with full kitchen
Website: mixtapebrewing.com.au
Breweries on Sydney’s Northern Beaches
16. NOMAD Brewing Co, Brookvale
NOMAD married brewing styles from around the world with Australian native ingredients to become a Brookvale mainstay. Founders Kerrie Abba and Johnny Latta sold the brewery just shy of its tenth birthday, and it returned in 2025 under new ownership with a refreshed core range and the same Northern Beaches bar.
Location: 5 Sydenham Rd, Brookvale NSW 2100
Founded: 2014 (new ownership 2025)
Known for: Queensie Lager, Hop Symphony Ale, Monsoon IPA
Taproom: Yes, dog-friendly with food
Website: nomadbrewingco.com.au
Visit NOMAD Brewing Co, Brookvale
17. MODUS Operandi Brewing, Mona Vale
Modus Operandi opened in Mona Vale in July 2014 and built a national name on its award-winning Former Tenant Red IPA. The 16-tap taproom is our pick for a Northern Beaches brewery that also feeds you properly, from halloumi fries to tacos.
Location: 14 Harkeith St, Mona Vale NSW 2103
Founded: 2014
Known for: Former Tenant Red IPA, Sonic Prayer IPA
Taproom: Yes, 16 taps with food
Website: mobrewing.com.au
Visit MODUS Operandi Brewing, Mona Vale
18. 7th Day Brewery, Brookvale
A community taproom in a converted Brookvale warehouse, 7th Day lets you sit among the fermentation tanks and drink the head brewer’s fresh, inventive beers. There’s a dog-friendly beer garden and pizza next door from Sale Pepe.
Location: 14/9 Powells Rd, Brookvale NSW 2100
Founded: 2015 (Brookvale brewery opened 2018)
Known for: Stoked As pale ale and a rotating draught range
Taproom: Yes, Wednesday to Sunday
Website: 7thdaybrewery.com.au
19. Bucketty’s Brewing Co, Brookvale
Bucketty’s brought a paddock-to-pint ethos to Brookvale’s brewery district when it opened in 2021, quickly becoming a live-music and craft-beer destination. Expect creative beers, bands and food trucks, with a second, larger venue on the way down the street.
Location: 26 Orchard Rd, Brookvale NSW 2100
Founded: 2021
Known for: Bucketty’s Pale Ale, Mid, live music
Taproom: Yes, Wednesday to Sunday
Website: buckettys.com.au
Visit Bucketty’s Brewing Co, Brookvale
20. Quakers Hat Brewing, Manly Vale
A father-and-son team turned their Quakers Hat Bay home-brewing into Manly Vale’s first taproom in 2021. They brew in small batches with a focus on excellent, easy-drinking beer, and run regular trivia, weekend live music and a monthly comedy night.
Location: B14/1 Campbell Parade, Manly Vale NSW 2093
Founded: 2021
Known for: Easy-drinking pale ale and lager, rotating taps
Taproom: Yes, walk-ins welcome, live music
Website: quakershatbrewing.com.au
Visit Quakers Hat Brewing, Manly Vale
21. Freshwater Brewing Company, Brookvale
Freshwater Brewing Company runs a Northern Beaches taproom in Brookvale, known for its chilled but refined fit-out and a seafood-leaning menu. Its listing showed as temporarily closed when we last checked, so confirm hours with the brewery before making the trip.
Location: 4 Powells Rd, Brookvale NSW 2100
Founded: circa 2021
Known for: Brookvale Black, a core pale and lager range
Taproom: Temporarily closed at the time of writing, so check ahead before visiting
Website: freshwaterbrewing.com.au
Visit Freshwater Brewing Company, Brookvale
22. Dad & Dave’s Brewing, Brookvale
This family-run Brookvale brewery sticks to a simple motto: “We make beer, delicious beer.” It pairs traditional malt-hops-water-yeast brewing with the odd inventive twist and serves some of the best burgers of any brewery in Sydney, with trivia and live music nights.
Location: 45 Mitchell Rd, Brookvale NSW 2100
Founded: 2011
Known for: Traditional ales and lagers, half-priced burger nights
Taproom: Yes, with live music and trivia
Website: dadndavesbrewing.com
Visit Dad & Dave’s Brewing, Brookvale
Breweries Beyond the Inner City
23. Riverside Brewing Co, North Parramatta
One of Western Sydney’s longer-running independents, Riverside has handcrafted its numbered core range since 2012. Head to the North Parramatta cellar door to sample the 77 IPA and the rest fresh at the source, keeping in mind its limited weekend hours.
Location: 2 North Rocks Rd, North Parramatta NSW 2151
Founded: 2012
Known for: 55 Pale Ale, 77 IPA, 33 Golden Ale
Taproom: Yes, limited weekend trading
Website: riversidebrewing.co
Visit Riverside Brewing Co, North Parramatta
24. Ekim Brewing, Hornsby
Ekim brews in small, unfiltered and unpasteurised batches that change week to week. In 2025 it relocated from its tight Mt Kuring-Gai site to a larger Hornsby premises with a mezzanine taproom overlooking the brew floor, open for tastings and takeaway from Friday to Sunday.
Location: 7/35 Leighton Place, Hornsby NSW 2077 (relocated from Mt Kuring-Gai in 2025)
Founded: Small-batch craft brewery
Known for: Small-batch pale ale and IPA, unfiltered and unpasteurised
Taproom: Yes, Friday to Sunday
Website: ekimbrewing.com.au
25. Akasha Brewing, Five Dock
Akasha poured its first beer in 2015 and made its name on hop-forward IPAs like Hopsmith and Korben D. The rustic Five Dock brewery runs 12 taps of light-bodied, extremely drinkable styles, and joined the Powder Monkey Group portfolio in 2025.
Location: 10-12 Spencer St, Five Dock NSW 2046
Founded: 2015 (acquired by Powder Monkey Group 2025)
Known for: Hopsmith IPA, Korben D Triple Hopped IPA
Taproom: Yes, Friday to Sunday
Website: akashabrewing.com.au
Visit Akasha Brewing, Five Dock
26. Slow Lane Brewing, Botany
This husband-and-wife brewery specialises in modern interpretations of old-world European ales and lagers, using traditional methods to produce slow-fermented beer you can genuinely taste the patience in. The small, laid-back Botany taproom serves wood-fired Neapolitan pizza alongside.
Location: 30 Byrnes St, Botany NSW 2019
Founded: circa 2018
Known for: Modern takes on old-world European ales and lagers
Taproom: Yes, Thursday to Sunday
Website: slowlanebrewing.com.au
Visit Slow Lane Brewing, Botany
27. 2 Halfs Brewing & Distilling, Alexandria
A family-run brewery, distillery and taproom in Alexandria, 2 Halfs splits its name between its brewing and distilling arms. The 24-tap space champions Czech pilsners and Belgian blondes alongside gin and whiskey from a copper still, with cheesy in-house pizzas to match.
Location: 2 Stokes Ave, Alexandria NSW 2015
Founded: circa 2019
Known for: Czech pilsners, Belgian blondes, house-made spirits
Taproom: Yes, 24 taps
Website: 2halfs.com.au
Visit 2 Halfs Brewing & Distilling, Alexandria
28. Shark Island Brewing Company, Kirrawee
Started by a group of high-school mates, Shark Island has grown into the longest-running independent brewery in the Sutherland Shire. Grab a tasting paddle of the lager, Australian ale, Grumpy Brewer IPA and Choc-Mint Stout, then a burger from the Burger Head truck out front.
Location: 29-33 Waratah St, Kirrawee NSW 2232
Founded: 2015
Known for: Lager, Australian ale, Grumpy Brewer IPA
Taproom: Yes, with a Burger Head food truck
Website: sharkislandbrewing.com.au
29. Hairyman Brewery, Taren Point
Hairyman is a family-owned indie brewery in the Sutherland Shire, brewing more than 20 beers and ciders in-house. Its warehouse-cellar bar is dog- and kid-friendly, with weekend food trucks, and it’s an easy stop off the local bike path.
Location: Taren Point NSW 2229 (Sutherland Shire)
Founded: 2016
Known for: More than 20 rotating house beers and ciders
Taproom: Yes, Wednesday to Sunday
Website: hairyman.com.au
Visit Hairyman Brewery, Taren Point
30. Mountain Culture Beer Co, Katoomba
Founded in Katoomba in 2019, Mountain Culture has seen its flagship Status Quo pale ale top the GABS Hottest 100 four years running from 2022 to 2025. The original Blue Mountains brewpub focuses on limited-release small batches and a cracking OG Burger, with bigger production now at Emu Plains.
Location: 23-25 Parke St, Katoomba NSW 2780 (Blue Mountains)
Founded: 2019
Known for: Status Quo Pale Ale, GABS Hottest 100 number one 2022-2025
Taproom: Yes, brewpub restaurant
Website: mountainculture.com.au
Visit Mountain Culture Beer Co, Katoomba
Sydney Breweries That Have Closed
Sydney’s beer scene moves quickly, and a tough couple of years for craft brewing has taken some well-loved names with it. The breweries below have closed or shut their taprooms since earlier versions of this guide, so they are no longer places you can visit.
Wildflower Brewing & Blending
After a decade in Marrickville producing wild ales fermented with yeast and bacteria gathered from native NSW flowers, Wildflower closed its Brompton Street cellar door permanently on 31 May 2026. Co-founders Topher Boehm and Chris Allen have flagged a future rural relocation, but no new site is confirmed.
Wayward Brewing Co
A Camperdown fixture from its Gehrig Lane taproom on the banks of the canal, Wayward Brewing Co entered voluntary administration in January 2024 and was acquired by UK-based Powder Monkey Group in 2025. The Camperdown taproom poured its last on 31 August 2025, and while the brand lives on, there is no longer a Wayward taproom to visit.
Staves Brewery
Staves Brewery, an independent small-batch operation in inner-city Glebe, called time in late 2024 after a difficult stretch for Sydney’s smaller breweries.
Willie the Boatman
Founded in St Peters in 2014, Willie the Boatman became one of the inner west’s best-loved breweries before being acquired by UK group Powder Monkey in early 2024. Its Precinct 75 taproom closed at the end of 2025, and the Willie’s Wondercade pop-up that briefly replaced it shut in May 2026, so the original brewery experience is no longer open.
Alternatives to the Best Breweries in Sydney
Interested in more places to visit in Sydney? Here are a few stories to get you started:
Places to Go For a Drink in Sydney
- Bars for the Karaoke Sydney
- Rooftop Bars in Sydney
- Hidden Bars in Sydney
- Bars in Circular Quay
- Bars in The Rocks
Food to Eat in Sydney
- American BBQ Restaurants
- Mexican Restaurants
- Greek Restaurants
- Italian Restaurants
- Chinese Restaurants
- Turkish Restaurants
Meat-Free Places to Eat
If You’re Planning a Visit to Sydney
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How We Chose these Breweries
This guide is maintained by the Man of Many editorial team, who live in Sydney and drink their way around its breweries year-round. We focus on independent breweries with a physical taproom or cellar door you can actually visit, and we lean towards venues that brew on-site.
Before each update, we re-check every venue’s trading status against Google Maps business listings and the brewery’s own website and socials. Anything that has closed permanently or shut its taproom is moved into a clearly marked section at the end rather than quietly deleted, so the list stays both current and honest about what has changed.
Frequently asked questions about breweries in Sydney
Yulli's serves a full vegan menu, the Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre has a Chinese restaurant, and Dad & Dave's in Brookvale is hard to beat for burgers.
Yulli's Brews, NOMAD Brewing Co and Sauce Brewing Co all pour some of the best craft beer on tap in Sydney.
Marrickville is the heart of Sydney's brewery scene, home to The Grifter, Sauce, Philter, Batch and Bracket, with another cluster on the Northern Beaches around Brookvale.
Some of the newest taprooms worth visiting are Future Brewing in St Peters, Kicks and Bracket in Marrickville, and the relocated Ekim Brewing in Hornsby.
Wildflower, Wayward, Staves and Willie the Boatman have all closed their taprooms. Wayward and Willie the Boatman now sit under the Powder Monkey Group without their own public venues.
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