Albo launches Inner West Ale Trail, says “fun is back in Sydney”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has helped launch a new initiative in his electorate that showcases 17 independent breweries in Sydney’s Inner West, the so-called “craft beer capital of Australia”.

“Breweries create community, they create joy, and they’re fantastic places to engage,” PM Albanese told the launch event at Mixtape Brewing & Bar in his electorate of Grayndler last Thursday, saying that while the cost of living crisis is challenging, the brewery sector’s resilience and continuing growth proves that “the fun is back in Sydney”.

The Inner West Ale Trail welcomes locals and tourists to 17 independent microbreweries spanning six Sydney suburbs – Marrickville, Enmore, Newtown, St Peters, Rozelle and Camperdown – that, on Saturday evenings anyway, have become a key pillar of Sydney’s nighttime economy.

Ranging from Young Henrys, the rollicking Newtown institution that kickstarted the Inner West brewery boom back in 2012, to the now iconic Hawke’s Brewing Co. with its in-house pool room memorial/museum to former PM Bob Hawke, the crawl features such stalwarts as Batch, Grifter and Philter, alongside Wildflower Brewing & Blending which crafts unique beers fermented with wild yeasts from native flowers.

Across the participating venues, patrons can sample more than 320 craft beers made on-site, and enjoy restaurants and food trucks.

Organised by the Inner West Brewery Association with funding from the NSW Government via the Uptown Grant Program and CID Trial Programs, the initiative includes a swanky new website and beautiful maps.

“The Inner West is to brewing and distilling what the HunterValley and the Barossa are to Australian wine,” said Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne.

“The initiatives we’re undertaking on behalf of these local businesses will only increase an ever-growing part of our local economy and encourage visitors to come and experience the unique vitality and vibrancy of the Inner West.”

IWBA chair and Young Henrys co-founder Richard Adamson said “The grant funding is used to promote the Inner West as a vibrant, going-out district and unique tourism destination.

“This is being delivered through the development of brand platforms and marketing campaigns, a comprehensive directory website, digital content, social media, pop-up tinnie bar activations at local events and PR to get the message out to media. There will also be physical improvements to wayfinding, lighting, and patron safety.”

Founded in 2017, the IWBA is a non-profit, membership-driven organisation that represents the craft beer scene in Sydney’s Inner West and runs the Ale Trail. With 18 member breweries, the Association is led by a board of representatives from founding breweries: Young Henrys, Wayward Brewing Company, Batch Brewing Company, Willie the Boatman, and Grifter Brewing Company.

For a limited time, Sydneysiders can enjoy two-for-one beers at all Inner West breweries: details here.

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