Sydney Brewery has returned to its Surry Hills origins this month, on the busy corner that is Rydges Sydney Central.

The new Albion Street location will put Sydney Brewery just a stone’s throw away from craft beer mecca, Sydney’s inner west.

Sydney Brewery, formerly known as Sports Brewery, is no newcomer, having been established at the Macquarie Hotel in Surry Hills back in 2005. Owner of Sydney Brewery Dr Jerry Schwartz subsequently renamed the brewery in 2012.

Sydney Brewery now has two production facilities, a larger industrial brewhouse in the Hunter Valley, and the new smaller brewhouse in Surry Hills.

The latter is a spacious craft brewery and bar, which will give local beer lovers a fresh take on an old-school brewery. Exposed light fittings, brick, concrete and timber give the brewery an urban fridge type feel.

Still in the installation phase, the new Brewtique 2 vessel 5hl brewhouse will allow head brewer Scott Hayward to brew more seasonal and specialty beers. Heading up both Sydney Brewery Surry Hills and Sydney Brewery Hunter Valley, Hayward said that he’s looking forward to breaking out the new, smaller brewhouse.

“It’s currently being installed, we’re just going through that process of hooking it up,” Hayward said.

“It’s great being able to produce a range of beers that are made well.”

“With the core brand you can’t get that seasonal variation that you like, it’s good to be able to try new things.”

The ground floor bar at Rydges Sydney Central has been revamped to house the new brewery, which sits in prime position next to the bar.

Hayward said that there are currently seven core range beers on tap at the new venue, with the view to having eight Sydney Brewery beers and four others on offer.

Sydney Brewery devotes much of its branding and naming of its core range beers to the city’s suburbs. It’s Albion Ale will feature at the Surry Hills brewbar. Other notable brews feature the Paddington ‘Paddo’ Pale, the Darlinghurst ‘Darlo’ Dark and the Pyrmont Rye IPA.

Hayward said that if all goes to plan, he’s going to be doing trial brews on the new brewhouse next week.

The venue will include a beer-led food menu, which will offer a “refined” take on pub classics with signature dishes showcasing the craft beers brewed on-site.

Schwartz has reportedly said that he was determined to return his brewery offering to Surry Hills.

“Surry Hills is an ever-evolving and thriving community of residents and businesses and we wanted to celebrate this with a local craft-brewery offering, a great spot for a casual lunch or after work drink, whilst also giving locals the opportunity to take home a fresh growler of Sydney’s best beer,” Schwartz told The Shout on Wednesday.

Brewery openings are presented bySpark Breweries and Distilleries, the finest in-venue and production brewing systems available, with local design and support.

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