For the First Time, Sydney’s Inner West Breweries Will Be Able to Operate As Bars

It will be easier for Sydney’s Inner West microbreweries to open, operate and flourish following the NSW government’s decision to allow craft breweries to trade as small bars, under a new category of liquor license.

The 12-month license trial will mean microbreweries will be allowed to accommodate up to 100 patrons (rather than only offering tastings) and know what they can and can’t serve drinks-wise, as well as streamlining the license application process. Importantly, it will attempt to cut the extensive red tape involved in setting up a microbrewery.

“It’s great. It’s an important development,” Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne told Broadsheet. “While we’ve had tremendous organic growth and we’re on the way to be the capital of craft beer in Australia, there have been regulatory challenges that have dragged the sector down.”

Wayward Brewing Co founder and president of the Inner West Brewery Association Peter Philip agrees. “It’s a good step forward and a common sense change to the licensing regulations,” he says. “It’s something we’ve been speaking to the minister Paul Toole for about a year.”

While the changes, which will come into effect in September, won’t have as big of an impact for the 10 microbreweries already operating in the area – including Batch Brewing Co, Grifter Brewing Co, Young Henrys and Willie the Boatman, among others – they will drastically assist those in the planning stage or thinking of opening a business.

Both Philip and Byrne say the main issue with current legislation is it doesn’t reflect the relatively new industry’s needs and gives too much power to bureaucrats who, they argue, have too much say if a business goes ahead or is stalled.

“The government controls just didn’t capture microbrew as it exists as a category,” says Byrne. “Red tape has been putting a brake on growth, with new brewers struggling to get development applications processed and licensing restrictions causing headaches for owners once a brewery is open.

“If you had a state or government bureaucrat that liked the business, it could move through the system, but if someone just didn’t want it they could strangle it in red tape. They could create an ever-series of regulation burdens.”

When asked for examples, Byrne rattles off a handful, including the application by Marrickville’s Sauce Brewing Co. “They couldn’t get an answer on how much space they could have for a tasting room as well as a couple other issues and it just halted,” he says.

“This [trial] means everyone knows what the rules are, gives certainty to current businesses and helps new breweries.”

And Philips adds: “Craft breweries are low risk – we don’t have anti-social behavioural issues. People come to these places not to get drunk, but to drink the beer fresh, see the beer being brewed and interact with the beer-maker. That’s what people want. And if we weren’t able to offer that [service] we just wouldn’t be able to survive.”

The new trial will begin September 1.

For more on craft beer, see our guide to Sydney’s best brewery bars.