Schwartz Brewery Hotel

If you’ve a hankering for some local craft beers then hop-foot it to the Schwartz Brewery Hotel – formerly the Macquarie Hotel – on Wentworth Avenue

First published on 11 Apr 2012. Updated on 7 Dec 2012.

Low key and friendly, this is a good spot for a quiet drink and with a $3 happy hour between five and seven on weekdays, you can try the whole range without breaking the bank. You can almost always get a seat downstairs and there’s trivia on Tuesdays and live music on weekends to keep things upbeat. Pull up a pew, grab an answer sheet and start making you way through the Dr Schwartz range and you’ll be doing mid-week right.

The lightest of the beers is the Hefeweizen - a German-style wheat beer that is a little cloudy and manages to be both fruity and bitter at the same time.

Looking for something with a bit of grunt but not feeling the pull of straight spirits? A few middies of the Belgian Strong Ale will get you on the right track to boozy town. It’s a dark, malty ale that is slightly sweet and at 8.7 per cent it has a kick that will sneak up on you if you’re not careful. For something meaty without the potency the porter is black as tar with a roasted grain flavour reminiscent of chicory coffee. Two of these and you may not need to eat for a week.

Like your beverages with some bite? Order a round of the ginger beer. Do not be fooled, this is not your Bundaberg-style fizzy drink, but a ginger-flavoured beer. It has all the refreshing bitterness of a lager with a spicy ginger finish. Tramp upstairs to Bill and Toni’s for Sydney’s most beloved no-names pub grub. Order a porterhouse steak, a schnittie or a big bowl of pasta for some serious carb-loading. The steak and chips is just that – no frills, no garnish – and if you aren’t shy of flavour the pastas are generously sauced. The best bit? Not a thing on the menu cracks a twenty so if it’s cheap comfort food you are after you are definitely in the right place.

There is also a Sydney Summertime brew and a Sydney cider if you’re after a local sugar hit. Micro-brewing peaked your interest? You can head down the stairs to have a quick stickybeak at the brewery or there are regular tours run by the brewers that give you a more in-depth look at the whole brewing process.

Considering most of the beer is made in the basement, it doesn’t get more local than drinking at the Schwartz.

Words by Emily Lloyd-Tait |

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