Inner North Brewing Co

Inner North Brewing Co’s name might perfectly encapsulate their location, but it’s only one way in which the Melbourne brewers have centred themselves in their community.

The small, inner north brewery is found in a Brunswick back street that itself sits off another back street, and since opening early in 2018 they’ve brought that once quiet, dead end street to life. Spend any time at all there with the team, led by founder Zack Skerritt, and you’ll soon see just how much of a community they’ve created.

Maybe it’s unsurprising, given his background in structural engineering, but when Zack first saw the largely uninspiring warehouse – originally a cold works but with a history that includes hosting raves in the 1990s and acting as a comedy production studio more recently – he felt it could be reinvented once again.

His first move was to take out the low-hanging ceiling to reveal a sloped tin roof that’s impressive each time you walk in, and from which skylights fill the brewery with natural light that turns popping in for an IPA into something of a church-like experience.

Reminding you the congregation at Inner North are here for rather more worldly pleasures are the picnic tables in the beer garden out front and, once you’re through the roller doors, the tiled bar and its twelve taps that instantly greet you. While you’re very much in a converted warehouse – the old red bricks and peeling white paint ensure its industrial past lives on – the abundance of plants further transforms it into a vibrant and very much alive venue.

Well, venue and working brewery too, to be totally accurate. The brewhouse – which produces 800 litre batches of beer – is on show for all to see, with bar seating running the length of the tanks and games of cornhole regularly enjoyed beside the stainless.

The relatively small size of the brewhouse, and the presence of an even smaller pilot system dedicated to single keg releases, means beers don’t tend to stick around for too long. So, while there is a core range that includes a classic pilsner, an IPA, a hoppy stout and a twist on saison called The Frenchy Pale, new recipes regularly find their way through the bar’s dozen taps. Here, collaborations are key, such as When Life Gives You Lemongrass..., first brewed with Sydney Road’s Good Days, or the Strawberry Gum IPA brewed with the wine bar Rascal.

Staff at the brewery get to take creative control of the single keg system to brew whatever takes their fancy – no matter how madcap. As something of a byproduct of 2020, takeaway longnecks, growlers and cans have all become standard sights at the brewery, but if you’re sticking around to try those beers, the food options are plentiful too.

While Inner North doesn’t boast a kitchen, you can order food from a number of the surrounding businesses: the classic boozer around the corner, the Victoria Hotel, provides pub food with Los Hermanos and Green Acre providing tacos and pizza respectively.

The sense of community goes beyond the warehouse walls and one-off beers, however, and is carefully nurtured by the Inner North team. Take the likes of the 100 Pint Club; it’s a concept that’s not exactly original but has garnered a particular devotion among Inner North’s loyal locals, as evidenced by the boxes of cards kept behind the bar belonging to club members. Drink a hundred pints and you get rewarded with a free, giant tasting paddle and a plaque with you name on it mounted in the venue – not to mention the right to drink from the slightly-larger-than-a-pint handled beer mug for the rest of your life.

That sense of community only developed further during the COVID pandemic, as the Inner North team set about dropping fresh beer in longnecks to locals, with the bottles returned and reused in a form of modern-day milkman service and culminating with the launch of their beer subscriptions service in the depths of lockdown 6.

Such a service shouldn’t come as a surprise, given this is an inner north brewery where locals don’t just know each other – their dogs are regulars as well. Inner North: as much an attitude as it is a place.

Will Ziebell

Name
Inner North Brewing Co
Address

10A Russell Street
Brunswick
VIC 3056

Phone
0490 902 818
Open Hours

Wednesday: 4pm to 7pm
Thurs & Fri: 4pm to 11pm
Saturday: midday to 11pm
Sunday: midday to 9pm

Tours

By appointment only


This is a directory listing. To find out more, head here

Inner North Brewing Co Regulars

Inner North Brewing Flipside Pilsner

As the 2016 remake of Ben-Hur showed us, often it’s better not to mess with the classics. But there are times when classics can do with a bit of a refresh, and while knocking down a beer style and starting from scratch might not always bring the best results, a slight haircut can often yield wonderful results. That’s the case with Inner North’s Flipside Pilsner. The lager is largely classically-minded, brewed with Czech Saaz, but the inclusion of the Australian-grown and bred Melba hops means… Read more
Style
Pilsner
ABV
4.2%

Inner North Brewing When Life Gives You Lemongrass…

Inner North Brewing don't just pride themselves as a place for locals to enjoy a beer but the also as an operation that likes to work closely with Brunswick businesses. When Life Gives You Lemongrass… is such a collaboration, first brewed for Sydney Road’s Good Days, a Vietnamese restaurant dedicated to dishing out some of the finest pho you’re likely to find anywhere. Although the rice ale was originally designed for that restaurant, the beer has proven popular enough that if you walk into… Read more
Style
Rice Ale
ABV
4.3%

Inner North Brewing The Frenchy Pale

Inner North’s founder Zack Skerritt loves Belgian beers. Australians love pale ales. So you could say there’s something inevitable about The Frenchy Pale. Think of it as effectively being an approachable saison, even if it's one that serves up a smorgasbord of flavours that continue to change as the beer disappears. From the beginning, there’s distinct vibes of strawberries that lead the charge before they're joined by lemon zest. Throw in further grapefruit notes, some floral elements and… Read more
Style
Hoppy Saison
ABV
5.5%

Inner North Brewing WTFPA

There’s enough [insert letter here] pale ales out there, when you want a beer that satisfies cravings for hops but doesn’t go too heavy on the booze, you might as well ensure there’s another. WTFPA is Inner North Brewing’s modern XPA with all Australian hops and like many XPAs, it’s lean beer that's largely about the hops. There are hop notes of citrus, tropical passionfruit and guava and a cascading bitterness that has meant it’s an unsurprising not only a favourite among regulars at… Read more
Style
Pale Ale
ABV
5.5%

Inner North Brewing Lurve IPA

Modern Australian IPAs tend to be incredibly lean affairs but just because you’re seeking out hops, it doesn’t mean you’re not after a rich dose of malty goodness too. Lurve IPA is for those hop lovers that love a bit of restrained malt character too, with the golden orange beer providing a caramel and nutty mix alongside its punchy hops. Here those hops are Columbus and Topaz, which provide earthy and citrus flavours in equal measure along with a lasting and substantial hit of resin and pine.… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.5%

Inner North Brewing Hoppy Stout

They say you can never have too much of a good thing and if you’re someone seeking roasted notes, coffee and hops all at once, that’s likely how you’ll feel about Inner North Brewing’s Hoppy Stout. Labelled a session stout, the 4.5 percent ABV beer ties together Northern Brewer, Columbus and Cascade hops in a beer destined to scratch a few different itches at once. That trio of hops provides a mix of orange, a floral bouquet and some dank pine vibes while, on the malt front, it’s all dark… Read more
Style
American Stout
ABV
4.5%