Sydney craft beer brand White Bay Brewery is set to relocate from its longtime home in Rozelle on the Balmain peninsula, following the end of its lease.
It will continue to operate out of its current location on Mansfield St until September this year.
White Bay’s main beer production will join with award-winning brewery Hawkers Beer, located in Reservoir, Melbourne, while the team is also looking to secure a smaller scale tenancy near the old site, with a greater focus on hospitality.
This comes as Hawkers Beer and White Bay Brewery joined forces to establish Social Drinks Group in February this year in a merger that allowed the breweries to maintain independence, yet scale their businesses amid challenging market conditions.
White Bay Brewery co-founder Tim Condon said the decision to move was made with the long-term future of the brand in mind.
“There’s no question our industry continues to face economic challenges on every front. The anecdotal evidence of hardship amongst our peers is obvious and is the very reason why we decided on a merger pathway,” he said.
Reflecting on the brewery’s Sydney success in Sydney, Condon said the move creates opportunity for growth.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve started here in Balmain, and the peninsula will always be our home, however when you merge with Australia’s best large independent brewery, and they have both excess capacity and economies of scale, it’s kind of a no-brainer next move.
“This next phase will allow us to keep delivering the beers people love – from our award-winning lagers to specialty releases – while reinvesting in the White Bay brand and laying the foundations for future growth.”
Hawkers is home to many highly regarded beers and took out the Champion Large Australian Brewery award at the Australian International Beer Awards in 2022 and 2025.
Social Drinks Group CEO Judd Michel says streamlining production of both brands under the one roof will allow it to improve operational efficiencies while continuing to expand its national footprint. “This is the start of an exciting new chapter for the business,” he said.