On the cusp of its five year birthday, the beer company co-founded by former prime minister, Bob Hawke, has thrown open the doors of a flagship venue, nestled inside its newly built 2,100 sq.m brewery in Sydney’s Marrickville.

Named The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre, in honour of the company’s late namesake, the 300- person venue delivers a full service bar, fronted by 10 taps pouring Hawke’s core range beers, plus a rotation of new “One Hit Wonder” limited release styles, including an XPA, Hoppy Sour and Extra Special Bitter. The addition of the venue’s Australian-Chinese bistro supports a complete hospitality offering that aims to bring to life the quintessential 1980s-pub and community club experience.

Says Hawke’s co-founder, David Gibson, “When we spoke about a vision for the venue, we agreed immediately that the experience should trigger that nostalgic-soaked love that we can all have for our home country. While aesthetically, it will appear as if we’ve focused on the past, we’ve also been mindful of setting up a future-focused business in the way it behaves and operates, just like our brewery,”

On entry, it’s hard to ignore the cathedral of large, steel tanks that line the second level of the Sydney St site. Powered by a 100kW rooftop solar farm, the brewery implements an array of eco-innovations, including a carbon capture system developed in partnership with UTS Tech, which uses CO2 from the fermentation process to grow plants and vegetables for use in the venue.

It’s all part of Hawke’s mission to use creativity to reduce their own footprint, while working with partners and hopefully even other breweries to help hit their sustainability goals. Downstairs, The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre is as much a tribute to Bob Hawke as it is a love letter to Australiana and the cosiness of familiarity, with areas like The Public Bar, The Pool Room and The Patio setting the stage on entry, while the Sanctuary Cove mezzanine can nest up to 30 guests for events.

The venue’s Chinese-Australian bistro, The Lucky Prawn, is developed in collaboration with Nicholas Wong. The menu showcases clean, contemporary outtakes from the nostalgic 1980s Chinese-Australian food experience, with dishes designed to share with friends, and washed down with a tank-fresh schooner of Hawke’s beer.

The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre, located at 8-12 Sydney St, Marrickville and will open from 12pm–11pm Wednesday; 12pm–Midnight Thursday, Friday & Saturday; and 12pm-10pm Sunday. Doors open midday 31st March 2022