Sydney Brewery will double the fermentation capacity of its Lovedale brewery and build a packaging line that will include a 2500 bottle-per-hour filler, 1800 can-per-hour canning line, pasteuriser for cider, high-end laboratory, and a new cogeneration plant to power the brewery and distillery.
This will make Lovedale the first craft brewery in the country to invest in this type of green energy.
The investment will see the Hunter Valley facility become the major production plant for Sydney Brewery, which moved its large-scale operations to Lovedale two years ago.
Chief brewer Michael Capaldo said that while still very much a ‘craft brewery’, the new capacity would help meet the increased demand for Sydney Brewery’s range of beers and ciders.
“The whole process from grain to brain is very meticulous,” he said.
“You can't compromise on quality with today's consumer. They're very educated, knowledgeable, and they know what they want to drink. So we don't release a batch if it's not in spec.
"The ciders have been an absolute labour of love for us.
"We use a few orchards around Australia depending on when the vintage is, and it's all about the quality of the juice. We use a beautiful champagne yeast, and that gives it a nice wine style complexity.”
Sydney Brewery was recently honoured with ‘champion’ beer and cider trophies at the 2015 Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show.
