One of the first things you notice when you walk into Slow Lane Brewery’s warehouse is a wall lined with wine barrels. Order a drink from the Scandi-timber bar and chances are it’ll come in a glass not dissimilar to what you’d get at a winery. Are we in the right place?
Ignorance is the Virus
Arrogance is the Symptom
European Beer is the Medicine
We are indeed. Many of the beers at Slow Land are left to age in oak barrels, it's emblematic of the brewery's method of combining old-world European beer styles and techniques in exciting and modern ways.
You’ll find a new take on grisette , a traditional Belgian ale popular in old mining communities; a 14 per cent English-style barley wine (a strong ale); and a Belgian blonde ale inspired by recipes traditionally brewed by Trappist monks.
Brewer and co-owner Alex Jarman's interest in brewing was piqued when he moved to New York in 2012 and saw how local craft breweries were putting modern spins on the traditional European beers he loved. His wife Yvonne Jarman bought him a home-brewing kit. Soon enough he’d quit his job in financial services to learn the craft at commercial breweries in California. Two years later, the pair returned to Sydney to launch their own brewery.
His Resting Place Hoppy Sour Ale is brewed using an experimental yeast strain that was discovered growing on a tree in a Philadelphia graveyard. Jarman was the first brewer in Australia to get his hands on it. Then there’s the Old Russet, a Belgian sour-brown ale that’s aged for six months in wine barrels. Tasting something like a sour to start, it slowly evolves in the mouth into a dark brown before finishing with rich notes of hazelnut. Interesting is an understatement, but it’s a flavour profile not common in other beers (new or old), and it really reflects what Slow Lane is about.
Drinkers in the sleek tasting room sit among the silver brewing tanks, which are tapped at the bar (beers are also available to take away in cans). For non-beer-drinkers there’s also a range of wine, cider and local spirits. Bring your dog, bring your own food (or order in from nearby restaurants), but most importantly, bring an open mind to this innovative style of brewing.
๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ
Settle in for an early Sunday afternoon of live music, good company, and an easygoing atmosphere at Slow Lane Brewing.
The Bardwell Valley Ramblers will be playing a run of acoustic tunes - old-time, folk, country - the kind that suits a laid-back session with a drink in hand.
Slow Lane's got you covered with excellent beer and genuinely great pizza, so you can make an afternoon of it.
Free entry.
Come by, grab a table, and ease into the afternoon …
Linked to Mangrove Swamp
We are a small husband and wife owned brewery driven by a passion for brewing beer and sharing it with others. All of our beer is produced in our own brewery located in the Sydney suburb of Botany.
Our focus is on providing insightful beer experiences through frequently releasing new beers across a diverse range of styles and flavours. We take inspiration from old world European beer styles and produce modern interpretations of these. Each beer has its own story which aims to take you on a journey to where this beer style originated.
We make beer differently to most breweries today. We use traditional brewing methods to produce slow-fermented beer. Our small size makes it possible for us to use these more labour and time intensive methods that most modern breweries have abandoned in favour of more efficient industrialised processes. We naturally carbonate our beers through can and keg conditioning. Some of our beers are also fermented with mixed cultures of wild yeast and bacteria and aged in oak barrels.
Our story
Alex had a beer revelation when he moved to the US in 2012. He discovered craft breweries making their own versions of the classic European beers that he used to seek out. Soon he was hooked on homebrewing these beers, taking over every spare bit of space in his and Yvonne's tiny New York apartment. He also dragged Yvonne to many hundreds of breweries across the country as important ‘research’ trips. These experiences opened Yvonne’s eyes. There was a lot more to the world of beer than mass produced lagers. She developed a taste for Belgian and sour beers focused on yeast character, and soon ditched the wine and cocktail menu at bars and restaurants in favour of the varied and exciting offerings on the beer menu.
When they moved to California in 2015, Alex took it a step further by quitting the corporate world and gaining experience working at commercial breweries. Fast forward another two years and they were back home in Sydney, following their dream to start their own brewery.
Slow Lane Brewing released its first beers in May 2020 with our onsite tasting room opening in January 2021.
Read more
The Crafty Pint - Slow Lane Brewing By Mick Wust
The Crafty Pint - Who Brews in the Slow Lane? By Judd Owen
Broadsheet - Slow Lane Brewery Interprets Slow-Fermented, Old-World Beers in Modern, Radical Ways in a Botany Warehouse By Emma Breislin
Brews News - Slow Lane Brewing Launches in Botany By Clare Burnett
