A shirtless Bob Hawke, beer in hand, is featured in the new giant mural on a Sydney pub.

The Carlisle Castle in Newtown officially unveiled the mural on Saturday to promote the beer company the former prime minister helped to create.

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The second storey of the pub on Albermarle St depicts Bob Hawke holding two of his favourite things: a schooner of beer and crossword puzzle.

Hawke's Brewing Co launched in 2017, with Mr Hawke giving away his entire financial share to fund rural programs run by environmental group Landcare Australia.

Local artist Scott Marsh painted the mural over four days as Sydney battled 30-degree plus temperatures.

A co-founder of Hawke's Brewing Co, Nathan Lennon, said the decision to depict Bob Hawke in a certain way in the mural was done for a purpose.

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"Why a mural of a bare-chested Bob Hawke holding a schooner in a small pair of shorts? Because that is just what Aussies do, right?

"Accountants do it, doctors do it. CEOs do it. Even PMs do it. Some do it better than others. But Bob we believe is our greatest former prime minister, not because of the work he did for the country. But also because of his ability to connect to us, the Australian people. He is real and he is really relatable.

"And he has shown us time and time again that it is really the simple things in life about living in this country that are often the best. Whether that is sitting on your patio, doing a crossword or reading the paper, or going to watch at Test at the SCG and watching the baggy greens."

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Labor MP Anthony Albanese unveiled the plaque for the mural, saying he supports the pub, craft brewery, and the mural of a prime minister he has long admired.

"I think he is Australia's greatest prime minister," he said.

"He is Australia's greatest prime minister because of the contribution that he made. There is a debate over all our Labor prime ministers - all of whom I support, but particularly with Hawke, because Hawke showed that you needed to be in government for a number of terms in order to entrench reforms."