SINGAPORE | Craft beer has taken the world by storm in recent years, as discerning drinkers turn towards brewers who put a focus on quality ingredients and most importantly, flavour. Beer is no longer synonymous with watered down lager and today there are so many different styles to choose from that it’s hard to know where to start. Locals and expats in Singapore have seen what’s happening in the craft beer scene around the world and are looking for great beer. Entrepreneurial individuals have taken note and as a result it’s a great time to be a beer drinker in Singapore, with a spate of craft beer venues opening up to cater for those looking for their craft beer fix. Here are some of the best.
Nickeldime Drafthouse
Nickeldime Drafthouse has an impressive selection of craft beers and ciders from around the world across its 15 taps and bottles. Along with year-round beers Nickeldime also rotates through seasonal and limited edition beers. The keg room and beer lines are maintained at a consistent temperature
Many of the food options on the menu also incorporate beer, sometimes more successfully than others.
Nickeldime Drafthouse
273 Thompson Road
#01-06 Novena Gardens
Singapore 307644
The Good Beer Company
The sister bar of Smith Street Taps, The Good Beer Company focuses on bottled beers. It’s located in the excellent for food hawker centre, the Chinatown Complex, and stocks around 50 beers at any given time from around the world. Grab a beer, and some awesome food from one of the many hawker stalls in the centre and enjoy.
The Good Beer Company
335 Smith Street
#02-058 Chinatown Complex
Singapore 050335
Smith Street Taps
Smith Street Taps has a rotating selection of beers across its 10 taps, and also hosts the occasional tap takeover by certain breweries. There are some really interesting beers to be found here, and the prices are some of the lowest for craft beer in Singapore.
Smith Street Taps
335 Smith Street
#02-062 Chinatown Complex
Singapore 050335
The Tuck Shop
The Tuck Shop is a great little bar in Geylang that offers not just craft beer, but a decent range of other drinks (including some fantastic Italian wines) and food. The space is open and breezy and opens out onto the street where you can enjoy your drink alfresco with the mixture of Singaporeans and expats who call the bar their local.
Back to the beer though. There are 5 beers from local brewer Archipelago, along with a decent bottled range of international beers. The selection isn’t the largest in town, but the atmosphere more than makes up for it.
The Tuck Shop
403 Guillemard Road
Singapore 399795
TAP Craft Beer Bar
From the brains behind the Thirsty craft beer bottle shops comes TAP, a literally long bar in the middle of Capitol Piazza in City Hall. There are 20 beers on taps along with an impressive bottle range with a decidedly US focus. You’ll beers from brands that you don’t usually see in Singapore like Modern Times and Strand Brewing along with more familiar US brands like Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada and Lost Coast.
It’s an interesting atmosphere, being completely open in the middle of a shopping centre but worth visiting for the beers you won’t find elsewhere. Be warned though, the beers are pricey.
TAP Craft Beer Bar
15 Stamford Road
Capitol Piazza (Galleria)
Singapore 178906
Thirsty
Thirsty have a few locations, and the idea is simple. Bottle shops that allow you to either purchase the beer to take away or drink on site. The atmosphere, in quiet sections of shopping centres, isn’t exactly vibrant but you can’t complain about the wide selection of beers from all over the world branching across all styles. Prices are decent compared to the competition and there are often pretty good deals on offer.
Thirsty
177 River Valley Road
#02-34 Liang Court Shopping Centre
Singapore 179030
Also
211 Holland Avenue
#02-16 Holland Road Shopping Centre
Singapore 278967
3 Seng Poh Road
#01-01 Tiong Bahru Bar (TBB)
Singapore 168891
1 Maju Avenue
#01-04 myVillage Mall
Singapore 556679
The 1925
The 1925 offer an interesting twist compared to the other places on this list in that they brew their own beers in the microbrewery on the ground floor. It’s not just about craft beer here though, with an impressive food selection and very wide selection of wines sourced from around the world also on offer.
The 1925
369 Jalan Besar
Singapore 208997
Druggists
Druggists, which shares the building it occupies with the Singapore Chinese Druggists Association, is one of our favourite craft beer spots in Singapore. Set up by Corrine Chia and Lincoln Goh of The Great Beer Experiment and The Drinking Partners, Druggists offers a very impressive selection of beers across it 23 taps.
Russian Imperial Stouts, Sours, Goses and other styles you won’t find on many taps can be found here and the brands are varied too – when we visited there was a decidedly Belgian, Danish and Norwegian flavour to the taps.
The snacks, designed to be pared with the beers, are very decent too and the interior manages to be on-trend and unique at the same time.
Druggists
119 Tyrwhitt Road
Singapore 207547
Best of The Rest
As is inevitably the case when overseas, it’s hard to fit everything in. We can’t personally vouch for these 3 places but when we were doing our research they made it onto our list and are, by all accounts, well worth checking out if you want to explore Singapore’s craft beer scene further.
Jibiru
Jibiru is the place to visit if you are in the mood for Japanese beer and izakaya food options. The flagship brand on offer is Hitachino Nest, but a good range of Japanese beers are represented.
Jibiru
313 Orchard Road
#01-26 313@Somerset
Singapore 238895
The Great Beer Experiment
The Great Beer Experiment only has 4 taps and a focused bottle range but it’s all killer no filler, with interesting beers from some of the world’s most highly regarded craft brewers.
The Great Beer Experiment
200 Turf Club Road
Stall 46 PasarBella @ The Grandstand
Singapore 118541
Necessary Provisions
Necessary Provisions is notable not just for its impressive bottle selection, but for its hand pump (a rarity in Singapore) and its exclusive brewery supply agreements. If you want beer on tap from England’s Moor and Australia’s Mornington Peninsula Brewery, you’ll have to visit Necessary Provisions.
Necessary Provisions
21 Eng Kong Terrace
Singapore 598993
Bottles & Taps
Bottles & Taps is a great little bar for those in the area with over 50 bottles of craft beer on offer. The location isn’t one that will appeal to most visitors, but if you do decide to visit the team offer a free minibus service that takes you to the nearest MRT station.
Bottles & Taps
1C Yio Chu Kang Road
Singapore 545509
Next Door Cafe
It’s a simple proposition at Next Door Cafe – over 100 craft beer bottles from across the globe and a range of Mediterranean food options. One worth checking out if you’re in the area.
Next Door Cafe
699 East Coast Road
Singapore 459061