Best Places To Drink Craft Beer In Melbourne - Recommended by a Local

Nestled among the factory warehouses and trendy apartments in Richmond, Mountain Goat Brewery started the way the best breweries do; two mates having a pint together. Picturesque enough to have played host to many a wedding with its beautifully lit equipment and spacious high ceilings, and buzzing with merry beer-swigging revelers on Wednesday and Friday night, this is ideal for a night out with friends. With friendly staff, the occasional addition of jazz music and a great variety of award-winning beers, this is also the perfect finish to bicycle ride through Melbourne, because cyclists get a free beer! A pioneer of craft beer in Australia, they continually pump out award winning ales; try any one of them - you can’t go wrong here.

During the week they are all business, but come weekend the food trucks pull in and the fun begins with charity and live music events scheduled throughout the year. They live by the motto “In hops we trust” and here you can put your faith in Hop Nation to deliver you some incredibly decent beer. Be sure to try The Fiend, the breweries flagship beer and the one that made it all happen. Tucked away down a laneway 10 minutes out of the CBD, this hidden treasure with occasional live music and relaxed atmosphere is worth the hunt. This passionate brewery is also one of the places that offers craft beer tasting Melbourne, so if you’re keen to learn a little bit more about the delicate flavours that make up a good beer, or simply want to explore all the options, this one is for you.

If you’re completely obsessed with a great IPA and on the hunt for the perfect one, then Fixation is must-see for you because it just so happens that they are fixated with IPA! Considered to be some of the finest craft beer in Fitzroy Melbourne with the extensive research and expertise that have gone into their delicious range of IPA beers, you can be sure to find your IPA match made in heaven and possibly the best IPA in Melbourne. To help you along in your quest the Fixation team offer a tasting experience, serving you samples right in the Incubator tasting room of the brewery where all the magical IPA ideas are born. Bitter, aromatic and unfailingly fresh, this award-winning brewery has it all when it comes to a good Indian pale ale.

You don’t have to go to a brewery to find the best craft beer in Melbourne. Here are some other excellent beers to look out for on your bar-expeditions. If an award winning, fully hopped XPA or if a crisp pilsener is what your taste buds are after, try the Balter Pilsener. Modus Operandi is famous for the award winning craft brand; all about being fresh and local, the beer is permanently kept cold with a “packaged on” date. Look out for the seasonal ranges and limited release brands. Pirate Life Pale Ale is the Pirate Life craft brewery’s flagship beer and it compares to the best in the world. Bucket loads of big US hops, full malty backbone and a characterful yeast. A must-try! Another one of Australia’s best craft breweries, Bridge Road, serves up what has been voted Victoria’s best craft beer, and happens to be set in a picturesque part of the high country, a bit out of the CBD but worth a visit! You could decide to do a good deed (while enjoying some great beer) and go for the the Bread Beer; a German style Weizen made with surplus bread that would otherwise go to landfill. Or – quite the opposite in name – try Black Heart, from a small and idiosyncratic home brewery in Brighton. Their Belgian Wit topped the People’s Choice poll while the 9.2 per cent Tripel has proved so popular it’s gone on to become a semi-permanent part of their range.

If you’re in Melbourne CBD and need a fix for your beer craving, Beer DeLuxe is where you should be heading. With a cosmopolitan take on beer, they offer in excess of 150 packaged beers form local and international breweries and great food. The food menu has been created so you can “enjoy your food without having to put your beer down”. Now that’s true beer love. From live music and cultural events to tap takeovers, there is always something happening here. The venue is also multi-facetted, boasting a burger bar, a fantastic cafe, a salon bar, a dining space and a beer garden. If, similarly, you’re wondering where to drink craft beer in Melbourne and still enjoy other enticing drink and food options, there are several amazing bars where craft beer can be had, while simultaneously taking in some of the vibrant and diverse Melbourne life. Ponyfish Island, under the Yarra Pedestrian Bridge, has a range of the best craft beer in Melbourne which can be sipped while taking in some incredible views of the city. Le Bon Ton in the trendy suburb of Fitzroy is a Louisiana-inspired tavern, is a haven for the beer-loving reveller with a hunger for southern-style cooking, and a tempting array of cocktails, whiskeys and even a spot of sweet tea.