Best-of list · Craft Beer Guide
The best European city for craft beer in 2024, ranked and reviewed. From Brussels to Prague, we name the winner and the runners-up worth your visit.
The short answer
7 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
Asking which is the best European city for craft beer in 2024 tends to produce ten answers in a room of ten people. This guide gives one, ranked on the depth and quality of each city's specialist bars and breweries. The answer is not the one most people expect. Brussels takes the crown, Prague comes close, and Amsterdam keeps earning its reputation even as the canal-side tourist bars hide its best work.
Belgium's relationship with beer predates the word "craft" by about 600 years. What makes Brussels the best European city for craft beer in 2024 is not heritage alone. It is the combination of that heritage with a genuinely progressive brewing scene that has emerged in the last decade. The city now has 14 specialist craft beer bars within a 20-minute walk of Grand Place, ranging from traditional lambic houses to taprooms pouring IPAs from local breweries that would hold their own in Portland or London.
Moeder Lambic's Fontainas branch sits a short walk from the Grand Place and pours the deepest gueuze list in Brussels alongside about 40 rotating taps. The fridges run from Cantillon to fresh local IPA. This is the room that proves the city does old and new at once. Order a Cantillon on tap if it is up, grab a sidewalk table, and settle in for the afternoon.
Full listing & hours →Brasserie de la Senne brews Brussels' best-known modern beer, the bitter Taras Boulba and the Zinnebir, and now pours it at the Zennebar taproom on the Tour & Taxis site. You can walk the fermentation hall, then drink fresh from the source Tuesday through Sunday. Order the Taras Boulba straight off the tank. Best on a Saturday afternoon when the back garden is open.
Full listing & hours →Lokál is the Ambiente group's love letter to the Czech pub, and the Nad Stromovkou branch in Letná pours tank-fresh Pilsner Urquell about as well as anyone in Prague. This is lager country, not a hop-chaser's bar, and it is better for it. Order the unfiltered Urquell and a plate of svíčková. Go at lunch on a weekday before the locals fill every bench.
Craft House sits near Charles Square and runs 27 taps of Czech and imported craft plus more than 100 bottles, with a separate Imperial Bar for the big stouts and double IPAs. It is where Prague drinks when it wants something other than pilsner. Order a flight off the rotating board, then climb into the Imperial list if you mean it. Open to midnight daily.
Brouwerij 't IJ pours under the De Gooyer windmill on the east side, the most photographed pint in Amsterdam and still one of the best. The house Zatte and IJwit anchor a lineup that earns the crowds on the terrace. This is the first stop for anyone learning the city's beer. Order the Zatte, sit outside when the sun is out, and watch the windmill turn.
Full listing & hours →Oedipus runs the playful end of Amsterdam brewing from its taproom in Noord, all bright cans and a big outdoor space across the IJ. The beers swing from the Mannenliefde saison to whatever wild thing is on that week. Take the free ferry from Centraal, order the Mannenliefde, and stay for the yard in summer. Open Thursday to Sunday, so plan around it.
Full listing & hours →Gollem has flown the flag for specialty beer in Amsterdam since long before craft was a marketing word, and the Overtoom proeflokaal keeps 22 taps and over 150 bottles moving. The staff know the list cold and will steer you right. Ask what Belgian sour is on, grab a bar stool, and let them pour you through it. A safe bet any night of the week.
Full listing & hours →How we picked
If the question is which European city offers the best craft beer experience in 2024, the honest answer is Brussels. It has the tradition, the depth, the specialist venues, and a modern brewing scene that makes the trip worthwhile for someone who has already done Belgium before. Prague is the closest rival and earns a separate trip. Amsterdam rewards the visitor who knows where to go beyond the tourist corridor.
Practical planning note for Brussels: most specialist bars close on Monday and Tuesday. The best taprooms open Thursday through Sunday only. Build your trip around those four days and the city will deliver more than you expect.
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Last reviewed 2026-06-13 · The editors recheck hours and closures against current local coverage.