Best-of list · Craft Beer
The 9 best craft beer bars in Dublin for 2026, from The Porterhouse to 57 The Headline. Brewpubs and Irish craft taps beyond the Guinness houses.
The short answer
10 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
Dublin drinks far beyond Guinness now, and a tight circuit of brewpubs and Irish-craft taprooms proves it. We checked every venue on this list against its own beer list, press coverage, and current hours before publishing. Nine made the cut, all of them open and pouring.
Dublin's original brewpub still anchors the west edge of Temple Bar, pouring its own stouts, reds, and lagers across three floors with live music every night. Skip the tourist scrum at the front and climb up for a seat. Order the Oyster Stout, the house signature, and time it for early evening before the crowds thicken. Loud, proud, unmistakably Dublin.
Full listing & hours →Owned by Galway Bay Brewery, Against the Grain on Wexford Street is where the brewery's own beers pour alongside a rotating guest list. The vibe runs laid-back, with midweek pub quizzes and weekend live music keeping the room full. Order whatever Galway Bay IPA is on, settle into a corner, and treat it as a long-session pub rather than a quick stop.
The Black Sheep sits at the north end of Capel Street, another Galway Bay Brewery room stacking craft ales against global comfort food. Open-mic comedy nights give the place an edge most beer bars miss. Order a tasting flight to scope the taps, then settle on the strongest hazy on the board. Best midweek, when you can actually hear the comedians.
Underdog is the basement hunt for rarities, a craft beer bar built around taps you will not find elsewhere in the city. The room is small and the list changes fast, so ask what is rare and trust the bartender. It suits a serious beer crowd more than a casual pint. Best early, before the few seats fill and the rare kegs blow.
57 The Headline on Lower Clanbrassil Street calls itself a love letter to Irish breweries, and the two dozen taps back it up. Run by Geoff Carty and Maire Ni Mhaolie, it leans hard into Irish independents rather than imports. Order something from a brewery you have never heard of, claim a table, and make a night of the rotating list.
Full listing & hours →A converted old grocers turned Stoneybatter gastropub, L. Mulligan Grocer has treated Irish beer, whiskey, and seasonal food as equals since 2010. A dozen or so Irish craft taps run alongside a guest cask and a wall of whiskeys topping a hundred bottles. Come for dinner, order the cask, and linger. Best on a weekend afternoon when the kitchen is in full swing.
Full listing & hours →Sweetman's brews its own beer behind the bar at Burgh Quay, three floors of it overlooking O'Connell Bridge and the Liffey. The house Pale Ale runs about 4 euro, cheap for a beer made on-site, and a jazz trio plays free on Thursday evenings from 6. Book a table upstairs for the view, order the Pale, and aim for early evening.
Full listing & hours →O'Connell's holds a riverside corner on Bachelors Walk, an all-day Dublin bar that keeps a real craft selection alongside the usual stouts and lagers. It works best as a reliable city-center stop rather than a destination tasting room. Order an Irish craft pour, grab a window seat over the Liffey, and watch O'Connell Street do its thing. Best in the late afternoon light.
Piper's Corner pairs nightly trad sessions with a craft list most music bars ignore, stocking Kinnegar, 9 White Deer, and Arthurstown across the taps. Opened by uilleann piper Sean Potts, it draws some of Ireland's best traditional players after dark. Order a Kinnegar, find a spot near the music, and stay for the session. Best late, when the room and the fiddles warm up.
BrewDog Dublin runs from a converted red shipping container in the city center, with a long rotating tap list of craft beer and a full kitchen. The brand changed hands in 2026 and the Dublin bar keeps trading. Open daily.
Full listing & hours →Beyond the 10
P. Mac's on Stephen Street Lower pairs a large craft beer list with candlelight, board games and a row of snugs. It took City Bar of the Year in 2014 and shares ownership with Cassidy's and Blackbird. Open daily.