Best-of list · Craft Beer
The best craft beer bars in Hong Kong, from the Beer Bay kiosk and Craftissimo to Young Master's taproom, The Globe and Second Draft's 23 taps.
The short answer
8 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
Hong Kong's craft beer scene is small but real, and most of the lists floating around pad it with rooftop cocktail bars that pour one IPA and call it craft. The eight below are the rooms where the beer is the point: a brewery taproom, a kiosk, a couple of bottle shops with taps, and the gastropubs that take their cellar seriously. Sorted by what is in the glass, not the view. The names that got cut could not be verified as real, open venues.
Craftissimo is a Sheung Wan bottle shop on Tai Ping Shan Street with a rotating tap list and a fridge of limited cans you will not find elsewhere in the city. Local kegs from Young Master and Hong Kong Beer Co turn up often. Order off the taps, ask what is freshest, and drink it standing on the street with the crowd that spills out. Go early evening before the stoops fill.
Full listing & hours →The Globe is a Graham Street gastropub running 18 rotating drafts and more than 100 bottles, and it has been voted among the better beer bars in the world. British food, a deep cellar, regulars who know their pours. It has held the same Soho corner for over a decade. Order whatever cask or local keg is fresh, grab a stool at the bar, and skip the weekend crush by going early in the week.
Full listing & hours →Young Master is the pioneering Hong Kong craft brewery, and its Wong Chuk Hang taproom pours the full core range and one-off seasonals straight from the source. The Cha Chaan Teng Gose and the Classic Pale lead the list. Industrial space, weekend-heavy crowd, fair tap prices. Go on a Saturday afternoon when the room is fullest and the rare kegs come out.
Full listing & hours →Second Draft is a Causeway Bay gastropub from Young Master and chef May Chow, reopened in Fashion Walk with 23 taps. The list mixes Young Master's beers with local and overseas craft, plus natural wine. Order the Tai Hang fries with whatever sour is on. The food is better than most beer bars bother with. Busy after work, calmer midweek.
Full listing & hours →Beer Bay is a green kiosk wedged between Central Piers 3 and 4 pouring more than 60 brews, including hard-to-find British and American releases. No seats, so regulars drink on the harbor steps with the ferry crowd. Prices run cheaper than the bars uphill. Open from three in the afternoon to midnight. Go at dusk for the cheapest decent pour in Central.
Beer & Fish is a Staunton Street spot in Central that pairs a rotating craft tap list with fish-focused plates. The beer leans local and changes often, and the kitchen is the reason to book a table rather than stand. Prices sit mid-range for Soho. Go for an early dinner when you want the beer and the food to share equal billing, not a late session.
HK Brewcraft is a Cochrane Street shop in Central that doubles as a homebrew supplier and a craft beer bar, with a tight rotating tap list and staff who actually brew. Order a pour, talk shop, and leave with ingredients if the bug bites. Small and gear-focused. Go midweek when the homebrewers gather and the talk is worth as much as the room.
Hop Leaf is a Kwai Fong brewery in an industrial building, more production room than polished bar, pouring its own beers to anyone who makes the trip out. The range is honest and the prices reflect the no-frills setting. Hours run shorter than the Central spots, so check before you go. This one is for drinkers who chase the source rather than the scene.