Best Craft Beer Bars in Dublin

Every craft brewer in Dublin works within sight of the most famous brewery on earth, selling against a pint that most locals still order without thinking. That is the bind and the opportunity. Nobody opens a taproom here expecting to convert the stout faithful, so the good bars aim at the curious instead.

The argument started in 1996, when cousins Oliver Hughes and Liam Lahart opened The Porterhouse on Parliament Street and brewed their own porter a short stagger from Temple Bar's souvenir shops. It was Ireland's first craft brewpub. Their Plain Porter later took gold for best stout in the world at the Brewing Industry International Awards, in 1998 and again in 2011, and a small Dublin outfit beating the giant at its own style remains the scene's founding joke.

Thirty years on, the city has independents worth crossing town for. RASCALS brews beside its own pizza oven in Inchicore, Whiplash beers surface on taps all over the city, and even Guinness hedges its bets with an experimental taproom at St James's Gate.

The venues ranked below run from a Victorian brewpub on the Liffey to a canalside compound in Phibsborough. Most sit within a short walk of a Luas stop or a cross-city bus.

Temple Bar and the quays

Be honest about Temple Bar: most of it sells marked-up lager and amplified cover bands to visiting stag parties, and no local goes there for the beer. The exception sits on the district's western edge. The Porterhouse Temple Bar on Parliament Street runs three floors of its own stouts, porters and ales, brewed by the company that started Irish craft beer in 1996.

Across O'Connell Bridge, The JW Sweetman on Burgh Quay brews its own range inside a multi-storey pub facing the Liffey. Both are unavoidable on foot, and nearly every cross-city bus stops within a block of them.

Stephen Street to Clanbrassil Street

The southside's craft spine runs from the shopping streets down through Dublin 8. P. Mac's on Stephen Street Lower keeps around 30 taps plus a fridge of roughly 50 cans and bottles, poured in a candlelit room that looks older than it is. It gets the balance right: proper pub darkness, serious beer list, no lecture.

Twenty minutes on foot to the southwest, The Headline on Lower Clanbrassil Street plays neighbourhood local where the Liberties meets Portobello. Buses down the Camden and Clanbrassil corridor cover the route if the weather turns.

Rathmines and Portobello

Rathmines does craft beer without ceremony. The Black Bird on the main road pairs a long tap list with candlelight and mismatched furniture, and fills with residents rather than tourists. It is a 20-minute walk from St Stephen's Green, or a short ride on any bus heading up Rathmines Road.

Portobello matters here mostly for history. The original Bernard Shaw stood on South Richmond Street until October 2019, when planning and property pressure closed it and pushed the whole operation north of the river.

Phibsborough and the Royal Canal

The northside's craft cluster sits where the Royal Canal passes under Cross Guns Bridge. The Bernard Shaw landed here after losing Portobello, taking over a former Porterhouse site and bolting on the Eatyard food stalls, a beer garden and taps that lean on independents such as Donegal's Kinnegar.

A few minutes down Phibsboro Road, The Back Page handles the sport and the pints, and both bars answer to the Bodytonic group. Buses from O'Connell Street reach Phibsborough quickly, and Drumcondra is close enough for a canal-side walk.

Inchicore and Kilmainham

Inchicore is the best reason to leave the centre. RASCALS Brewing Company runs its brewery, taproom and pizza kitchen on Tyrconnell Road in the Goldenbridge industrial estate, pouring around 15 taps a few metres from the tanks. The taproom opened in 2018 and the brewery runs tours.

Take the Red Line Luas towards Tallaght or Saggart and walk from the Blackhorse or Goldenbridge stops. Pair the trip with Kilmainham Gaol or IMMA and it stops feeling like a trek.

What makes a great craft beer bar in Dublin

First, the tap list has to earn its rent from Irish independents. Anyone can pour imported IPA, but the bars ranked here rotate RASCALS, Whiplash, Trouble Brewing and Kinnegar alongside the imports, which keeps money inside a small national scene that needs it.

Second, a Dublin craft bar has to answer the stout question. This city judges any room that cannot pour a proper dark beer, so the best ones carry an independent stout or porter as a standing rebuttal to the default pint. The Porterhouse built its entire reputation on exactly that move.

Third, pub bones matter more here than in most cities. Dubliners grew up in snugs and dark wood, and they show limited patience for exposed-ductwork taproom minimalism, which is why the candles at P. Mac's and the junk-shop furniture at The Black Bird work so well. Warmth first, beer menu second.

Finally, the staff should steer without preaching. This scene grew up beside drinkers who order Guinness everywhere else, and nobody gets sneered at for it. A great Dublin craft bar converts by the pint rather than by the lecture, and the venues on this page understand the difference.

Planning your night

Dublin drinks earlier than most European capitals. After-work crowds land from 5pm on Fridays and the popular rooms are full well before 9pm on weekend nights, so start a crawl in the afternoon if you want seats.

Licensing law shapes everything. Standard closing time is 11.30pm from Monday to Thursday, 12.30am on Friday and Saturday, and 11pm on Sunday, with 30 minutes of drinking-up time after last orders. Some venues hold late exemptions, but never assume a craft bar is one of them.

Most pubs on this page run on walk-ins, though groups of six or more should message ahead for weekend evenings. Brewery taprooms are the exception to pub rhythms; RASCALS in Inchicore keeps shorter hours than a pub, so check current opening days before crossing town.

Getting around is simple. The Red Line Luas covers Inchicore, cross-city buses handle Phibsborough and Rathmines, and everything between the quays and Stephen Street is walkable, but check last tram and bus times before settling in for the night. One point of etiquette: rounds culture applies, so if someone buys you a pint, the next one is yours, and you order at the bar rather than waiting for table service.

Start at The Porterhouse Temple Bar because the history is real, then get out of the district and drink where Dubliners actually do. The single strongest trip is RASCALS in Inchicore, where the beer sits a few metres from the tanks and the pizza handles the rest. For a full evening rather than a pilgrimage, the Phibsborough pairing of The Bernard Shaw and The Back Page beats anything in the tourist core.

The quiet triumph of this scene is that it grew up beside the biggest stout brand on earth and stopped apologising for it. Order the local porter and you will taste why.

Where can I find the best craft beer near me in Dublin?

Start in the centre: The Porterhouse Temple Bar on Parliament Street and The JW Sweetman on Burgh Quay both brew their own beer within a ten-minute walk of each other. P. Mac's on Stephen Street Lower covers the Grafton Street end of town, Brewdog Dublin sits out at Grand Canal Dock, and The Black Bird serves Rathmines. Northsiders have The Bernard Shaw and The Back Page in Phibsborough. Use our craft beer bars near me finder to sort the full list by distance.

Which Dublin neighbourhood is best for a craft beer crawl?

Phibsborough gives you the easiest two-stop crawl, with The Bernard Shaw at Cross Guns Bridge and The Back Page a few minutes down Phibsboro Road, both under the same Bodytonic ownership. For a longer walk, start at The JW Sweetman on Burgh Quay, cross to P. Mac's on Stephen Street Lower, then finish at The Headline on Clanbrassil Street; the route takes under half an hour on foot, not counting pints. Rathmines suits a quieter night built around The Black Bird.

Which independent Irish breweries should I look for on Dublin taps?

RASCALS is the city's flagship independent, brewing in Inchicore with a taproom and pizza kitchen attached. Whiplash brews in Dublin and turns up constantly on the better tap lists, Trouble Brewing sends its range in from Kill in County Kildare, and Donegal's Kinnegar appears on good counters across the city, including at The Bernard Shaw. The Porterhouse still brews its own stouts and porters for its pubs, and Galway Bay Brewery supplies its own group of Dublin bars.

What beer styles does Dublin do best beyond stout?

Porter is the honest answer, and the line between the two styles is thin. The Porterhouse's Plain Porter won gold for best stout in the world at the Brewing Industry International Awards in 1998 and 2011, which tells you where local strengths sit. Irish red ale is the other native style, with Porterhouse Red a steady example. Beyond that, the independents chase modern pale ales and IPAs, and the Open Gate Brewery at St James's Gate pours experimental one-offs across 16 taps.

When do Dublin craft beer bars get busy, and should I book?

Friday and Saturday evenings fill fastest, with after-work drinkers arriving from 5pm and most rooms packed long before standard closing, which is 12.30am on those nights. Sunday and early weeknights are the quiet windows. Most bars in our Dublin guide take walk-ins, but groups of six or more should contact venues ahead on weekends. Brewery taprooms are the other exception, since RASCALS keeps shorter hours than a pub, so check opening days before travelling out to Inchicore.

Is Temple Bar worth visiting for craft beer?

Only for one address. The Porterhouse Temple Bar on Parliament Street opened in 1996 as Ireland's first craft brewpub and still pours its own award-winning stouts, porters and ales over three floors of live music. The rest of the district trades on volume, cover bands and tourist pricing, and serious beer drinkers skip it entirely. Have one Plain Porter at the Porterhouse, then walk ten minutes in any direction; our craft beer guides exist for exactly that reason.