Singapore

With just a few craft brewers in Singapore, it is lagging the rest of world when it comes to 'brewing your own. This is really quite astounding when you consider that tourism in Singapore is more than 3 times its population. But that doesn't mean that you can't find good beer in Singapore. With the popularity of craft beer, many bars and pubs are stocking up on craft beer to satisfy their customers. There are even a few 'craft beer only' bars popping up. Singapore brewers a not as far up the learning curve for craft beer as American brewers, but you still can drank a few good local beer between them. And while you are in Singapore, if it's your first time, don't forget to try the famous Singapore Sling.

It's easy to get around Singapore by subway and of course, by taxi. Most of the craft beer bars are only a short walk from a subway station. Chances are that there are even a few places within walking distance from wherever you are staying. After all, it's a small island.

Tips:

If you planning on taking the subway to go out beer trekking, consider getting a multi-day pass. You can get them for various number of days and they are good for unlimited rides within the time frame for which you purchased the pass. If you are staying out past midnight, make sure to check schedules in advance as the subway stops around 1 AM. Taxis are abundant and Singapore parties well into the night, typically 1 or 2 AM on weekdays and 3 or 4 AM on weekends. Not all taxis accept Visa Cards, so plan accordingly.
If you are not familiar with the price of things in Singapore, you might be taken aback with beer prices, but they are about consistent with prices of everything else in Singapore. Many brewpubs (night spots) have tiered pricing. The tier price varies by the beer ABV and within each tier, prices will vary by the time of day - for example, mid-afternoon is 'happy hour' and you will typically find the cheapest prices during this time; late afternoon to early evening gets a bump up in price and after 7 or 8 PM you will see the final bump up. Don't be surprised to pay S$16-20 for a pint at nighttime. Don't let this deter you. Singapore is a great place with lots of good beer and great people to meet.

Tiered Beer Pricing

Clarke Quay and Boat Quay

Nightlife is abundant in Singapore and a couple of great places to go are Clarke and Boat Quays. These are riverside at the mouth of the Singapore River and the channel is lined with bars clubs, and restaurants. By regulation, each venue must have a vivid and different theme from the next. These quays are active during the day and very busy at night, especially weekends, If you visit during the day, some of the venues don't open until around 6:00pm. If you like good food, beer, and interesting people, you can't go wrong by visiting these places. Beer is mostly gerneric lagers, but both Red Dot and Brewerkz breweries have locations here. A lot of places are riverside which provides great views and a refreshing atmosphere, but it fills up quickly after opening. Singapore is not cheap and neither are the quays.

Nearest Metro: Clark Quay Station, Purple Line (NE)

Updated Jul '15

Clarke Quay

Pump Room Brewery

This brewery is located right in Clark Quay area. It also turned out to be a very interesting place. It is a live music bar that happens to be a brewpub with food. They have both indoor and outdoor seating for beers and food. They have an nice flight of six beer; a couple of them were excellent, however all were very enjoyable. If you visit late in the evening be prepared for some live rock and roll music.

They do not brew on premise. This is their primary place to serve beer however a couple of local area restaurants do serve 1 or 2 of their beers on the menus.

Location: 3B River Valley Road #01-09/10, The Foundry
Nearest Metro: Clarke Quay Station, Purple Line (NE)

Updated: Aug '16

Beers on Tap

The Pump Room

Pump Room Flight

Blue Bali

The name caught my interest. Blue Bali is about a 15-minute taxi ride in traffic from the Clark Quay area. It was off the business streets and set back away bordering the Singapore Botanical Gardens. I was there late afternoon before the diner crowd arrived, so the place was nearly empty. The menu looked excellent with a Bali-Asian theme.

When you walked in the first room is a small bar area with very limited seating. However when you walk out the back you enter a large outdoor patio area. It is a beautiful Balinese garden that is much larger than you would have expected. There are many tables for dinner seating and lounging area to just sit relax and have a few beers. The staff was very friendly, chatted about beer and the area.

I was lucky to meet Christian their brew master. He gave me a tour of his brewing area. See photos to right. You can see Blue Bali is really a nano brewery in size. They only have four of their own beers on tap. I would have like to see a larger selection, however the beer I had was fine.

Bali Gold
Pink Mamba (fruity)
Doshi IPA (surprisingly dark)

Location: Nus Evans Road, bukit timah campus, 1D Cluny Road
Nearest Metro: Botanical Gardens Station, Blue Line (DT) and Yellow Line (CC)

Updated: Aug '16

Blue Bali

Blue Bali's Balinese Garden

Blue Bali's Brewery (Christian)

The 1925 Microbrewery & Restaurant

Small unique place. Probably more of a nano brewery. Only one of their beers was on tap, the "BLK 6.22 Dark Ale". However they had a few new batches brewing in their 4 small tanks (see picture at right) - an IPA, a pale ale & their dark ale. The beer selection was OK; 5-6 beers on taps and a more in bottles. The place had 6 tables inside and 12 bar stools at the bar. They have been been open about a year and a halt; and seemed to be doing just fine. They serve food, however I did not eat anything. I did notice a good looking burger and fries getting delivered to an Aussie. Some of the beer on tap during my visit included:

6.22 Dark Ale - 1925 Microbrewery (Singapore)
Silures - The Celt Experience (USA)
Ghost Ship - Adnams (England)
IPA - Brewerkz (Singapore)
White Ale - Hitachino Nest (Japan)

Location: 369 Jalan Besar
Nearest Metro: Farrer Park Staton, Purple Line (NE)

Updated Nov '15

1925 Microbrewery

1925 Brewery and Restaurant

Druggists

Druggists beer bar is an Asian infusion restaurant with 23 taps. However, not all were flowing beer when I visited. Interesting name, however a great selection of global beer. They have 23 taps however some were empty, so there were 19 available beers. They switch out beers weekly, so the selection of beers is always changing IPA, sours, darks, pale ales, wheats, etc... The beers were primarily from Europe: Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, and the UK. There was one Japanese beer to also make the menu . They are relatively new, just opening in early 2015. They have 5 tables outside and about 10 inside.

Location: 119 Tyrwhitt Road
Nearest Metro: Farrer Park Station, Purple Line (NE), Lavender Station, Green Line (EW)

Updated Nov '15

Druggists

RedDot BrewHouse

RedDot has a nice collection of beers and good food. It has an open air restaurant and an outdoor patio area. They are known for their green monster beer which is infused with green spirulina, which has some debatable health benefits. However, you cannot help but feel like there are some health benefits in drinking this beer. They also have a red beer which is brewed with dragon fruit. The bright red color was a little strange looking and as expected, the flavor was somewhat sweet and fruity. So I guess it tasted like it looked. It is a worth the adventure for the first time but the beer doesn't seem to rotate much.

Location: 25A Dempsey Road #1-01
Nearest Metro: Farrer Road, Yellow Line, 25 minute walk

Location: 33/34 Boat Quay
Nearest Metro: Clarke Quay Station, Purple Line (NE), Raffles Place Station, Red (NS)/Green (EW) Lines

Updated Jul '15

Red Dot Green Monster Lager

Red Dot - Dempsey Road

Brewerkz

Brewerkz has multiple locations in Singapore and one in Jakarta. These guys have a good selection of their own craft beer (8-10 beers) and a collection of bottled beers from international microbreweries. They also will have one or two “guest” beers on tap from other craft beer breweries. Decent food menu with western food available. You will find beer prices increase at certain times during the day. Cheapest is afternoon, most expensive is after 7/8 pm.

As the name implies, Brewerkz Riverside Point overlooks a river in the Boat Quay/Clarke Quay area. Large outdoor patio area is great for enjoying your favorite beer with a meal.

Location 1: 1 Tanglin Road #01-02 Orchard Parade Hotel
Nearest Metro: Orchard, Red Line

Location 2: 30 Merchant Road #01-05/06, Riverside Point (Boat Quay)
Nearest Metro: Clarke Quay Station, Purple Line (NE)

Updated Jun '16

Brewerkz - Boat Quay

Brewwerkz - Orchard Parade

Nickeldime DraftHouse

Small, comfortable craft beer spot with a nice open atmosphere. They offer a continuously changing selection of craft beers from around the world. They also have a menu of common pub food; burgers, pizzas, and fun appetizers. One of the walls was painted with a crazy looking creature enjoying a beer (see photo at right.

During my visit their beer list had about 15 beers. It was a broad selection of Ales, Wheats, Browns, IPAs, Sours, Witbiers, Stouts, Saisons, etc… The beers were from England, Hong Kong, Scotland, US, Japan, New Zealand, and Germany.

Location: 273 Thomson Rd, #01-06 Novena Gardens
Nearest Metro: Novena, Red Line (NS), 4 minute walk

Updated Jul '15

Nickeldime Drafthouse

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