With over a week to spend in Stockholm, I was excited to check out the city’s craft Beer scene. It’s a large city with a good core of cool, trendy people, so naturally there are a ton of good places to drink craft beer there. I was able to hit nearly all the places on my list during my visit, plus I found a few unexpectedly nice bars.

Here are my favorite places to drink craft beer in Stockholm, Sweden.

Omnipollos Hatt

These first three bars are all right near each other in the hipster neighborhood of Södermalm, not far from the Slussen metro stop. Omnipollos Hatt is a beer bar & pizza place run by Stockholm’s Omnipollo brewery. I’d had a few of their beers when I was in Gothenburg, so I was eager to check this place out as my first stop in Stockholm. It’s a fairly small place that was reasonably busy on a Monday night, but I did manage to get a seat at the bar right away. Weekends are much more crowded.

If Omnipollos Hatt isn’t a perfect brewpub, it’s pretty damn close. The bar features 10 frequently-rotating taps of Omnipollo beer, including brews you can only get there, as well as some special offerings like foam to top a sour beer or a dessert beer. A webcam shows the draft list, which is nice if you’re looking to see what’s new before you visit.

In addition to the great beer, Omnipollos Hatt also has excellent wood-fired pizza for a reasonable price. It’s almost not fair. An establishment should be able to have fantastic beer or fantastic pizza, but not both. No complaints that they have both, of course. I had the provolone and goat chorizo pizza to go with my beer.

I also went back for another visit, since I enjoyed it so much.

Oliver Twist

Just around the corner from Omnipollo in Södermalm is Oliver Twist, another great beer bar. Oliver Twist has more of an intimate pub-like feel, with a low ceiling and plenty of beer-related decor, though there is also outside patio seating.

The bar features 25 taps of craft beer from all over Europe, as well as the United States, plus there are also hundreds of bottles available. They have a massive American selection of bottles, but there are also other European beers available, as well as some Swedish selections.

I asked the bar staff to help me try some Swedish beers I hadn’t had yet, and they were able to select something new for me from their vast coolers on the first attempt. These guys really know beer and are happy to talk about it. They are a major importer of beer into Sweden, thanks to being quick on the draw following a legal change 10 years ago that made it so Swedish bars could import their own beer rather than going through the national stores.

Akkurat

Akkurat is also located in Södermalm. The bar/restaurant is affiliated with Oliver Twist, so as you might expect, they have a great selection.

There are about 20 taps on offer, most of them from Sweden & Belgium. I had a gingerbread cookie dough stout, which was yet another tasty beer that I had not known I needed in my life.

The bottle list is phenomenal as well. Not only was it a large list in general, there were plenty of vintage options available including a 2003 World Wide Stout and a bunch of Belgian lambic selections. They had Swedish beers available dating all the way back to 1996. These beers of course come at a price, but if you’re looking for something rare, Akkurat is the place to go. I wondered if I could fund my next trip by bringing them some rare bottles from the States.

On a Monday night, Akkurat was chill. There’s a huge amount of space inside, plus an outside patio that is mostly enclosed. If you’re looking for something other than beer, there is also a massive whiskey list, plus a full restaurant menu. These three bars were the first three that I visited in Stockholm, and they were my favorites.

The Bishops Arms

The Bishops Arms has a few locations in Stockholm, including Vasagatan, Folkunga, and Gamla Stan. I visited their Vasagatan location.

The Bishops Arms is a dark & intimate British-style pub. The bar had about 30 taps of beer. There wasn’t anything too special on tap, but there were some local beers and some American beers.

However, there was a huge bottle selection with interesting selections across all varieties, so that’s your way to go if you’re looking for something unique.

Monk’s Cafe & Brewery

UPDATE: June 2018 – Per comment below, Monk’s has now closed two of their three beer bars in Stockholm

Monk’s is another local small chain of places in Stockholm that also includes Monk’s Porter House and Monk’s American Bar (which focuses on American beers) is still open. Between all of their former bars and restaurants, Monk’s boasted of having 1,700 different beers available. I visited Monk’s Cafe & Brewery, which was not far from my hotel near Norra Bantorget. Since it was in a less lively area of the city center, the bar was rather quiet.

As you’d expect from the number above, Monk’s have a massive bottle selection, in addition to their 15 taps at the Cafe & Brewery location. This includes beer that they brew themselves. There were lots of Belgian beers available, though there was a good selection from elsewhere around the world. Unfortunately, there was no printed list, so you’re stuck having to spot something you want or getting some help.

Flying Dog

Flying Dog is also located near Norra Bantorget. Yes, Flying Dog is an American brewery, but I haven’t been able to figure out if there is an official affiliation beyond some of their beers being available.

There are about 20 taps at Flying Dog, plus plenty of bottles. This isn’t the place to come to if you are looking for local Swedish beers. They had one local craft beer on tap, and that was it. Instead, they mostly focused on American beers, though they did have some Belgian & Dutch offerings available as well.

Flying Dog is a good late night option in Stockholm, as it’s open later than all of the other bars I visited. They also have lots of TVs, so if you’re looking to watch an American sporting event, odds are you’ll be happy here.

Duvel Cafe and International Pressklubben

Duvel & Pressklubben are near Norra Bantorget as well, just down the street from Flying Dog toward the city center. They are two separate bars, but they are next door to each other.

Pressklubben was closed for a summer break, but there was a sign directing people to Duvel. Duvel is almost entirely Belgian, plus a couple of UK beers. Pressklubben has a much larger bottle selection, which I could see through the window, but unfortunately I couldn’t see exactly what was available.

Brewdog Kungsholmen

In my continuing quest to visit every Brewdog bar, one afternoon I took the long walk over to Brewdog Kungsholmen, which is located near Fridhemsplan. Brewdog Kungsholmen had 12 taps, half of which were from Brewdog. The rest were American & European.

It was among the smaller Brewdog bars I’ve visited, both in size and selection, but it was a nice neighborhood bar. As with other Brewdogs, they had games, plus they were dog friendly. I also had my first baconnaise experience, as part of the bacon bacon fries. I have no regrets.

Mackinlays Inn

Mackinlays Inn is just a block from Brewdog, perhaps making this the Scottish quarter of Stockholm? At any rate, this is a solid Scottish-style pub & restaurant that also happens to have great craft beer. They offer 25 taps, plus some bottles. There were standard ales available, plus lots of American & Swedish brews.

Outside there is a nice, sunny patio, while the inside is a dank Scottish pub. It’s another neighborhood sort of spot, as this area doesn’t have nearly as many outside visitors. I often say that bars are friendly, but this was especially the case here. The bartender saw me unsuccessfully trying to Shazam a song, so he went into the back to get the name of the band that was playing.

In case you’re curious, this was the song in question.

Ardbeg Embassy

Ardbeg Embassy is located in Gamla Stan. As you might guess from the name, their specialty is whisky, but they also have a solid beer selection to go along with it, featuring about 24 taps. I combined both by having special smoked beer that had been brewed just for them. The dark and intimate place also has a full restaurant.

Barrels Burgers & Beer

Barrels Burgers & Beer is just down the street from Ardbeg Embassy. I visited it on my photo walk around Gamla Stan. The bar features 12 taps and about 50 or so bottles of beer, many of which are American. Burgers & beer always go well together, and they certainly do here.

There were a couple of beer bars that I did not have the chance to visit because they were closed when I went by, but they looked like cool spots. The first was NK Bar, which is in the basement of a department store. I’ve never drank in a place like that before, but unfortunately it was closed for summer holidays.  It appeared to have a nice eclectic bottle selection plus 6 taps.

Ölbryggan was another interesting spot located on near the Vasamuseet & ABBA museums, as well as the Spirits Museum. Here a shipping container was placed to form a nice beer garden with 15 taps. It was too late in the day to be open when I was there (though the sun was still up since it was July), but it looks like a good spot for a break when you’re tired of the museums.

As one would expect from such a trendy city, Stockholm’s craft beer scene is solid, and you’ll never go thirsty there. Many of these bars are within walking distance of each other, so you can check several out in one evening. Lots of them feature outdoor seating as well, making them a nice place to spend some time on a long summer day. Do you have any other recommendations for good craft beer bars in Stockholm?

Do you love craft beer? Check out more of my recommendations for the best craft beer around the world!

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