As you may have gathered, Dan and I are big craft beer fans, and I was super excited to read that Stockholm was quite the hot spot for craft beer.  However, the reading I did before visiting did not portray the full extent of its popularity, including the popularity of American craft beer.  Seriously, we found Brooklyn Brewery and Lagunita’s on tap almost everywhere.  Brooklyn Brewery even opened a satellite brewery in Stockholm, Nya Carnegiebryggeriet.

It was pretty cool to see craft beer to popular in an unexpected place, and I think Stockholm deserves to be recognized as one of Europe’s big beer cities!

Here a few of my favorite craft beer spots in Stockholm!  Not to be missed if you are craft beer fan!

AKKURAT

 

Akkurat is an awesome craft beer bar located in the Södermalm neighborhood, not too far of a walk from Gamla Stan.  Akkurat serves drinks and meals, and also frequently has live music (and then it is crowded!).  We went here one evening for a few drinks.  The beer list is crazy!  There are several tap lines and a seemingly endless bottle list, including a number of aged American craft beers…at a hefty price!  See the price of the Dogfish 2009 World Wide Stout and yes, I’m talking to you, Mr. DeFlece.

 

The bartenders at Akkurat are very nice and know their stuff.  We chatted with them for a while about the bar, Stockholm and American craft beer!

   

Akkurat almost always comes up in “best craft beer bar” conversation and should definitely be on your list!

OLIVER TWIST

Oliver Twist is another popular craft beer bar, also located in Södermalm.  Like Akkurat, Oliver Twist is not very far from Gamla Stan and is pretty close to Akkurat (bar crawl, perhaps?).  Oliver Twist serves food and craft beer and felt more like a pub/sports bar than Akkurat.  Oliver Twist has a list of Swedish, European and U.S. taps and a bottle list.

 

 

Oliver Twist seemed to have a particular interest in U.S. craft beer.  Accordingly to the bar tender, Sam Calagione (of Dogfish fame) has visited the bar and Oliver Twist once did a collaboration with Rogue!  Sadly, none were left = (

BREW DOGS

Another favorite craft beer bar is Brew Dogs, the local wing of the famous Scottish establishment!  If you are not familiar, Brew Dogs is a really popular craft brewery from Scotland.  It has received world wide recognition and even has a cable show on Esquire called Brew Dogs.  For whatever reason, it does not seem to be as popular in the U.S. as it is in the rest of the world…  But it should be!  Brew Dogs makes some great beer and this bar was really fun!

Brew Dogs Stockholm is located off the tourist path in a local neighborhood (take a map, tiny sign!), about a 40 minute walk from Gamla Stan.  We walked, and it was fine.  Favorite part about this area: a lot of stuff starts with “Fleming”!  There’s me on Fleminggatan.  Too bad the sign was bolted to the building.

 

Brew Dogs is popular with locals (not many tourists) and serves creative pub food and Brew Dog beer!  We had dinner plans, but had to try the fries because they sounded so delicious!

 

While the bar is packed with locals (seriously, packed), there were two Americans working at the bar.  They were super friendly and gave us a lot of tips on beer and Stockholm!  Note – a lot of their beers are strong (the stronger, the more expensive), like the Black Jacques (below).  Be sure to check the ABV and cost before ordering.  One other note – Brew Dogs has the coolest bathroom done in an original Super Mario Bros. theme!  It is seriously amazing.

ST. CLARA BIERHAUS

Another of my favorite beer bars in Stockholm is St. Clara Bierhaus, right in the heart of Gamla Stan.  We randomly ended up here after our food tour – we popped in for a drink to take a break from the cold and stayed for a bit!

This bar is more old school and charming than the others, and seemed to specialize more in European craft beer than U.S.  The bartenders here were very friendly and gave us a number of samples of beers that interested us!  Food was also served, but we did not eat.  If you are looking for a drink in Gamla Stan, check this out!  They also have really cool dog/bar posters outside!

 

PUBOLOGI

In addition to the named bars, Dan and I also did a beer pairing dinner at Pubologi in Gamla Stan. While not cheap, the 5 course dinner and beer pairing was not terribly unreasonable and very delicious!  Pubologi is pretty beer-centeric and a decent splurge!  Read about our experience here!

STEAL OUR TRIP

Akkurat – Prexis AB c/o Restaurang Akkurat, Hornsgatan 18, 118 20 Stockholm, Telefon: 08-644 00 15

Oliver Twist – Repslagargatan 6, 118 46 Stockholm, Tel.: +46 8-640 05 66, restaurang@olivertwist.se

Brew Dogs – Eriksgatan 56, 11234 Stockholm, Tel.: 08 – 650 21 10

Santa Clara Bierhaus – Lilla Nygatan 17, 111 28 Stockholm, Tel.: 08-411 30 32

Pubologi – Stora Nygatan 20, Stockholm, Tel.:+46 8 506 400 86

NOTE – many of these bars are only open after 3:00 p.m. or so, plan accordingly!

ON A BUDGET

Honestly, drinking out in Stockholm is expensive!  We did not really see any “happy hours,” and beers consistently cost $10 US +.  I recommend hitting the Systembolaget (the state run liquor store), which sells a number of Swedish, European and U.S. craft beers and ciders.  Prices at the liquor store were surprisingly reasonably.  Alternatively, you can bring a bottle of wine over with you to enjoy before heading out!