Our list of the best breweries in Melbourne goes like this.

With two venues (including the show-stopping Preston venue pictured above), Moon Dog Craft Brewery is one of the best craft brewers in Melbourne. You’ll love the variety of beers on tap, choose from pale ales, lagers, hazy IPAs, and a range of seasonal beers that are rotating on tap. There’s even something for those who don’t drink beer, with plenty of wine, ciders and cocktails to choose from.

Beer lovers are in for a treat at Stomping Ground Brewery & Beer Hall. The Collingwood-based brewery offers up some world-class beers including the Bunker Porter, Smash series fruit sour beers, Gipps St pale ale, Hop Stomper IPA, Laneway Lager and the Little Foot IPA just to name a few. At the Beer Hall, you can enjoy the warm communal vibes and some great grub along with your beers. Grilled Barramundi, Confit Duck, 300g Scotch filet plus pizzas and sharing dishes are just some of what you can expect from the menu. Plus you can get a free brewery tour every Saturday and Sunday.

3 Ravens Brewery is the oldest independent Melbourne brewery and bar. Once upon a time, this place was ‘Pleasure Palace’, and the theme *kinda* continues inside with an eclectic back street boozer vibe that only the locals know about. The beers on tap include a mix of American IPAs, English classics and delicious barrel-aged ales. Whatever your taste buds are wanting, there is sure to be something here to quench your thirst. Not the best brewery for food, there’s only a selection of snacks, including charcuterie, cheese, bread, pickles and conservas.

The Craft and Co first opened its converted warehouse doors back in 2015 and has been keeping the taps flowing ever since. It’s not just a brewery though, it’s also a bottle shop, has its own kitchen and is a great place for functions and events. The skilled brewers here like to keep things fresh by mixing things up. Serving up beers for every type of palate, IPAs, fruity fermented sours, and delicious lagers it’s no wonder they’re considered one of the best breweries Melbourne has to offer.

Yet another Collingwood brewery we think is worth the visit, Molly Rose Brewing Co is a small brewery with a big heart. We recommend trying the Vegan Dessert Stout, an almond, coconut, oat and coffee milk stout that’s online anything we’ve ever had. The food menu here also hits the spot – with heaps of vegan and vegetarian options including mushroom noodles and drunken fried rice.

This Collingwood-based brewery and tasting room offers award-winning pale ale from tank to table. The Incubator’s laid-back warehouse is the perfect setting for this laid-back micro-brewery. It offers some premium craft beers including beers like Session, an Indian pale ale that packs a hoppy punch or the citrusy new world IPA, Squish; a blend of fresh fruit, bitterness and hops.

Local Brewhouse, Westside Ale Works offers made-to-order hand-stretched pizza and pints from Thursday through Sunday. It’s a place where Melbournites can take part in the tasting of premium beers in a comfy and relaxed Brewhouse with beers that are inspired by the United States West Coast brewing scene. Think IPAs, Pale Ales, and Double IPAs alongside seasonal beers.

Home of the famous James Squire Brewhouse, this is one of the best breweries Melbourne has to offer. You can enjoy hand-crafted beers at the Crafty Squire, including pale ales, pilsners, porters and more. Expect some great food to go with your pint too as it’s one of the only microbreweries that serves up full pub meals.

Tiny micro-brewery, Henry St Brewhouse brews some of the finest ales and beers with a whole lot of passion. The bar is constantly stocked with its core beer range highlighted by a pale ale, German wheat beer, amber ale, dark IPA and an English summer-style IPA. You’ll also love the rotating selection of new creations and experiments right on tap at the bar.

Richmond’s Mountain Goat Beer is offering up handcrafted Aussie ales at one of the best Melbourne breweries. They’ve been around for 20 years with many changes in that time and have established themselves as an industry leader in the craft beer scene. At the taproom, you’ll find a rotating stream of all the favourites as well as limited and experimental releases and barrel-aged beer. All their beers are naturally brewed – their India Pale Ale was Australia’s first certified organic beer and the team has a healthy commitment to lowering the environmental impact of the brewery.

Bad Shepherd Brewing Co is the brainchild of husband and wife team Dereck and Diti Hales and offers some seriously punchy craft beers. The space is shared by two breweries and another husband and wife duo to boot, Wolf of the Willows, both beers are featured on the taps and offer some tasty ales and some awesome smoky American barbeque to go with it.

Another Collingwood local, The Mill Brewery is set up in what once was an old mechanics workshop. The core range includes an Australian pils, Jack D-Licious golden ale, The Mosaic Pale Ale and The Dark Lord IPA. Apart from the core range, we love how these guys are constantly changing things up on the taps, current brews include a delicious wheat beer combined with berries called Bohemian Raspberry that we can’t get enough of (it’s dangerous!)

Urban Alley Brewery is all about sustainability while brewing incredible tasting beers. It shares resources with the next-door neighbour distillery to reduce energy consumption and has its own biowaste plant. Its four core beers include a signature pale ale, an American pale ale, IPA, and a crispy lager. Grab a pint and a bit and watch the brewing process through the huge glass windows or head out to the beer garden in the summer or the central double fireplace to stay toasty in the winter.

CBCo Brewing is serving up plenty of good beer for good times for an afternoon drink or a night out, depending on what you’re feeling. Pull up a seat at the bar and try some of their tasty concoctions. Their light and drinkable style beer is what makes them one of the best craft breweries Melbourne has to offer. They have a whole range of IPAs, ciders, draught, dark pale and more all served in tinnies of course. The food menu is also packed with goodies – we love the hot honey chicken and funghi pizza.

2 Brothers was, as you can probably guess, created by two brewing brothers in Moorabbin. Brothers Andrew and David Ong are serving up some deliciously different craft beers. From The Grizz American amber ale to the “Original rice lager” Kung Foo, there’s something for everyone so head to the beer hall and get tasting. Not just for the beer though, food lovers are also catered for at the beer hall with a tasty menu of pizzas and burgers.

As you may be able to guess, Dainton Brewery is a family affair. Founded by father and son Dan and Kev are putting out some extremely decent beers including a core range of IPA, Pale ale, XSA and a draught, all award winners might we add. More experimental beers include a fruity lineup of flavour-infused IPAs, dubbels, sours and lagers, like the Blood Orange New England Rye IPA, a hit of Vit C can never be a bad thing. PSA- their vegan burger also goes down very nicely with a beer or two.

The Footscray-based Hop Nation Brewing Co started out as a small operation that just grew and grew. It’s independently owned and operated and since the taproom opened in 2016, it has cemented its place in the craft beer scene. The brewery offers 15 taps of glorious beer like The Kalash, a Russian imperial stout, partially aged in bourbon barrels with subtle oak tar and spice flavours or The Dawn, a double Neipa that is hazy, juicy and packed full of vibrant hops flavour. Whatever you choose, you’ll be in for a treat at this fantastic Melbourne brewery.

Fury and Son are run by father and son and you’re probably wondering, why fury? Well, let’s just say the father in the operation gets things done with a temper. The core range features an American pale ale, an IPA and a new world pilsner. On top of that, you can get seasonal brews like the mildly Peated scotch ale and a classic American red ale delivering citrus and pine needle aromas.

In the heart of Brunswick East, the local brewery Temple Brewing Company is something special. The range here includes pale ales, IPAs, pilsner and American stout. The Brewhouse bar combines all that lovely beer with a comfy dining area, a dog-friendly beer garden and a delicious menu. Expect burgers, fried chicken and pork belly. We love the extra effort these guys go to immerse you in the process – you can tour the brewery for a fun bit of education before things get a bit messy.

Just 15 minutes outside the CBD, Tallboy & Moose offer up some exclusive craft beers and Scottish-themed food at their Melbourne brewery. The beers are always rotating which keeps things fresh and exciting so you can expect some delish amber ales, IPAs, crispy lagers, sour beers, milk stouts and more. On top of that is a comprehensive list of ciders and wine plus they sometimes have some guest beers on tap to shake things up a bit. The food is provided in-house by Wee Man’s Kitchen and is a modern take on Scottish grub like the Mussels Fae Brussels, The great Glasgow fry up and more!

Boatrocker Barrel Room are the founder of Australia’s first barrel room and cellar door and started from humble beginnings as being sold out the back of a car. The barrel room features 8 rotating taps of Boatrocker beers as well as spirits. Sample some of the finest craft beers in Melbourne like imperial stouts, pale ale, pilsner or the new wild ale series.

Bonehead Brewing is another two-man operation with the taps open from Thursdays to Sundays. The relaxed vibe and industrial décor is the perfect spot for locals to meet up for a drink. Nine taps offer Bonehead’s core range plus more like the Sweet Pea dark lager or their famous Prickled Pink, a wheat beer infused with prickly pear. Regular food trucks also stop by to keep visitors well-fed.

Burnley Brewing’s bold and distinctive beer flavours are matched perfectly with their classic Italian cuisine like hand-rolled pasta and stone oven pizzas. Come for a pils or a pale ale but stay for the oatmeal sweet stout. In collaboration with The Mill House, the oatmeal sweet stout is a creamy full-bodied and silky smooth pour guaranteed to knock your socks off.

This craft brewery is one of our favourites in Melbourne, thanks to the delectable core range, epic collaborations with other local breweries and the stellar food menu. The core range here includes The Cheeky Victorian Lager, Perfect Change Pale Ale, 5 Eyes IPA, Mr Albert Stout, Fiva Cider and an English-style Ale. For food, we can’t get enough of the birria tacos with beer-braised brisket, cheese, guac and pico de Gallo.

This list was compiled through online research, commentary and expert reviews. Moreover, we leaned on author Aimee O’Keefe’s own expertise – as North Melbourne with a recently developed love of beer, she knows a thing or two about where to go for top-quality pints in and around Melbourne.

If you’re looking for other things to do in and around Melbourne, we’ve got you covered. You can check out our list of fun things to do in Melbourne, or If you’re hungry, check out our list of the best Japanese restaurants in Melbourne or the best steak restaurants in Melbourne. If you’re full, we can also help you with your search for the best live music venues in Melbourne.