Tasmanian Craft Beer Guide

Launceston & Surrounds

Tandy’s Alehouse Elizabeth Street, Launceston

Tandy’s Alehouse has quickly garnered a reputation for having the most-diverse and quickest-rotating selection of tap beers in town. They showcase a lot of smaller Tasmanian and Australian breweries, as well as lesser-known international beers and some occasional special releases (especially from Tasmanian brewers). The stripped-back brick and wooden booths create a good vibe, and occasional live music adds another element to the tasting experience here.

Saint John Craft Beer Bar St John Street, Launceston

A local hangout for beer buffs since before craft beer was cool, Saint John have been onto a winning formula for a while. Part of that winning formula was an openness to allowing B.Y.O. food on site, from nearby eateries. Now, however, they have their own kitchen and are able to pump out delicious burgers, tacos and small plates alongside their famously rich offering of craft beers: up to 17 different taps, and over a hundred bottled and canned beers from around Tasmania and beyond.

Launceston and the North Coast is the starting point for many tour itineraries, like FLT’s 14-day Top Tasmania Getaway

Seven Sheds Brewery Crockers Street, Railton

Seven Sheds was co-founded by Willie Simpson, author of The Beer Bible, so you know you’re in good hands here. In operation since 2008 in Railton (just an hour west of Launceston), Seven Sheds are sticklers for tradition and heritage – especially when it comes to classic Kentish ales. They have often zigged when others in Tasmania’s microbrewery scene have zagged: in particular, their outstanding ales are typically closer to traditional, English-style ales than the more modern, bouncy IPAs. The results of this dedication to tradition speak for themselves, with multiple awards including “Top Ale” at the Taste of Tasmania Food and Beverage Festival.

Little Rivers Victoria Street, Scottsdale

The Little Rivers “brewery door and bar” is open late every Friday, offering a colourful range of their handcrafted beers. From German-style dark lager to juicy, special-release sours and the huge and hefty Kumma Gutza double IPA, these guys brew something to suit all tastes. On other days (except Monday and Tuesday), the brewery and tap room closes at 4pm, but Little Rivers also set up a mobile van on the nearby Derby River. This is a popular spot for cyclists who come to enjoy the world-famous Blue Derby Mountain Bike Trails – a great activity for any visitors on their way from Launceston to explore the Bay of Fires and the east coast.

See more about exploring the east coast on FLT’s 12-day Discover Tasmania self-drive itinerary

Coles Bay & Surrounds

Iron House Brewery White Sands Resort, Four Mile Creek

Situated halfway between the Bay of Fires and Freycinet inside White Sands Resort, Iron House Brewery is part of a humming, brewing-distilling-wine-making operation on a stunning piece of coastline. The location is pretty special, but the real attraction for visiting beer lovers is the handful of housemade brews that showcase a unique take on some classics, all made exclusively from local Tasmanian ingredients. Fans of darker brews should try the sweet milk stout and honeyed porter, while the big, booming XPA balances mega hoppiness with a fresh crispness, and the east coast Pale Ale is a popular favourite far beyond its namesake region.

Malting Lagoon Guest House & Brewery Sophie Crescent, Coles Bay

Beer-lovers looking for a place to stay near Freycinet National Park should look no further. Offering a unique experience, this Coles Bay craft brewery also lets you stay over. In fact, tastings are only available to in-house guests, with head-turning releases like an Eastern European Smoked Wheat Beer, the enormously dangerous, Covid19-inspired Steep Descent DIPA (9%), and a rich, rounded, chocolatey and coffee-hued Dark Times Black Midi, which tastes much fuller than its 3.7% alc./vol strength would suggest. If you can’t stay over, don’t fear: a number of independent bars and venues in Coles Bay also stock Malting Lagoon’s offerings on tap.

The Freycinet Peninsula, Coles Bay, Wineglass Bay and more of the Southeast are included on many of FLT’s self-drive itineraries, including the 10-day Tasmania and Bruny Island Escape and the 8-day Taste of Tasmania tours

Hobart & Surrounds

Two Metre Tall Farmhouse Ale & Cider Lyell Highway, Hayes

Two Metre Tall offer an authentic, farm-to-glass beer-tasting experience, with a dedication to locality and traceability. Owners Jane and Ashley Huntington grow their own hops and barley, on site, at Charlemont farm, about 45 minutes outside Hobart in the Derwent Valley. They aren’t afraid to experiment in creating unique tastes, employing spontaneous fermentation and using their own locally grown fruit in their beer making (as well as cider). Pop in for a hand-pumped pint at the farmhouse, where they also have bottle sales and free tastings. They allow picnics and B.Y.O food, and even provide BBQ facilities for your convenience

Captain Bligh’s Warwick Street, Hobart

Although it appears old – being located inside the historic Tasmanian Brewery Building (which housed brewers as far back as the 1830s), and adhering strictly to the 1800s colonial laws of Van Diemen's Land (that only locally grown Tasmanian ingredients may be used in brewing) – Captain Bligh’s is actually anything but. Instead, it was founded in 2013 by Steve and Karen Brook. If you’re in Hobart on the third Friday of any month, don’t miss the monthly tasting session here, where a makeshift bar is set up between bags of malt and hops for keen beer enthusiasts to taste Brook’s latest signature releases.

As well as having great beer, bars and dining, Hobart is also the starting point for FLT’s Two Week Best of Tasmania Road Trip, to explore more of the island

T-Bone Brewing Elizabeth Street, North Hobart

A popular brew pub right in the hubbub of North Hobart’s main bar and restaurant strip, T-Bone is an urban brewery that uses grains grown on the Bignell family property, under an hour north of town in the Southern Midlands. Memorable seasonal releases from founder Tom Bignell have included a tangy, Belgian-style saison infused with yellow nectarines, a crisp, clear watermelon wheat beer, a blood-orange, German-style Helles, and a surprisingly smooth peanut-butter porter. The brew pub has up to 12 on offer at any one time, as well as tasty shared plates and nibbles. Brewery tours need to be booked in groups of 8+.

Moo Brew Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Berriedale

This may be the only place in the world where you can do craft beer tastings – of brews made in-house – while visiting a world-class art museum. Although that’s no longer strictly true, with Moo Brew’s operation having upscaled and moved from MONA to its current location, 11km north, in Bridgewater, this brewery, created by MONA gallery founder David Walsh, is definitely a stop worth putting on the itinerary. Among the core range, the hefeweizen is popular, with just the right amount of banana aroma; while the perfectly balanced, tangy and malty-sweet ‘Belgo’ is particularly refreshing on hot days or after gallery strolls.

Tack a beer tasting at MONA onto other delicious highlights on FLT’s 8-day Wine and Dine Self Drive Tour

Ready to start tasting the good stuff? If you want to fit in as many breweries and tasting rooms mentioned above as you can, then check out a range of self-drive itineraries that can include them as stops along the way.

Or, have a chat with the First Light Travel Travel Designers, who can help you make up your own itinerary.

Take a look at First Light Travel’s dedicated Tasmania blog page to find out everything you need to know about getting there, getting around, and where to stay.