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While wine might be Georgia’s prime drinking focus, followed by the national spirit known as chacha, I was pleasantly surprised also to find a ton of great craft beer in Tbilisi. Not only does the city have some excellent beer bars and breweries, but some of these breweries are even incorporating the country’s unique flavors into their beers.
I’m a huge fan of places doing that, as it turns what can be a homogenous commodity into something local and special. It’s one of my favorite reasons for checking out the local beer scene wherever I travel. Yes, a few passable local beers produced by EFES Georgia (Karvi, Taati & Natakhtari) are widely available, but dig a little deeper, and you’ll find some truly original stuff. Here are my favorite places to drink beer in Tbilisi.
The Best Craft Beer Bars in Tbilisi, Georgia
Process Craft Beer Bar
Process Craft Beer Bar has the best security guard of any beer bar in Tbilisi. Little Teddy keeps an eye on the neighborhood to make sure nothing bad happens on his watch.
His work is important. Inside the bar, there’s an excellent selection of Georgian craft beer to protect. There are four taps, most of which are their own, along with a packed fridge. The bar also functions as a bottle shop with beers available to-go.
Here, I had one of the most original & adventurous beers in Georgia. Megobrebi is one of the top Georgian breweries. One of their creations is Khinkalien, a beer made with the flavors of the Georgian soup dumpling known as khinkali.
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The beer had all the spices of khinkali, plus the saltiness of the broth, since it was a gose. It was an interesting and unique beer, though I’m not sure it’s something I need to try again since I’m not a massive gose fan.
In addition to the great local beer, Process Craft Beer Bar also has small bar games, and visitors can write & draw on the wood panels covering everything.
Address: 19 Merab Kostava St, Tbilisi 0108, Georgia (map)
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Sma Craft Beer Bar
Sma Craft Beer Bar is so small that there isn’t even room for the “ll” in its name. However, while the bar is cozy, it’s still well-optimized, with decent seating inside despite the limited space.
The beer selection includes eight taps, several of which were from the Georgian brewery Seahorse when I visited. They also have a fridge with a dozen or so other beers. A food menu includes burgers, fries, and a few other things. There are also some board & card games available.
I liked the vibe at Sma Craft Beer Bar. The bartender played a mix of music I love, including Joy Division, Alex Lahey, and some other indie rock. We also all chatted for a while, remembering some guys from Georgia who played basketball in the NBA. Nikoloz Tskitishvili, anyone?
Address: 48 Lado Asatiani St, Tbilisi, Georgia (map)
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Abragi
Abragi is another excellent place to find the best local beer.
While I can confirm it myself, they also have a wood chip wall proudly painted with “only Georgian craft beer.”
The bar has six taps and a large fridge with bottles and cans from seemingly every brewery in the country, including some I hadn’t seen elsewhere.
Address: 20 Shalva Dadiani St, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia (map)
Black Dog
There are a couple of Black Dog beer bars in Tbilisi, each with different vibes.
The Sololaki location feels more like a neighborhood bar where you can stop in for a quiet pint and some food (with your dog, of course). It has movie posters on the walls, including murals from The Big Lebowski, one of my favorite films. They really tie the room together.
The other location is at the Wine Factory, an area with several cocktail bars and restaurants. That location is a much bigger space with a more raucous atmosphere. Good luck finding the restrooms.
Both bars have a full taplist of beers from Number 8 Craft Brewery.
Black Dog also operates a seasonal bar at the Gudauri ski resort.
Address: 33 Lado Asatiani St, Tbilisi, Georgia (map) – Sololaki
Address: 1 Vasil Petriashvili Street, Tbilisi 0179, Georgia (map) – Wine Factory
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Hopa Taproom
Hopa Taproom is a small, no-frills beer bar with a few bar stools and then a few other tables in a back room. That back room also has a hop lamp hanging in it. Given the small space, the place can get loud with even just a few people inside. Most people sit outside on the front patio when the weather is nice.
The bar has 12 taps plus a fridge with some local cans and bottles, along with a few Belgians. They offer flights of 4 draft beers.
I enjoyed the Svia Black IPA, brewed by a brewery at an inn & ranch in Signagi in Georgia’s main wine region, Kakheti.
Address: Atoneli St, Tbilisi, Georgia (map)
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Optimist Craft Bar
Optimist Craft Bar can be a bit hard to find if you’re not paying attention. Although there is a sign along the street, it’s through a gate down an alleyway.
Inside, you’ll find ten taps of beer, cider, and mead.
Address: 7 Nato Vachnadze Street, T’bilisi 010, 7 Нато Вачнадзе, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia (map)
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The Best Taprooms & Breweries in Tbilisi, Georgia
Tsota Tsota Pub
Tsota Tsota Pub is the Tbilisi taproom for Megobrebi Brewery. It has a wide selection of beers (14 taps plus a couple of packed fridges), from its more straightforward recipes to its unique creations featuring Georgian ingredients. The brewpub also serves homemade craft liqueurs and has a food menu that includes burgers and other bar foods.
The lively & friendly bar is a perfect representation of the brewery, showcasing their desire to do something a little different and create a community based on friendship. “Megobrebi” means “friends” in Georgian.
Meogbrebi has some especially fascinating sours. I enjoyed the Kharcho, which is based on a traditional Georgian soup. It was like drinking a spicy ramen broth, which I mean in a good way.
Address: 7/20 Geronti Kikodze St, Tbilisi, Georgia (map)
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Number 8 Craft Brewery – Craft Beer Club & BBQ House
Number 8 Craft Brewery has a couple of locations in Tbilisi.
The first, Number 8 Craft Beer Club, is located a bit outside the city center, but it’s right along major bus routes in the Vake neighborhood. The bar has football art on the walls and a couple of TVs showing matches. It has a full food menu.
The bar’s 8 taps mostly serve its own beers; however, there are also a couple of refrigerators with beers from top Georgian breweries such as Underground Microbrewery and Megobrebi.
Like Megobrebi, Underground Microbrewery also works with uniquely local flavors. It was here that I had one of the best beers I drank in Georgia, a collaboration between Underground Microbrewery and Sma Craft Beer Bar. It was a sour ale based on the Georgian plum sauce known as tkemali.
The brewery also operates #8 BBQ House, which has a smaller selection of just their beers. It’s a larger space on the top floor of a building in Chugureti. It hosts live music and other events.
Address: 22 Irakli Abashidze Street, Tbilisi, Georgia (map) – Craft Beer Club
Address: 133 Davit Aghmashenebeli Ave, Tbilisi 0113, Georgia (map) – BBQ House
2 Tona Craft Beer and Brewery
2 Tona Craft Beer and Brewery has multiple locations in Tbilisi, including their main brewery just outside town.
The brewery’s taproom near Freedom Square is a sizeable multilevel space, including a large patio.
Inside, there’s foosball as well as sports on TV.
The beer selection is all their own beer, with styles that are dependable rather than adventurous. I enjoyed the Prague Czech Pilsner. There’s also a full food menu, including Georgian favorites such as khachapuri and khinkali.
Address: Viktor Kupradze St, Tbilisi, Georgia (map) – Brewery
Address: 8 Galaktion Tabidze St, Tbilisi 0190, Georgia (map) – Taproom – Old Tbilisi/Sololaki
Address: 2 Vazha Pshavela Ave, Tbilisi 0160, Georgia (map) – Taproom – Saburtalo
Address: მუხიანი, 10 Aleko Gobronidze St, Tbilisi 1072, Georgia (map) – Taproom – Mukhiani
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9 Mta
9 Mta is a bright bar with fantastic views of the Kura River. It’s just below the Dry Bridge in Dedaena Park.
The bar also has a wood fireplace to keep things nice and toasty when it’s cold.
Two of the bar’s nice taps are MTA beer. When I visited, one was an IPA and one was a Helles. There was also a selection of bottles & cans, including lots of Brewdog & Mikkeller and a few other Georgian beers.
A second, newer 9 MTA location in Vake is more food-focused.
Address: Dedaena Park, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia (map) – Dry Bridge – Dedaena Park
Address: 64 Zakaria Paliashvili Street, Tbilisi 0179, Georgia (map) – Vake
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Here are some other great Tbilisi tours & activities.
Need a place to stay? Check out these Tbilisi hotel options. I enjoyed my stay at the Moxy Tbilisi, and the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel is another excellent option.
