Editorial
Rio's craft beer scene lives almost entirely in Botafogo, where a cluster of brewpubs and taprooms have pulled the city past its frozen-chopp habit. We checked every venue on this list against its own taps, press coverage, and Google Maps before publishing. Five survived the cut, all of them open and pouring.
Botafogo's brewpub of record since 2014, Hocus Pocus pours its own Carioca-certified labels across 14 taps, including the Magic Trap Belgian golden ale at 9 percent. The crowd packs the shared wood tables after 9 PM, burgers and IPAs in hand. Come hungry, come loud, and order the Magic Trap if you want the night to escalate.
Noi built its name on award-winning labels, and the Botafogo taproom on Rua Capitao Salomao is where to taste them at the source. Go for the Fiorella American IPA or the Cioccolato Imperial Russian Stout, dark enough to end an evening. It is best on a slow weeknight, when the staff have time to walk you through the lineup over one long table.
BREWTECO turned the boteco ritual into a craft beer chain, and the Botafogo branch sits on the shopping mall rooftop with a full wall of taps and live music at weekends. Locals treat it as a first stop, draft in hand by early evening. Go Friday for the band, claim a rail seat, and work through the rotating Brazilian pours.
Comuna runs on three things: cold beer, homemade burgers, and an art crowd that never quite leaves. The stone mansion in Botafogo keeps a low-lit patio for stand-up drinking and pop-up film nights upstairs. The beer list leans local and casual rather than encyclopedic. Show up for the burger, stay for the gallery energy, and aim for after 9 PM when the patio fills.
The Irish Pub in Botafogo is the rare Rio room that takes both craft taps and live football seriously, the only bar in the area showing the English Premier League. Regulars on Yelp rate the burger as highly as the beer, and the doors stay open until 1 AM. Best on a match night, pint in hand, with the room roaring at the screen.
Botafogo is the whole story. Hocus Pocus and Cervejaria Noi brew on or near the premises, BREWTECO stacks the taps high, and Comuna and The Irish Pub round out the spread for people who want a burger with their IPA.
Time your night for after 9 PM, when the shared tables fill and the rooms get loud. Weeknights suit a careful tasting at Noi, weekends belong to the music at BREWTECO.
Hocus Pocus in Botafogo is Rio's most established brewpub, pouring 14 taps of its own Carioca-certified beers since 2014. For sheer range, BREWTECO's rooftop branch offers a full wall of rotating Brazilian craft taps.
Botafogo. All five bars on this list sit in or around Botafogo, which has become Rio's main hub for craft beer thanks to brewpubs like Hocus Pocus and the Cervejaria Noi taproom.
Try the Hocus Pocus Magic Trap Belgian golden ale at 9 percent, or Cervejaria Noi's Fiorella American IPA. Both are brewed locally and pour fresh at their Botafogo taprooms.
Most fill up between 9 and 11 PM. BREWTECO is best on a Friday for live music, while the Cervejaria Noi taproom is calmer on weeknights when staff have time to guide a tasting.