Best Craft Beer Bars in Oslo

Forty rotating taps and a team who can tell you the exact malt bill on anything they're pouring. Crow Bar sits squarely in the middle of Grünerløkka's bar corridor and operates as the neighbourhood's definitive craft beer destination. Norwegian breweries take most of the taps, with rotating guest lines from Belgian and American producers. Order the flights, four 100ml pours chosen by the staff give you a better education than any beer guide.

Oslo's most atmospheric brewpub occupies the vaulted cellars beneath a 19th-century building in Grünerløkka, where the tanks are visible through glass panels behind the bar and the beers pouring from them are brewed onsite. The flagship Oslo Pale Ale is cleaner than most Norwegian IPAs, the seasonal barrel-aged stout justifies the wait every winter, and the kitchen serves food that makes sense with the beer rather than competing with it.

One of Oslo's oldest dedicated beer bars, Haandverkerstuene stocks 150 bottled beers alongside 20 rotating taps, with a particular focus on traditional Norwegian and Belgian styles. The staff care deeply about what's on the menu and have the knowledge to match you with something specific rather than pointing at the board. Arrive on a Tuesday for the weekly specialty keg release.

Part of the Grünerløkka social fabric for over a century, Internasjonalen has transitioned from a traditional workers' association pub into one of the neighbourhood's most thoughtful craft beer selections without losing the honest atmosphere that made it matter in the first place. The terrace on Youngstorget fills on any afternoon with 10 degrees or more of sun, which in Oslo is the signal to move outside.

Technically a distillery bar rather than a craft beer bar, but Himkok earns its place on this list by serving some of the most interesting Norwegian-brewed beers in the city alongside their house spirits. The bar was ranked among the World's 50 Best Bars, the room is exceptional, and the staff understand flavour at a molecular level. Serious drinkers only need apply.

The neighbourhood's eponymous brewery runs an excellent taproom attached to the production facility, which means the beer arrives to your glass without having travelled further than a copper pipe. The range covers the full spectrum from a solid session lager to experimental sours, and the outdoor courtyard is one of the more pleasant summer drinking spots in the city when the Oslo weather decides to cooperate.

An upscale neighbourhood bar in Frogner that has quietly assembled one of Oslo's better craft selections without announcing it too loudly. The clientele is professional-class west-side Oslo, the menu rotates every few weeks based on what the buyers find interesting, and the oyster bar at the back gives you the kind of evening that makes the Norwegian price point feel completely justified.

Open only when the Oslo summer allows, which is more often than you'd think. Biergarten sits alongside the Akerselva river with long communal tables, rotating Norwegian taps, and the kind of relaxed outdoor atmosphere that transforms an ordinary weekday evening into something worth remembering. No reservations. Arrive early in summer or accept that you will be standing.

An Oslo institution that runs craft beer as a secondary offer to its tiki cocktail program, but does both well enough that the beer list competes with dedicated craft bars. The rum collection is extraordinary if you want to drift from beer, and the basement Tiki room is a convincing escape from the Oslo grey on nights when the weather closes in.

Operating since 1770, which makes it Oslo's oldest pub by a considerable margin. The building retains original features that no modern fit-out could replicate, and the recent upgrade to include a proper craft beer program has brought a new generation of drinkers into a room that deserves them. The barrel-aged Norwegians on the back bar list are exceptional for those who ask for them.

A fermentation-first bar that treats craft beer and natural wine as expressions of the same philosophy. Brutus draws the crowd that moves between both lists depending on the evening, and the owners' selection is informed by direct relationships with producers rather than catalogue purchasing. One of the city's better places to discover a Norwegian sour or gose you haven't tried before.

One of Oslo's more distinctive drinking environments: a greenhouse-style bar that grows its own herbs and botanicals and incorporates them into both the beer and cocktail menus. The seasonal tap list reflects what's currently growing, which creates a genuine connection between the glass and the building that most bars only simulate. Limited seating, so book ahead for weekends.

A west-side neighbourhood bar that has built a loyal local following on the basis of a properly curated eight-tap selection and staff who don't condescend when you ask questions about what's on. The 80s soundtrack and worn wooden interior make it feel like it's been here for decades, because it has. No pretension, good beer, honest prices for Oslo, which means merely expensive rather than alarming.