Craft Beer In Inverness: The Best Breweries, Beer Pubs, & Taprooms
Inverness / Food & Drink / Craft Beer
Craft beer feels firmly woven into the fabric of Inverness’s food and drink scene. What stands out, at least to me, is how rooted it is in independence - small producers, thoughtful brewing, and a focus on quality over scale.
You see it both in Inverness and across the surrounding Highlands, where breweries are constantly experimenting. Whether that’s crisp, well-executed lagers or more hop-forward IPAs, it's a breath of fresh air for beer aficionados.
It’s also part of what makes the wider evening scene so enjoyable, with a balance of stylish bars and craft-beer pubs scattered around the city centre. Inverness has a way of pairing great beer with intimate spaces, local character, and, more often than not, live music drifting in the background.
Here’s our very favourite places to drink craft beer in Inverness.
Quick Guide: Craft Beer in Inverness
MacGregor’s: For a well-rounded introduction, start here. A relaxed, genuinely local pub with a frequently rotating tap list and regular live music.
Black Isle Bar: The closest thing to a true taproom experience in the city, serving the brewery’s full range in a lively central setting.
Moonshine: This is the go-to spot for drinks alongside food stalls in the Victorian Market, with a well-curated mix of local favourites and international craft beers.
Where to find Craft beer in Inverness
What you won’t find here are sprawling taproom districts or headline-grabbing brewery tours. Instead, the craft beer scene in Inverness offers something more grounded, very much shaped by independent producers and a strong sense of place.
MacGregor’s Bar
For a well-rounded introduction, start with MacGregor’s. This is the kind of place that feels immediately local: think warm, fun, and reliably good. Throw in a genuinely friendly bar crew, frequent live trad sessions that give the space real energy, and a wee beer garden.
The tap list leans heavily toward Highland producers, with core pours from Dog Falls Brewing Co. and Cromarty Brewing Co., alongside rotating guest beers from Cairngorm Brewery, Swannay Brewery, and Brew Toon.
If you’re only picking one stop to get a feel for Inverness’s beer scene, this is a very good place to start.
Dog Falls Brewing Co
One of the best breweries on the Inverness beer scene, award-winning nanobrewery Dog Falls Brewing Co., has quickly built a strong local following. The distinctive and brilliant range has a lineup that includes amber lager, red ale, hazy pales, and oatmeal stout - all well-executed, balanced, and dangerously good.
Dog Falls' is always the beer we default to when we see it on tap. And our top choice at the moment is the Red Hook, a delicious red ale. But their juicy, tropical Colloidoscope pale ale is a summer essential, while their oatmeal stouts are perfect for winter.
There’s no dedicated taproom (yet), but their beers regularly appear on rotation in MacGregors, The Malt Room, Dores Inn, The Highlander, and Moonshine.
Black Isle Bar (Taproom)
Arguably the most recognisable name in Highland craft beer, Black Isle Brewery is one of Scotland’s early pioneers of organic brewing. Their Inverness taproom, Black Isle Bar, is easily one of the best craft beer spots in Scotland.
There’s a wide range on tap, from easy-drinking lagers and blondes to hop-forward ales, IPAs, and rich stouts and porters, alongside seasonal and funky small-batch specials.
We think there’s enough variety here to suit all tastes, whether you’re easing in or already deep into your craft beer phase. But if you’re not sure what to order, we recommend doing a DIY beer flight. Ask the staff for tips or order a selection of small, third-pints.
The space is bright and always lively, and trust me when I say the addition of stonebaked pizzas makes it somewhere you’ll likely linger longer than planned! There’s also a rooftop beer garden, which we love on a summer evening.
Black Isle Brewery (Tours & Bottle Shop)
If you have time, the short journey out to Black Isle Brewery itself is well worth it. Sitting just across the Moray Firth from Inverness, they offer tours of the brewery, but even a simple visit to the bottle shop is rewarding.
It’s exceptionally well-stocked, with distinctive cans, limited releases, and a good range of glassware if you’re tempted to take a piece of it home.
If you can’t make it out here, you won’t miss out entirely, and the Inverness bar carries much of the same range. But there’s something about seeing where it’s all made that adds an extra layer to the experience.
Cromarty Brewing Co
A little further afield on the Black Isle, Cromarty Brewing Co. has long been a staple of the Highland craft beer scene. This brewery is best known for producing characterful, well-balanced beers that feel both approachable and distinctive.
There’s no taproom, but their brewery at Cromarty (on the Black Isle) has a brilliant bottle shop packed with their range of lagers, ales, and stouts.
And the beer is a familiar presence on tap lists throughout Inverness and further afield (head to MacGregors for perfectly poured pints). For us, the iconic Happy Chappy, a new-wave pale ale, is the standout beer.
Moonshine (Victorian Market)
Tucked inside the Victorian Market, Moonshine is a small but thoughtfully curated bottle shop that stocks over 80 beers, covering both local producers and international favourites.
Our go-to here is usually something from Dog Falls Brewing Co., but half the appeal is trying something new, and we recently fell in love with Edinburgh-based Campervan Brewery and Loch Lomond Brewery thanks to this shop.
Pick up a couple of cans, grab food from one of the nearby market stalls, and settle in; Moonshine will sort you out with cups (and even ice and citrus if you’re hitting their pre-made cocktails), making it an easy, low-key way to enjoy the scene.
Uile-bheist Distillery & Brewery
Set along the banks of the River Ness, Uile-bheist ‘brewstillery’ combines beer and whisky production under one roof, with a strong emphasis on local ingredients.
The beer range is relatively small but full of crowd-pleasing options. The lager is light, crisp, and refreshing, with subtle floral and citrus notes, while the stout leans richer; think chocolate and espresso, without feeling heavy.
Inside, the space leans towards a dark, cosy bar rather than a taproom, and in warmer weather, the riverside beer garden is our top spot for summer pints.
The Dores Inn
If you find yourself along the shores of Loch Ness, make time for The Dores Inn.
Recently taken on and thoughtfully refreshed, the inn strikes a careful balance between modern comfort and its long-standing Highland character. You’ll find beers from Dog Falls Brewing Co. on tap, best enjoyed outside with views stretching across the loch.
On a clear day, with a pint in hand and the water in front of you, it’s one of the most memorable places to drink a beer anywhere in the Highlands.
Other Crafty Options…
Safe to say, there are other bars and pubs around the city that might not focus on beer but offer at least one craft option on tap. You’ll find Dog Falls on tap at The Malt Room and The Highlander, and beers from nearby Cairngorm Brewery at Babette.
