Estonia
Breweries on the map
Humalakoda
Opened in 2017 on the upper floor of the Balti Jaama Turg market hall, between the Old Town and the creative Telliskivi district, Humalakoda is Tallinn's most accessible brewpub. Its name puns on 'humal' (hops) and 'jumalakoda' (house of God), and sets the tone: here beer is a convivial religion. Behind the bar, a glass wall opens onto the small brewery where lagers, IPAs and special brews are born, served fresh on tap alongside generous pub food. A bright greenhouse atmosphere, a lively terrace overlooking the market and welcoming staff make it the perfect stop between market stalls or before exploring Telliskivi.
Põhjala Brewery
Founded in late 2011 by four homebrewing friends soon joined by Scottish brewer Chris Pilkington, Põhjala has grown into the largest craft brewery in the Baltic states and the only one from the region to enter RateBeer's world top 100. Its first beer, the imperial Baltic porter Öö, set the tone: deep dark porters, patient barrel ageing and ingredients foraged from Estonian forests. Since 2018 the brewery has occupied a converted submarine factory in the Noblessner shipyard on Tallinn's waterfront, with a glass-walled brewhouse, a 24-tap Tap Room serving Texas-style barbecue, a shop, daily tours and even a sauna. An unmissable stop on any beer trip to Tallinn.
Saku Õlletehas
Founded in 1820 by Count Karl Friedrich von Rehbinder on the grounds of his manor, Saku is Estonia's biggest brewery and the oldest still brewing continuously on its original site by the Vääna river. By 1899 it was the leading brewery of northern Estonia, complete with its own railway line to Tallinn. Owned by the Carlsberg Group since 2008, it brews the lager Saku Originaal, a national benchmark since 1993, alongside Baltic porters that carry on the old tradition. The site, twenty minutes from Tallinn, offers daily guided tours with tastings and a beer museum charting two centuries of Estonian brewing history.
Tanker Brewery
Born in Tallinn in 2014 at the height of Estonia's craft boom, Tanker made its name with Sauna Session, a beer flavoured with birch sauna whisks that became its best-seller and a mischievous symbol of local identity. In 2019 the brewery opened a factory twice the size in Jüri, just south of Tallinn, switching from bottles to cans and multiplying hoppy IPAs, fruited sours and generous stouts. Acquired by the Royal Unibrew group in 2021, Tanker keeps its irreverent tone and playful recipes, poured across the capital's best bars. An ideal gateway into Estonia's contemporary craft scene.
No brewery for this initial.