Turkey's Craft Beer Scene: A Growing Trend

By All Over InformationUpdated August 10, 20268 min read

For a country long associated with one national lager, the rise of Turkish craft beer has been remarkably fast. In little more than a decade, a small but passionate scene has grown from a handful of homebrewers into a network of breweries and taprooms stretching from Istanbul to Izmir and beyond. For beer travelers, Turkey is now a destination worth visiting. This guide explains how the scene developed, where to find the best breweries and bars, the styles Turkish brewers excel at, and how to taste your way through the country’s new drinks culture.

From One Lager to a Hundred Breweries

For most of the twentieth century, Turkish beer meant a single dominant national lager, served everywhere from beach bars to wedding halls. It was reliable and refreshing, but the choice stopped there: imported craft beer was expensive and rare, and the idea of a Turkish microbrewery was almost unheard of.

The turning point came in the 2010s, when a handful of determined homebrewers and entrepreneurs began opening small breweries in Istanbul and the Aegean coast. The early years were hard, but the first taprooms found an eager audience among young, urban Turks curious about flavors beyond the national lager.

Growth since then has been steady rather than explosive. New breweries open every year in cities across the country, beer festivals draw growing crowds, and supermarket shelves carry a widening range of domestic bottles, and the scene is still young, which is exactly what makes it interesting.

Why Turkish Craft Beer Tastes Different

Turkish craft brewers work in a distinctive environment, and it shows in the glass. Some use Turkish hops, which are gaining a reputation for their own character, and several experiment with local fruits, herbs, and spices that add flavors you will not find in European or American beers.

The Mediterranean climate shapes the brewing calendar. Many Turkish breweries brew year-round, but the long, hot summers influence the styles that dominate: crisp lagers, light wheat beers, and sessionable pale ales sell best, while the darker and stronger styles appear more in winter. This gives the Turkish scene a refreshing, drinkable character.

The most distinctive trend is the creative use of local ingredients: pomegranate, fig, and chestnut have all found their way into Turkish beers, along with regional herbs. The best of these experiments are genuinely original, and trying them is part of the fun.

Turkey's Craft Beer Scene: A Growing Trend — Photo by cierzobrewing on Pixabay

Istanbul: The Heart of the Scene

Istanbul is where Turkish craft beer started and where it remains most concentrated, with both breweries and taprooms on the European and Asian sides. The neighborhoods of Kadikoy on the Asian side and Karakoy, Besiktas, and Cihangir on the European side are the centers of the action.

Kadikoy in particular has become a beer lover’s destination, with several taprooms and bottle shops within walking distance of each other and the ferry terminals. The lively streets around Moda are full of bars pouring local beers. Karakoy, just across the Golden Horn, has a more industrial-chic feel, with breweries in converted warehouses along the waterfront.

The best approach for a visitor is simple: pick a neighborhood, walk between the taprooms, and taste flights wherever you stop. Most taprooms pour their own beers alongside guest taps from other Turkish breweries, which makes bar-hopping an efficient way to sample the scene.

The Aegean Coast: Brewing by the Sea

The Aegean coast, with its resort towns and expatriate communities, is the second great center of Turkish craft beer. Izmir, the region’s big city, has a growing number of breweries, while the coastal towns of Cesme, Alacati, and Bodrum host taprooms that cater to both locals and the summer crowds.

The style here leans lighter and more sessionable, suited to long, hot days by the sea. Expect to find plenty of pale ales, wheat beers, and light lagers, alongside a few more adventurous offerings. The seaside taprooms are among the most pleasant places to drink in Turkey, with terraces overlooking the water.

Bodrum deserves special mention. The town has embraced craft beer enthusiastically, and several venues in the old town pour local and national craft taps. During the summer season, the atmosphere is festive, and beer festivals occasionally land in the region. The Aegean is the best place to combine a beer tour with a classic Turkish seaside holiday.

The New Wave in Ankara and Beyond

Ankara, the capital, has developed a serious beer scene of its own, with a cluster of breweries and taprooms that serve the city’s large student and professional population. The bars of the Tunali Hilmi and Cankaya neighborhoods pour local craft beer alongside international favorites, and the scene has a younger, more alternative energy than Istanbul’s.

Beyond the big cities, craft beer is spreading to places that would have seemed unlikely a decade ago. Cappadocia has breweries serving the tourist crowds, the Black Sea coast has a few pioneers, and even the Mediterranean resort towns are getting their own taprooms. The distribution is uneven, but the trend is unmistakable.

For the traveler, this means that a craft beer is rarely more than a short walk away in any major Turkish city. The quality varies, as it does in any young scene, but the willingness to experiment and the enthusiasm of the brewers make even the small operations worth a visit.

Where to Find Turkish Craft Beer

Finding craft beer in Turkey is easy once you know where to look. The dedicated taprooms are the most reliable, and most major cities now have at least one. Bottle shops, known as beer markets in local parlance, stock a growing range of domestic craft bottles, and the better ones have knowledgeable staff who can guide you.

Supermarkets are catching up. The larger chains now stock a selection of domestic craft beers, usually in a dedicated section, and the choice has improved dramatically in recent years. The airport duty-free shops also carry some Turkish craft beer, which makes a handy last-minute purchase for the flight home.

The most exciting place to try a wide range is a beer festival. Turkey now hosts regular festivals in Istanbul, Izmir, and other cities, where dozens of breweries pour side by side. These events are welcoming, affordable, and the fastest way to understand the breadth and energy of the scene.

Styles to Seek Out and Styles to Skip

Turkish brewers have found their strengths. The lagers are a clear highlight, with several breweries making versions that outperform the industrial standard by a wide margin. The pale ales and IPAs are generally good, if sometimes conservative by international standards, and the wheat beers are perfect for the climate.

The darker styles, porters and stouts, are less common and more variable, though the best examples are excellent. The sour and experimental beers are where the scene gets interesting: Turkish brewers’ use of local fruit and herbs creates genuinely original flavors, and these are the beers most worth seeking out.

As for what to skip, the advice is simple: avoid anything aiming purely at novelty. The gimmick beers, heavy on added sugar or odd ingredients, rarely represent the best of the scene. The core range of a good Turkish brewery, its lager, pale ale, and wheat beer, is almost always the most reliable measure of its quality.

The Culture of Drinking in Turkey

Understanding how Turks drink helps you enjoy the scene more. Beer is served cold and fresh, and the taproom culture is relaxed and social, with food an important part of the experience. Many taprooms serve snacks and full meals, and pairing beer with Turkish meze is a genuinely excellent combination.

Turkey’s drinking culture operates within certain social boundaries. Alcohol is widely available in cities and tourist areas, but it is not served everywhere, and public consumption is more regulated than in some European countries. Respecting local norms, drinking in venues rather than streets, is both courteous and practical.

The craft beer crowd in Turkey skews young, urban, and international-minded, and English is widely spoken in taprooms. It is a welcoming scene, and the brewers and bar staff are usually happy to talk about their work. Asking questions is the best way to learn, and the enthusiasm is contagious.

Planning a Craft Beer Trip to Turkey

A craft beer trip to Turkey works best with Istanbul as its center. Give yourself two or three evenings to explore the taprooms of Kadikoy and Karakoy, and consider a day trip to the breweries of the wider region. Most Istanbul breweries offer tours by arrangement, though booking ahead is essential.

If you have more time, add the Aegean coast, combining beer with the region’s other pleasures. Izmir makes a good base, with its own scene and easy access to the coastal towns. A week can comfortably cover both Istanbul and the Aegean, and you will come home with a genuinely different picture of Turkish drinks.

One final practical point: prices for craft beer in Turkey are higher than for the national lager, but still modest by Western European and American standards. The taprooms are affordable, the food is excellent, and the experience of watching a young scene grow is worth the trip on its own.

The Future of the Turkish Craft Beer Scene

The direction of travel is clear: more breweries open each year, the quality improves, and the export market is beginning to open. The next decade will almost certainly bring consolidation, with the strongest brands growing while others fade.

Collaboration is a defining feature of the young scene: Turkish brewers share recipes, ingredients, and ideas freely, and joint brews are common, keeping the scene friendly and open to newcomers.

For visitors, the timing is perfect: the scene is old enough to have excellent beer and young enough to feel adventurous, and the enthusiasm of the people making it is contagious.

Whether you arrive as a beer enthusiast or a curious beginner, the scene welcomes you, and the beer in your glass will taste like nowhere else.

Frequently asked questions

Is Turkish craft beer available outside the big cities?

Availability varies. Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, and the main tourist centers like Bodrum and Cappadocia all have taprooms or bars pouring craft beer. Smaller towns rely on supermarket bottles, and the choice is thinner. If craft beer matters to you, base your trip in the major cities and check ahead in smaller destinations.

What Turkish craft beer styles should I try first?

Start with the lagers, which consistently outperform the industrial standard, then move to the pale ales and wheat beers that suit the climate. The most distinctive beers use local ingredients like pomegranate, fig, and regional herbs, and these are worth seeking out in taprooms or festivals for a truly Turkish flavor.

Do Turkish craft breweries offer tours?

Several do, especially in Istanbul and the Aegean region, but tours are usually by appointment and often in Turkish or limited English. It is best to contact breweries directly in advance. Taprooms, by contrast, are always open to walk-ins and are the easiest way to experience the scene without planning.

All Over Information

The All Over Information editorial team researches and writes practical English-language guides to Turkey. Facts are checked against official and local sources before publication, prices are published as dated ranges rather than quotes, and guides are revised when things change. We accept no sponsored posts, paid placements or paid links.