Hop to It! (TAIPEI Quarterly 2026 Summer Vol.44)Post date：2026-06-10
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TAIPEI #44 (2026 Summer)
Hop to It!
Craft Beer Bars Redefining Taipei's Drinking Culture
TEXT Jenna Lynn Cody
PHOTOS VISION
Once the land of lager, with not much more than Taiwan Beer and a few Japanese and American imports on offer, Taipei's craft beer landscape has undergone a vibrant transformation, with local boutique breweries creating everything from beer-based local flavors to innovative hop-forward IPAs. From the nostalgic vibes and local taps of Floating Taipei in the Dadaocheng community to the frontier-inspired aesthetic of Beer Rush and the chilled-out atmosphere of MMO Beer, Taipei now offers a plethora of choices for enjoying cold ones.
Floating Taipei
The Dadaocheng neighborhood functioned as Taipei's main commercial district during the 1895~1945 Japanese era. As the city later expanded east, the area gradually faded into semi-obscurity. For decades, it was certainly not a place to go for a beer with friends or a night out.
That began to change as a new generation of bars opened in the neighborhood, with a heavy emphasis on beer. After Mikkeller in 2016 came Jim & Dad's in 2019, and Floating Taipei opened its doors in 2021. With 18 rotating taps and even more canned and bottled beers, along with an extensive cocktail menu, it quickly became a favorite among neighborhood locals and visitors alike.
The exterior is welcoming, with a wood façade and a picture window with a wide sill-cum-bench for enjoying evenings with good weather. Inside, comfortable seating provides a view of the bar's extensive collection of Funko Pops and baseball-related figurines, featuring well-known players from Taiwanese, Japanese, and American teams.
Floating Taipei's strength is Taiwanese beers, with specific discounts on local brews frequently offered during happy hours. These commonly include beers from well-known local breweries such as Taihu, 23 Brewing Company, Ugly Half, and Red Point. Craft beer is the main draw at Floating, expect Taiwanese IPAs and porters alongside fruit sours, Belgian-style ales, and bold double IPAs from brewers around the world.
Leaning into Taiwanese charm with its food menu, Floating Taipei's Hakka Style Salted Pork is a small but intensely flavorful dish of fatty pork strips with a quintessentially Taiwanese flavor. For more of a bite, eat each strip with a slice of the raw onion it's served on. The Taiwanese fried chicken is tossed in garlic, green onion, and a salt-and-pepper five-spice mix that tastes like it's straight from a night market.
FLOATING TAIPEI 漂浮台北
🚩340, Nanjing W. Rd., Datong Dist.
📞(02) 2550-0953
🔗instagram.com/floatingtaipei
🕝Mon-Thu 6:00pm-1:30am; Fri-Sat 6:00pm-2:30am; Sun 6:00pm-1:00am
Beer Rush Taproom
Although beer drinking may be a relatively recent phenomenon in Dadaocheng, eastern Taipei has rarely wanted for choice. The lanes around the Taipei Metro's Zhongxiao Dunhua and Zhongxiao Fuxing stations in the fashionable East District are dotted with bars and taprooms. Among these is Beer Rush, which takes its inspiration from the gold rushes that played a major role in the 18th- and 19th-century settlement of the American frontier.
The interior of the joint evokes this old frontier aesthetic, with painted corrugated-tin walls imitating a miner's shed and silhouettes of bears, eagles, and other animals of the American West on the walls alongside beer-themed posters. The beer is served in signature goblet-like glasses decorated with an image of a gold miner with a hop for a beard. There is a good amount of seating, at least for a compact East District bar, at stools lining long bar tables, and live local professional baseball games are frequently played on a large projector screen.
There are twelve taps at Beer Rush, featuring both Taiwanese and international beers. Adventurous palates are well catered to – think hazy DIPAs bursting with tropical fruit, imperial pastry stouts rich with chocolate fudge and caramel, and collaborative releases from well-regarded international breweries. The tap list leans toward bold, hop-forward styles and indulgent, high- ABV beers rather than playing it safe with approachable lagers, signaling a bar that caters to beer enthusiasts first. For snacks, try the tender, umami-rich signature craft beer fried chicken wings.
BEER RUSH
🚩40, Ln. 51, Sec. 1, Daan Rd., Daan Dist.
📞0908-696-790
🔗instagram.com/beerrushtaproom
🕝Sun-Thu 5:00pm-12:00am; Fri-Sat 5:00pm-1:00am
MMO Beer
Heading east from Beer Rush, another stalwart on Taipei's beer-drinking scene can be found across the street from the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. The name MMO is both a pun on the bar's address, 330 Guangfu South Road ("MMO" looked at sideways looks like "330"), and the standard beer-bottle size of 330ml.
Opened in 2023, MMO produces a variety of creative beers based on local and international Taiwanese flavors. The jasmine IPA blends the heady florals of jasmine tea with a signature hoppy India Pale Ale, and the winter melon ale is smooth and refreshing. The Earl Grey tea beer is light and fragrant, with subtle citrus notes of bergamot and tea. There is basic bar food on offer, including french fries, chicken nuggets, and Margherita pizza.
Just as the sign over the taps indicates, MMO's ethos emphasizes "chill vibes only." It's an intimate – some might say tiny – space that encourages socializing and having a laid-back time. Playful iridescent walls with bench seating reflect neon signs, and the bar and solitary bar top seating area are clad in buttery beige tiles, again evoking a relaxing atmosphere.
During quieter hours, a modern Taiwanese R&B and acid jazz playlist invites patrons to while away lazy weekend afternoons. When it gets busy, live DJs perk up the crowd, and MMO often hosts music appreciation nights, including listening evenings dedicated to Taiwanese hip-hop or love songs.
MMO Beer
🚩330, Guangfu S. Rd., Daan Dist.
📞(02) 2776-6360
🔗instagram.com/mmocraftbeer
🕝Sun-Mon 4:00pm-12:00am; Sat 3:00pm – 1:00am
🍷Please drink responsibly.
🗺️Click here to see aforementioned spots on Google Map
Hop to It!
Craft Beer Bars Redefining Taipei's Drinking Culture
TEXT Jenna Lynn Cody
PHOTOS VISION
Once the land of lager, with not much more than Taiwan Beer and a few Japanese and American imports on offer, Taipei's craft beer landscape has undergone a vibrant transformation, with local boutique breweries creating everything from beer-based local flavors to innovative hop-forward IPAs. From the nostalgic vibes and local taps of Floating Taipei in the Dadaocheng community to the frontier-inspired aesthetic of Beer Rush and the chilled-out atmosphere of MMO Beer, Taipei now offers a plethora of choices for enjoying cold ones.
Floating Taipei
The Dadaocheng neighborhood functioned as Taipei's main commercial district during the 1895~1945 Japanese era. As the city later expanded east, the area gradually faded into semi-obscurity. For decades, it was certainly not a place to go for a beer with friends or a night out.
That began to change as a new generation of bars opened in the neighborhood, with a heavy emphasis on beer. After Mikkeller in 2016 came Jim & Dad's in 2019, and Floating Taipei opened its doors in 2021. With 18 rotating taps and even more canned and bottled beers, along with an extensive cocktail menu, it quickly became a favorite among neighborhood locals and visitors alike.
The exterior is welcoming, with a wood façade and a picture window with a wide sill-cum-bench for enjoying evenings with good weather. Inside, comfortable seating provides a view of the bar's extensive collection of Funko Pops and baseball-related figurines, featuring well-known players from Taiwanese, Japanese, and American teams.
Floating Taipei's strength is Taiwanese beers, with specific discounts on local brews frequently offered during happy hours. These commonly include beers from well-known local breweries such as Taihu, 23 Brewing Company, Ugly Half, and Red Point. Craft beer is the main draw at Floating, expect Taiwanese IPAs and porters alongside fruit sours, Belgian-style ales, and bold double IPAs from brewers around the world.
Leaning into Taiwanese charm with its food menu, Floating Taipei's Hakka Style Salted Pork is a small but intensely flavorful dish of fatty pork strips with a quintessentially Taiwanese flavor. For more of a bite, eat each strip with a slice of the raw onion it's served on. The Taiwanese fried chicken is tossed in garlic, green onion, and a salt-and-pepper five-spice mix that tastes like it's straight from a night market.
FLOATING TAIPEI 漂浮台北
🚩340, Nanjing W. Rd., Datong Dist.
📞(02) 2550-0953
🔗instagram.com/floatingtaipei
🕝Mon-Thu 6:00pm-1:30am; Fri-Sat 6:00pm-2:30am; Sun 6:00pm-1:00am
Beer Rush Taproom
Although beer drinking may be a relatively recent phenomenon in Dadaocheng, eastern Taipei has rarely wanted for choice. The lanes around the Taipei Metro's Zhongxiao Dunhua and Zhongxiao Fuxing stations in the fashionable East District are dotted with bars and taprooms. Among these is Beer Rush, which takes its inspiration from the gold rushes that played a major role in the 18th- and 19th-century settlement of the American frontier.
The interior of the joint evokes this old frontier aesthetic, with painted corrugated-tin walls imitating a miner's shed and silhouettes of bears, eagles, and other animals of the American West on the walls alongside beer-themed posters. The beer is served in signature goblet-like glasses decorated with an image of a gold miner with a hop for a beard. There is a good amount of seating, at least for a compact East District bar, at stools lining long bar tables, and live local professional baseball games are frequently played on a large projector screen.
There are twelve taps at Beer Rush, featuring both Taiwanese and international beers. Adventurous palates are well catered to – think hazy DIPAs bursting with tropical fruit, imperial pastry stouts rich with chocolate fudge and caramel, and collaborative releases from well-regarded international breweries. The tap list leans toward bold, hop-forward styles and indulgent, high- ABV beers rather than playing it safe with approachable lagers, signaling a bar that caters to beer enthusiasts first. For snacks, try the tender, umami-rich signature craft beer fried chicken wings.
BEER RUSH
🚩40, Ln. 51, Sec. 1, Daan Rd., Daan Dist.
📞0908-696-790
🔗instagram.com/beerrushtaproom
🕝Sun-Thu 5:00pm-12:00am; Fri-Sat 5:00pm-1:00am
MMO Beer
Heading east from Beer Rush, another stalwart on Taipei's beer-drinking scene can be found across the street from the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. The name MMO is both a pun on the bar's address, 330 Guangfu South Road ("MMO" looked at sideways looks like "330"), and the standard beer-bottle size of 330ml.
Opened in 2023, MMO produces a variety of creative beers based on local and international Taiwanese flavors. The jasmine IPA blends the heady florals of jasmine tea with a signature hoppy India Pale Ale, and the winter melon ale is smooth and refreshing. The Earl Grey tea beer is light and fragrant, with subtle citrus notes of bergamot and tea. There is basic bar food on offer, including french fries, chicken nuggets, and Margherita pizza.
Just as the sign over the taps indicates, MMO's ethos emphasizes "chill vibes only." It's an intimate – some might say tiny – space that encourages socializing and having a laid-back time. Playful iridescent walls with bench seating reflect neon signs, and the bar and solitary bar top seating area are clad in buttery beige tiles, again evoking a relaxing atmosphere.
During quieter hours, a modern Taiwanese R&B and acid jazz playlist invites patrons to while away lazy weekend afternoons. When it gets busy, live DJs perk up the crowd, and MMO often hosts music appreciation nights, including listening evenings dedicated to Taiwanese hip-hop or love songs.
MMO Beer
🚩330, Guangfu S. Rd., Daan Dist.
📞(02) 2776-6360
🔗instagram.com/mmocraftbeer
🕝Sun-Mon 4:00pm-12:00am; Sat 3:00pm – 1:00am
🍷Please drink responsibly.
🗺️Click here to see aforementioned spots on Google Map
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