A Beer Tourist’s Guide to…Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur as a tourist destination sits at an unfairly disadvantageous juncture between the sleek glamour of Singapore and the hedonistic intensity of Bangkok, without quite deferring to either. The spectacular cityscape, welcoming locals and world-leading food scene are under the radar for many, which only rewards those who do spend time in Malaysia even moreso. As a majority Muslim country, Malaysia’s rules around alcohol are stringent, however, and this all means that until recently, bars in KL were geared almost exclusively towards transit tourists and foreigners living in KL. This is embodied most by the absence of even a watery national macro-lager, with the most commonly found beer being Tiger of neighbouring Singapore. Make your own conclusions about the fact that it is often served on ice, regardless of the relentlessly sweltering weather that KL enjoys.
As with much of the world, the growth of modern, globalised hipster culture in certain segments of KL society has allowed a beer scene to emerge that had been slowly bubbling under the surface for several years. We paid a visit to all of Kuala Lumpur’s craft beer-focused bars, and its first and only craft brewery, to meet the people behind the progress.
The simply named Tap Room KL is a little outside of the city centre and requires a 10-15 minute taxi to get to from the areas tourists are most likely to be spending time in, namely KLCC, Bukit Bintang or Chinatown. A simple tap room this is not, however: it is the home of Kuala Lumpur’s only brewery, Paper Kite. In existence since early 2023 and set up by local entrepreneur and beer enthusiast Alvin Lim, Tap Room KL has been a runaway hit since it opened. They have four core beers that align with existing local flavour sensibilities – a Copper Ale, a Pale Ale, an IPA and a Stout; the team at Paper Kite noted to us that Malaysian drinkers are particularly familiar with Stout, due to…well, a certain Irish brand that tends to spread itself globally. These beers are complemented by seasonal releases featuring local ingredients, with their brewers focused on incorporating Malaysian flavours. We tried their Malaysian-orange infused Lager, which went down a treat, along with the rest of the core beers. The aesthetic borrows from UK and US taprooms – a large cavernous building full of long tables and benches – and even on Monday nights it gets absolutely packed. It showcases the huge opportunity for craft beer and new flavours in KL and will surely only find more success as Malaysian drinkers embrace more than just lager.
Tap Room KL has a sister establishment, Taps Beer Bar, a warm and spacious venue nestled subtly in the very centre of the city in Bukit Bintang, next to the chaotic tourist bar strip of Changkat but blending into the background as if to say, “only come here if you want the Good Stuff”. This was Alvin Lim’s first craft beer endeavour, having existed since 2011. The clientele is a mix of locals and foreigners, showing the appetite for something other than mass-produced foreign lager across the board.
While nothing other than Paper Kite is brewed in Malaysia itself, the beer selection on draft is almost exclusively from around Asia, including beer from Vietnam and even from neighbouring Myanmar using local ingredients. The bartenders informed us that Taps tended to receive a keg here or there from Myanmar, and when it’s gone it’s gone, with no indication of when it would next be in, due to the political upheaval in the country, “but when we do get it, it’s always one of the best”.
Just up the road from Taps is the well-hidden Beer Bank, a venue that requires walking into the Wisma Lim Foo Yong shopping centre and through a supermarket to reach a back room that should be a stock area, but in fact is a speakeasy-style beer hub. Boasting fridge upon fridge of beer from around the world, it hosts mainly local drinkers who are in the know. Our goal was to go as local as possible, so we got a couple of beers from Singapore and Hong Kong to take away, though they could also be consumed onsite – and when you leave, you can also get your toilet paper and groceries all in one go. Pure efficiency.
It’s not all smooth sailing, however. In the shadow of the newly constructed second tallest building in the world, Merdeka 118, the bar SChOOL OF ANiMALs (caps lock optional) was a calm, café-style establishment with a quaint beer garden in the front. Their specialty: Australian craft, with plenty in the fridge and one on tap, in a space that was a nice respite from the busy roads of Bukit Bintang. It closed in late 2024, however, after just two years of operation, as the landlords wanted the building back.
The final craft beer bar in Kuala Lumpur resides in the heart of the small but growing hipster zone south of the Quill City Mall and just above Dang Wangi. In this small area, so-called “Western Food” establishments sit side by side with artisanal coffee shops and boutique hotels, and nestled among all of this is Gavel Coffee Kitchen & Craft Beers. Gavel will transport you over to Europe aesthetically and with its beer selection, though we were able to enjoy another Asian Stout, this time from Japan, while watching a crowd of locals and expats chitchat over their indie beer.
Craft beer in Malaysia is still playing catchup to Thailand and Singapore, but with trailblazers like Alvin Lim creating more and more awareness in the country, it has an enormous amount of room to grow. We are excited to keep a close eye on Paper Kite and any eventual “competitive friends” that will only increase appreciation for craft beer in Malaysia, and hopefully see continued success for all involved.