A 25cl pour at Ølbaren on Elmegade costs 48 kroner. Cross town to Mikkeller’s original cellar bar on Viktoriagade and you pay the highest price per centilitre in Copenhagen, for beer that is very good but no better. That gap is the first thing to understand about Copenhagen craft beer: the scene Mikkeller built has outgrown Mikkeller, and some of the best glasses in the city are now poured by its former pupils, its partners and its neighbours.
This guide covers the Mikkeller family bar by bar, BRUS and the rest of the bars worth crossing town for, how the pours and prices work, one brewery you should not travel out to, and two crawls that make sense on foot. Prices come from the bars’ own lists and were checked in September 2026. Treat them as the right order of magnitude, because tap lists and prices change weekly. For the broader nightlife picture, start with our guide to the best bars in Copenhagen.
How Copenhagen Pours Craft Beer
Forget the pint. Copenhagen’s craft bars sell in 20cl, 25cl and 40cl pours, and strong or rare beers often come only in the small size. The catch is that the small pour is not proportionally cheaper. At BRUS a 20cl costs 40 to 65 DKK and a 40cl 60 to 95, so doubling the beer adds roughly half again to the price. If you like what you are drinking, the bigger glass is almost always the better deal.
| Bar | What a pour costs |
|---|---|
| BRUS, Nørrebro | 20cl 40–65 DKK; 40cl 60–95; 1.5L pitcher 240–400 |
| Ølbaren, Elmegade | 25cl 48–58 DKK; 40cl 67–81 |
| WarPigs, Kødbyen | 60–90 DKK across 22 taps |
| Mikkeller Viktoriagade | The highest price per centilitre in the city |
| Nyhavn waterfront, for comparison | 75–110 DKK for a mainstream lager |
Two more habits worth knowing. Almost every bar takes cards, and many Copenhageners never carry cash at all. And there is no pressure to tip; rounding up for good service is plenty. Our guide to beer prices covers the bodegas and the supermarket shelf, where a can of Danish craft costs a fraction of the bar price plus a one-krone deposit.
The Mikkeller Family, Bar by Bar
Mikkeller started as a brewer without a brewery, designing beers and brewing them on other people’s equipment, and it did more than anyone to put Copenhagen on the world beer map. Today its own site lists more than a dozen venues in and around the city. These are the ones that matter to a visitor.
Mikkeller Bar, Viktoriagade
The first Mikkeller bar is a small, pale cellar at Viktoriagade 8B-C in Vesterbro, a few minutes’ walk from Central Station. It is plain to the point of austerity: white walls, a long tap board, twenty-odd lines and a crowd that is half pilgrims, half regulars. The beer is excellent and the prices carry a brand premium. Go once, for the history and for a pour of something you cannot get at home, and do your serious drinking elsewhere.
Mikkeller & Friends, Stefansgade
Mikkeller’s second Copenhagen bar is out in Nørrebro on Stefansgade, and it is where the brand’s international expansion began. It feels more like a neighbourhood bar than a shrine, and, as the name suggests, it pours plenty of guest beer from other breweries alongside the house range. Worth the walk if you are already doing a Nørrebro evening; not worth a special trip if you have been to Viktoriagade.
WarPigs, Kødbyen
WarPigs, at Flæsketorvet 25–37 in the old Meatpacking District, is a joint venture between Mikkeller and the Indiana brewery 3 Floyds, and it is the most fun of the family. It is a huge hall of communal benches with Texas barbecue ordered at the counter and 22 taps of beer brewed on site, heavy on hoppy IPAs served fresh from the tank. Pours run 60 to 90 DKK. If you only have one Mikkeller evening in you, make it this one: it is better value than Viktoriagade and you eat properly.
Baghaven, Refshæleøen
Mikkeller Baghaven sits on the waterfront of the old shipyard island, next door to the Reffen street-food market, and specialises in barrel-aged and wild beer. On a sunny evening, with a glass of something sour on the quay and the harbour going gold, it is one of the best places to drink in the city. Take the harbour bus rather than the metro, and read our Refshæleøen guide for the rest of the island.
Three Mikkeller outposts you might not expect
- Færgekroen, inside Tivoli. Mikkeller runs the old ferry inn by Tivoli’s lake, which makes it the best beer in the gardens. You need a Tivoli entry ticket to get to it.
- Mikkeller at Copenhagen Airport. A last proper beer before the flight home, and a far better one than most airport bars.
- The bottle shop in Torvehallerne. Mikkeller & Friends has a shop in the Torvehallerne food market, which is the easiest place in the centre to buy bottles and cans to take home.
The family also includes Ramen to Bíiru, a small chain of ramen-and-beer restaurants, and Selma on Rømersgade, whose modern smørrebrød is among the best in the city and comes with Mikkeller beer to match. Our smørrebrød guide rates it.
BRUS: The One We Would Pick
If you have one craft beer stop in you, make it BRUS, at Guldbergsgade 29F in Nørrebro. It is the flagship brewpub of To Øl, the brewery founded by two of Mikkel Borg Bjergsø’s former pupils from his years as a schoolteacher, and it has overtaken its old teacher’s bars on almost every count that matters to a drinker.
The beer is brewed in the building, a converted industrial hall with about thirty taps. The range runs from clean lagers to sours and barrel-aged ales. The prices are published and fair by Copenhagen standards, and the 1.5-litre pitchers make it one of the few craft bars where a group can drink sensibly. At the weekend, arrive early in the evening if you want a table rather than a spot against the wall.
The Beer Bars Worth Crossing Town For
Ølbaren, Elmegade
A small, serious corner bar at Elmegade 2, just off Sankt Hans Torv, run by people who know their beer and do not need to shout about it. Pours start at 48 DKK for 25cl and 67 for 40cl, which is fair by Copenhagen standards for a list this carefully chosen. It is a small room, so come early at the weekend. Come on a weeknight and you are far more likely to get the bar staff’s full attention and a proper recommendation.
Taphouse, Lavendelstræde
Taphouse at Lavendelstræde 15, a minute or two from Rådhuspladsen, has 61 rotating taps, with Danish craft alongside a wide spread of European breweries. It opens at 15:00 Monday to Thursday and at noon at the weekend, closing at midnight. It is the obvious choice if you are staying near Tivoli or Strøget and want range without a trek. Less character than Ølbaren or BRUS, more choice than both put together.
Fermentoren, Halmtorvet
Fermentoren, on Halmtorvet at the edge of Kødbyen, is Vesterbro’s neighbourhood beer bar: around 24 taps that change regularly, room for a decent pilsner as well as the strange stuff, and a good share of the draught brewed by its own brewery, Dry & Bitter. It is a few minutes’ walk from both WarPigs and Mikkeller Viktoriagade, which makes it the natural first or last stop on a Vesterbro crawl.
Bootleggers, Frederiksberg
Out on Falkoner Allé in Frederiksberg, Bootleggers pairs a long craft list with free, bottomless popcorn and a hidden cocktail bar upstairs. It is not worth a trip from the centre, but if you are staying in Frederiksberg it is the best beer on your doorstep.
Amager Bryghus: The Brewery With No Bar
Amager Bryghus is one of Denmark’s most respected craft breweries, and plenty of visitors look it up, see that it is out by the airport in Kastrup, and plan a pilgrimage. Do not. The brewery at Kirstinehøj 38B has no bar. It has no licence to serve on the premises, and says so on its own site. What it does have is a brewery shop, open Monday to Friday 09:00 to 14:00 and Saturday 10:00 to 13:00, closed on Sunday, where you can buy bottles to take away.
If you want to drink Amager Bryghus beer on draught, go to the brewery’s own taproom by Nørreport instead, in the middle of town. And if you are staying out by the airport with a weekday morning to fill, the shop is worth a detour for a few bottles. Just not for a pint.
Two Crawls That Work on Foot
The bars cluster, which is lucky, because the best way to do Copenhagen craft beer is on foot and without a plan to cycle home.
- Vesterbro, all within ten minutes’ walk: start at Fermentoren on Halmtorvet, walk round the corner to Mikkeller Bar on Viktoriagade for one pour of something special, then finish at WarPigs in Kødbyen with barbecue. Kødbyen keeps going long after the beer bars close, so the night can carry on from there.
- Nørrebro, around Sankt Hans Torv: Ølbaren on Elmegade first, while it still has seats, then BRUS a few minutes away on Guldbergsgade for a pitcher. Mikkeller & Friends on Stefansgade is about fifteen minutes’ walk west if you want a third. Our Nørrebro guide covers the streets in between.
Two things to avoid. Do not try to do both neighbourhoods in one night; they are a long walk apart, and a taxi between bars is money better spent on beer. And do not cycle after a crawl. Riding a bike drunk can get you fined in Denmark, and the metro runs all night.
If you want to see the other end of Danish brewing, the old Carlsberg brewery district in Valby is a short trip from Vesterbro, and our guide to Carlsberg City explains what is there now. For what else is open late, see Copenhagen at night.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best craft beer bar in Copenhagen?
For one visit, BRUS in Nørrebro: beer brewed on site, about thirty taps, published prices and pitchers for a group. Mikkeller Bar on Viktoriagade is the historic one, and WarPigs in Kødbyen is the most fun, especially if you want barbecue with your beer.
How much does a craft beer cost in Copenhagen?
Expect 40 to 65 DKK for a 20cl pour and 60 to 95 DKK for 40cl at a brewpub like BRUS. WarPigs charges 60 to 90 DKK. The cheapest good craft pour in the centre is at Ølbaren, from 48 DKK for 25cl.
Is Mikkeller Bar worth visiting?
Once, yes. The original Viktoriagade cellar is where Copenhagen’s craft beer boom started and the beer is excellent, but its price per centilitre is the highest in the city. Have one special pour there and drink the rest of the evening somewhere cheaper.
Where is the original Mikkeller bar?
At Viktoriagade 8B-C in Vesterbro, a few minutes’ walk from Copenhagen Central Station.
Can you visit Amager Bryghus?
You can visit the brewery shop in Kastrup on weekday mornings and Saturday mornings, but the brewery has no licence to serve, so there is no bar. Drink its beer at the brewery’s taproom by Nørreport instead.
Is there a Mikkeller bar in Tivoli?
Yes. Mikkeller runs Færgekroen, the old ferry inn by Tivoli’s lake. You need a Tivoli entry ticket to reach it. There is also a Mikkeller bar at Copenhagen Airport.
What is WarPigs?
A brewpub in Kødbyen run jointly by Mikkeller and the American brewery 3 Floyds, with 22 taps of beer brewed on site and Texas-style barbecue.
For the other end of Danish brewing, Carlsberg tells its own story at Home of Carlsberg in the old Valby brewery: 215 DKK, with a single 40cl draught included. Our review of Home of Carlsberg weighs whether it earns the money, and points out the part you can see for free.
Related Reading
- What a beer costs in Copenhagen prices the bodegas, craft bars and supermarkets against each other.
- The best bars in Copenhagen covers bodegas, cocktails and wine as well as beer.
- Copenhagen’s best cocktail bars for when the beer list runs out.
- Vesterbro is where three of the city’s best beer bars sit within ten minutes of each other.
- Cheap eats in Copenhagen to line your stomach before a crawl.
Photo Credits
- Mikkeller Baghaven’s white warehouse on the harbour front of Copenhagen’s old shipyard island, with the Reffen street-food sign to the left: photo by Leif Jørgensen, Mikkeller Baghaven.jpg, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The chalkboard tap list and row of black Mikkeller tap handles at the original Mikkeller Bar in Vesterbro: photo by Luiz Eduardo, Mikkeller Bar, Copenhagen.jpg, CC BY 2.0
Final Thoughts
Copenhagen does not need you to be a beer geek. You can walk into BRUS knowing nothing, point at the lightest thing on the board and have a very good evening. But if you do care, this is one of the best cities in Europe to drink in, precisely because the brewery that made it famous now has serious competition on every side: from its old pupils at To Øl, from the neighbourhood bars that stock better guest lists than its own, and from the barbecue hall it co-owns with a brewery from Indiana.
Pay the Viktoriagade premium once and enjoy it. Then spend the rest of your kroner where the value is, drink in 40cl rather than 20cl, and leave the bike locked up until morning.
Last verified: September 2026. Bar prices from the venues’ own lists; the Mikkeller venue list from mikkeller.com; Amager Bryghus shop hours and licensing from amagerbryghus.dk. Tap lists and opening hours change often, so check before you go.
