The region’s first-ever brewery will open in Abu Dhabi, UAE, before the end of the year. CRAFT by Side Hustle comes from the team behind Side Hustle Brews & Spirits, a UAE business from a US entrepreneur, and will be located at The Galleria Al Maryah Island. It will also be home to a gastropub and that specialises in craft beers and spirits. In addition to serving hops produced on site, CRAFT will offer mixed drinks, speciality coffee and Southern US-style food, inspired by a South Louisiana smokehouse. The menu will include Cajun po’boys, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, smoked brisket and spent grain pretzels with hop butter.

In a first for the UAE, the microbrewery will also offer outdoor seating, with views of Al Maryah Island’s waterfront promenade and the Abu Dhabi skyline beyond. Interestingly, guests will even be able to see the microbrewery in action.

Side Hustle Brews & Spirits’ founder and CEO Chad McGehee said: “As founders of a local craft movement, we acknowledge the responsibility presented to us and are both humbled and thrilled to open Abu Dhabi’s first craft microbrewery.

“We commit to delivering innovative and authentic F&B experiences worthy of the UAE’s high standards as we build CRAFT by Side Hustle into a brand the community can be proud to call their own.”

A circular in 2021 from the Department of Culture & Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) confirmed that licensed venues in the emirate can apply for a permit for ‘fermenting drinks’.

According to the police, the department grants the necessary approvals to holders of alcoholic beverages licenses allowing them the manufacturing (fermentation) of alcoholic beverages for serving it for consumption within the licensed facility.

The bar plans to brew 75 different beers in the first 12 months of its operations. The drinks will take inspiration from beers brewed in the Czech Republic, UK, USA, Germany and Belgium.