Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is Cambodia's capital and its only city with a meaningful craft beer scene. Spread across a riverfront grid of French colonial avenues and modern developments, Phnom Penh has in recent years developed a cosmopolitan food and drink culture driven by a large expat community, a growing number of international tourists, and a local professional class with the appetite for something beyond the country's ubiquitous imported lagers. The craft beer story in Phnom Penh begins — and for now, mostly ends — with Hops Craft Beer Garden, home of Bash Brewing, Cambodia's first independent international craft microbrewery. Operating since 2016, Bash Brewing produces all-natural beers on-site according to 500-year-old German brewing tradition, using only malt, hops, yeast, and water. The flagship Hops Central venue on Street 228 in the Boeung Keng Kang district has established itself as one of the most distinctive bar experiences in Southeast Asia: a spacious outdoor beer garden shaded by a mature tree, with pool tables, electronic darts, an art lounge, and private rooms set inside and around a modern two-storey building. A second location, Hops Villa, operates from a renovated Art Deco villa in the upscale Tuol Kork district, offering a quieter, garden-oriented setting. A third outlet at the Phnom Penh City Center mall caters to the shopping and tourist crowd. For travellers visiting Cambodia on a beer-focused itinerary, or expats looking for quality craft beer beyond the hotel bar, Phnom Penh's small but serious scene is well worth seeking out. The city is compact and easy to navigate, and the combination of Hops' multiple venues means there is always a suitable setting — whether that's a Friday night BBQ at the flagship garden or a quiet afternoon session at the Villa.