Jim & Dad's

Jim & Dad's was founded in 2015 in Yuanshan, Yilan, by a US-educated son and his father, and has built its reputation on brewing with Taiwanese agricultural ingredients rather than importing a template. The Taipei taproom on Yanping North Road puts it in Dadaocheng, the old tea and herb merchant quarter beside Dihua Street.

The bar runs about eight taps of the brewery's own beer with some guests, and doubles as a bottle shop, so the fridge is as much a part of the offer as the tap wall. Signature pours include the Lanyang Knight sour, a sherry-barrel-aged imperial red and a 9.7% Hop Bomb double IPA. Service is order-at-the-bar across two floors, with the seating spaced more generously than most Taipei bars manage.

The detail that sets it apart is that outside food is permitted — unusual anywhere, and genuinely useful here, because Dadaocheng is one of Taipei's better eating neighbourhoods. Buy something on Dihua Street, bring it in, and work through the tap list.