Zhang Men Brewing – Yongkang

Zhang Men Brewing (掌門精釀) set up its production brewery in Xizhi, New Taipei, in March 2014, and in May 2015 opened this bar in the Yongkang Street area as its first directly run taproom. It became a Da'an institution in a district better known for beef noodle soup and teahouses, and it was the starting point for one of Taiwan's most prolific brewpub chains.

The brewery makes its beer in small batches, unfiltered and unpasteurised, without artificial flavourings, and runs its own recipes, equipment, brewers and yeast stock. The taps here rotate through the house range, from approachable pilsners and wheat beers to double IPAs, barrel-aged stouts and experimental seasonals, so a visit rarely looks the same twice.

A backlit logo glows above an open frontage, and the bar spills on to the pavement on busy nights. Since opening here, Zhang Men has spread across Taiwan, with taprooms in Kaohsiung, Taichung, Hsinchu and several more Taipei sites, including Neihu and Xinyi, as well as branches in Hong Kong. Yongkang remains the original and the one with the most neighbourhood character.

Make it the first stop on a Taipei crawl, as Yongkang is one of the city's best craft beer streets and an easy walk from Dongmen MRT. Weekends are standing room only, so go early for a stool on the pavement.