Island Brewing

Island Brewing is the production arm of the team behind Black Sand Brewery in Canggu. Founder Mattia Di Bitonto began as a homebrewer, opened Black Sand in 2019, and by 2022 rising demand led to a purpose-built brewery at Kaba Kaba in Tabanan Regency, a short drive from Canggu. The first Island Brewing beers were released in early 2022. Head of brewing operations Michael King runs a warehouse with a 20-hectolitre brewhouse, 28 stainless steel tanks and its own canning line, turning out between 6,000 and 8,000 cans a day. The team calls it a "macro-craft" brewery: natural, sessionable beers made for the Bali heat and sold widely, from beachside warungs to convenience stores, under the tagline "Time Well Spent".

The beers

• Pilsner, pilsner, 4.1%
• Summer Pale Ale, pale ale, 4.5%
• Small Hazy, hazy pale ale, 4.8%
• Light Lager, light lager, 3.5%
• Ice Cold Lager, helles, 4.9%
• Big Hazy, New England IPA, 8%

The core beers are sold in cans and on draught. Island Brewing also brews and cans the Black Sand range, including its IPA, Kolsch and the Coffee Blonde made with Kintamani honey-process coffee from Expat Roasters, and it releases occasional specials such as a Cold IPA and a Mango Sour.

Where to drink it

There is no Island Brewing taproom at the brewery. The best place to try the full range is its sister brewpub, Black Sand Brewery on Jl. Pantai Batu Bolong in Canggu. Down the road, The Bench pours the Pilsner and Summer Ale, and its Uluwatu sibling The Bench Brewery in Bingin was set up in collaboration with Island Brewing. In Sanur, find it at Shotgun Social and Lola's Taproom, and in Tabanan at Luna Beer Garden. In Jakarta it is on tap at Brew and Barrel in Senayan City and Beer Belly in Kebayoran Baru. All of these are listed below.