I went to the first craft brewery in the Gulf – it reflects quiet change (2024)

When you first arrive at the craft brewpub on Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah island and sit down with a cold IPA among other drinkers chatting and sipping beside bare brick walls and stainless-steel brewing vats, you could be in any number of brewery taprooms around the UK or US.

What you might not appreciate at first swig, though, is the significance of this venue. Craft by Side Hustle is the first microbrewery to open its doors not just in the UAE capital but the entire Gulf region, where other nations still ban the sale and consumption of alcohol.

This unassuming pub, with 14 beers on tap, embodies the latest evolution of the United Arab Emirates, which is gently slackening its conservative laws to open its tourism sector and meet the demand from thirsty Western visitors and expatriates, who significantly outnumber the Emirati population.

Opened last December, Craft became the first establishment ever to legally make alcohol in the country, where previously any drinks sold in hotels or licensed venues were imported from outside the UAE.

“Being the first microbrewery here is an immense source of pride for us,” beams co-founder Chad McGehee, an American expatriate who had jumped at the chance to address the nation’s meagre beer options after the law changed. “And we’re proud to represent Abu Dhabi’s growth and diversification.

“Since opening, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re struggling to fulfil demand.”

The seven emirates of the UAE each have their own laws regarding alcohol – Sharjah maintains an outright ban, while Dubai removed its 30 per cent sales tax on alcohol last year and only allows consumption on licensed premises with a personal licence – drinking in public is an offence.

Abu Dhabi abolished its licencing system during the pandemic, meaning that unlike Dubai, residents can purchase alcohol without one. Public intoxication, however, remains illegal.

Craft has taken advantage of new rules that allow licence-holders to produce alcoholic drinks for consumption on site. It also bucks the trend of glamorous nightspots more usually associated with Abu Dhabi and sister city Dubai, with bare-brick walls and stainless-steel brewing vats.

More widely, the region’s fashion industry has reported a retail trend moving away from luxury designer labels and towards more independent niche brands, which insiders say reflects societal change led by the younger generations.

“The Middle East has an increasingly young and diverse population,” explains Eda Kuloglu, chief merchandising officer at regional luxury portal Ounass. “Today’s younger generations are much more globally connected through travel and the internet, exposing them to a wider variety of brands and products.”

What this has also led to on the ground around the city entrepreneurially is the rise of new and idiosyncratic outlets that are a lot younger at heart than their higher-end retail predecessors.

Amongst Few in the Al-Mina neighbourhood, for instance, sells hard-to-find trainers and graphic-design T-shirts in a concrete-walled concept store that would look more at home in Shoreditch than the UAE. It has attracted a cult following, as has another multi-concept outlet – LOCAL – which encompasses a barbershop, café and streetwear store, and which had to move to larger premises on Mamsha Al-Saadiyat beachfront in 2021 to meet demand.

Meanwhile, at the largest mall in Abu Dhabi housing almost 400 prestigious international brands across 2.5 million square feet, sits in one of its quieter corners a progressive new kind of department store. Ether by Cloud Spaces has replaced sections and counters with individually rentable cubes and racks where independent local artisans sell their work. 

Browsing the locally made items – fashion, homeware, art – is a refreshing retail experience; exclusive in that you won’t find them in any other department store.

The joy of a unique souk find can still be sought out in the markets, although don’t expect any to resemble their ancient counterparts in Marrakech or Tunis. The longest-standing, the Old Souk, dates only to the 1970s, which is when the modest desert settlement of Abu Dhabi began to mushroom following the discovery of oil and the Emirates’ political independence.

After an early-2010s revamp, it now has a more modern look in keeping with its skyscraping locality, towered over by the city’s tallest building, the 381m Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower. But it’s still the place to head for an old-fashioned haggle, whether it’s for a cashmere scarf or some pottery.

Another new draw is the city’s flourishing arts and museum scene, much of which has centralised on Saadiyat Island, now officially the cultural district. Here you’ll find the impressive Louvre Abu Dhabi and upcoming Guggenheim and Zayed National Museum, both set to open next year, to complete what will be a powerhouse cultural offering underscoring the emirate’s transformation. Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism recently announced that the district is on track for completion by the end of 2025.

Considered the first universal art museum in the Arab world, the Louvre is now officially its most-visited museum, last year achieving a milestone five million visitors. It’s an uncommon experience as a visiting art lover to get up so close to works by Mondrian and Picasso, no cordons nor glass coverings like you’d find in its Paris namesake.

Perhaps the most significant symbol on Saadiyat Island is the interfaith complex Abrahamic Family House, which opened last year. It comprises three sizeable worship spaces of equal dimensions: a mosque, church and synagogue, sitting together on a secular visitor pavilion. Everyone is welcome to enter, a reminder of how religions can and should peacefully coexist.

After a hard day’s artwork-nosing, souk-haggling and microbrew-supping, you can swerve the Michelin-starred and international chain restaurants for the city’s wealth of more laid-back local eateries. Recent success stories include Meylas, an Emirati cuisine food-truck that’s evolved into a buzzy diner with eccentric 80s-style décor on Al-Raha Beach; and  Nolu’s, the popularity of whose Californian-Afghan fusion menu has seen it grow into a chain of three outlets.

And this could be the way Craft by Side Hustle goes too. The microbrewery revolution may have taken a long time to reach the Middle East, but change is in the air.

Getting there
British Airways recently relaunched direct flights from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi.

Staying there
BA offers three nights’ B&B at Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island from £857pp, or at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental from £976pp, both including return flights, ba.com/abudhabi

Further information
visitabudhabi.ae/en