The pub that started it all, the Royston was the first to spot the craft beer revolution coming over the horizon. While everyone else was clinging to the safety of long-established brands – maybe with the odd tap or fridge shelf given over to an Aussie micro – this Richmond establishment went the whole hog, turning over nine of its taps to homegrown brewers back in 2005.

This traditional neighbourhood boozer, on the site of a former tannery, now rattles through dozens of different beers every month. Being the first of the beer bars, it has a close relationship with Australia’s best little breweries so is able to get its hands on many of their limited run specials. It also installed one of the first handpumps in Victoria, which pours Holgate’s UK style ESB (Extra Special Bitter), shortlisted for Best Victorian Beer at the 2010 Australian International Beer Awards.

The warm and welcoming front bar and pool room are great places to catch up with friends, while the dining room serves quality grub worthy of the Royston’s gastropub title. The friendly and knowledgeable beer lovers manning the horseshoe bar help make it a highly enjoyable place to enjoy a beer or two on your own too.

With Mountain Goat, one of the longest-established microbreweries in Australia, located directly across the road and open to drinkers on Wednesday and Friday evenings, it’s a pub you’ll keep coming back to – just like its sister pub, the Terminus in Clifton Hill.