Manx beer and gin — the breweries, the distilleries and where to drink them

The Isle of Man has more breweries than you’d expect for about 84,000 people, a beer purity law older than most of its pubs, and a gin distillery next to a tram station. This page covers the breweries, the island’s spirits, the tours and taprooms worth your evening, and where to buy a few bottles to take home. For where to drink, see our Isle of Man pubs guide.

The short version

Maker	What	Where you can visit
Okell’s	Cask ales, Falcon lager	Brewery tours at Kewaigue; about 29 pubs
Bushy’s	Cask ales, bottled beers	Its pubs, and the TT beer tent
Kerroo	Craft keg and cask	Taproom in Port Erin, Friday and Saturday
Old Laxey	One bitter, for one pub	The Shore Hotel, Old Laxey
Noa	Sourdough-yeast craft beer	Noa Bakehouse, Douglas
Fynoderee	Gin, vodka, rum	Bar and tours in Ramsey

The Pure Beer Act

In 1874 Tynwald passed the Brewers’ Act, better known as the Manx Pure Beer Act. It was pushed through by Dr William Okell, the founder of Okell’s. It banned brewers from using anything as “a substitute for malt, sugar or hops”, and named a list of adulterants of the time that included opium. Britain relaxed its own rules in 1880. The island didn’t, which is why its brewers still talk about purity the way Bavarians do.

It has been loosened: an amendment in 1999 allowed lager, wheat beer and fruit beer. The small brewers now push it further still. Kerroo, for example, has brewed with foraged seaweed and with scallop shells (Pellicle (opens in a new tab), May 2026). So treat “pure” as a point of pride rather than a guarantee that it’s only ever four ingredients.

Okell’s

The big one. Okell’s has brewed on the island since 1850 and now brews at Kewaigue, just outside Douglas, where it moved in 1986. Its old Falcon Brewery building still stands in Douglas. It’s part of the Heron & Brearley group, which runs 29 pubs on the island and six in the north of England (okells.co.uk (opens in a new tab)). If a Manx pub has a sign outside, there’s a good chance it says Okell’s.

• The beers: Okell’s Bitter is the one you’ll see everywhere. The range also includes MPA, a Smoked Porter, 1907, Jiarg, seasonal ales, and Falcon Manx Lager and Snaefell Pilsner in keg.
• The tour: a guided walk through the brewhouse and production areas with head brewer Kevin Holmes, finishing in the brewery bar with samples. It costs £20 a person, is for over-18s and takes about two and a half hours. It runs on selected Wednesday evenings, roughly once a month, not every day, and you book through Okell’s (September 2026, Visit Isle of Man (opens in a new tab) and Okell’s (opens in a new tab)). Groups of 15 or more email [email protected].

Bushy’s

The other name you’ll see on every bar. Bushy’s started in 1986 as a mini brewery in the basement of Bushy’s Bar on Victoria Street, Douglas, and moved to a bigger brewery at Mount Murray in 1990 (Bushy’s (opens in a new tab)). It celebrated 40 years of brewing in November 2025. The founder, Martin Brunnschweiler, sold it in 2022 to a couple from Castletown (Manx Radio (opens in a new tab)).

• The beers: Bushy’s Export Bitter, Castletown Bitter, Old Bushy Tail, Ruby Mild, an Oyster Stout and Manannan’s Cloak, among others (bushys.com (opens in a new tab)).
• Visiting: there’s no public taproom at Mount Murray. The new owners have planning approval for a brewery, taproom and 90-seat restaurant on the old Commissioners’ yard in Castletown, but it wasn’t open when we checked in September 2026.
• At TT: Bushy’s TT Village takes over the Villa Marina Gardens in Douglas for ten days every TT. 2026 was its 29th year.

The small brewers

This is where the island’s beer has got interesting in the last few years.

• Kerroo Brewing Company, Port Erin. Opened in March 2024 in the old Commissioners’ depot on Droghadfayle Road, beside the steam railway station. Its Heyboy pale ale is the flagship, alongside a pilsner, an oatmeal porter and cask bitter and stout. The taproom opens Friday 4–10pm and Saturday 2–9pm, is dog- and child-friendly, and lets you order in a takeaway when there’s no food truck. Hours change with the season, so check before you go (Kerroo (opens in a new tab), September 2026). It was a finalist for best new brewery at the 2025 SIBA and Brewers Journal awards.
• Old Laxey Brewing Company, Laxey. A small plant behind the Shore Hotel in Old Laxey, brewing since 1997. It makes Bosun Bitter for the pub, which makes the Shore the island’s only true brewpub. Drink it on the benches by the harbour.
• Noa, Douglas. The sourdough bakery brews its own craft beer, using yeast from the bakehouse, at its site in Peveril Buildings opposite the Sea Terminal. The bar opens properly on Friday evenings (CAMRA (opens in a new tab)).
• Odin. A small brewery whose team runs the Trafalgar Hotel on Ramsey’s West Quay, an award-winning pub, and took over the Thirsty Pigeon on Victoria Street, Douglas, in 2024. Drink its cask beers there.
• Kaneen’s and Radical. Two tiny operations. Kaneen’s, at Union Mills, brews German-style beers. Radical, a 100-litre plant in Braddan, is run by a former Okell’s head brewer. You’ll find them as guest beers rather than anywhere to visit.

Gin, rum and whisky

The spirits scene is young. Most of it has appeared in the last ten years.

• The Fynoderee Distillery, Ramsey. The one to visit. It makes Manx dry gins, including seasonal ones, plus vodka and rum, on Parsonage Road next to the Manx Electric Railway station. The bar is open Tuesday to Thursday 11am–7pm, and Friday and Saturday from 11am until late. It’s closed Sunday and Monday. The Distillery Tour and Tasting takes 90 minutes and costs £25. It includes a Fyn and tonic on arrival, the stills and a tutored tasting. Drivers get two miniatures to take away instead (fynoderee.com (opens in a new tab), September 2026).
• Outlier Distilling Company, Andreas. Manx rum made in an old milking shed on Ballakelly Farm in the north, founded in 2019. You’ll see Hoolie white rum and Twisted Arm spiced rum in island bars and shops (outlierdistilling.com (opens in a new tab)).
• Manx Whisky Company. The island’s first single malt made from Manx barley, malted and distilled on the island. Batch One came out in December 2023. The latest batch has sold out and the next one is “some time away”, so look for it in bars (manxwhisky.com (opens in a new tab)).
• Kella Distillers, Sulby. The makers of Manx Spirit, a whisky re-distilled on the island. In September 2026 its website said it was “going through some changes” and couldn’t ship off the island. Treat it as a bottle you might find, not a place to visit.

Where to buy

• Supermarkets and SPAR: Okell’s and Bushy’s are on the shelves of every island supermarket. SPAR lists Okell’s among its local suppliers.
• Straight from the maker: Kerroo sells online and delivers to the UK. The Fynoderee has a shop at the distillery and online.
• In a pub: start with the pubs guide. An Okell’s house and a Bushy’s house in the same evening is the fairest taste test.

Events

Bushy’s TT Village runs every TT at the Villa Marina Gardens. The island’s food festival, the Big Manx Feast, has local brewers and distillers on the stalls each September. Check what’s on for smaller beer festivals.