Maltese Beer: What Is Brewed Locally and How to Choose

Beers and styles to recognise

Cisk is the best-known Maltese beer brand. Farsons says the first bottle was sold in 1929. Current Cisk Lager is a 4.2% pale lager made with malted barley; Cisk Chill Lemon is a 4% flavoured lager. The range also includes Excel low-carbohydrate lager, 0.0 alcohol-free lager, Pilsner, Premium and Strong variants, whose ABVs must be checked separately.

Use the producer’s current page or can for style and alcohol by volume. Blue Label is a different Farsons beer. Lord Chambray brews in Xewkija, Gozo and currently lists year-round lager, blonde ale, witbier, English and session IPAs and American stout, plus changing special releases.

“Maltese brand” and “brewed in Malta” are not identical claims. Check the brewer and production statement on the package. Imported beer can be distributed by a Maltese company; a local bar can serve beer brewed abroad.

Where to try it responsibly

Bars, restaurants and supermarkets carry local beer. Lord Chambray currently opens its Xewkija taproom Tuesday to Saturday and offers Saturday brewery tours on request; confirm the hours and reserve before travelling. The Cisk site also links to its brewery experience and tap. Offerings change, so a historic brewery name is not proof of a current tour.

If sampling several beers, use a taxi, bus or ride-hailing. Eat, drink water and share tasting measures where possible. Staff may request age identification, and venues can refuse service.

Alcohol, ingredients and allergens

Read the exact ABV on the tap badge, menu, bottle or can; variants differ. Standard beer usually contains barley and gluten. Wheat, oats, flavourings and other allergens vary by style. An “alcohol-free” beer may still have a small stated ABV, so use the label when zero alcohol is essential.

Draft lines can change between visits. Ask the server to identify the brewery and beer before ordering, and request packaged information for a serious allergy. A chalkboard name alone is not enough.

Continue with Kinnie, Maltese wine, St Julian’s restaurants and the Maltese Food Guide.

Before relying on this guide

Menus, prices, opening hours, delivery coverage and venue arrangements change. Recheck the linked first-party source when a booking, allergy, price, journey or eligibility condition affects the decision.

Last reviewed: 29 August 2026.