Adelaide's breweries and pubs among the world's best, statistics show

The city can raise its glass to new statistics that show Adelaide’s pubs and breweries are the fifth best in the world.

Latest Tourism Sentiment Index (TSI) figures showed Adelaide was popular in 2022 Q4 for its watering holes, only behind Portland, Houston, Brussels and San Diego.

The Tourism Sentiment Index was compiled using data from 1.6 billion online posts, using artificial intelligence to extract sentiment from human expression.

Being named in the rankings means Adelaide offered positive experiences and instilled the kind of happiness that visitors talk about which, in turn, leads to an impressive Tourism Sentiment Score.

Adelaide Bar Boys Tours offers corporate and private event groups around town the opportunity to experience Adelaide’s vibrant pub and bar culture, taking on a minimum of eight participants per tour.

Co-director Brenden Kentish says the statistics are unsurprising, with many popular microbreweries and pubs continuing to pop up at all corners of the city.

“South Australia has had that culture of the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and even Clare Valley being at our doorstep; people know what is on offer there,” Mr Kentish says.

“But now that culture is coming closer to our doorstep with all these smaller scale microbreweries, and the population is becoming more conditioned to understanding them, so they have been really successful.

“These sorts of places just don’t open and flop, people come out to support local, which is just fantastic.”

The CBD is home to microbreweries including Pirate Life at SkyCity Adelaide, Lada Burra Brewhouse in Topham Mall, Mismatch Brewing Co on Morphett Street and Silver Brewing Co on Gouger Street.

Crafty Robot Brewing on Grote Street is set to open in April, with the business aiming to make high quality, small batches of beer to keep its range fresh and exciting.

Adelaide Bar Boys offers a range of tours that delve into the best places to experience the city's small bar and pub scenes. 

The admission prices, which range from $100 to $500, are dependent on experience and also include drinks and food.

Mr Kentish says tours aim to break common misconceptions that Adelaide is “boring” with little to do.

“Adelaide is often at the backend of a lot of jokes that we are boring,” he says.

“But, through experiences like this we can show that this is absolutely not the case because these venues do exist, and we have the infrastructure.

“Our pubs and clubs are just fantastic and, to our advantage, they are all within walking distance in the CBD.”

He encouraged corporate groups to consider booking a pub experience so they can “let their hair down” and help Adelaide retain its TSI status.

“You can see the scene from a local's perspective,” Mr Kentish says.

“We are not those tour guides in red polo shirts telling you what to do, sitting around and watching you drink.

“We are here to help you have a good night out with friends, and that is generally how the corporates enjoy it.”

Restaurants and dining in Adelaide also ranked amongst the top 20 per cent of destinations in the world this quarter.