The Edinburgh Castle Hotel

The Edinburgh Castle is Brunswick's oldest pub, opening in 1854 - the same year as the Eureka Stockade - originally as a watering hole for gold miners. Today it trades seven days a week from 681 Sydney Road, on the corner of Albion Street, with the #55 tram stopping right out front and Anstey station on the Upfield line a five-minute walk away. The room is a proper local: a huge beer garden, gastropub food, an extensive craft-beer list and free local live music with DJs from Thursday to Sunday.

Its non-alcoholic credentials come from being one of the select Melbourne pubs to put Heaps Normal's Original Draught on tap when the Australian NA brewer rolled out the country's first non-alcoholic draught beer nationally in early 2026. The Edinburgh Castle was named among the launch venues - alongside Beermash in Collingwood, The Old Bar in Fitzroy, Huzzah in Glen Iris and Brick Lane at the Queen Victoria Market - and hosted free rounds at the celebration on Friday 20 February 2026.

Original Draught is distinct from Heaps Normal's canned range: a crisp, contemporary Aussie lager brewed with low-bitterness noble hops and toasted malt for an amber hue, poured properly from the tap. As Heaps Normal co-founder Ben Holdstock put it, draught had 'long been the missing piece for non-alc beer,' and the Edinburgh Castle is one of the Brunswick locals where you can now order that pour by the schooner rather than settling for a can.