It is the latest in a series of moves to loosen socially conservative laws in the UAE and the surrounding Gulf region, as countries open up their economies and focus on industries other than oil.

Craft by Side Hustle will serve its own beers alongside Southern, Louisiana-style food. The 250-seat spot is being opened by the owners of Balmaghie Beverage Group and other investors. A soft opening this month will be followed in February by a planned grand opening.

Balmaghie’s chief executive officer, Chad McGehee, moved to the UAE about 14 years ago as an employee of US technology corporation IBM, and co-founded Balmaghie in 2018. He bonded with his now-business partners over their disappointment with the country’s paltry beer options.

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“We started this company so that we can drink better here,” says McGehee, a native of the US state of Louisiana. “Regardless of the size of the market, we legitimately made this beer for us to drink, and then it just kept growing.”

The brand’s identity is explicitly linked with the UAE, McGehee says: Side Hustle’s camel mascot appears on its cans and bottles, which are also sold in the US and other countries. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the company held a craft beer festival in Abu Dhabi called Hustle Fest, featuring dozens of beers from US brewers.

Now, however, retail stores selling beer, wine and hard liquor are commonplace, and free-standing restaurants and pubs with alcohol licences exist throughout Dubai.

Still, the production of alcohol is a big step for the Gulf, a region where several countries still ban the sale, consumption and possession of alcoholic drinks. As the countries’ economies and tourism sectors grow, so does the demand for a lifestyle that expats are used to in their home countries – or in places such as Singapore or Hong Kong.

Although Dubai is the glitzier destination and attracts more tourists, other UAE emirates have taken the lead on loosening other Islamic laws: Ras el Khaimah, to Dubai’s north, for example, looks poised to be the first emirate to allow gambling.

Craft breweries have opened in places in the Middle East such as Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, and craft beer is imported into the UAE. But locally brewed beers are still a very small part of the market.

The Craft microbrewery will be on Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah Island, one of the many natural islands that make up the heart of the emirate. It is part of a luxury retail, dining and entertainment complex called The Galleria.

Craft’s neighbours will include international high-end chain restaurants Zuma, Em Sherif Cafe and Coya, and Michelin-star 99 Sushi Bar. Five-star hotels Four Seasons and Rosewood are also on the island.

The brewpub is opening in an expansive location that has several dining areas. One space has a direct view of the beer brewing equipment, such as a mash tun and tubs. Menus above the bars show what brews are available that day.

Craft will also serve cocktails, some made from Side Hustle spirits.

The brewery has the capacity to make about 25,000 pints of beer a month. The brewing time for most beers will be about three weeks. Hops and other ingredients will be imported, for now.

The goal is to make 75 different kinds of beer over the next year, though only five or 10 might be available at any given time.