Old Street Brewery & Taproom, Bethnal Green, E2

Located down a very uninviting alleyway behind Bethnal Green station, this is another brewery taproom located in a railway arch. The skimmed concrete floor and corrugated metal walls and ceiling are present again here, but one wall has dark wood panelling which makes a surprising difference in defining the feel of this place, giving it a far more ‘pubby’ feel than those taproom arches that go for full corrugated iron coverings. High tables and stools run down the right-hand wall which has been very creatively decorated by nailing wooden crates to the wall sideways to create display cases which have mostly been filled with various old bottles. Leather armchairs fill the front left corner next to some barrels and a random brewing vessel. To the other side, there is the unusual sight of an upright bicycle storage rack and a record player with a good stack of vinyl to pick from, whilst a few board games and small beer-themed collection of books have been piled up next to the bar. The servery has a timber bar counter and several large vessels on the bar back from which a number of the beers are dispensed. Some wooden slats with the beer names on them have been positioned above these vessels, indicating which brews are available, with other unused slats lining the opposite wall. The brewery is found to the very rear of the room, although there was no sign of any action during my stay. Indie tunes played in the background and the pub was notably dog friendly, with a few lively encounters between pooches waking everyone up periodically. There were six Old Street beers and one guest beer from Monday Brewery available on tap as well as a cider from Sandford park. I forgot to note the name of the beer I tried, but I do recall that I really enjoyed it and my other half, who rarely drinks beer, found something to her taste which I also recall was very nice. Tasting flights, bottles and cans are also available. This felt like quite a comfortable, cosy little spot, at least as far as this sort of railway arch bar is concerned. I liked the quirky décor, buzzy atmosphere and tasty beer and thought it was a good place to dive into for a quick pint before heading to the station. Don’t let the initial impression of this bar’s location put you off – it’s well worth a look if you’re in the area.

As described below, an arch secreted down a narrow passageway, with a typically industrial sort of feel - homemade wooden tables fronting a clutch of stainless steel brewing vessels. Only producing keg beers at present but they expect to try some cask ale in the future.

A new brewery set up by former employees of nearby Mother Kellys. Its a typical railway arch setup with brewing kit to the rear a long bar down one side and a few robust wooden tables to sit at down the other side, some more seating is available outside. seven beers were on, none of them could be described as session strength, the lowest abv was a 4.9% lager style beer, the rest were up in the 8 and 9%'s, I tried half an Old Street Double Decker at 8.2%, it was a decent IPA and certainly tasted its strength. Another good addition to the Bethnal Green beer scene, although there are so many similar archway setups in London they are no longer novelties. Worth a revisit.