Old Street Brewery Tap, Hackney Wick, E9

A great PSM review says it all,this brewery tap is rough and ready but does have some caotic charm. The long row of bar stools does mean some easy banter with regulars ,as well as between the regulars and the server.It's a friendly place and tolerant although it will attract Spammers on match days.There are space heaters but some openings in the walls so most punters keep their coats on when inside. Pic nic benches outside is another option. The star is the beer selection from the wall mounted taps with a helpful listing above.On my trip there was one guest in Solvay Society Nssbosa while the offering from the 11 Old Street keg taps was varied both in style and strengths.I went for their Snake Eyes Yuzu Sour (very enjoyable,£6.50) while other options included a Hazlenut Brown,a Red,a Hefe,a low strength Lager,a very low strength Sports Beer,a Hazy Pale ,an IPA and a Quad. Pricing will vary by ABV,there is also an offer of a 5 thirds flight for £12 which might be fun. There is an Everyones Toilet where the light didn't work but I can forgive such issues in the search for some interesting beer.A great double header with Howling Hops tap across the yard entrance,I will certainly pop in again.

This is a fairly knockabout brewery taproom set in a ramshackle yard on a small industrial estate near Hackney Wick, which houses a couple of other micro breweries. The bar is set in some sort of old workshop, with the usual concrete floor, timber clad walls and cheap ceiling panels. The bar is to the front and has a timber fronted counter and nice bar back with a rural scene mural painted on it, whilst the beer range is listed on boards hung above the keg taps. Seating comes mainly in the form of high tables and stools, which can be found throughout the room along with a couple of upturned barrels which you can stand around on a raised wooden platform. A few old jugs, and pots have been dotted around in an attempt to make the space feel a bit more like a pub, and further distraction comes from a bookcase, TV screens listing the beer range and an old retro arcade machine, whilst hard rock tunes played in the background. Outside is a two part seating area - immediately outside the entrance is a covered space under ugly plastic panels, with a street food vendor to one side and plenty of picnic benches to perch on. Beyond this is the yard, with some more benches and one of those bean bag toss games. The brewery can be seen over in the left hand side of the main bar area, but it didn’t impose on the room too much, so the place felt more like a bar with a brewery than a brewery with a bar shoehorned in. Like most of these micro breweries, there’s no cask available, but they did have six of their own keg beers plus a cider. I tried a pint of Caught In The Juice for £4.50, which I thought was pretty tasty and not too heavily carbonated. The bar staff were friendly enough and there was a decent amount of customers in, although it was nowhere near as busy as the neighbouring Crate Brewery. Despite the somewhat Heath Robinson appearance of this place, I thought it was actually a decent enough example of a brewery bar and I quite enjoyed our visit. It’s not exactly built for comfort and suffers from the usual complaints you get with this sort of industrial unit conversion, but the ambiance and beer were good enough to merit a return visit some day.

Unlike the previous reviews I found the bar okay but the beers underwhelming. The wheat beer was ordinary and the hazy IPA undrinkable, though I’m admittedly not the biggest fan of the style. Both pints were in the £6 vicinity. Staff were okay once they noticed my existence and the place was relatively calm compared to neighbouring venues. I’m not in any rush to return to this place or the area in general.

Pretty small scale compared to it's near neighbours , Howling Hops and Crate, but the beer is good, however I agree with John the drinking area is a little shoddy and the whole effort seemed a little disorganised, maybe it will grow with time.

An old wooden shack attached to a brewery doesnt make for a good brewery tap.Superb beers but its a dump.

Official site of Old Street Brewery Tap - www.oldstreetbrewery.com

Official site of Old Street Brewery Tap - www.oldstreetbrewery.com