BrewDog Old Street, Old Street, EC1

Official site of BrewDog Old Street - www.brewdog.com

Official site of BrewDog Old Street - www.brewdog.com

Didn't particularly enjoy my visit here, maybe the attending hen party killed any ambiance there may have been but I doubt there is any to be had normally and the loud godawful music certainly didn't help. Two Cask beers on Buxton Made For Draft House and Kent Never Mind The Hops which I didn't enjoy at all and left half behind. I'll stay in the Old Fountain across the road next time.

Located on a horribly modern cold walkthrough, split level long bar with an underground type feel. Modern, but ok, with good beer.

Visited this new build bar back in November but only now getting round to putting pen to paper. But at least my lethargy has allowed PSM to post an extensive review which tells you all you need to know about this one. They definitely move more Craft Ale and Lager to the target demographic of the younger Old Street Office workers here, but was good to see three cask pumps in operation. For our visit Sanbrooks Pale Ale was their Daily Cask Ale at £2.90 along with Charnwood Brewery Charlie Brewn and London Brewing Co 100 Oysters Stout. But even at £2.90 a pint there is so much Pale Ale you can take before the lure of the nearby Fountain becomes too great.

The Draft House chain have undergone some significant expansion in the last couple of years, building on a successful brand that is now challenging some of the more prominent craft beer bar chains out there. This is one of their latest enterprises – a well positioned split-level bar just a short walk from Old Street station. The bar has a very strong industrial feel to it, contrasting with some of their other branches which have more of a pubby atmosphere, although in this case, it certainly helps give the place a clear sense of identity. You enter past a lot of pavement seating into the lower level of the room. Here you’ll find a bare concrete floor and two rows of seating – one under the large front windows decorated with long neon tubes, the other along the back of the raised platform that runs behind. There are a couple of sections of wood panelled wall at either end of the room and black and white wall tiles elsewhere, decorated with a neon sign that flashes between the words ‘Bop’ and ‘Hops’ endlessly. Seating is a mix of high stools, padded benches and some hard low stools, all sat under the usual exposed vents, pipes and wiring trays we come to expect from this sort of venue. More unusually, there are also three large Pilsner Urquell tanks stored in cradles just below the ceiling. Steps lead up to the higher rear section where you can find the bar on the back wall. A drinking ledge runs along the front of this section, looking down to the lower level below, whilst standard tables and chairs fill much of the rest of the room between several polished concrete pillars. The servery has a quirky graffiti style counter front, white tile bar back and a neon sign on the canopy which reads ‘British Cask Discover’. Two huge TV screens at either end of the room list the full beer range and there was music playing in the background that was almost entirely lost under the noise generated by a full house. The chain’s main appeal has to still be their extensive craft keg and bottle/can range, with copious options across several fonts and in numerous fridges, but they still provide decent cask options, which on this visit were Sambrooks Pump House Pale and Wild Beer Pogo, with one just gone off and a real cider on the final pump. The Wild Beer Pogo was the ‘Manager’s Special’, so a pint set me back a mere £2.90. I’ve taken advantage of this offer many times in various branches of this chain, but this is the first time where the pint wasn’t in great condition and I got the impression it was discounted because it was on its way out. Service was slow and somewhat chaotic but friendly enough. I quite liked this place, despite the sub-standard quality of my pint. It felt like a Brewdog bar with a more rounded selection of beer options and given the chain’s usually high quality ale offerings, I’m prepared to suggest I just got unlucky on that front. This chain is in the ascendancy and after many years of writing them off, I now find myself actively looking out for them. Well worth a look in, especially as it’s an easy double header with the Old Fountain just around the corner.