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The Bath Brew House, Bath
Bath
BA1 2BX
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Bath Brew House
Contrary to the previous recent reviews, I quite liked this place. It's certainly much larger than it initially appears.
As you enter, the brewing equipment can be seen off to the left-hand side. The bar can be found to the right of this and takes up most of the space in the large front room. To the rear, the building opens up and there is a much larger drinking/dining space where there is also an open kitchen. Further beyond that is a spacious outdoor area. Toilets can be found upstairs, along with a function room called the Tank Room that wasn't open on our Friday afternoon visit.
Handpulls at the bar stocked only Bath Brew House beers - Carpe Noctem v14, Gladiator, Emperor, Warrior & Barbarian. A few handpulls were unclipped, one with a prominent "card only" sign on it. It seems that the majority of pubs and bars in Bath have gone down this route.
The Carpe Noctem v14 was described as a "German Dark Beer". I'm not normally into German-style beers and wasn't sure whether I'd made the right decision when ordering it. But in actual fact, this ended up being my favourite beer of the day in Bath. It was a glorious coffee stout that was full of flavour. Incidentally, there was no real cider here.
The solitary barmaid was keeping herself busy during what must have been a quiet period of the week. One customer arrived and commented how quiet Bath actually was on that day. Perhaps we were lucky to have found this place so relaxed. Other customers were asked whether they were students, as a discount is offered to them.
On 26th August 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Bath Brew House
Large open-plan and echoey place which, as the name suggests, is a brewpub. Modern music, open kitchen, wood plank flooring and walls, uncomfortable seats – a very mid-teens feel. To the rear is a decent enclosed quasi beer garden. Six of their cask on the go, we went for the Deus, Emperor, Lupulus and Gladiator. Cask quality between NBSS 2.5-3 and brew quality pretty variable – the Lupulus was the only one I’d be tempted to try again. Expensive, too and of course card-only. Worth a nose to say you’ve been but I can’t imagine myself re-appearing under my own steam. Inevitably it’s GBG’22 listed.
On 12th November 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Bath Brew House
This is a modern brewpub with a great central location in a striking old building, formerly the Midland Hotel. Inside, the pub occupies a large rectangular room with the bar midway along the left-hand wall and a variety of mostly comfy seating around the remainder of the perimeter. The place felt a bit like something from the Brewhouse and Kitchen chain, minus the pointless faux-industrial decor, making good use of contemporary furniture and fittings to create a smart, slightly quirky environment that will appeal to a broad customer base, perhaps best exemplified by the sight of my elderly father ordering a round whilst surrounded by a tottering hen do party. We settled under the front windows, which were surprisingly great for a bit of people watching, so I didn’t properly explore the rear part of the pub, where I believe there is a function room and a decent garden area.
The in-house micro supplies the majority of the beer, with the handpulls offering a range of styles with suitably Roman-themed names - Gladiator, Spartacus, Commodus, Emperor and Herculean - plus a load of other homebrew options on keg. I forget which one I tried, but seem to recall it was a bit underwhelming - very light bodied and devoid of flavour.
I really like what they’ve done here and thought it was a good venue that will work well in a range of circumstances. The place was comfortable, well thought out and clean, but service was a little lethargic and the beer left a lot to be desired - I’ll hope I just made a poor choice and that the rest of the range is better.
On 12th October 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Bath Brew House
Not for me - or Mrs M, who wanted to leave on entry.
Good beer guide 2022 entry. Although I think establishments that need bouncers should be excluded from the bible.
Massive interior and large beer garden that is covered. Absolutely packed solid on a Friday night with students. Pumping music.
Tables, if you can find one, filthier than a JDW.
The beer was also poor. I went for one of their own brews - Dunkel Fester - an attempt at a German Dunkel. Overfizzy and a head that disappeared almost instantly.
Bar staff friendly, but overworked.
On 12th October 2022
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1338 recommendations about 1324 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about The Bath Brew House
A former coaching inn whose interior is described by others, most notably BF, below. Seven handpumps on the bar, two were dry,the others dispensed Bristol Beer Company’s Fortitude and Independence, and Cywlch, Gladiator and Carpe Noctem from their own stable. The beers were in excellent condition but disappointingly expensive for the area. Neck Oil was also available on keg. Prices aside, I quite enjoyed my visit and should be happy to come back and should include on a crawl.
On 31st March 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3286 recommendations about 3251 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Bath Brew House
A fairly trendy sort of place with one long room leading to an open kitchen at the rear and a quite Germanic beer garden courtyard behind containing the brewery. Four of the brews were available on handpump and it was nice to see something described as 'dark and malty' which, although not much of either, was a pleasant enough drink and close to a light mild. Probably a good place for some serious ale supping.
On 24th August 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Bath Brew House
Very busy on a Tuesday evening with a predominantly young crowd in the large L shaped interior, seven ales on of which I had a very swift Bath Brew House Spartacus due to an impending train arrival having already missed one. I didn't have time to fully appreciate the pub but would return to have another look if back in Bath.
On 26th March 2020
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Bath Brew House
We too enjoyed our visit here . One not to be missed when visiting Bath and we have also visited their sister pub in Bristol, which was also good. They had a selection of ales across seven pumps on our visit, so we went for the Castle Combe Pendulum and their own brew Bath Street Unbelievably Jeff.
On 25th October 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Bath Brew House
Housed in a pleasing old building,this is the home of the James Street Brewery.The interior is L shaped with a rear extension which houses an open kitchen and a wait to be seated dining area.The decor is quirky with most of the wall coverings and the bar consisting of old door panels,cupboard doors and other wooden furniture parts.Pump clips adorn the two RSJ's that support the open plan structure,while to the front side there is a table football machine and a mix of seating,some of which is more reclaimed wood and scaffolding bars.Trendy and shabby chic come to mind.If you want to see the brewing process,the tap room with seating is upstairs but this space can be privately hired,on my trip to a life drawing class.
At the bar there are 7 handpumps offering on my trip James Street Gladiator,Emporer & Ostairius while guests were BBF Seven,Twisted Brewing Gaucho and an excellent Arbor Why Kick a Moo Cow.Keg options seemed more mundane by comparison.I sampled a sausage roll from the starter menu and at £4 it was sizeable and well cooked.The staff are friendly and offered tasting samples.
Having been in their sister pub King Street BrewHouse in Bristol,this place maintains the high standard and I would view this as a must visit when in Bath and seeking top quality real ale.It would be first on my list for a revisit.
On 10th July 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2728 recommendations about 2728 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Bath Brew House
They had six or so ales on in here, with none from the ranks of the usual suspects. They have an open-to-view microbrewery here, and had three of the house ales on – I noted something called NZ Wai Iti Surgery (5.8%) on, but my companions and I all went for the house session ale called Gladiator (£3.40 a pint and around 3.9%). The pump for this ale had a small sign on it warning prospective imbibers that it is intended to be served a bit hazy. I hadn’t seen this before, but reckon every pub that sells such a beer should have a “hazy beer alert” on the appropriate handpumps, as this would help head off misunderstandings. I also spotted Portobello VPA among the guest ales, plus there was also a cider on handpump. “Food from the Spit” was advertised with, for example, a quarter chicken at £5 with “sides” (such as something called “skinny fries”) at an additional £3. The kitchen is open plan at the back on the left.
This pub has been given a complet makeover, to turn it into something a bit quirky. Everywhere you look there is old planking being used as décor – the bar counter frontage is old planking, as is some of the wall. There’s an old and large suitcase being used as a table; sweet jars on the bar back; and an old piece of cast iron machinery as part of a large solid wooden table. There’s also a table football near the front of the micro-brewery. There are a few too many tall tables/tall stools here for my liking; as well as some sofas, and the table at which we sat had only small stools for seating, one of which was a re-cycled beer cask. In fact, I couldn’t find anything which I would describe as traditional pub furnishings. But other attractive features were the distinctive parquet flooring at the front of the room, as well as the stone fireplace on the right. There is a garden at the back, but unfortunately not really usable during a weekday lunchtime at the moment due to the building site next door. I guess it must be dog friendly as there was a water bowl fairly near the entrance, and at the back was a pile of blankets for use by those who might otherwise be too cold in the garden.
My only reservation about this pub is the lack of comfortable and traditional seating. The service was friendly and efficient (tasters were offered), although our pints came in dimple jugs with no choice offered. The beer choice was excellent, with the beer well looked after and at reasonable prices. All in all there are many more pluses here than minuses.
On 30th July 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]