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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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Detail Pages
Temple Brew House, Temple, WC2
WC2
WC2R 3JG
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Temple Brew House
A one room basic stripped out wooden floored basement bar that has the advantage that it is home to a small microbrewery. Character is provided by assorted brewing décor including a mural of the brewing process on one wall and a collection of beer mats on the upper parts of the wall, albeit a token collection compared to the one that can be found in the Edgar Wallace nearby. There is a couple of large screens but these were off for most of our visit, only being turned on when the England football game against Italy kicked off.
The serving bar itself is a fairly simplistic affair with six ale pumps on its front and then a 16 tap keg wall behind the bar. I got the impression that most of the punters come here for the craft options being dispensed from the tap wall and of the six ale pumps only three were in operation for our visit. And this very quickly became two when the microbreweries Premium Bitter literally went off as our first round was being poured. But the inhouse Pale Ale stayed on all evening and was a decent pint. The third was a third-party stout, but the round pump clip was so small, I couldn’t be arsed to get close enough to be able to read it.
The keg wall options were much easier to make out, and alongside standard stuff such as Estrella, Amstel and Guinness there was some interesting craft options from Magic Rock, Tiny Rebel and Siren alongside the more familiar Beavertown Gamma Ray.
On 29th March 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about Temple Brew House
Basement bar that houses Essex street brewery. A stripped back raw shabby interior. 5 real ales and numerous keg available during my visit.
On 25th November 2016
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
custodian 42 left this review about Temple Brew House
A 5.0% IPA at last. Brew House is the brand. Not too bad but a bit dark for an IPA. Basement bar with a lot of keg beers behind the counter. Glad I was in early as I can see this getting rammed after work. Decent place that warrants a revisit.
On 19th October 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Temple Brew House
This place was right up my street,brewing its own beer on the premises with five of their own normally on offer plus a guest.Its a basement bar,rusticly appointed in a modern way,wasn't overly busy on our visit the day before new years eve but was ticking over nicely,as Mr Fastard mentions below the guy behind the bar was very friendly and informative.The Smokehouse Porter was very nice,I would be more than happy to have an extended visit here.
On 31st December 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Temple Brew House
A very full PSM review hits all the key points,I liked the friendly vibe downhere and the barman had time to chat and was very informative on the house beers.We visited as part of a crawl on a quiet afternoon and it was very relaxed,a previous attempted Friday 6pm visit proved beyond me due to the sheer throng of drinkers.
Six handpumps with All Black IPA,Smoke House Porter (very decent)and Temple Best from Essex Street with a single guest Redemption Rock the Kazbek.16 keg taps with a wide variety,an extensive bottled beer list and food with mains £10-20 completed the offering.I would be tempted to have a longer stay here next time during a quiet session,and most certainly worth including in any Strand crawl.
On 31st December 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Temple Brew House
This basement bar has operated under a number of guises in recent years, including as an Australian theme bar called The Southerner and a German bierkeller called Bierpalast. Thankfully, a recent change of ownership has seen it alight on a far more promising raison-d’être – a brewpub and home to the Essex Street Brewery. The bar is accessed by a staircase which leads you down from street level, past a number of old beer engines and a selection of beer vessels, into a bare boarded room with exposed concrete walls and pillars throughout. To the rear is a similarly bleak concrete servery with a wooden counter and bar back fittings. The décor is a bit quirky and includes hop lined ceilings, a number of metal-mesh containers full of glasses, tankards etc… and some art pieces that detail the brewing process. Standard and low stool seating fills the majority of the room, although comfier padded benches and banquette booths can be found around the perimeter. A series of lettered doors run along the left hand wall, which was most confusing when trying to find the toilets, which I eventually discovered were to the rear left, past a bicycle that hangs from one wall. A large TV screen was showing cricket in the front left corner with quiet indie music playing in the background and I also spotted a dartboard. The walls of the gents’ toilets had been papered with what might be described as ‘beer porn’ – a series of pages from various books detailing the finest beers in the world.
The bar offers a decent selection of beery delights, as you might hope, with the handpulls dispensing the in-house brews. On this visit, these comprised Essex Street The Gavel, Calcutta Club, Grumpy Scot, Smoke House and Temple Best Bitter. Sambrooks Pumphouse Pale was the solitary guest and Old Rosie cider was also available. Sixteen keg beers were available from taps on the bar back, including mainstream brews such as Amstel and more obscure offerings from microbreweries such as Redchurch. I tried a pint of the Calcutta Club, which I thought was a tasty Indian Pale Ale and in good condition.
Temple strikes me as an unusual location for a brewpub, but they were still doing a brisk trade late into my Friday evening visit. I thought the place was a bit rough around the edges but I enjoyed my pint and welcome the chance to visit somewhere a bit different in this part of the city.
On 11th September 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Temple Brew House
A noisy basement bar, churning out hit and miss beer. The interior was quite similar to that of Brewdog, with similar customers to match. The staff in here were also uppity and didn't have any interest in the beers they were slopping out. Even the food was trying so hard to be trendy, with a choice of Smoked Brisket on Toast etc. We tried a couple of ales and about the best was the Calcutta Club IPA.
On 30th July 2015
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Temple Brew House
Rustic basement ale house - previously the German-style Bierschenke and the Australian-themed Southerner - with brew-kit visible as you descend the stairs beside the linked Davy's Wine Bar above. Six real ales on handpump, including four of their own Essex Street beers - Tempale, The Gavel, Calcutta Club IPA and Dark Knight brown porter (£3.75) - plus Endless pale ale from Redwillow as a guest and Old Rosie cider. Also has 16 craft keg taps.
On 11th April 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about Temple Brew House
Shabby chic distressed effect basement bar.Lots of signs and bare plaster.Nice shiney brewery as well.Seems tiny compared to the previous bar that was here.Their own brewed beers have been very good.3 own beers on and the Antipodean was lovely.Not impressed with the décor but good beer is what its all about.
On 7th February 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Blue left this review about Southerner
The Southerner antipodean bar has recently become Bierschenke, a German bierkeller
On 17th August 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 271 recommendations about 270 pubs]