Portland, OR: Horse Brass Pub
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Horse Brass Pub


Type: Bar
Excellent
 Ratings  Ambiance  Service  Selection  Food  Overall  Rating 
45 76%  71%  83%  72%  78%  91 

4534 SE Belmont
Portland, Oregon 97215 [
printable map ]
(503) 232-2202 or 888-892-BEER
http://www.horsebrass.com/
Hours: M-F 11-2:30 am, Sat&Sun 10-2:30 am
Taps: ~50
Bottles: numerous


Seasonals
Real Ales
Rare Beers
Macros
Patio
TV
Proper Glassware
Cigars
Smoking
Reservations
Games
Children



RateBeer Brew Tour Guide's Comments
Located in southeast Portland just west of Mt. Tabor, this establishment is a must visit for any beer fanatic traveling through the city. The pub regularly has 48 beers on tap, plus the occasional specials or seasonals. The selection of beers on tap is very diverse. Many of Portland’s smaller breweries are served here, for example Hair of the Dog. Many other West Coast breweries are represented on tap, such as Stone, Rogue, Elysian, Bert Grant, Full Sail and Deschutes. There are usually 4 cask conditioned ales on tap as well. There is almost always a unique or hard to find Full Sail beer on tap. All tap beers are served in 20 oz. Imperial pints. Bottled beers include many imports, mainly from the British Isles but also including some Belgian beers like Chimay Bleu. The physical appearance of the bar is impressive, modeled in the English pub style. The interior and bar is almost entirely wooden, and the walls bear old pictures, flags, and some ancient beer signs. Like any English pub, the pool tables of modern America have been replaced with four dart boards spread out over the entire pub. This helps to add a truly unique feel to this bar. This is probably one of the best bars in Portland. It is a little hard to find if you’re not looking closely or you’re not familiar with the area. But once you get there, you’ll be sure to remember the way! Also, stop by Belmont Station right next door for bottled microbrews and imports, as well as glassware, t-shirts, and chocolate.

Your Opinions - Last rating was last month
Ungstrup Ambiance 4 Service 7 Selection 12 Food Overall 15

6/8/2008 2:31:32 PM, sunday, june 08, 2008
A very dark pub with a huge bar, decorated quite rustic, with lots of wood, nice, but it is a drawback that smoking is allowed, medium crowded when we arrived on mid-afternoon on a Friday. The service was friendly. I managed 7 new beers in halfpint size before my friends wanted to move on - I could have stayed since there still was many beers for me to sample. I sure hope to return one day.

austinpowers Ambiance 4 Service 5 Selection 10 Food Overall 10

5/26/2008 9:25:26 PM, monday, may 26, 2008
Dark, dingy, grimy English pub with smoke. Unimpressive bottle and tap list. I don’t see what the big deal is. 3 ales on cask, but they weren’t any big deal (Belhaven). They carried Bud, Bud Light and Miller. WTF?!

presario Ambiance 5 Service 10 Selection 14 Food Overall 17

5/25/2008 7:00:53 PM, sunday, may 25, 2008
Not sure why I would not have rated this in 2006. Great atmoshphere. Plenty of taps. Something new to try both trips. The same enjoyable chain smoking cantankerous bartender. An amazing unchanging tap house.

BeerZack Ambiance 4 Service 6 Selection 13 Food Overall 16

3/31/2008 12:16:08 PM, monday, march 31, 2008
This place is great for what it is- an old dark, dingy, dirty English Pub. It smells smoky in this place even when you can’t see anyone smoking (it was Sunday morning I believe). If that sounds good to you, then this is your place. Selection probably is the best thing about Horse Brass- Great local and West Coast micro selections as well as quite a few Imports, including Belgians. The waitress was excited to help us almost as soon as we walked in. She did seem a little weeded with all the food orders (one waitress on, but at least 3 guys working the kitchen). Probably not the best time to come to this place (Sunday morn). Overall, its definitely one of the best selections of taps in Portland, even if its not my favorite.

ironchefscott Ambiance 5 Service 9 Selection 15 Food 10 Overall 19

3/24/2008 3:01:09 PM, monday, march 24, 2008
I love this place...great english food..and you can smoke inside!:) and also they have a killer tap list everytime I have been there!

jake65 Ambiance 3 Service 7 Selection 13 Food 8 Overall 15

2/17/2008 11:26:49 AM, sunday, february 17, 2008
Moderately easy to find, parking behind the building was adequate. Inside is a dark and woody pub atmosphere. I forgot how much I hate it when smoking is allowed indoors. The waitress promptly marched up and demand to know what’ll ya have? Selection on tap was encouraging and several were on cask. Decent English pub menu and the sausage dinner hit the spot. I’d certainly come here again, but preferably in the daylight as most passerbys looked a little sketchy. For a first-timer in Portland, this is a must stop.

WeeHeavySD Ambiance 4 Service 8 Selection 12 Food 8 Overall 18

1/7/2008 3:20:27 AM, monday, january 07, 2008
First stop on my recent road trip with Bikesandbeer and I was impressed. This place was great, a great draft selection with multiple taps and several cask beers. This is a great place, the food was also pretty damn tasty, they even had good vegetarian selections for my traveling partners. I like this place a lot, one complaint is that the various tobacco smoke that was present was a little obnoxious, but not terrible. We spent several hours here drinking and eating and playing board games on a quiet sunday evening. Highly Recommended.

NickVega Ambiance 5 Service 10 Selection 12 Food 7 Overall 18

8/17/2007 1:16:52 AM, friday, august 17, 2007
Excellent service. Stopped here after the Brewer’s Festival just to really bury myself, ouch. Really good place!

marcus Ambiance 4 Service 4 Selection 12 Food Overall 14

8/5/2007 11:52:08 AM, sunday, august 05, 2007
This is a smoky British-style pub with scroungy bathrooms and indifferent servers.. However, the beer selection and general beer culture ambience trump the physical inadequacies. There is a good selection of draft beers and a long bottle menu. I didn’t try the food, but it diidn’t llook very impressive. Overall, a good beer experience.

Flyer Ambiance 3 Service 4 Selection 10 Food Overall 10

7/2/2007 11:35:23 AM, monday, july 02, 2007
The place potentially has a lot going for it, but it’s lacking a certain something. Okay, we were there in late afternoon, and what it was lacking were customers. The physical atmosphere is classic, gnarly English pub, and the selection was pretty good overall. The bartender seemed like he might have been knowledgable, but he was more interested in talking about what was selling than what was good, and his service was indifferent at best. I probably owe this place another shot when there are people present, but it just didn’t seem to have that inviting quality (which most great beer bars have even when they’re empty). If you’re in this neighborhood, visit Belmont Station first, then stop here only if you have extra time.


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  Rate This Place
  Ambiance
  Service
  Selection
  Food
  Overall
  Comments

Noise
Tolerable

Staff
Attentive, courteous, not most knowledgeable

Food
English, but the place is mostly for drinking

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