I like to say that if I were to open a pub, it would be like the Horse Brass. A rugged, log cabin meets British pub atmosphere, traditional British food (great bangers), and great hosts. The beer list has been good, but not excellent. I’m always able to find something rare from Oregon, which is great.

Ardunno. I used to like it more than I do now. I’ve become quite attached to drinking without sucking in a hundred cubic metres of second hand smoke. I cannot abide by smoke in a beer bar. It’s bullshit. The beer list is also not as inspired - too many obvious and easy choices. The food is all right for what it is - British pub fare is not haute cuisine.

The classic Horse Brass, located in a beery area of Portland you’ll want to visit anyway is probably a must. The gigantic tap list just makes it worth it by itself. The beers seem to rotate swiftly, so I take it that everything is fresh. In terms of looks, it clearly adopts the English pub path and is relatively successful in terms of decorum, but not in terms of England. The crowd here is relatively young, relatively trendy and just clearly American. I can’t blame Horse Brass for that, but it does not have the warming, envelopping, yet brash and character of a pub in Britain. Efficient bar staff, but it just did not feel all that comfortable though the food aptly looked gross. Still, the selection features tons of IPAs and other American delicacies. The pint of La Folie at 4.50 felt like the deal of the century.

(Visited 02/2010): Went here on a recommendation from a fellow beer lover who goes to Portland frequently and were not disappointed. Horse Brass is located on the east side of the city on Belmont off route 30/84. Parking can be found on the surrounding streets. The inside was absolutely packed on a weekday night. There is communal seating and tables from wall to wall, and a wraparound bar that occupies 2 of the rooms. There are darts in the back too. The place is dark with a lot of wood and British-inspired decor. The beer selection at Horse Brass is very substantial and changes regularly. There are around 50 brews on tap from regional brewers like Caldera, Speakeasy, Elysian, HUB, Laurelwood, Deschutes and others. They also have a few import taps from Germany, Scotland, Belgium and others. Cask beer is also available. The bottle list is fairly extensive as well with many of the same brewers represented. There are beer menus on the tables that show a (mostly) up to date list. Service was about as good as can be expected considering the place was overflowing with people. Our server was helpful in letting us know what changes had occurred on the beer menu and made good food recommendations. As for the food, it is very good. We tried a Scotch Egg based on a recommendation and it was awesome. Our bangers and mash and fish and chips were very good as well. Overall the Horse Brass is high on the list of places to hit in Portland.

Great atmosphere, dark lighting, lots of old wooden benches and tables. Three-sided bar that on the night I was there was covered in firkins for a winter cask festival. It was still decked out in Halloween lighting despite the fact that it was late November. Lots of beer decor, great tap list, and knowledgable table servers. I didn’t eat, but the menu looked like typical British pub food. Awesome place.

This place has an inviting pub atmosphere with lots of wooden furnishings, breweriana, and dim lighting. Darts are available near the restrooms in the back. We only had a salad, which was tasty, but my buddy got some scrumptious looking fish and chips for lunch. The beer list is top notch. Heavy emphasis on west coast beer with lots of rare gems I didn’t see elsewhere were available on tap. They have a second page on the tap list labeled "coming soon" which leads me to believe they rotate the selection out fairly regularly. I highly recommend Horse Brass.

A great place! Reminds me of Mcgregors in Rochester NY, gritty and dirty, but friendly, a great tap selection, with a few imports and California beers, and loads of paraphenelia from visiting tourists. Nice pub menu, and very Ratebeer (or beer ticker) friendly service. A must in Portland.

Well I finally made it after 10 years of loving the craft beer scene I made it to the Horse Brass Pub. I will admit a few years back I went in but the smoke was so thick I walked right back out. Now if they left the laws as they where I would have one day ventured in but I was sure glad it was not such a smoke house. Made it nice to really taste and enjoy the brew. Now enough of that off my soap box. Don Younger whom I have met over the years at various events and places has made quite the place. The taps, the bar the place itself was awesome. A beer drinker’s paradise I finally made it. The taps available alone where to die for and I was lucky to have a great beer. Beers in the bottle top notch the food was awesome and the service was also very good. They the servers had great beer knowledge of the product and for this beer geek that was awesome. If ever in Portland and have a few places to see this is one that is on the top of the list for beer bars. Horse Brass I will be back…

Pretty gritty/pubby venue. Walking in is like a dive bar, but being in is like an English pub, at least in some corners. Great food. Usually about 5 ales on cask. It is perhaps the best real ale place, with food, in the whole NW.

Visited around mid day on Weds 07/11/12. Place was fairly busy and most folks were eating. We sat at the bar and drank for an hour or so. Bar tender was great fun and gave us a few samples and chatted away to us. Decent selection with 2 cask dispense and around 50 taps. Beer menu in 2 parts. Regular tap menu and guest tap menu. Eelectronic board as you enter - ’think’ but memory fades, this just displayed the guest taps? Decor is mock English pub thing - not a bad stab at it to be fair! Definately come back here.