The Brewery Tap

This place has a solid bar history for our fair city. It’s been around for decades.
There are plenty of beers to try. Long tables are strewn throughout so you never know who you may meet.
Play darts if you want. Enjoy friendly conversation. Nothing fancy. Plain and simple. It’s a bar folks and I like it.
Halley puppy wags her tail merrily.

I’ll tailor this review for those who want to watch a BPL match. This is a solid bar with a lot of football/​soccer pride. Chelsea matches take priority but you can catch other games as well. I spent an unreasonable amount of time talking to a Manchester United fan during my first visit.
The staff is great and like most places it helps if you know what you want. Also, parking is available across the street and towards the METRO rail.

I wondered into The Brewery Tap by accident, walking by on a «far away parking» kind of night Downtown. That first nigh my husband and I wondered in there it was late and The Brewery Tap was 95% closed. It had a weird «is this a bar?» vibe that got me to come back and explore. When I made it back I had an amazing time. Not sure if it represented the norm but the place felt more like a house party than a bar. Random people hanging out, a lot of beer talk, I believe there was a magician of some sort there (not sure if he was just a customer but he did have a costume). It’s a very laid back place for when you’re in that kind of mood.
Writing this review made me want to visit again soon.

Truly and honestly a great place to be!!!
Great selection of beer on tap, great bartender, awesome owner!
If you know downtown Houston parking is an issue but like any place in Houston parking is always an issue.
Great music, great tap selection, great company!!!
5 dart boards, what??? cheers Houston!

Brewery Tap is in the Historic Magnolia Brewery Building. They don’t brew anything there now but offer a little over 30 beers and craft beers on tap in this divey bar. Combine a trip here with The League of Extraordinary Brewers which is a one minute walk away.

What a great pub! It’s like transplanting your neighborhood sports bar… To DOWNTOWN Houston!

«The bar for people who don’t like people» is one of their catch phrases. Just a bar, pretty small, nothing special but a nice hangout place that isn’t too loud.

«Cheers» doesn’t have shit on this place. I ordered one beer and the tender handed me 5 to taste. In here everyone’s a local.

Divey and perfect. 20^th Anny St Arnold’s on tap. Bartender even warned me of $ 12 it was going to cost, extra tip for you!

You can smoke here !!! Nuff said. Good beer and good service. No bad things to say. Come check it out

Almost a waste of a stop in Downtown Houston. The bar is very small, with a very small beer selection. The name alone drew me in… I was seriously expecting taps upon taps, but was greeted with a very small selection and a staff that had no idea what a good beer was.
Luckily, the bathrooms were available and it wasn’t a complete waste of a stop.

My first thought when we walked in was that I thought maybe I had stepped into an episode of «Sons of Anarchy». It was dark and kinda smelly and if I had been by myself I might not have stayed, but the others in my group wanted to stay and have a drink. Pretty awesome that they have so many beers on tap, including ones I would actually like (Shock Top, etc).
The dudes in our group played darts, and we all had a great time. One of those places that you wouldn’t expect to like but I was happy we stuck around It wasn’t super crowded and we could actually hear each other talk, which is always nice.

I always enjoy this place when I stop by. Not the best beer bar in town, but always fun. It is a neat old building downtown. There is a wall in the back dedicated to darts. A long wood bar and tables scattered about. All wood, and dimly lit. A couple of TV’s (with the volume off). Lots of old bottles line the wall. An unopened bottle of 1990’s era Thomas Hardy!!! I am always trying to get the bartender to open that one. There is even a ghost story that adds to the feel of the place.
The beer selection is above average. They usually have three Saint Arnold taps, Fuller’s ESB, and are the biggest sellers of Spaten in town I believe. I will be perfectly happy to drink Saint Arnold and Fuller’s all night. It is not unusual to have an old or dirty tap though. The service is fun and care free, can’t complain about that. Just a guy behind the bar who is very laid back and fun to talk to. One lazy afternoon he taught me to play backgammon with some of the other regulars. There is no food, but you can bring in whatever you want to eat.
Overall, not a very busy place, and ultra chill. One of my favorite spots downtown, but I never seem to visit as much as I want for some reason. An institution in Houston among the likes of La Carafe.

We came here after a frustrating experience with the epic failure of the Houston Beer Fest, it was wonderful! Not crowded but great ambiance and friendly people. Beers were cheap and plentiful, it was so much better than what we had planned! We ended up going to about 4 or 5 places that night, but this one was BY FAR the best, and that’s including Flying Saucer. There’s something about old and homey with soccer scarfs and jerseys on the wall that make you feel like home! DEFINITELY will go again, new favorite bar in downtown!
Oh, and I didn’t smell anything funny… either they fixed it or we smelled so bad that the bar was roses, I really hope it’s the former!!! ;-P

If you’re a complete chicken, like myself, let me first warn you that The Brewery Tap is rumored to be haunted. Eek. During one of my recent visits, the barkeep showed me a photo that a patron took where there is a clear and distinct ghostly-​looking «person» right next to the fella. The photo is placed behind the bar if you want to check it out for yourself. …And other random stories can be heard from the staff once you belly up to the bar.
This wouldn’t be one of my regular haunts, uh pun intended, but I do appreciate the history behind the Brewery Tap. I could repeat it, but it’d be faster for me if you just check Gretchen P’s well written review.

After I failed to get to sit upstairs at La Carafe, I went in search of another bar. I found myself at Brewery Tap. My first thought: «it smells like crap in here.» Don’t worry, if you stick around long enough you’ll get used to the smell. It’s charming.
And getting used to the smell is worth it too. There are a ton of good drinks on tap. Maybe 30 beers? The British bartender I had was a really cool bloke. I wish all bartenders were as friendly as he was (I hear the other bartenders at Brewery Tap are pretty awesome too). Also, they have some serious darts guys that come in occasionally. I ended up playing in some doubles matches with the bartender and some of the regulars. Very very fun times all-​around. I spent an entire afternoon here before the Final Four games, and spent less than $ 20. Then I came back the following Monday to see if it was just as great on a weekday. It was. Local beers were only $ 2.50, and this was my first experience with LoneStar beer. Oh yeah, supposedly the place is haunted too — there’s a cool story behind it if you can find somebody willing to tell you about it.
Aside from actually getting to go to the Final Four games, Brewery Tap was my favorite part of the entire Houston trip. If I lived in Houston I’d happily make this my «go-​to» bar. If I’m ever in town again, I will definitely find a way to get back.

Stopped in here to kill time before a flight home. I was greeted by a burly guy who turned out to be the owner. What a great man! We got to shooting the sh*t and next thing I know he’s sliding ¾ pints down the bar as samples to broaden my beer experiences.
The owner got to talking about the building and mentioned it was pretty historic. I can’t recall the interesting facts but I did retain that bar counter was made from the original beams of the building that date pretty far back.
Was an interesting spot that seemed to have a very passionate following as shown in pictures of volunteers helping to refurbish the bar after a horrible flood.
I will definitely be back when I’m in Houston again.

I like beer.
I like beer served on tap.
I like beer in a bottle or a can, as a matter of fact.
I like beer served behind a wooden bar.
I like beer served by a hairy, old man with a deep voice and a throaty chuckle.
I like beer served in a bar with dart boards and jukeboxes.
I like beer served in a bar with solid wood tables and benches.
I like beer served in a bar with a story (even if I don’t like scary stories).
I like beer when the bartender knows your poison by the second round.
I like beer.
I love the Brewery Tap!

If I walk into a bar and the first thing I smell is decades of spilt beer on the wood floor, among other things, I know this is my kind of place. I love it when I can find a bar in a historic downtown building, it gives the establishment instant character. In the case of The Brewery Tap, a ghost, now that is cool.
The Brewery Tap had plenty of beer on tap. I saw 4 different St. Arnold’s. I asked if they had any bottled beer, Jack’s response was «nah, the reach in cooler went down during the storm, you know Ike, and we just haven’t gotten around to replacing it.» I guess I could of been disappointed, but somehow felt I was in the right place. Jack the bartender was great. Luckily for me they had Lone Star on tap. The picnic tables were wobbly and worn on the edged, which indicates to me they had been there a very long time. They also had a few dart boards on the back wall.
We had a great Unilocal crowd and I can see myself meeting up with friends at The Brewery Tap for a few pints of beer. I was teetering on ³¹⁄₂ to 4 stars, but when I thought about it, this place was just what I expected and in many cases exceeded many of my expectations. The friendly regulars and bartenders, big selection of beer on tap, the old school tube and projection TVs made me give this place 5 stars.

The Houston Ice and Brewing Company. Never heard of it? Just an itsy bitsy history lesson. Read, it won’t be painful.
The brewery was opened in 1892 and by 1915 covered more than twenty acres along Buffalo Bayou. During Prohibition, the company shut down brewing and specialized in Ice and cold storage. It never recovered, and closed in 1950. The Magnolia building was bought and renovated in 1968 and now houses the Magnolia Ballroom and the Brewery Tap.
See, short and sweet.
Long wooden tables with long wooden benches. (Think old biergarten.) Dark corners for ghosts to lurk in happily. Wooden shutters. Dart boards (on a raised platform). Wooden bar with nice barstools. Lots of beer on tap. Business folk patrons, which happily bled into downtown inhabitants and a healthy contingent of Unilocalers. Extremely friendly bartenders. Historical building with the appropriate amount of atmosphere.
It’s a shame that more people don’t frequent the gems downtown. Perhaps with the Market Square revamp in progress, more people will discover or rediscover the great bars and their ghosts. I keep telling people that Market Square is the best place in town. You can’t go wrong with: La Carafe, Warren’s, CharBar, and the Brewery Tap.
Oh, and if your excuse is «no parking,» you’re thinking crazy. I’ve never had an issue in this part of downtown… and in most cases, it’s free.