Seoul Beer Places 2015

In Seoul, I started my vacation by hiting the Great Korean Beer Festival that took place near COEX. I wound up wasting time looking for a brewpub that had gone out of business years before which redouble my determination to try and get Ratebeer's Seoul Place Listings a bit more up to date so others wouldn't similarly waste their time.

I've found most places in Korea these days have given up on spending money on websites and just focus on a free Facebook Page though some don't even have that yet as they're so new.

The way I explored Seoul was by dividing it into several areas with clusters of beer places. You have the Northeast + downtown, Haeundae which I didn't get to this visit, the heart of the scene Itaewon + Gyeongridan which I visited twice and Gangnam South of the River.

Gangnam

My visit around Gangnam started after the GKBF finished near COEX so I decided to check out The Booth Samsung. What a disappointment! 

The Booth Samsung Location

The 2 floors(3F+4F) were beautiful as one has a gorgeous outdoor terrace while the interior is dominated with a large bar/kitchen in the middle. A fantastic pizza aroma suffused the space and was sold by the slice for 4000 won each. 

great terrace

So far so good, BUT out of the 5-6 taps they have ONLY ONE beer was on tap!!! You call themselves a beer place with just one option? That is just ridiculous, especially when there's a beer fest on around the corner. The staff gave no apologies or anything plus there seemed to be full kegs just waiting to be put on tap. After my bad experience in Busan this kind of cemented my view of the Booth as being style over substance and not really a serious craft beer place. 



It was a serious let down, but if you are near COEX you may as well pop in and maybe you''ll be lucky enough to go when they actually have a selection of beer on tap.

Band of Brewers

A short walk to the West brought us to this bar. They kind of misrepresented themselves as making unique beers and contract brewing but I've since discovered their beers are all from Whasoo Brewing and while a few may be unique to them, the majority are not.

Anyways, it located on the 2F of a building near Seollung Station. It's got a clean concrete design with pine furniture decorating the bar. They have 19 taps but just a dozen were on when I went including their house beers. 

The staff were alright and followed the fairly standard in Korea leave you to yourself type service but prompt. The house beers and pizza were decent. It's worth a visit.

Hopscotch Gangnam

 Great looking place hidden in an alleyway near Gangnam-Gu Office station. Directions from the owner: Get off at Gangnam-gu OFFICE station (not the popular gangnam station), exit 3. Walk straight for about 150 meters, on the right there will be a Cafe Bene, make a right into that alley, you should see a Kia motors garage about 25 meters. Cross the largish back street, whilst Kia motors on your right. The first small alley make a left. Then about 10 meters down is a huge steel door, open and come in. We have no sign. The map should be correct. 

It has a great ambiance of a posh cigar bar - dark wood, leather banquettes, matte black metal. The entrance gives it a bit of a speakeasy feel and the chill vibe inside reinforces a sense of luxury. It's non smoking so have no fear. 

They have all of the Hand & Malt beers on tap plus a range of US + European stuff with Belgium well represented. A really cool place, perfect for a date when you want to impress.

Bryan Do the owner of Hand & Malt + Hopscotch

Boutique Brand B & Bottles

Boutique B is near Sinnonhyeon a few stops from Craftbros. Tiny place with seating for 6 inside and another 4 at a few tables in front. It's definitely a cute place with decent prices to drink in or go. 

It’d make a great local but the 50 or so import varieties, zero taps & out of the way location means it isn’t that interesting for travelers.

7 Brau Pub Gangnam

This place is quite close to Sinnonhyeon station as it is just a few blocks south of exit 4. The interior is a large gleaming concrete space with 8 taps. When I went just after opening it was pretty dead but they have seating for hundreds and somewhat of a sterile sports bar vibe. The staff were really kind & friendly.

The best part was a 12,000 won sampler of 6 of their beers. Most of those I hadn't seen on tap elsewhere so it is well worth visiting as it's more conveniently located than their Yeouido bar. 

The beers were all fairly solid, though tame, examples of their respective styles: IPA , Imperial IPA , Stout , Mild Ale , Kristal Weizen  & Pilsner.

Craftbros Tap House & Bottle Shop

This place is kind of off on it’s own in a very residential part of town. It's a short walk from Sinbanpo on line 9 which I've since learned is seen as the "French Quarter" of Seoul as apparently it is home to half the French residents of the city. 

 A fairly large inviting streetwise bar with an attached bottle shop beckons from it's brick exterior. Inside, you'll find a dozen taps on but maybe 15 in total. 23,000 won for a sampler of 4 (150ml) means it is pretty pricey. Their house beers are contract brewed at Korea Craft Brewery which started life as a joint venture with Hitachino Nest.  

I tried to get a taste of their house beers but the staff in the bar area spoke no English. It was frustrating so I left without trying any drafts but I bought 20$ in bottles. The guy on the bottle shop side spoke good English and was clearly really into beer. 

My takeaway was it had a nice  but somewhat pricey draft list with average prices on bottles. I guess that should be no surprise as this is the wealthy part of town. I feel it's probably the best bottle shop South of the river and worth a detour if you have the time but it is pretty out of the way.

The Northeast + Downtown

Hopscotch Gwanghamun

One of the two best places to drink in a traditional Korean atmosphere while having some local craft beer. It is in a fantastic old Korean house down an alleyway near Gyeongbokgong Palance(the map is accurate). Staff spoke no English but seemed nice. 

They had less of a selection than at their Gangnam location but it was the most beautiful and unique craft beer place to visit for travellers in my opinion. I wish it was open during the day to pop in while doing sightseeing nearby but it opens at 6pm so plan your day to finish at the palace around then. FYI the Modern & Contemporary Art Museum nearby is free Wed. Nights after 6pm so next time I’d come here then hit that museum on the other side of the palace. 

The Table
The Table  is a huge underground brewpub though they now have a production brewery in a Seoul suburb. Pints are a reasonable 5500-6000 each. There’s a small brewery in an unobtrusive glass walled room. It’s a basement bar near Jonggak Station a short walk from Gwangwhamun. 

Once you get down the stairs there’s a room on the right that houses the eponymous massive Table and a new extension on the left houses more seating and a small enclosed brewing area. Staff were a bit curt but all in all ok, I think they mostly get Koreans here but their beers were nice and they brew for Pyrus & Magpie so you know they do good stuff. 8 taps of their house brews, no tasters though they might do samples if you ask nice. 

Brew 3.14 & Brew 3.15

Brew 3.14

My second favorite in terms of Korean atmosphere in Seoul. 3.14 does pizza, 3.15 does chicken in the alley between them you’ll find an extra restroom!


A fun busy places tucked into the alleyways near Jongno3ga. Friendly English  speaking staff. The bars have 11 taps between them, 10 craft and one macro lager. A good mix of local Korean stuff from Hand & Malt, Whale Brewing/Ka-Brew, Magpie, etc. You can order food/drinks from either bars menu.

Decent prices with 7-8000 won pints and 30-34000 pitchers. Part of the concept is that pitchers get you food: 

1st round gets you fries or onion rings, 
2nd round squid & beer snacks 
3rd round gets you half a pizza! 

Brew 3.15

A very cool dive bar feeling place. 3.14 has a small bar feel while 3.15 kind of has a small old Korean house feel. 



The Hidden Track

This place is a proper full on American style brewpub as opposed to the German/Czech style ones common in Korea. The entrance of Hidden Track reminded me of Craftheads in Shinuya as it is a concrete entryway heading down to a basement of hidden beery delights. 

Once you got inside though it is quite different with a bright & airy feel due to the 5m high ceilings & friendly staff/ The cramped professional brewhouse is squeezed into a glass room behind the bar. 

Brewhouse @ Hidden Track

It is a really cool looking place with English speaking staff who know their beers well. The pints here are a good value at 5-7000 won, but it's pity they don’t do a tasting set. A nice place for fresh craft beer in Seoul. 






Nairobi Cafe & Pub

While you're in the area visiting Hidden Track, you can also hit this nearby dive bar to sample more local Korean Craft beers. Just a short walk away this bare bones dive bar has an African theme as the Korean owner was born in Africa. 

He’s a really friendly homebrewer who speaks English and is happy to chat beer or maybe even share some of his homebrew. I felt their 12 taps were are a nice mix of Koreans and imports. I came here to try the Maloney’s beers. A fun place to visit in Anam. 

Guaeneri Taphouse

This new taproom by the Jang & Craft Brewery is near Dongdaemun Culture station, inside the Dongdaemun Design Plaza.

Tasting Set

It is called Guarneri Taphouse and reflected it's home it is supremely stylish. 18,000 won for a sampler set of 6 beers. They only have 6 beers on tap but they have a line of taps along the back wall which is more for direction than anything else. The food prices are high like many western style joints in Korea. Very stylish modern decor with solid german style beers - their rauch was my favorite. Also as Dongdaemon Design Plaze is open around the clock, this place seems to be open 24 hours a day!

a wall of decorative taps...

Itaewon 

The main drag in Itaewon is home to Reilly's Taphouse,  the new Craftworks Itaewon and Pyrus Taphouse down near the turn towards Noksapyeong Station.

Reilley's Taphouse

I didn't actually have the chance to visit it on this trip, I thought it was after Itaewon Stn but it was before (maybe across the street form the new Craftworks Itaewon?) I was looking for it on my way to What the Book? when I realized I'd already passed it!

It is definitely on my list of places to revisit the next time I am in town. Here's a brief overview based on my last visit in 2013:

Reilly's is a nice near place located right near Itaewon station on the 3rd floor - to the East on the north side of the main strip, the same side as the Hamilton Hotel. It's billed as a gastropub & I've heard good things about their food but only ate some of their onion rings which were great. 

Prices were a bit higher than average for Seoul in 2013 but they had the best selection I saw in town with 20 taps of American, European & local craft beer too. It being Seoul the beer was still just 6000-8500 won for taps but bottles got pricey (especially 22oz bombers). The service was friendly when I went plus most spoke English and knew a little about beer but some didn’t. 

The atmosphere was good - it's a large open plan pub with lots of space and a warm decor featuring lots of natural wood. Open since December 2012 it's now one of the oldest craft pubs in Korea and part of the First Wave of Korean Craft Places along with Magpie's & Craftworks Namsan.

Craftworks Itaewon

Craftworks Itaewon is huge clean and gleaming white with their characteristic great branding and artwork. Very slick diner type atmosphere as well as being squeaky clean because it's so new. 

I’d say about 20 taps with 8 house beers and a dozen or so guests. Prices on food/beer seemed a bit high to me. Staff were nice and it is a more central + less crowded alternative to the Namsan location. Recommend.

Another concentration of craft beer places is located just off the main Itaewon intersection near the station. One street back on the corner you'll find The Springs Taphouse, turn right down that road and it's quickly followed by Little Ale, The Four Seasons and more...

The Springs Taphouse (Itaewon)

The Springs Tap House newest location is on the corner to the street with Seoul Homebrew, the Four Seasons & Little Ale. Clean hip western NYC type of semi-industrial vibe. Small but more cozy than cramped. Opened 2-3 months ago. 30,000 won for a flight of 6 is pricey but hell this beer is never in Japan so what the hey. Really friendly outgoing staff scored us some free food. Fun and recommended.

Little Ale

sample

Little Ale is next door to The Four Seasons and opens right onto the street which I really liked - it made the place inviting. 

It's a tiny place with seating for just a dozen or so people in a room where the decor is dark black on black. About a dozen taps with roughly half imports and half domestic craft. They didn't have tasting sets but small samples were available. Damn that sample glass was cute!

Craft Pub - The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons has 8 taps in a surprisingly large stylish basement space.  They had 5 house beers on tap as well as 5 guest taps but they seem to have a total of 19 taps so just about half weren’t on which is pretty common in Asia where the market rarely turns over beer that fast when a shop is new. 

The staff were super-friendly, spoke English and were genuinely interested in beer. Bonus, they even staff offered me samples to help me make up my mind. A cool place. 

Seoul Homebrew

It's a homebrew shop located one floor below The Four Seasons which is just a few minutes from Itaewon station exit 4. It is a tiny space crammed full of malts, hops & brewing supplies. Prices are high but hey this is Asia so count yourself lucky to be able to buy supplies this easily at all!

This small street has 4 places on it: 

1. The Springs Taphouse
2. The Four Seasons
3. Little Ale 
4. Seoul Homebrew 

so it's worth visiting for sure.


Pyrus Taproom & Bistro

Formerly known as Lovibond and located right at the end of Itaewon's main drag. It’s a cool little basement space with chatty outgoing staff and a welcoming atmosphere. There's seating for 50 odd people and they have 10 taps but only 8 were on when I went including Upright 6 which was a great find for me!  A very nice little place.

Gyeongridan/Gyunglidan/Gyeongnidan

This is the same area but it doesn't seem to have a set spelling in English yet. It's an up-and-coming neighborhood near Noksapyeong Station. As Itaewon's gentrified, most foreign owned places have headed to this area + it has always been the heart of the Seoul Craft Beer Scene as it's home to Magpie Brewing & Craftworks Brewing which pretty much got the good beer ball rolling in South Korea.

Those places were covered in my previous post about places to go for craft beer in Seoul I wrote back in 2013. Now I am not based in Korea but I've seen tons of articles written about the Korean beer scene lately and most of them offer little new over this post I wrote 2 YEARS AGO. Sloppy journalism guys, you know who you are...

This area for craft beer is just nuts with the road  hosting Magpie's being pretty much wall to wall craft beer joints for a couple of blocks now. It goes something like: Magpie's, Woori Super, The Booth, Beer for Geeks, The Bottle Shop, Heaven for a G. 

The main road before that goes: Made in Pongdang, The Springs Taphouse, The Common Room & Maloney's. As you can see you could try to do it all in one night but I guarantee you'll end it flat on your back, happy but wasted.

Magpie's

I found myself here a few times during my trip revisiting one of my favorites from 2013 and checking out some of the many many new beers they'd put out since then. During my 2015 trip I had their: American Wheat Galaxy, American Saint IPA, Gose, Black Gose, The Last Train Baltic Porter & Belgian Golden Strong Ale.

into the basement bar...

I never got to go to the streetside location which I feel has a fantastic atmosphere, by the time I made my way here I always hit the basement bar just as they were closing up but they were kind enough to stay open and humor a few drunks. 

Still one of my favorite's in Seoul and their beers continue to get better. Keep it up guys. 

The Booth Gyunglidan

The 3rd Booth I visited, the best of a bad bunch. It had their typical graffiti strewn interior & mismatched furniture. Pints from 5-8000 won are well priced and pizza is the meal of choice. 

The service/feel is the "too cool for you" I’ve come to expect from The Booth. Best in that what was listed actually seemed to be on tap. The main bar is across from Beer for Geeks/Heaven for a G and in the same building as Woori Super. While they have a further seating area next door to Beer for Geeks. 

They've got Free wifi and they’ve built their own brewery to move production over from Ka-Brew which is nice. The best taproom of my least favorite of the Korean craft beer chains in that I had little to complain about this location. They do take away beers in plastic cups which is nice.

Woori Super 

This place looks like a convenience store and is located above the Magpi basement joint and next door to the Booth - basically it is all the same building and the old lady running the place is their (I've heard) tyrannical landlord. 

They have a good 100 odd beers with plastic seats outside for people to chill on. Prices seem high but I’ve heard they are cheaper than elsewhere in Seoul. Staff was fairly rude and drunk while the layout is chaotic and a bit dirty. 

Seriously, everyone around this place was wasted when I went on a Friday night and the outdoor tables were a disgusting mess of empties. It's a quick rough place for decent but often past date beer. Honestly you should walk the 20 meters down the road and hit The Bottle Shop instead.

The Bottle Shop


As most Korean places do not bottle or can yet, this is like other bottle shops in Korea pretty much all imports. Prices are fair for Korea and they have a really good selection of brews. 

The English speaking owner Nicky is an active part of the local beer scene being a friend to homebrewers and beer lovers alike. He’s also an importer in his own right so he tends to bring in some exciting stuff(Pliny, Clown Shoes). Due to the high taxes these gems tend to cost a lot but they’re things you rarely see in Asia. 

They have over 150 bottles on hand which make The Bottle Shop one of the best places to buy beer to go in Korea. 

They've got a few tables out front where you can enjoy your purchases as well. If you only have the time to visit one bottle shop in Seoul make it this one, you won't be disappointed.




Heaven for a G

 

This 2 story bar is right across the street from the Bottle Shop and next door to Beer for Geeks - this area is really the epicenter of craft beer in Seoul!




The interior is bare concrete giving it a slickly industrial atmosphere with hip hop blasting the bass. They have a 15000 won tasting set which allows you to choose 4 of the house beers.

They have a total of 9 taps 8 are brewed by Whasoo Brewery and the 1 guest tap was Brewdog's Punk IPA. Pints here run 5000 (lager 4.6%) to 8000 won(8% Imperial Stout). It’s a good place to try the revamped Whasoo recipes. 



Plus I love places that do tasting sets so I can try many beers in small reasonable quantities. As a beer traveler, I really appreciate that.

tasting set

They’re very new so were still settling in when I visited meaning the 2nd floor  wasn't completely open yet. A good place worth checking out.

2F

2F

Beer For Geeks Tasting Room


Beer for Geeks are an importer of European brews focusing on Mikkeller/Evil Twin/ToOl. It's across the street from The Booth and Magpie Basement. 

This is a small taproom, small I mean tiny - it's basically what in Japan you'd call a standing bar.  A dozen people in here make it feel crowded. The decor is simple concrete and wood. 

They've got 13 beers on tap and you can get a super long tasting flight of all of them for 33,800 won which looks impressive as hell and considering the amount of high ABV imports is beers pretty good value.

massive tasting set at Beer for Geeks

The staff are kind and know their beers. It's great for people wanting to try those imported beers in Korea and they seem to offer specials on some beers (6500 won for a bottle of Lil B). Their bottle list is huge but most are quite pricey so I stuck to the draft beers. 

It's a must visit in Seoul if looking to try big European beers. I believe they may also be involved in the opening of the Mikkeller Seoul location in Gangnam in June 2015.

The main road before this alleyway of craft beer also hosts many bars worth checking out:

Made in Pongdang

These guys contract brew at Weizenhaus in Daejon. They have 6 house beers on tap: 

1. Belgian Blond Ale 
2. Citra dry hopped Pale Ale
3.  222-1 Daero IPA 6.5% 14 IBU 
4. Hope Lager 5% 30 ibu
5. Fake WeiZen 5% 14 ibu
6. Thank You Berry Stout 5.6% 24 IBU

The bar is a great looking  2F place with a wall of windows that opens up to look out on the road. I had a nice time starting my evening hear looking out onto the Noksapyeong main road. 

It has a nice reclaimed wood interior, friendly staff, wifi, decent beer & prices(5500-6500 won a pint).

I think it makes a great first stop on any Noksapyong crawl. Judging from their Facebook Page they also seem to host a lot of events featuring the Korean Launches of imported American Craft Beer.


The Springs Taphouse (Original Location)

A bit down the road is BC's Mission Springs first location in Korea. They've got somewhat high prices for imports but a wide range of Mission Springs beers. It's a medium sized place that feels very suburban Canada strip mall but it has a really nice patio out front. A good place but I prefer their Itaewon branch.

The Common Room

A little further up the street after The Springs Taphouse you'll come across The Common Room which is run by Nicky from The Bottle Shop. As such it has a great bottle list of 40-50 beers. It also has 5 taps - I was able to try. 

 It was recently remodeled into more of a lounge kind of place opening right onto the street, very chill cool place to hang out with great pizza and the staff are serious about beer. Great. It’s a bit small like many places in the area but good fun.

Maloney's Pub & Grill

Heading up the hill from The Common Room you'll hit Maloney's Pub & Grill. Maloney’s has a sports pub vibe with 8000 won or so pints. 

Mostly local Korean craft which is nice including a few house beers designed by Bill & contract brewed at the Hand & Malt. It’s a decent place to chill out and relax. Lots of room, good natural light through the windows. You feel like you’re in the States.

I've got to say that Gyunglidan is Seoul's BEER DISTRICT. Happy drinking guys!