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Old Harbor Brewery

Old Harbor BreweryOld Harbor Brewery
Old Harbor BreweryOld Harbor Brewery
Brewery, Bar, Beer-to-go

Carr. 887 Km. 9.6
Parque Industrial Julio N. Matos, Lote
Carolina, 00985
Puerto Rico

(787) 477-1111 | map
oldharbor.beer

Formerly Old Harbor Brewery Steak & Lobster House
BEER STATS
Average:
3.67
Beers:
11
Ratings:
208
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.59
Reviews:
23
Ratings:
45
pDev:
19.78%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Canada_Dan:
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Rated by Canada_Dan from Colorado

3.25/5  rDev -9.5%

Jun 16, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.78 by acurtis from New Jersey

Nov 18, 2021
 
Rated: 3.43 by Chilmer from Iowa

Sep 03, 2018
 
Rated: 3.66 by misternebbie from Pennsylvania

May 22, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by fthegiants from California

Jan 29, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by ADTaber from South Carolina

Sep 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.81 by tim007007 from Illinois

Aug 22, 2015
Photo of aobrehm
Reviewed by aobrehm from Oregon

3.43/5  rDev -4.5%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 2.75 | food: 3.75
Puerto Rico's drinking culture is decidedly more rum- than beer-centric... but this place is just fine for the beer enthusiast.
There are only ever five beers on tap- a couple German-style lagers, a stout, a pale ale, and a rotating tap. The Santo Viejo pilsner fits the hot Caribbean sun.
Space is dimly lit and musty. Service is great and food is good enough. Given the limited selection of brewpubs on the island, it's worth checking out.
Jun 18, 2015
Photo of BMMillsy
Reviewed by BMMillsy from Florida

2.06/5  rDev -42.6%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2 | service: 1.5 | selection: 2.5
Stopped in during short trip to PR. Overall, place is dimly lit and kind of lame. 5 beers on tap, none were spectacular. Double IPA was buttery, but the pale ale was fine. Service was nonexistant despite there only being us and one other couple there. A nice tick for travelers trying to hit all the places, but otherwise not particularly interesting. Did not try the food though.
Apr 24, 2015
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Rated by Nolo from Puerto Rico

4.36/5  rDev +21.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5
Really awesome place, nice to hang out on a saturday night. Best of all? Fresh beer!
Mar 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.88 by benzalman from California

Mar 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.63 by knicks19947 from New York

Jan 21, 2015
 
Rated: 2 by Soloveitchik from New York

Nov 30, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by jjrosa from Pennsylvania

Nov 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by MattXT from Virginia

Oct 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by ejsanchez from Puerto Rico

Aug 03, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Luichi from Puerto Rico

Jun 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by david473 from Puerto Rico

Jun 16, 2014
 
Rated: 1 by Pirillo10 from Puerto Rico

Apr 28, 2014
Photo of BrewClint
Reviewed by BrewClint from Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +15%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
Just stopped by to try their Stout as I was craving a good brew after days of Rum and Watery local beers. I wish I was hungry as their menu looked very delicious.
$6/pint seemed like a deal to me considering American Stouts at a local store were about 2-3x the price they are in the US. Their other brews were a bit cheaper.
I'm a Stout Freak, so their Pilsner, Lager, and IPA didn't interest me.
You can see their tanks right in the middle of the bar area, as well as a couple coppers in their restaurant area. Bartender was great and offered an explanation of their brews.
A place I will definitely visit again if I make it back to Old San Juan, PR!
Keep up the great brewing there!!!
Mar 27, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by rafaelymartinez from New Hampshire

Mar 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by TheDrunkenDeer from Idaho

Mar 14, 2014
Photo of jophish17
Reviewed by jophish17 from Georgia

2.64/5  rDev -26.5%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 2
Made an effort to stop in while visiting San Juan recently - there was a festival going on, so this was a huge change of pace from the Gasolina and Medalla Light that was flowing in the streets.

Situated in Old San Juan, the Old Harbor Brewery was pretty typical brewpub inside - a bar with beisbol on tv, dining area, brewing equipment, and the occasional Bavarian flag or other relic. AC was probably the highlight of the space. It was pretty slow when we visited on Saturday at lunchtime, so we had very prompt service. Crowds began to build and I suspect it can be very busy on Friday and Saturday nights with cruisers in and out.

We decided to go with a sampler, which only included 4 beers on this occasion - a helles, a pils, a pale and a stout. None were beyond ok, yet very approachable for the uninitiated. I would have liked to see what they can do when not just aiming for the least common denominator, but no luck this time. Quality was ok - the pale had lost its edge (if it ever had one) as I suspect beer flows slow around here at times.

We tried a local pork appetizer that we liked but I won't rate a place's food on one appetizer. Prices were reasonable to me without knowing the local market all too well. It was nice to visit a new brewpub, but I'd probably visit a couple other places in San Juan on my next visit before revisiting Old Harbor.
Feb 02, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Plissken from Massachusetts

Dec 09, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by KRuscher81 from Rhode Island

Nov 30, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by BillRoth from Maryland

Oct 16, 2013
Photo of flexabull
Reviewed by flexabull from California

3.38/5  rDev -5.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
Decent brewery located in Old San Juan. Doesn't have the charm as most of the buildings do in this part of town. But it's a nice open brewery, with a small bar to the side, plenty of seating, and large high ceilings.

Quality turned out to be pretty good. I really enjoyed the pilsner, also tasted the stout and pale and found them to be decent. Certainly better quality then the local mass produced beers like Medella Light.

Service was friendly and speedy.

Selection was a bit small. They had 5 offerings, lager, stout, pale, pilsner, and a seasonal beer that was a cream ale.

Food was ok, we had a pizza that was not bad, but not great.

Prices were fair for both food and beers.

Overall, a place worth visiting in Old San Juan. I also was pleased to find their beers for sale at a small Mexican Restaurant near the place we were staying.
Apr 08, 2013
Photo of M1ke
Reviewed by M1ke from Puerto Rico

4.35/5  rDev +21.2%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
Microbrewery cross with restaurant atmosfere, makes for good food, great beers and great times! The only one that will not have a good time is your wallet; tough economy means walk around and look for other bars in the area to get a cheaper buzz. All in all a good place if you don't mind paying a little extra for beer/food.
Feb 23, 2013
Photo of kylehay2004
Reviewed by kylehay2004 from Illinois

3.64/5  rDev +1.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Very nice location and probably nice facility for Caribbean standards. The bar area was small with a decent amount of seating for the restaurant. The beers seem to have been given much higher ratings than they probably deserve. I was genrous with my reviews but yet I barely under rated most other reviewers. The bartender was nice but absent minded. One major plus is that this brewery bottles their beers for purchase which is uncommon by my expierience in microbreweries. Maybe the island is more run oriented. Pricing was too high by microbrewery standards. The types of beers brewed were broad which was nice as well.
May 01, 2012
Photo of obrike
Reviewed by obrike from Texas

3.65/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
I was sitting at the lobby bar of La Concha Renaissance tonight and mulling over their beer choices after I had already ordered my drink. I noticed two brews from Old Harbor (Kofresi stout and Coqui lager) on the menu. Very excited, I made my order to the lovely server and was disappointed to hear the hotel has not had any Old Harbor beers on site for months. Still, the thought of a fresh craft beer over another Medalla overtook me and I was soon in a cab on my way to Old San Juan to visit Old Harbor Brewery.

A short 10 minutes later I was there and sitting at the bar. A live jazz band tonight, a couple of TVs with sports, and a fairly pricey menu of food, but the beer was reasonable for the island...5.50 a pint.

Really enjoyed the Kofresi. Liked the Taina as well...I believe this release was a brown ale. Wish I woulda got the sampler of all beers to try them all, but had to head back to the hotel in a sober state before work the next morning.

This is certainly a great place to visit for beer folks when on the island. It's hard to find decent beer anywhere here, and these guys produce a pretty good product. Skip the food if you're on a budget...just order more beer.
Mar 28, 2012
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Reviewed by PRpitmaster from Puerto Rico

2.88/5  rDev -19.8%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3
stopped in a few days ago to try their new Taina rotating beer, which was a Maibock, first pint that I got was served in a frosted pint glass which totally killed the head of the beer and made it impossible to taste for a few minutes until it defrosted. the second one was served on a room temperature glass after I asked the bartender to please not use a frosted pint glass, this one had a nice head, although still a bit cold coming from the tap, but definately more enjoyable than the first.

there is a pretty large dining room area, surrounded by the beer making equipment and exposed air conditioning ducts, pretty nice brewery setting. the bar is set up to the side, not much space around it, they have 2 large very nice 5 tap systems, that block the space between the bar and bartender, seemed pretty uncomfortable for them to serve our beers.

the ambiance is pretty tourist oriented (trappy) in the middle of the caribbean, as they have pirate statues when you walk in and hanging from the roof by the boil kettles, more suited for disney world than a brewery. also noticed various light fixtures that change color around the restaurant, kind of weird for a german style beer bar.

the beer selection is limited to the five brews they make: lager, pilsner, pale ale, stout, and the maibock.

although i did not try any food, the menu was just what you would expect from a steak house style establishment..
Jul 21, 2011
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Reviewed by Redrover from Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5
I was glad to able to stop and was really looking forward to some ales after a steady diet of Medallia Light (the ubiquitous PR Light beer). Situated in the old Federal Reserve building and close to the cruise ship docks, they are blessed with a good location.

As you enter, you see the hostess stand where they also sell pint glasses and stuff. The finishing tanks are directly to your right.

They have a two story space with a bar along the lower left. There are lots of tables as this is very much a restaurant. The look is a nice mix of modern with some cool touches form the buildings earlier life. I really liked that they had their regular customers’ mugs locked up in little wire and wood cages. This is the same thing they do at beer halls in Germany.
They offer 5 house beers and 7 rotating seasonal specials. I had a pint of the pilsner and a couple of pints of a very well-crafted APA.

Service was friendly and at an Island pace (I.e. they are not in a hurry, so just go with it..).

Food was fairly expensive but pretty tasty. I had a very good steak here and the other three in my party liked their meals.

This is well worth a stop If your find yourself in Old Town.
Apr 18, 2011
Photo of corby112
Reviewed by corby112 from Pennsylvania

2.2/5  rDev -38.7%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 1.5
Old San Juan was the first stop of a cruise I'm on so my wife and I decided to stop by this place which was five minutes walking distance from the pier.

This is a brewpub with an higher end(read priced) dining area. As soon as you walk in their are table in front of you, a cooler of bottles on the left and a large selection of merch on the right. The had their logo on everything feom shirts to growlers to a large selection of glassware. It's pretty dark during the day with brewing equipment in the front left and center rear of the main dining room. Their is a very small bar on the left side of the room with probably eight to ten seats. My wife and I sat here to enjoy a flight of their five beers.

Unfortunately they only had three beers on tap and no guest taps. It's kind of disappointing for a brewpub to run out if two of their five beers with no backup batches or other beers. Even though they only had the three the bartender let us double up on two of them so we could get the flight. All three beers were mediocre so we passed n the chance to buy bottles of the other two.

Overall I would avoid this place unless you are eating there or going after ticks. There was only one other craft destination in Old San Juan and it was closed on Tuesdays, the only day we were around.

We didn't try any of the food. It is supposed to be good but the prices are high.
Mar 16, 2011
Photo of spointon
Reviewed by spointon from Illinois

3.7/5  rDev +3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
My wife and I visited this place while passing through San Juan on a recent vacation.

The atmosphere is very pleasant. We were there on a bustling Friday night and the place was pretty packed. Ordered the beer sampler and an appetizer. The beers were all well made and clean, but half of them were pretty uninspiring. Had the stout, the helles, the pils, the pale ale, the IPA, and something else I cannot remember. I thought the Helles was pretty great and the pils was mediocre and everything else was in between. Bought a bomber of the stout to go since they didn't have the helles in bottles.

The food was tasty but rather expensive. The beer was cheap enough though so if I ever went back it would be just to drink...

A worthy stop if you are in San Juan, but for a better selection visit Taberna Lupulo.
Dec 31, 2010
Photo of jettjon
Reviewed by jettjon from Florida

3.6/5  rDev +0.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 2.5
Visited twice over the week of 5/4/10 - 5/11/10 on my trip to Puerto Rico. To my knowledge, this is the ONLY brewpub in PR and one of the few places to get any type of beer other than the local macro-swill (Medalla) or Heineken. The wife and I sat at the bar on our first visit and ordered the 6-beer sampler including the seasonal "Taina" which was in this case a Vienna Lager. I'm not a lager fan, and the menu was dominated by them this season, also featuring a Helles golden lager, a stout, a pale ale, and a Pilsner. All of the samples were good with no off-tastes or surprises. My wife and I selected the pale ale and the stout, both of which were good; bombers to go are available as are growlers. Price for a pint was still 5 bucks as of May 2010; the sampler is 9.

The bar area is roomy, at least in the afternoon, with 14 seats and six taps. One downside is that the liquor is exposed to direct sunlight; when we mentioned this to the bartender she stated that the barstaff had complained to the owner several times but the owner wanted passersby to be able to see into the bar. Never mind, we weren't ordering hard liquor. The bartender seemed knowledgeable about the offerings and was friendly.

We didn't order any of the food, and without sampling the fare I will defer to others who claim that the cuisine is pricy and sub-par. I struck up a conversation with a local regular on our second visit who stated that he comes here to drink only as the food is overpriced and underwhelming. Pricy steaks and seafood dominate the menu.

The brewery setup is readily visible with tanks and piping clearly visible in three areas, two of them open and one behind glass. The dining area is spacious and open with plenty of room. The bathrooms were large and clean.

The location of this bar is great, just a block from the Old San Juan harbor and easily accessible from cruise ships. Old San Juan itself is fairly small, so it's not too far of a hike from anywhere in the city and is only about 10 blocks south of the famous forts. Overall, it's a great break from the light macro swill that dominates the island. Definitely a must-see for any Beer Advocate visiting Old San Juan.
May 16, 2010
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Reviewed by Noelito76 from New York

4.22/5  rDev +17.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Nice ambiance in the touristy Old San Juan district. If you're from the states you feel right at home in this place.

The service was pretty good even if the bartender was not a beer expert. It didn't matter since brewmaster Wolfgang is easily accessible to talk about the offerings.

They had 5 selections, a Helles lager, a Pilsener, an APA, a Stout, and a seasonal that they call Taina.

If you are a BA in Puerto Rico this is the best beer you will find on the island. Samuel Adams (mostly the Boston Lager) is the only thing close to a microbrew you will find anywhere else.

The food is really pricey but the beer was reasonable at $5 a pint and you can carry out a growler if you bring one or buy one of theirs. They also sell bombers of the APA and the Pilsener.

For true BA's who are suffering from quality withdrawal should opt for the stout which is their best year round offering. The seasonal IPA I tried there was pretty good as well.
Mar 28, 2010
Photo of unclejimbay
Reviewed by unclejimbay from Florida

4.36/5  rDev +21.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
I visited this place with a local during a visit to PR in Jan 2010. It surpassed my expecations as the reviews to date seem to be mediocre at best.

If you are looking for solid beer offerings while in PR, this seems to be the only place to go. But dont let that fool you, its a brewpub with a passionate brewer and respectable offerings. Take it from a BA and active homebrewer.

I tried a sampler with my table (4 of us) and then tried one the coqui, stout, and "dopplebock" throughout the evening.

The atmospehere was a nice change a pace from other SJ locations. It has a true brewpub feel with a strange piano bar element and music wafting through the air. Along with the smell of an active brew, upon 8 in the evening. What a surprise from the usual Medalla domninated island!

Our waiter was prompt and polite. Not the most knowledgeable, but I met the brewer "Wolfgang" who chatted with me for 30 minutes at least. I explained my wife and I are active homebrewers, and he shared info back in forth about his process, experience and ingredients. He was very knowledgeable, humble and a good guy all around. He showed me the open fermenters that he had just cleaned which were a surprise to my eyes for a brewpub. He was passionate to share he honor Reinheitsgebot, uses all grain not extarct like many corporate brewpubs. He was not snobby about it, just humble and passionate to share his process. Thanks Wolfgang as this was a nice highlight to the visit chatting with a great guy and knowledgeable brewer such as yourself!

The brews overall were all enjoyable and to style across the board. I think things have improved over time as it seems like a solid location as of 1/2010.

The standout brews were the stout and seasonal dopplebock. See my reviews for my detailed info.
Feb 01, 2010
Photo of morebeergood
Reviewed by morebeergood from Massachusetts

3.86/5  rDev +7.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Basically this is the only place in San Juan to find craft beer. Located right at the front of Tizol Street, it's right by the waterfront and walking distance to Piers 1 and 2. Has a cool brewpub vibe to it when you walk in, which is a nice change of pace in this city. It looks like they actually care about their beer, and it's not just a show. Grabbed some seats at the bar, and were served by a very friendly bartender. Another server conversed with the couple next to us about hop growing and home brewing. I tried the Kofresi Stout and the Santo Viejo Pilsener. Both were very high quality and quite nice. There were 5 house beers on tap, so after a couple it's hard to justify sticking around for a while. I did not eat the food, but it looked a bit pricey on the menu. Speaking of pricey - the gift shop. $15 for a nice pint glass, or $10 for a standard pint? Please! No wonder there was dust all over them. No thanks. Even the hostess laughed when I said that was a tad steep. One thing I noticed at night: they have a trolley that they park outside and they ferry people around with - bonus points. Cool place. A must visit in San Juan, since it's the only place to visit.
(P.S. I saw two North Coast bottled brews for sale at the bar Marmalade on Calle Fortaleza - if you're sick of Medalla Light)
May 07, 2009
Photo of drpimento
Reviewed by drpimento from Wisconsin

3.86/5  rDev +7.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Beers were a fair value considering location at 5 clams per 16 oz. They serve five different beers, four are regular and one is a seasonal. Today's seasonal is an alt. They also have a CzFriendly and accomdating. We were shown a spot at the bar by smiling hostess and bartender. Good beers and an electical connection for my laptop. Food pricech pils, helles lager, american stout, and a pale ale. prices do seem a little steep and this is confirmed by my Puerto Rican amiga Yoly. Very clean. Good location.
Oct 24, 2008
Photo of sbrsky
Reviewed by sbrsky from Puerto Rico

3.73/5  rDev +3.9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 2
I decided to give a review as I am a regular customer and would like to give a little clarity to the other reviews. This is the only craft brew on the island and the best beer available. The ambiance, service are much to be desired, however, this is typical in PR, so you can't compare it to service elsewhere. The food is very pricey and lacks the taste expected. I've never heard any good reviews, and several restaurateurs I know have left seriously disappointed. In my opinion, avoid the food enjoy the drink. There are far too many good eateries in Old San Juan and greater San Juan to waste any taste on this food. I gave a 3 for atmosphere, as it is typically visual grandeur only with some simple house music. Service is a 3.5, because beer knowledge depends on which bartender you approach. And food a 2.0 for the reasons I explained above. If I'm in town I'd be happy to share my growler and take you to a much tastier eating experience. All in all, I can't complain the first several years I lived in San Juan I had nothing but normal macro-shitty-beers, this includes the two local beers (Medalla light and India Cerveza) and coors light. If you can't get here look for India Cervaza at the closest grocer, its sometimes hard to find as demand is less the the Medalla uwf.
Mar 29, 2008
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