Alas, nothing lasts forever. Bye and bye, and for various reasons, some of our favorite establishments are forced to close their doors. This then is a page both nostalgic and melancholy, devoted to our Best Brew Pubs, Beer Bars, and Beer Retailers that are no longer with us.

Mommsen-Eck
Haus der 100 Biere
Mommsenstrasse 45
10629 Berlin
(030) 3 24 25 80

Mommsen-Eck, The Haus of 100 Biers, is a restaurant in a nice residential neighborhood in Berlin.
The bar and restaurant have resided at this location since 1905.
It has a similar name as a beer bar in the tourist district but is not affiliated. Mommsen-Eck makes this clear on their website.
(The other is called Mommseneck)

The front door opens to a small but well stocked bar. There are several small rooms, but the main attraction is the large curved dining room with very large sliding glass doors that open to a large patio.
The property is adjacent a city park, so ones eyes are fooled to believe that the park is part of the patio.
Mommsen-Eck has about 20 draft beers from all over Europe and a list of at least 100 bottles from all over. The rooms are decorated in beer paraphenalia.
The food is good and not expensive.

Been here since 1905...but
not no more!
Mommsen-Eck was seen to be closed for good by our Berlin correspondent in 2024.

HOME World Beer Bar
Neue Bahnhofstraße 23, 10245 Berlin, Germany Phone: +49 176 80373676

HOME is a new bar in the trendy Freidrichshain neighborhood of Berlin.
The mission of HOME is to provide the absolute best beer and other drinks, at an affordable price. In addition, HOME wants to provide an environment that is about friends, conversation, and fun.
The bar seats 4 and there is what would be a cozy dining area if they served food.
HOME does, however, offer some snacks such as meat and cheese boards, and marinated olives with bread.
HOME provides 7 beers on tap and a big bottle list.
HOME gets a good deal of press buzz, but on this visit we were the only customers.
HOME offers a weekly pub quiz in both German and English, and features live music on Tuesdays.

Sadly, HOME was reported to be closed in the Summer of 2024.

Brasserie Bracke
Saroleastraat 52
6411 LV Heerlen, Netherlands
045 5743686

Brasserie Bracke is a tavern in the shopping district of Heerlen, Netherlands. They have many small tables in front of a modest bar area as well as lots of patio seating.
Standing at the bar at meal time would be impractical as the diner's seats intrude into the space.
Bracke serves 4 local taps as well as 6 bottles.
Busy at lunch, it was hard to get the waiter's attention, but once that was accomplished, service was quick.
The menu was large and varied and appropriately priced.

Our Dutchman reports that Brasserie Bracke is permanently closed.

The Gate Pub
Borgo San Frediano 131r
Firenze
TEL: 055295181

The Gate is an Irish pub near the Porta San Frediano, one of the ancient gates in Florence, Italy.
Long and narrow, it has the feel of an authentic Irish pub.
The Gate features Irish cuisine, as one would expect, and Irish beer.
They offer some local beers on tap as well.
There are many seats along the bar as well as several tables in the front and more in the rear of the establishment.

Mamma Mia!
The Gate Pub is closed for good.

Craft Beer Co.
55 White Lion St.
London N1 9PP
United Kingdom
+44 20 7278 0318

The Islington area of London is home to a number of brew pubs and beer bars.

About two blocks from the Underground is Craft Beer Co, a beer bar with about 30 taps. The bar room is relatively small but there are two large separate seating areas.
The young bartenders are very knowledgable, discussing the merits of each beer.
Craft Beer Co has no kitchen, but at the bar one can order a tasty hamburger that magically arrives from the place next door.

Craft Beer Co also hosts Group Tastings, and sponsors special events such as tap takeovers and beer festivals.

There are 5 or 6 other locations in the London area.

But but this location does not seem to be one of them.
Check the others on the website.

Mommseneck Am Potsdamer Platz
Alte Potsdamer Str. 1
Berlin, 10785
Germany
phone: 0049 30 25296635

Mommseneck is located in the center of a bustling tourist district. They have abundant seating outside in both the front and the rear, lots of seating in the barroom, a large bar, and an upstairs, too. They have 12 local beers on tap and a beer list with 100 bottles. About 50 of these are German beers, about 25 are European beers, and the rest from elsewhere. The service is what you would expect in a large popular bar, and the prices reflect how far the beer has traveled to get there. It's a nice place to enjoy beer with other tourists.

It appears that Mommseneck Am Potsdamer Platz is permanently closed.

BRASSERIE PUB AU BUREAU
21 PLACE ST LOUIS,
Metz, 57000, France

Advertised as a pizza place, The Bureau is actually a rather nice place to drink just off the busy shopping district in Metz, France.
The bar area is dark and richly appointed, with about 15 seats at the bar and other seats for about 20 more.
The dining area seats about 40 with benches, booths, and alcoves, and there is more upstairs.
But we are here for the beer.
Brasserie Pub Au Bureau 21 has 13 Belgian and French beers on tap, as well as bout 50 more bottles, sorted by style on the menu.
The prices are resaonable for this area.

In the summer of 2017, our sources discovered that BRASSERIE PUB AU BUREAU 21
in Metz was permanently closed!

Bière Academy
7 rue des Ecoles
75005 Paris

The Biere Academy is a beer bar near the Sorbonne in Paris.
Biere Academy serves 14 taps and many bottles of local and European beers.
The clientel is young, mostly students, but seemed very much there for the beer.
The service is self-serve as the only employee is the bartender who will also go back to the kitchen to prepare a snack from the very limited menu.
The prices seem high, but it's downtown Paris.
During Happy Hour prices are less.

Sacré bleu !
The Yelp website reports that The Biere Academy is permanently closed

Gloucester Arms Pub - Oxford
Old and dark and very comfortable with 60's music. There were two other alcoholics in the place. The main attraction seemed to be: "Tetley Pints L1.70 all day" They also had 6 European beers and 3 handpulls.

We hear that the Gloucester Arms closed in 2008.
It has re-opened as The White Rabbit.

Portobello Gold
95/97 Portobello Rd
Notting Hill - London W11 2QB

Portobello Gold is an old and dark place in the high tourist area of Notting Hill.
Several couples were on the patio, but the inside was empty, although the classic interior and 60's music were enticing.
Portobello Gold also houses a conservatory!
(That's a big room with plants.)
Gold has 9 European beers on tap plus two hand pumps.
The food menu prices are very high end.

As of the summer of 2017, Portobello Gold was temporarily closed but promised to return. As of the summer of 2018, Portobello Gold was permanently closed!

The William Pub
Via A. Magliabechi 7-9-11r
Firenze
phone. 0552638357

The William Pub is a beer bar in the tourist area near the Santa Croce Church in Florence. They bill themselves as an English pub but one is reminded of an American beer bar in that they have many seats along a very long bar that is interupted by a weight bearing wall. Beyond the wall is a large room filled with tables, seats, and TV's for watching sports. The layout also offers other small rooms and nooks. The William serves mostly Tennent's products as well as Guinness, Bass, and other Euro beers on draft, as well as about 20 different bottled beers, mostly local.

Yelp reports that The William Pub in Florence is closed for good.

Szimpla Kaffeehaus Budapest Gärtnerstraße 15, 10245 Berlin, Germany +49 30 66308523 Szimpla Kaffeehaus is a coffee shop in the trendy Friedrichshein neighborhood. A coffee shop ?? Wait !! This is a Beer Quest !! Never fear....Szimpla Kaffeehaus looks like a coffee shop with several rooms of small tables and various relaxing chairs. They serve several quiche, and some sweet pastries. But, they also have nine taps of beer, seven of which are craft beer from Eastern Europe, as well as more than several bottles. Szimpla's Craft Beer Bar also has features common to their American counterparts such as the "Pioneers of The Polish Craft Beer Revolution" tap takeover that took place in July. Better still, they open at 9:00 AM, so one can stop for a beer before that early appointment. Szimpla Update - 2018 The Szimpla coffee shop/beer bar has a new format. The only beers now served in the coffee shop are Stella and a local Helles. Craft beers are served in a new bar room in the back, but only after 5:00. Szimpla (which, surprise, means *simple* in Hungarian)offers 16 Hungarian beers. The room has a hospital decor...white tile walls, hospital lighting, and the beer is served in beakers. The bartender thinks this has been a mistake. Every one thinks it's cute, but no one ever comes back. They won't come back now! When one visits Szimpla's website, they tell you they have closed. Yelp supports this. Permanently closed.

KADZ Craft Beer Bar & Taproom
Görlitzer Str. 53
10997 Berlin, Germany
+49 176 31498175

KADZ is wannabe brewpub in the Kreuzberg neighborhood of Berlin.
The building is dark and beat up, and appears to have been repurposed from a previous incarnation.
They have 5 beers contract- brewed for them as well as 15 guest taps.
Modest indoor seating is available, with plenty of
standing-around space.
There is a row of picnic tables out along the curb.

On TripAdvisor, 24 out of 25 reviewers had given them an "Excellent" rating, and one even called them the "Best craft beer bar in Berlin."

KADZ is convenient for Questors as it is on the next block from Hopfenreich, another worthy beer bar.

Better head back to Hopfenreich.
Yelp tells us that Kadz ist kaputt.

Bryggeri Helsinki - Berlin
Göhrener Str. 5, 10437 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 41725544

The Helsinki Brewery-Berlin is a beer bar that is an outlet for the Helsinki Brewery.
It is located in the yuppy Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood. Located on a corner, the facility is L-shaped ; the bar area is to the left, and the dining room is to the right.
They have about 10 of their own beers on tap, imported from Helsinki, and no guests.
The were no diners on the bar side, so food was not observed by this Questor.
Service was friendly...it was pointed out that it was still happy hour and short pours were ?1, so I should get several of each.
Good idea.

Ach!
Both Yelp and Tripadvisor inform us that Bryggeri Helsinki is permanently closed.

Gollem
Suikerrui 28
2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
+32 3 689 49 89

The main square in Antwerp is surrounded by Tea Rooms and bars. What caught my eye at Gollem was the sign that said "30 Drafts".
Not very large; Gollem seats about 10 at the bar, another 40 or so inside, and perhaps even more than that on the front patio.
Stairs lead to a table on the balcony.
Besides the 30 draft beers, they have well over 200 bottles in their bound beer menu, sorted by style.
Chalkboards surround the room with the beers listed alphabetically by brewer.
In exchange for a card, this Questor received some samples and lots of advice on various beers.
The kitchen is in the basement and food arrives on a small elevator at the end of the bar.
No eating this time, but the food looked good.

Once again, it is Yelp that clues us in that Gollem has closed permanently!

Bière Academy 7 rue des Ecoles 75005 Paris

Bière Academy
7 rue des Ecoles
75005 Paris