Hidden Cellar

It is easy to walk past The Hidden Cellar but it is worth finding!

 

I remember walking past the sign for The Hidden Cellar for the first time. It was just a wooden, folding, floor sign that pointed to a dark alley and basement. At the time I thought it looked sketchy so I avoided checking it out for a while. Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me and I am glad that it did.

The Hidden Cellar is clean and spacious. The bartenders are super friendly and the there is a just a great vibe in this place. There are a few board games available including my favorite, Settlers of Catan. They have a couple of TV’s that usually have sports on, but if you are American like me you probably won’t know what is going on since the sports watched are cricket, rugby, etc. All in all, The Hidden Cellar the best place for craft beer in HBC in my opinion.

The Hidden Cellar Taps. They have several excellent local brews.

 

Beers

The Hidden Cellar has a great selection of bottled and tap beers. Their tap selection rotates. When I went in they had Magpie Porter, Railhouse IPA, Hand and Malt Belgian Wit, Maloney’s Southie Irish Red Ale, and Kozel Lager. These beers are all well priced with the Kozel going for 4,000 won and the rest priced at 6,000 won.

As for bottles, The Hidden Cellar carries craft beer from all over the world. Just a sample of breweries they carry: De Molen and Mikkeller from Europe, North Coast, Anderson Valley, Rogue, and Smutty Nose from the USA. Among their selection is my favorite beer: Old Rasputin from North Coast Brewery, a strong, dark stout with loads of roasted flavor. The bottled beer prices are as good, if not better, than you can find anywhere else in Seoul and the prices are all labeled which makes it a lot easier for you to pick out what you want (although with so many good options you might still have trouble making your selection).

There are some great deals to be found here. At the time, Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout and Black Isle Blonde and Goldeneye Pale Ale were on sale for 5500 won. Also, you can get an additional 15% off when you buy six bottled beers at once. On Wednesday, Lads Night gets you kozel and a shot for 7000 won and on Thursday, Ladies Night gets you a bottle of house wine for 9000 won. Check their facebook page for current deals.

Railhouse IPA and Southie Irish Red Ale from Maloney’s Pub. Both on tap.

Other Alcohol

If, for some crazy reason, you aren’t in the mood for beer The Hidden Cellar will still accommodate your alcohol fix with a large selection of wine and liquor. They have a lot of bottled wine to choose from and house wine that you can buy from the glass (4500 won) or carafe (12,000 won/0.5L and 20,000 won/L). If you like the hard stuff, the Hidden Cellar has many of your favorite bottles of hard alcohol including one of my favorite whiskies, Laphroaig.

The Hidden Cellar has a large selection of wine, liquor, and bottled beers at competitive prices.

 

Food

Food is served all day at The Hidden Cellar. You can order a Jamaican patty, or grilled cheese sandwich. They also have cheese and chips if you just want a snack. What I like the most though is that they are fine with you bringing your own food in. I am a big fan of grabbing a sandwich from Casablanca’s and enjoying it with one of the draft beers here.

Hours

Monday: 6 – 11:30

Wednesday – Friday: 6 – 11

Saturday – Sunday: 2 – 12

 

Website

https://www.facebook.com/hbcliqourstore 

Phone

010-7617-7737

 

Directions

From Noksapyeong station exit 2 walk 200m take the first left. You will pass Kimchi pots. Walk 200M and you will see a PSA academy on the right hand and a car centre on your left, The hidden Cellar is in the Basement of the car center building.

 

 

Magpie Brewing Co.

This is the front of the Magpie brewing room. There is also a basement with a lot more seating just a bit past here.

 

When I first started coming to Magpie Brewing Co., there was only the brewshop which seated about a dozen people and there were only two beers available. They have expanded nicely with a lot more seating in the basement as well as two more locations: Hongdae and Jeju. Seating at the HBC location is usually available on weekdays, but it can be crowded on weekends.

The Magpie Brewing Co. Brewshop. Great beers at a great price.

 

Beers

Magpie Brewing Co. has all of its beers on tap. Two of their beers, the Magpie Pale Ale and the Magpie Porter are always available (for as long as I’ve been going here). They both have 4.8% abv and cost 5,000 and 6,000 won respectively. I like both of these beers tremendously. Both are easy to drink. Typically, I prefer the roasted coffee taste of the porter when it is cold and the citrusy, mildly hoppy pale ale when it is warm.

In addition to these two staples, Magpie usually has a few more of its own beers available as well as a few guest taps. Magpie’s limited edition beers are what sets it apart from the other brewers in Seoul and what make it my favorite place for craft beer in the city. The brewers are very creative and are willing to try new things with their beers.

Unfortunately, sometimes these beers run out too fast! To illustrate, Magpie’s gose is the first domestic sour beer I’ve encountered here. My girlfriend loves sour beers and she had it every time she had a chance to order it. Then one day she tried to order it and heard that it was sold out, a single tear ran down her cheek. The two limited edition beers currently on tap that I like the most are the Baltic Porter and the Belgian Golden Strong Ale. The Baltic has a malty aroma, and strong flavor. The alcohol is more pronounced than the regular porter and it has a dark bread flavor to it (I’m not the best at describing flavors). The Belgian Strong is citrusy with a thicker texture and although it has a high 7.5% abv, I couldn’t taste the alcohol much. It is still quite smooth.

Expect to pay 6,000-9000 won for the special beers. In my opinion, these prices are excellent. Most bottled and draft imports cost at least 2,000 won more than Magpie’s offerings and Magpie’s are as good, if not better in quality and are much fresher.

The Magpie Porter and the Belgian Golden Strong Ale. The porter is my go to winter beer. My girlfriend and I didn’t have the patience to take the picture before having some.

Food

In the brewshop, you can order a few snacks. You can get s’mores, grilled cheese sandwiches (with a bacon option), and a cheese and nut plate. Downstairs, in the basement you can order thin crust pizzas with many toppings. The pizzas are on the smaller size, but good quality and very tasty. As a meal they are only good for two people, but they make a nice snack for a group.

A special rum spiked beer for Valentine’s day with the cheese and nuts plate. Again, not enough patience to take the picture before sampling the beer.

Hours

Brewshop Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 3-10pm
Basement Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 5pm-1am

 

Website

http://www.magpiebrewing.com/