Lovejoy's Taproom

Lovejoy's TaproomLovejoy's Taproom
Lovejoy's TaproomLovejoy's Taproom
Brewery, Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

604 Neches St
Austin, Texas, 78701-3325
United States

// CLOSED //
BEER STATS
Average:
0
Beers:
0
Ratings:
0
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.8
Reviews:
30
Ratings:
30
pDev:
15.79%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by spaceycasey:
Photo of spaceycasey
Reviewed by spaceycasey from Texas

3.5/5  rDev -7.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Love the atmosphere at this place. Dark, dingy, a little bit metal, a little bit punk. A much welcome escape from the frat and party girl vibe on 6th. The bartenders are super friendly, as is brewer Todd, who I spoke to. As far as beer goes, however, I must say that it needs some work. Maybe a lot of work. There is a certain funk to their beers that I cannot place, but it cannot be intentional. Others have suggested perhaps it is lines that need cleaning, better brewhouse sanitation, or something along those lines. Score may improve as Todd brings the beers back to life. Lots of great guest beers to keep me going back in the meantime, however.
Feb 22, 2009
More User Ratings:
Photo of mixnslam
Reviewed by mixnslam from Texas

2.81/5  rDev -26.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5
It appeared to be alright except for one thing...it stunk so bad that I bought a beer and tried to bare with it and couldn't do it. I took two sips of the beer and left because it was that bad and couldn't understand why others were dealing with it. I will not return and don't recommend. Hopefully they fixed the smell but it wasn't a pleasant first impression. They had a band playing and they appeared to be good and I am assuming thats why the people were staying. This place could have good potential if given the right care.
Jan 19, 2012
Photo of BeerisfoodLLC
Reviewed by BeerisfoodLLC from Maryland

3.7/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3
Hole in the wall bar off of 6th street in downtown Austin. Stumbled in here to discover a run down spot with excellent atmosphere and great beer selection. Three homemade beers on tap/cask and a decent selection of other beers on tap and in bottles. Watched a great punk band play live while having a couple house made cask pale ales. Best place I visited in Austin. The crowd was punk/biker types but that made for great atmoshere. Dark inside with pool tables in the back. Definately a bit of a departure from the rest of the 6th street scene but thats what makes it great.
Mar 11, 2011
Photo of soviettelecast
Reviewed by soviettelecast from Oregon

3.55/5  rDev -6.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3.5
I'll admit, i'm a little biased, as Lovejoy's is my hideout when my friend's drag me to 6th street but a great little divey beer bar none the less. 20+ taps, almost all american micros with a texan focus (512, live oak, rio blanco, st. arnold), with a respectable belgian/ bottle selection. Definitely representing all ends of the spectrum with Maredsous and Chimay in the fridge along side Pearl and Lonestar cans. There are usually 3 or 4 house beers (brewed off site im pretty sure) that are always great, and usually the cheapest draft. as a farmhouse lover, ive been treated to both New Belgium La Folie and North Coast Le Merle on tap my past few visits. The smoke, tats and motorcycle/ hot rod apparel of the patrons and staff adds a little lawlessness to the ambiance. Definitely the best beer bar in the 6th street area, and one of the best in the city.
Dec 23, 2009
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.64/5  rDev +22.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5
Located within spitting distance of the local homeless shelter, the neighborhood was sketchy, but the atmosphere was pure Delillah's/Bukowski's. Man, the darkness coming in from the Texas sun left me fumbling around. The long, snaking, wood bar with a chalkboard center ran the length of the back wall. Two green-felt pool tables were to the left and a couple of booths, a comfy chair, and a bookcase were right. Murals on both left and right walls. An eclectic mix of standard tables and chairs, booths, and a picnic table center. Free apples during Happy Hour. Todd Henry - the brewer; Catherine the Great, a gorgeous redheaded server with great ink. Where's Waldo and Davis?

Beers: Around 90 bottles; 30 taps, 4 house-brewed beers. Samsons English Pale Ale on cask (!).

Specials: ESB; IPA; Token Black-porter.
Dec 21, 2009
Photo of Riccymon
Reviewed by Riccymon from Texas

3.7/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Been meaning to visit Lovejoy's for a few months now, and stumbled upon it Friday night while downtown. As others have mentioned, the setup is a little dirty/divey, but that's part of its charm, and the smoke in the air just seemed right. It was pretty busy, but we snagged a table and enough chairs after about ten minutes.

At the far-left bar, we had a few minutes' wait, but the bartender was nice enough while serving up a Live Oak Pils and a Hefe. The other taps I noticed seemed decent, but not exciting, such as Real Ale offerings, Magic Hat #9, etc. Didn't get the chance to try any house beers.

I wouldn't mind going back some afternoon when things aren't quite so busy, and I'd like to try the house beers.
Apr 13, 2009
Photo of SaintPeter
Reviewed by SaintPeter from Colorado

4.08/5  rDev +7.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 3 | service: 5 | selection: 4
I have to say, this is the type of place that you read about but never get the opportunity to visit. Well, I finally visited it!

The atmosphere was amazing! There was the token alcoholic drinking bottle after bottle of Miller Lite (directly from the bottle) by himself. There was more leather vests than a Harley Davidson store and even the one-off intellectual who likes to come into bars and read novels. Eclectic, to say the least. It was a dark, suspiciously cold and smokey and you had to let your eyes adjust to the darkness when you entered from the brightness outside.

I am not one for cigarette smoke, but I made myself tolerate it to enjoy the overall ambiance. I came very close to purchasing a Love Joy's t-shirt to prove my attendance.

There was a large, chalk board menu of beers written in multi color chalk which could keep you occupied for a while. I was very impressed with the selection of local Texas breweries on tap; a shining example of supporting local businesses.

Ripped up booths, graffiti on the walls, tables and total disregard for the No Smoking placards will sum it up. This all added to the ambiance of the place. It was too dark to tell whether is was dirty or just pretended to be that way.

The best part was when I asked for a water, the tender points to a big orange 5 gallon gatorade jug with little plastic cups next to it. He misunderstood me, because I wanted to DRINK the water, not use it as an ash tray. You see, since there is a not smoking law in bars and restaurant in Austin, Love Joy's can't have ash trays on the tables. So, for a place to ash and extinguish you butt, you use a little plastic cup and water from the gatorade jug, instead of the floor, which might just add that much more character to the place.

I was very interested to try their own brews, so I ordered the Farm House Belgian Blond Ale which was hazy, lacking in taste and totally on the skunky side. So much so that I had to return it and say, "I think this has gone off!" The bar tender was really helpful, friendly and talkative and allowed me to sample all of their own brews (they were all skunky and suffered some sort of sanitation problem). The tender was a really nice guy and seemed to love his job even though he might die from second hand smoke inhalation in the not to distant future. I finally settled on the HUG ESB, a deep amber, well balanced hop and malt offering and enjoyed by time at a bar with rare character. A must visit!
Apr 08, 2009
Photo of Nutleybeer
Reviewed by Nutleybeer from New Jersey

3.7/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
The best thing about Austin, aside from the music, is the happy hours that seems to run all night long. 2 microbrews for $4.50 is awesome.

No doubt a funky atmosphere. People say "divey" but I disagree. It has character. Go in there and you will find an assortment of characters. Young and old. Bikers next to beer geeks. To be honest, though, had I not read the good reviews, I might have passed upon first view. It is a dark, little place located right off of the hustle bustle of 6th street.

The beers were pretty good. We tried to Samson and Resurrection. I also had a cask pale ale. All pretty good. Their calkboard highlighted the other micros available.

Don't expect anything fancy, be open to something different. A truly unique brewpub as compared to any of the others I had visited. This is actually a great place to get away from the clubby bars just steps away.
Feb 28, 2009
Photo of TheChauffeur1
Reviewed by TheChauffeur1 from Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +16.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5
Hey wait a minute Dorothy em I in Texas. You would not believe it when you come to LOVEYOYS or Austin for that matter. Nerofiddled hit the nail on the head with his review. What I can say is it's a melting pot of all kinds with the punk tattoo people most prevalent. I had a blast with Kate the Great serving up our brews. The coolest redhead on planet Earth. I was sad when her shift was over. She was replaced by a huge bald man (damm I can't remember his name tiny or Hugo no matter) and he was awesome. Good beer, great crowd what more do you want.

This is the kind of place you would meet Jim Morrison, Janice Joplin, or Kurt Cobian. This placed remided me of the Kyber Pass in Philly and the old Red Light Red light in Florida. Just plain cool and lots of fun. Later
Feb 20, 2009
Photo of JonathanL7890
Reviewed by JonathanL7890 from Texas

3.48/5  rDev -8.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
This is the Best beer in Downtown Austin.
The Ambience is biker bar. Everybody smokes in here, even though it is against code.
The House beers have sucked ( I had their Saison and IPA) but they have a great selection of locals and Euros.

The bartenders are great and will provide a good recommendation if you're unsure what to order.

The furniture is a strange collection of stuff that you would find at a yard sale. All the tables have graffiti carved in them.

A nice spot to have a real beer when in the 6th street area. But, I wouldn't bring my parents here.
Feb 14, 2009
Photo of gixxerman
Reviewed by gixxerman from Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +10.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Texas sun too bright for you, step in and remove those sunglasses, because this place is dark!
I am pretty sure the windows are painted black. Stop and look around and think - am I at the Mos Eisley Cantina? - cool!

I stopped in around 5 on Wednesday and house pints were only 2.50 - at least the porter I was drinking was - and it was good.

Service was awesome, even though they changed barkeeps it was seamless. This place reminds me of the neighbor beerhood and shot joint, it seems like 90% of the crowd knew each other.

Decor is unique, and not well polished. This place is what it is, and doesn't need to try hard. You are not going to come in here and be coddled, it is not that type of place. They have a very good beer selection, even though their house beers are limited they make that up with their 'guest taps'.

Austin is weird, this place lives up to the billing - I call it a must stop!
Sep 03, 2008
Photo of Onslow
Reviewed by Onslow from Texas

3.73/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
a great bar to get away... good beers and some interesting music with a cool different vibe... the staff is great too... I always stop at lovejoys when I am even near Austin.. Keep Austin Weird, Lovejoys must have started that....The quality of the brews made by Lovejoys, I think is very high, I am always excited to walk through the door and see what new seasonal or special offering is up for grabs... if you can get around the somewhat grungy feel you will dig this place, great tap selection and good prices.. russ is a cool mofo..
Aug 15, 2008
Photo of beersheppard
Reviewed by beersheppard from Texas

3.74/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Atmosphere: Definitely weird---in a good way. Ripped up booths, makeshift tables, a no smoking sign that was ignored and emblazoned with graffitti. Half a manequin adorned the wall. A dive in every sense of the word.

Quality: I sampled every beer in a shot glass, courtesy of the bartender. I decided on their dark beer. Nice and toasty. I enjoyed their pale ale as well.

Selection: 4 or 5 beers brewed there and about 15 other taps on a different wall.

Service: The bartenders were covered head-to-toe in tattoos and piercings, and best of all, super nice and friendly. The service was excellent. As I mentioned earlier allowed us to sample the beers in shot glasses.

Food: Didn't eat. I don't know if they have food.

Value: Beers were reasonably priced. I walked in their with my wife and my mother, who was in town, not knowing what to expect. What a suprise?! My Mom thought it was fun. We had a beer after sight seeing. A nice non-6th Strett bar in the 6th Street District. I will go back. It is an experience.
Aug 04, 2008
Photo of Durge
Reviewed by Durge from Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev +18.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
I think that Nerofiddled captured the charm of this place in his earlier review, and I have to say that this place is one of the best brewpubs I have ever been to. Keep in mind that I relish an atmosphere that avoids the commonplace or fashionable commentary. After an hour or two at the smashface college bravado of the Coyote Ugly Bar just a block or less away, I happened to catch a glimpse of Lovejoys on a side street, remembered it from BA, and zeroed in. Yes, there are tatoos and black tee shirts and odd goatees, oh the humanity! They were playing a Gun Club song and had pale ale on cask, say no more people, I'm pulling up a stool! They have a handful of their own brews on tap, I had the pale ale which was creamy good. They also had near twenty other good brews on tap including a good variety of Texan originals and a solid array of other micros available in bottles. They had two pool tables which we were easily able to monopolize for most of our visit. They have free wi-fi available so several folks were on their laptops, perhaps doing hoemwork from one of the local colleges or whatever. It was an eclectic crowd, the feel was like a coffeehouse except substitute brews. I'm not sure if they even offered food, didn't seem like it. But no need. It is quite dark, I think I noticed some smoke but it wasn't bad at all. I really did not think this place was dirty as some reviewers have suggested. I think they are stereotyping because of all the "tatoos" & emo/punk garb evident in the clientelle. But quite the contrary, I found the dark den to simply be, in some respects, a typical college bar with carvings and some graffiti, and maybe it wasn't spic and span everywhere, but it was simply very comfortable, not dirty in my mind. I love this place and can't wait to go back on my next business trip to Austin. The crowd to me was really more of a fun but laid back bunch of beer lovers and "intellectuals". People generally kept to themselves within various groups but it was definitely a friendly atmosphere. The bar staff was also great, friendly, reasonably prompt, definitely knowledgeable about what was on tap, although I didn't ask any deep questions to really test them, and I got a great tee-shirt to proudly display to my curious neighbors here in Watertown, CT, for which I received several unsolicited recommendations from nearby patrons. The bar is pretty small but big enough with two separate bar areas, side by side. Oh, and the prices were college level, $3-ish a pint I believe. I have certainly seen bigger brewpubs, more taps and perhaps wider selection, more common crowds of custromers. But this place was a breath of fresh air with a very solid selection of quality brews that more than qualify this place for some sort of special award among brewpubs, like "My Favorite Brewpub in the World!". Austin just moved even higher up the charts for fun places to visit...
Jun 14, 2008
Photo of TheBCrew
Reviewed by TheBCrew from New York

3.86/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Lovejoy's is an interesting departure from the rest of the craziness on 6th street. We had seen it earlier in the day buy opted to come by at night instead. The first thing I noticed when walking in was the prevalence of tattoos and punk looking people. The second thing I noticed was the 60s motown/soul music blasting. The combination was pleasantly surprising. The decor is dingy at best, but I feel that also part of the charm. The beer selection is solid for what it is, probably 15-20 micros on tap (including Racer 5, several New Belgium Offerings, and three beers made in house) as well as a nice selection of bottles. At $3 a pint for good beers the price can't be beat!
Jun 04, 2008
Photo of harpus
Reviewed by harpus from Alabama

3.39/5  rDev -10.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3
This place is located just off of 6th Street, and if you have ever been to 6th Street, then you have a guess of what this place might be like. Fist of all it took me twenty minutes to find a place to park that was not right accross the street from a homeless shelter. When I walked in the door a girl was asking me for my ID and she had tatoos from her wrist to her shoulders. They have a few beer on tap they make. The beers are good, one of the better places taht make there own beer in Austin. The bartender had even more tatoos then the girl at the door, he had tats from fingers to his face. They have a widly mixed crowd, I had some puckish style group on one side and two college frat looking guys on the other, everybody was nice. Worth a vistit ifin Austin.
Mar 07, 2008
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Absolutely without question my favorite bar in Austin! This little place has all of the personality of Joe Strummer, Charlie Manson, Devine, and Betty Boop all wrapped up in one. (Maybe I didn't get that quite right.... :( It's a very casual, semi-underground tattoo scene with great beers and music. And maybe I'm weird, but Austin actually claims to be weird, and this is the ONLY place that even comes close to it. LOVE IT!!! That said, you'll either immediately settle in to the funky/dirty/cool vibe of it, or you won't. But the beers are very good! I unfortunately haven't reviewed any of them because I don't remember them! I was drunk! One night I could barely walk home! Thank god for those mobile food trucks!!! But I also met the brewers and they were totally cool too. There's no pretense here. Everything's right out there. So if you're into the scene, this is the place to go - and if you're not, you should probably still stop in just to check it out and have a brew.
Dec 26, 2007
Photo of chadspivey
Reviewed by chadspivey from Texas

3.86/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
I like this place because of the atmosphere. When I do go in every once in a while, It seems like everybody else at the bar is a regular and knows eachother. It's like a group of freinds watching TV, literally, at a bar and drinking good beer. In the other parts of the bar, theres a pool table and some tables to sit at. The bartenders definitely have that old school Austin weird thing going on. Not much in the food department besides nuts. The beer that they brew are pretty good, but not awesome. The Old Vixen barleywine, a winter seasonal of theirs, is pretty damn good tasting and very awesome.
Jul 28, 2007
Photo of BeerZack
Reviewed by BeerZack from North Carolina

3.84/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Thought it was about time to update my 2-year-old review of Lovejoy's...

Two years later and LJs is still one of my favorite Austin locales. It's the place to go when you want to see a piece of Austin that you can't get in most good beer bars. And LoveJoys is definately a good beer bar- in addition to their normal house beer lineup (usually 2-4), they have another 15 or so guest taps with no crap on tap (you can get LoneStar and Pearl in a can though) and a large selection of Belgians and micros in the bottle cooler behind the bar.

The house beers range in quality from your average homebrew to really good stuff. Most of the heavy rotators, unfortunately, seem to be the easy drinking middle-of-the-road quaffs that keep the regulars drinking the housebeer. I have had some really great beer here, the FP Blueberry Porter and Old Vixen being two of them, but I wish he would put them on more regularly...

The house beer is really cheap here, during happy hour (which seems to be more often than not) they can be had for $2 a pint. If it wasn't so hectic for me to get to/from the downtown location I would visit more often for the value alone.
Jul 23, 2007
Photo of BeerBelcher
Reviewed by BeerBelcher from Ohio

1.84/5  rDev -51.6%
vibe: 2 | quality: 1.5 | service: 2 | selection: 2
Based on some rather polarizing comments that I read on this site, I knew I wanted to visit Lovejoy's Taproom, but I wasn't sure if I'd like it. The sort of campy decor didn't appeal to me and I was pretty unimpressed by the Lovejoy's-brewed beer I tried.

Decor was that of your friend's unfinished basement. There were some pretty beat-up tables and chairs, and a couple of ripped up booths. Clientele was a 20-ish hipster rockabilly crowd, that seems associated with a good number of craft beer haunts (like Stonefly/Onopa in Milwaukee) but who seem to drink mostly retro-"lost" beers like Pabst/Schlitz/Hamm's/Blatz (and in Texas, Lone Star). I have nothing against the hipster-crowd (they've always been very nice to me, including the crowd at Lovejoy's); I just don't understand their beer choices.

There were only three house-brewed beers on tap: Dr. Shock IPA (reviewed separately), another ale (my friend had this - it seemed much more like an IPA than my IPA did), and a porter that neither of us tried. In addition to this, there were a few other craft beers on tap (Fireman #4), but the hipster crowd appeared to be drinking mostly Lone Star bottles.

I tried the Dr. Shock, and I thought it very marginal. My friend had their special ale, which I thought was rather good when I took a sip. So I'm not sure what to take away from the quality of the beer, but I think the "thumbs down" on the IPA was severe enough to outweigh the weak "thumbs up" on the special ale when considering beer quality at Lovejoy's.

Service was two barmaids behind the bar. They were passably quick in their service, but not really helpful when it came to making beer-buying decisions.
Feb 02, 2007
Photo of grumpy
Reviewed by grumpy from Missouri

2.96/5  rDev -22.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2.5 | service: 4 | selection: 2
Visited on June 10, 2006

Three words: YETI ON TAP!!!

Ok, that’s not fair. First off, Lovejoy’s lives on – evidently under new ownership. The place is largely unchanged since my last visit there in Nov 2004. Same hours, same atmosphere, similar looking list of house beers. Still a bank of twenty, or so, guest taps at the back bar. Nothing really outstanding other than YETI ON TAP!!! Still a classic, funky, hole-in-the-wall Austin hangout.

The house beers sampled this time didn’t seem quite as flavorful as my last visit. There were two different steam beers, a Porter, an IPA, and a couple others. We tried the IPA, which was not at all bold from a hop standpoint, and a little watery. Also tasted the Porter, which was a lot watery and too subtle in its roastiness. The remaining selections were not sufficiently intriguing to bother with.

But, it was just one visit. I’m sure they will rotate some other brews through the house taps and maybe some will be winners. I will certainly give it another shot the next time I’m in Austin.

Did I mention they had YETI ON TAP!!!??? Oh, I guess I did…… Did I mention that it was $3 a pint??!! That’s reason enough to patronize this establishment.
Jun 12, 2006
Photo of BAbaracus
Reviewed by BAbaracus from Texas

4.15/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
[Edit: Ignore the first sentence. Lovejoys was taken over by another and continues on to this day]

Enjoy while it lasts. According to an interview in the Austin Chronicle, Lovejoy's will close following SXSW 2006 due to declining business exacerbated by the recent smoking ban. As one glance will quickly tell you, Lovejoy's isn't so much a traditional idea of a brewpub so much as a punk/biker/hippie hangout that just happens to make it's own beer. On your way to the restrooms be sure and check out the great anti-corporate non-conformist screed painted on the hallway wall. They have a carefully selected range of micro taps as well (I've had the pleasure of a Delirium Tremens draft there before) but these beers tend to be standard import/US micro prices (I think the DT was $6). House beers are usually around $2.50 a pint. Ultimately, if you decide to venture in to Lovejoy's, do it because you're in search of that legendary Austin funk and not because you're trying to cover all the city's brewpub bases. It really is kind of a love-it-or-hate-it kind of place: I've taken people in who instantly fell in love with the joint, and I've taken people in who wore a big scowl on their face the entire time we were there, the latter often using the mediocrity of the non-rotating brews as an excuse to leave before they got halfway through their pint.
May 24, 2006
Photo of Redrover
Reviewed by Redrover from Wisconsin

4.14/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
The Lovejoy was a nice stop in my Austin Pub crawl. It is slightly rundown and dark in the absolute best way. Long two section bar, comfy couches, a great juke box and a couple of pool tables add to the ambiance. I also liked some of that freaky artwork.

I liked the varied crowd and the fast and efficient bar keep.

The have just a great selection of beers. If you can’t find multiple options here, you either aren’t looking or you don’t like beer. The tap lines seemed to be in optimum condition.

If I lived in Austin, I would soon be a member of their Fez beer club. 100 beers is a great start!

Just a great, off the wall bar that is a can’t miss destination on your visit to this nice town.
Feb 21, 2006
Photo of dauss
Reviewed by dauss from Colorado

4.14/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Definitely a unique bar. Its really relaxed and laid back with an odd decoration. There were park benches inside. There are also 2 bars. One is for the Lovejoy's beer and other more popular beers. The other one is where they have more draughts. In between the bars is a big list of beers that they have. We asked the bartender for some samples of Lovejoy's beer, and they were all ok. Nothing special enough for me to get a pint though. The Pale Ale on the beer engine was especially bad.

The bartender was really nice and helpful. We asked if we could see their homebrew setup and let us in the back. It was more like a glorofied homebrew setup with a small kettle and a large plastic mash tun. To the right was their "walk-in" for the beers. I'm pretty sure its a insulated room thats cooled by AC window units. Also back there was a large selection of bottled beers, but they were just sitting of shelves, warm, and in the fluorescent light. They had a cooler out front with the bottled beers. They said that their turnover for bottle beer is high. I didn't get any though.

Overall I would definitely head back. Good service and nice people. My only complaint is the excessive smoking that the patrons condone.
Jun 12, 2005
Photo of Direwolf
Reviewed by Direwolf from California

4.53/5  rDev +19.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
When I lived in Austin, having recently moved out, Lovejoys was my favorite place to start out and finish a night. It is conveniently located around the nexus of Austin nightlife (6th Street). The place draws interesting mixes of patrons who surrender to the more eclectic facets of social life, and the décor reflects that. Unlike most other bars in the area, one distinguishing feature of Lovejoys is that it tends to attract and older crowd, rather than college students that tend to dominate other bars on 6th.
As far as the beers go, they typically serve four microbrews on drought at any particular time and the have any impressive selection of imported bottles. The prices for pints of the microbrews, which are really the shining stars of the pub, are very agreeable, $2 during happy hour and $2.50 otherwise. These prices are quite good compared to the other bars around sixth, many of which fail to carry a good variety of beers. As far as the beers go, my favorites are the Old Vixen Barley wine, which isn’t available that often, the Enns River Stout, and the AJ Porter. If you are into lighter stuff, the try the Splender in a Glass. The Old Whore is also outstanding, and after patronizing it regularly for about 2 years, I never had to pay a cover!
Jun 08, 2005
Photo of assurbanipaul
Reviewed by assurbanipaul from Texas

3.48/5  rDev -8.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
If you're looking for a brewpub, this probably isn't what you expect. It's really more a biker bar/slacker hangout that happens to brew four or five beers commercially and sell them along with a variety of other locals and imports.

It's right off of Sixth Street and it's more than a little counter-cultural. "Eclectic" does not really begin to describe the place. Murals on the walls, pool tables, couches, a coffin.... all the usually stuff. If you aren't visibly pierced or if you don't have *enough* tattoos (yes, one is not enough), you'll probably be looked at funny.

But true to Austin culture, Lovejoy's is a friendly and welcoming place, don't be put off by the atmosphere. The beers are pretty hit-and-miss, as there doesn't seem to be a schedule or standard offerings; I guess it's up to their brewer and what they feel like brewing. Some are great, others are so-so. A cask offering is available at times.
Nov 01, 2004
Photo of HardTarget
Reviewed by HardTarget from Texas

4.33/5  rDev +13.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
08-29-2004 Review:
Lovejoy’s, just off 6th street in Austin. Well, it’s a bar. I went in with the wife on a Saturday night, probably not the best time, at least for us. Place was pretty crowded and it was a tough fight to get to the bar to order. Place was too loud for any real conversation, so we just read the Southwest Brewing News. Place is standard beat up wood décor with some nice art painted on walls, ceiling, duct work, etc. Selection was a mixed bag. They have a good number of taps, probably 25 or so, mostly micros and imports, and a large collection of bottles, many excellent brews. The thing that brought me in was the house brews, of which there were only two available, a mild ale and a bitter. I had the mild, “Serendipity in a glass” I believe, and it was really rather good. Great drinkability, good color, very nice taste (who could smell in a place like that?). Nice balance and a mild orange flavor that really fit well with the beer. All in all, great beer, I’d like to go back on a quiet weeknight or afternoon to really savor the beer.

03-05-2006 Review
Went back with Aaron, a fellow brewer, on a slow Sunday night. Much more enjoyable experience for me. Smoking ban has been in place for a little while, which makes the beer drinking much more enjoyable for me. Had a great cask conditioned brown ale and got a growler for pretty cheap ($8 / $4 filled). The barkeep was friendly and efficent, gave us samples without a care, and let us come in back and see the brew set up. Have to bump up the scores a bit due to this visit. It's a funky bar, but this is Austin, get used to it.
Aug 29, 2004
Photo of mpahnke
Reviewed by mpahnke from Texas

4.59/5  rDev +20.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
The best brewpub in town if you are looking for excellent beer and an eclectic atmosphere. Local artists have their paintings on the walls, which adds to the atmosphere. The jukebox has a wide variety. The only downfall is it can be a bit smoky. This is a very relaxed atmosphere. Oh and the beer is quite inexpensive for the high quality.
May 02, 2003
Photo of BeerAngel
Reviewed by BeerAngel from Texas

3.14/5  rDev -17.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 2.5
This is a place for "types". What exact types that is, I don't know for sure. My guess is maybe bikers or maybe goth. Tattoos and piercings are welcomed here. The atmosphere is different with artwork on the walls and odds and ends sitting around. One that definitely falls in the "odd" category is a coffin. Why??? The service was good, the beers were sub-par IMO. I think I can brew better beers. They have a decent selection of bottled beers to go with their own self-produced line-up. A strange experience. Once was enough for me. Cheers!
Apr 06, 2003
Photo of insomnboy
Reviewed by insomnboy from California

4.53/5  rDev +19.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
Located just off 6th Street in a neighborhood that makes you think "oh yeah, the movie Slacker WAS filmed in Austin". Lovejoy's is a funky and very cool little place with rather disturbing art on the walls and some really great beer on tap, brewed on the premises, as well as a ton of other brews, on tap and bottled, to satify any taste.

I went to Austin last March for the annual South by Southwest music festival and Lovejoy's was the meeting place for a rather large group of friends from all over the US (and the world, isn't the internet wonderful?) the first night there. We were having so much fun at Lovejoy's that a couple of us had to practically drag the rest of the group out of there to see some shows!!!

The beer:
They rotate what they serve on an almost daily basis. Check the website for what they're currently pouring and what's on deck. When I was there, I got hooked on the Espresso Stout that they had that night (had 3, they were yummy) and then tried the "Hop on Pop" IPA (had 2) which was a terrifically hoppy ale that was almost as good as Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye.

Needless to say, once we did saunter out for some rock, I was pretty well lubricated. I did see my favorite band of the week that night, which was cool. (The band in question? My Morning Jacket, from Louisville KY).

If you're in Austin, go to Lovejoy's, you won't be disappointed.
Sep 29, 2002
Lovejoy's Taproom in Austin, TX
Place rating: 0 out of 5 with 30 ratings