The food and beer are reliable, nothing exceptional, but solid. (Except, of course, when it's not.) Fish and chips are one of the better options.

Ah, Biddy's. In spite of owner changes and venue changes, they've never forgot what makes them tick. It's a modest place, wood and smoke, covered with political posters and beer geegaws, but mostly political posters, some in Gaelic, most in English.

But probably what you're interested in is the beer, irish whiskey, and a smidge of food. We ate, it was nothing really to write home about, everything between $3-$8. They do offer cheese fries, served with steak fries with not quite enough cheese. But the fries were good.

They offer music every night of the week, a quite a bit of it free. Given that this is a reasonably small place, you'll probably actually want to like the music, but they keep the events calendar on the web site up to date.

Now beer, that's something. They serve imperial pints of
-Stella Artois
-Pyramid Hefeweizen
-Harp
-Pilsner Urquell
-Macs
-Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale
-Deschutes Black Butte Porter
-PBR
-New Belgium Fat Tire
-Bass
-Smithwicks
-Full Sail Amber
-Bridgeport IPA

with

-Beamish
-Guinness
-Boddingtons

on a beer engine.

The beer we had was good, and as we were there early, it wasn't too smoky. With a Irish jam session happening in the middle of the room, it was tremendously pleasant.

• BarFly

This restaurant is closed as of 4/29/2006

If you look at the microbrew movement in Portland, Horse Brass is right there at the beginning. According to their website:

Established in 1976, many of Oregon's own craft brewers have been regulars here, enjoying the likes of Guinness and Fullers ESB well before the craft beer movement.

The food menu is stocked with sausage plates, scotch eggs, ploughman's lunches, fish & chips, and pasties, all of them good.

Terran writes,

I think the Horse Brass deserves a listing in food as well under beer - their Bangers & Chips is one of my favorite low-budget lunches in town. Two tasty sausages dipped in sweet hot mustard with greasy potato chips, and a pint of hard cider on the side...mmm.

The breakfasts, particularly the english breakfasts, are a groaning board of food. They do offer American breakfast as well as everything ala carte, but if your cardiologist will allow, do try the full traditional english breakfast with its fried eggs, Irish back bacon, baked ham, English banger sausage, Heinz beans straight from the can, tomatoes, fried potatoes and fried bread.

They pull out the big screen to show English Premier League Soccer live.

If you're a craft beer lover, you've got to go to Horse Brass. Unless, of course, you can't stand smoke.

Watching England vs. Paraguay at 7 AM, by Audrey Eschright

Like a real British Isles public house, the M&S is really visually interesting. Or overwhelming. I prefer to think the former. Beer signs elbow photos elbowing bookcases and chalkboards and beer towels.

They have wine, and obviously the full bar (specialty drinks are $4.75-$6), but this place is about the beer on tap. Though the last time I was there, there was a large group of guys drinking Kokanee ($2) from bottles.

There are 20 taps, served generally in imperial pints. These are listed on a chalkboard behind the bar with name and alcohol by volume. Here's what they had when we were there.

• two Belgians (Lindeman's Framboise and a rotator, $5.50 a glass)
• 2 casks (North Coast's Red Seal and a rotator, $4.50)
• imports ($4.50)
  • Smithwicks
  • Bass
  • Newcastle Brown
  • Stella Artois
  • Strongbow Cider
  • Boddingtons
  • Guinness
• and of course micros ($4)
• Terminal Gravity IPA
• Deschutes Inversion IPA
• Boont Amber
• Mirror Pond Pale Ale
• Anchor Steam
• Elysian ESB
• Amnesia Porter
• Pelican Cream Ale

They also have bottled beer, sorted by style, ranging from $2-$12.50, including 22 classic belgian and farmhouse ales, and 6 trappist ales.

They do have food here, but it's british pub food, and not gastropub food by any means. Things like the fish and chips (these being not-quite steak fries) and sausage rolls are reliable and tasty. Snacks are under $5, cold sandwiches under $7, entrees under $9.