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Beer lovers in Jakarta looking for a cozy place to grab a glass of stout or ale can now add a new venue to their list: Brewhouse Jakarta, located on the lower ground floor of Senayan City. The pub opened in January and makes for an enjoyable hangout spot.

Two heavy wooden doors labeled “Dining” and “Bar and Lounge” mark the entrance. In the dining area, several tables are occupied by guests of all ages — businessmen enjoying a meal after a long day at work, a young couple sharing a plate of appetizers and a group of women chatting and laughing.

It’s 5:30 p.m. on a Monday and the spacious bar and lounge are not too crowded yet. Only a few seats are taken, and the long bar is still empty, except for a foreigner working on his laptop.

Songs by The Cure and Incubus and classic rock hits from Guns N’ Roses and Mr. Big are playing on sound system.

“Normally, it gets crowded after seven,” says Wahyu Sigit Gunawan, the operations manager of the establishment. “And of course, Brewhouse is packed on Fridays and Saturdays.”

The interior, the creation of a local designer, is a mix of rustic and industrial that gives the place a homey feel.

“Many Indonesians like places with a minimalist design, but we wanted to do something different,” Sigit says. “We don’t want it to be too formal or look too luxurious, so people who are maybe just passing by think, oh, this doesn’t look too expensive, I can give this a try.”

There are wooden barrels on the walls, next to silver-metallic rims, buckets or shovels. The waiters and waitresses wear Bavaria-inspired clothes — dirndl-like dresses for the women and short lederhosen for the men, also sporting hats adorned with quills.

Purple and orange sofas rest next to wooden tables and chairs. A long communal table in the middle of the bar and lounge area with bar stools allows for larger groups to gather, for dinner and drinks or to watch sports together. Football matches are regularly shown on a big screen at the end of the room and several smaller screens.

“Last Saturday, it was crazy in here for the Champions League final,” says Sigit, who is also chairman of the Jakarta Bartender Club. “I am sure we can expect the same crowd during the upcoming World Cup.”

Along with screening sports events, Brewhouse also offers live music from Wednesday through Saturday.

“Every day, we have a different concept,” Sigit explains. “On Wednesdays, for example, we have a jam session for acoustic bands, and Thursdays our theme is ‘Rock the World,’ and on the weekends we go more to Top 40 music.”

Brewhouse’s specialty, however, is without doubt its microbrewery, where the staff brews beer twice a week, producing 400 liters with each batch, a process that can take up to 12 hours.

“We brew 10 different types of beer,” Sigit says. “The original one, after the British recipe, and the others have different flavors, some with herbs and fruits.”

The most popular beer flavors are peach and lychee, he adds. The drink list also includes a wide range of imported and local beer and the standard cocktails, while the cuisine is a colorful mix of dishes from all over the world, mostly European and Middle Eastern.

“It is not easy to open a new place in a mall,” says Sigit, noting that Brewhouse is just one among Jakarta’s many restaurants and bars.

“But when we did some research, we found out that no restaurant here serves Spanish tapas yet. That’s why we included it in our menu, and it has quickly become a favorite among our guests.”