bristol brewery tour august

The East Bristol Brewery Beer Trail Returns For August Bank Holiday Weekend

The brewery beer trail will cover six of Bristol's best breweries.

St Philip’s Marsh is a fairly barren suburb of Bristol. There’s not much housing, hardly any shops, and it’s dominated by industrial estates. But for those in the know, it is also the burgeoning capital of Bristol’s independent breweries – filling the air with hops instead of petrol and playing a large role in the speedy redevelopment of the area.

For the August Bank Holiday weekend ( August 26 & 27 ), six of the area’s most highly respected breweries will open their taproom bars for the East Bristol Brewery Trail . Visitors that hit the crawl will taste a delectable sampling of beers, as well as get the opportunity to talk to the local brewers about their practices or just have a good old chinwag.

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It’s back again after last year’s successful return – the first time the event took place since the pandemic, having first started in 2016. We’re over the moon to have it back. The trail is run by Arbor Ales , Good Chemistry Brewing , Wiper & True , Left Handed Giant Brewing Co. , Moor Beer and Little Martha Brewing . All the breweries are a short walk from each other if you’re worried about suffering from ‘sea legs’.

The East Bristol Brewery Trail is centred around the start of the Bristol and Bath cycle path, near Lawrence Hill station and only ten minutes from Temple Meads . It starts at Arbor Ales on Easton Road and snakes all the way over to Little Martha on Oxford Street. Although this is just a guide and you tackle the route whichever way you want.

If you can’t make it down that bank holiday weekend, however, no need to fret. Many of the breweries’ taprooms remain open during the summer months . So you will have plenty of other opportunities to taste the hoppy delights St Philip’s has to offer. Just have a look online at openings before you wander down.

Also, many pubs and stores around Bristol stock a lot of these local breweries’ beers, while Left Handed Giant also opened its own brewpub in 2019 by Castle Park . Overlooking the harbour, it’s worth checking it out if you’re ever in the centre of town. For more information on the trail, times and the breweries click here .

The East Bristol Brewery Beer Trail

Arbor Ales 181 Easton Road, BS5 0HQ

Wiper & True Units 11-15, City Business Park, St Jude’s, Bristol BS5 0SP

Left Handed Giant Unit 3, Wadehurst Industrial Park, St Philips Road, BS2 0JE

Good Chemistry 2 William Street, BS2 0RG

Little Martha Arch 23, Oxford Street, Bristol BS2 0QT

Moor Beer Days Road, Bristol BS2 0QS

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Bristol Brewery Tours - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Bristol Brewery Tours

Home of the Bristol Craft Beer Experience since 2016, our 4 hour Bristol Brewery Tour includes a boat trip with tastings on board the ferry, a tour and tasting at the award winning Moor Brewery in Bristol and ends up at Beer Emporium on King Street for more tastings of beer along with cheese and meat boards!

Operated by UK Brewery Tours

The Bristol Craft Beer Experience starts the day by meeting outside Grain Barge and heading down to the ferry for our private 30 minute tour along the harbour. On board we’ll enjoy a talk and tasting of 2 local beer styles to start the day (nothing too heavy to start). We’ll sail past the old Bristol brewery site, and you’ll hear a little bit about the history of brewing in the city from past to present.

About The Tour

Experience the best craft beer made in bristol, join us for an unforgettable craft beer tour around bristol.

Accompanied by our friendly guides, you'll embark on a fascinating journey through Bristol, immersing yourself in the local craft beer culture. Our tours introduce you to knowledgeable experts who will provide valuable insights into the breweries, beers and Bristol’s craft beer scene.

Each tour lasts approximately three and a half hours, commencing and concluding in the heart of Bristol city centre. Throughout the tour, we'll visit a selection of craft beer bars and breweries tasting the freshest beer brewed in the city.

We cater for all our tours including non-craft beer fans and craft beer experts alike. You do not have to be a tasting expert to enjoy our tours, our tour guides will make the experience enjoyable whatever your experience level of craft beer. We see a wide mix of people week to week, from solo travellers, couples and larger groups – we welcome you all!

Bristol Beer Tasting Tour

£ 39.00

Join us on a guided beer tasting tour around 3 different Bristol brewery taprooms or craft beer venues.

• Description

The Bristol Beer Tasting tour is a tour which focuses on tasting a number of different local beers from a range of styles. This is a guided tour led by your local beer expert who will also give you an insight into the history of brewing in the area.

Available for group bookings only.

Duration: 2.5 hours (approx) Group size: 12 max (approx)

Saturdays. Check availability to see starting times and available dates. Language: English

• Enjoy tastings at 3 Bristol craft beer venues
• Learn about the history of brewing in Bristol and the UK
• Discover some of Bristol’s best beer

Full description

We’ll take you on a guided beer tasting tour around 3 different Bristol brewery taprooms or craft beer venues. You’ll learn about a number of different beer styles along the route plus an insight into the venues visited and Bristol’s beer scene as a whole.

Depending on the day of your visit we’ll head to 3 of the following locations: Moor Brewery, Arbor Ales, Good Chemistry, Lost and Grounded, Wiper and True, Beer Emporium, Small Bar or The Barley Mow. Please note that the venues visited can change depending on the day and time of your visit.

You’ll walk between the venues, taste a number of different beers on route and learn about how the breweries started out along the way. You’ll be accompanied by a knowledgeable local guide to talk you through the beer styles from start to finish.

This tour doesn’t tour the equipment and focuses on beer styles rather than brewing processes. If you are looking for our in depth tour then you may consider taking a look at The Bristol Craft Beer Experience.

✔ Guided tour ✔ Beer tastings

Meeting Point The Barley Mow, 39 Barton Rd, St Philip’s, Bristol BS2 0LF

What to bring

• Passport or ID card
• Comfortable shoes

Not allowed

• Under 18’s

Know before you go

• All venues on the tour have step-free access
• At least one tasting at each stop and this will depend on the day, beers available and venues visited.

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Bristol Craft Beer Experience

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A Craft Beer Guide to Bristol: The City’s Best Breweries and Tap Rooms

• Last Updated March 17, 2024
• UK , Europe

The beer selection at Bristol’s Small Bar is anything but small. Spread over two floors, with two drinking areas on the ground and a comfy spot upstairs, this pub perched on the corner of King Street is far from parochial. This is a cathedral to craft beer. It’s early on a Saturday evening and already the city’s beer connoisseurs are out in force, scattered around Small’s tables and old, repurposed barrels while I stand at the stripped-wood bar, struggling to make my selection from the dizzying number of taps – 31 in total – on offer. It turns out that Small Bar’s certainly wasn’t coined because the bar is diminutive in size, but more for their furious dedication to showcasing the best brews from small and independent local breweries.

There are around 15 craft breweries in Bristol. In the east of the city alone, you’ll find Fierce & Noble, Arbor, Wiper & True, Dawkins, New Bristol, Moor, Left Handed Giant and Good Chemistry. Head deeper into the city centre, or even south of the river Avon, and you will find even more. With this much competition, you would think that it’s almost impossible to start a new brewing venture here, but in my experience from spending just 3 short days in the city, the good-natured rivalry has nurtured a strong, community-focused beer scene. Some of the above brewers – Arbour, Dawkins, Left Handed Giant, Moor and Good Chemistry – come together each August Bank Holiday weekend, the start of the annual Bristol Beer Week, as well as the first bank holiday of May, to take part in the East Bristol Beer Trail. With just a short walk between each brewery – the trail is centred around the start of the Bristol to Bath cycle path, between Temple Meads and Lawrence Hill stations – punters get a chance to meet the brewers, explore the area and sample some great brews.

Collaboration isn’t a rare occurrence in the Bristol beer scene. The city’s brewers are often joining forces with their combined knowledge to create new concoctions. It is part of how the city embraces new breweries, creating a positive, exciting atmosphere.

Working my way through my list of must-visit breweries, one pint at a time, it’s hard not to feel the buzz. As I prop the bar at Fierce & Noble, sipping a glass of their dark, rich and creamy black IPA, their passion is clear. I’m questioned by the barman about which breweries I’ve visited and where I plan to go before he unfurls a foldout Bristol Craft Beer Map (available from the tourist office) and begins pointing out various venues. Even for someone like me who plans to sup as many local beers as possible, it’s daunting; there are 39 pubs and bars listed, with 16 breweries on a separate key.

Each place I visit, more recommendations come my way. Taking the advice of the guys at Fierce and Noble, I make my way to Wiper & True, just a 5-minute wander away in St Werburghs. On the suggestion of a fellow drinker in W & T, I end up stopping off at Arbor next, chatting to the owner for a long while before settling down in the brewery’s yard with the head brewer and other members of staff as they have a few cans at the end of their shift. Somehow they persuade me to hop in an Uber with them over to Moor, where we finish the night at the launch of Beer 52’s Citizens of Everywhere project, the bringing together of 12 great craft breweries from across the UK (of which locals Moor and Lost & Grounded re two of them) with 12 great craft breweries from 12 different European countries to create collaborative brews.

In one afternoon and evening, I manage to just about scratch the surface of the city’s brewing scene. However, it’s a perfect introduction to the variety of breweries on offer. Over the course of the weekend, I manage to make a severe dent in the Bristol Craft Beer Map’s list but no matter how valiant my efforts, I don’t quite succeed in sampling everywhere. All I know is that Bristol is a beer-lovers paradise. Here are some of my favourite breweries.

Moor Beer Co

Moor is not only one of the most respected microbreweries in Bristol, but also the whole of the UK. Starting out in Somerset way back in 2007, when Californian Justin Hawke purchased the defunct business it has gone on to become one of the world’s top-rated breweries. Justin has taken inspiration from his Californian roots, creating full-flavoured, often hoppy, beers mixed with the British secondary refermentation tradition to create what they call Modern Real Ale. In the process, they have earned myriad international awards and are the first brewery to be accredited by CAMRA for cask, keg, bottle and can.

Moor Beer’s brewery taproom, just a short walk from Temple Meads Station, opened in 2014 and has possibly the largest selection of beer on offer at any of the City’s breweries. There are 10 keg taps as well as beer on cask and a huge selection of cans. Brewery tours are available every Saturday at 12:30. They are £12 per person, last 30-40 minutes and include three beer tokens to use in the tap room afterwards.

Where : Days Rd, BS2 0QS Opening Times : Weds to Sat 12pm – 10pm; Sun 12pm – 6pm.

Lost and Grounded

Lost & Grounded launched in 2016 with much industry anticipation, and those eagerly awaited beers have been an instant hit. While most microbreweries are heavily focussed on the hoppier side of things, Lost & Grounded took the unusual step of making kellerbier – a hazy, unfiltered pilsner – their focus. This brewery, on an industrial estate a short walk east of Temple Meads, was the first I visited in Bristol on a dreary Friday afternoon. The silver-clad industrial unit is fairly nondescript, other than the sign above the door and a few picnic benches outside, but when I stepped inside I was blown away. It’s enormous.

Originally a chemical engineer by trade, head brewer and co-founder Alex is fascinated by the precision of German brewing and the idiosyncratic nature of Belgian beers. In their state of the art brewery – a pristine German-built Krones Steinbecker kit – they have the ability to get experimental in the techniques they use to brew their beer. They even have their own lactic acid plant on site. As you can imagine, these guys know how to produce a good lager, with their Keller Pils becoming an instant classic.

Where : 91 Whitby Rd, BS4 4AR Opening Times : Fri 1pm – 7pm; Sat 3pm – 10pm.

I first came across Arbor when I saw their bold, bright cans with quirky names sitting in a fridge at my local bottle shop up in Leeds (beers with names like ‘Faked Alaska’, ‘Why Kick a Moo Cow’, and ‘The Devil Made Me Brew’ It come to mind). Although they have been brewing for a long time, since 2007, it is only recently that Arbor has set up a tap room in the yard of the brewery itself. It’s nothing fancy, just a portacabin containing a tiny bar and a few tables, but the real reason to visit is for their beer. There are usually 4 taps to choose from with different beers on constant rotation, as well as a pretty big can selection. My favourites are Yakima Valley and Shangri La.

Where : 181 Easton Rd, BS5 0HQ Opening Times : Fri 5pm – 8pm; Sat 1pm – 3pm.

Fierce & Noble

Fierce & Noble’s brewery is hard to miss as you walk through St Werberghs, its exterior decorated in bold pink and purple zig-zags. The brewery was initially set up just two years in order to supply beer for the owner’s bars and cafes, offering two styles; one named Fierce and one named Noble. Since then Fierce & Noble has expanded to offer 4 beers in its core range, a session IPA, APA, Black IPA and West Coast IPA. However, as a huge fan of seminal DC hardcore outfit Bad Brains, I couldn’t resist trying one of the breweries latest beers that has been named in their honour –  I Against IPA,  a sweet, fruity beer flavoured with seven different American hops. Their taproom is a cosy, wood-panelled affair, giving it the cosy feel of an old pub. Upstairs is a balcony where you can sit with your beer overlooking the brewery itself. as well as the kit for Masquerade, a smaller operation run by two young brewers that have brought their equipment into Fierce & Noble to experiment and collaborate, You’ll even sometimes find their creations in the taproom.

Where : 25 Mina Rd, BS2 9TA Opening Times : Fri & Sat 2pm – 10pm; Sun 12pm – 8pm.

Wiper & True

Starting out, like most passionate brewers do, by tinkering at home on a kitchen stove with pots, pans and raw ingredients scattered all around them, Wiper and True have since moved to a great space in St Werburghs, just a 10-minute stumble from Fierce & Noble. Wiper & True’s aim is to experiment and create something special, whether that’s roasting their own malts, adding wild ingredients such as blackberries and chillies, or ageing their beer on different kinds of wood. Their wonderful taproom is located in the brewery itself, with plenty of seating out front. You’ll likely find 5 or 6 beers on tap, including their rich, dark, vanillary milk stout, their refreshing Kaleidoscope Pale Ale and gently spicy pink peppercorn porter.

Where : 2-8 York St, St Werburghs, BS2 9XT Opening Times : Fri 6pm – 10pm, Sun 1pm – 10pm.

Bristol Beer Factory

Built on the old Ashton Gate fermenting site south of the Avon, a building that has been used to brew beer since the 1820s, Bristol Beer Factory have managed to breath new life into this old brewery when they acquired the building in 2004. Since then they have developed a range of 7 core beers and produce a few small-batch, speciality brews each year which can all be found in their spacious South Bristol taproom. As well as a bar, their brewery also boasts a visitor centre where you can take a tour, meet the brewers, or buy some take-out drinks from their bottle shop.

Where : The Old Brewery, Durnford St, BS3 2AW Opening Times : Mon 12pm – 7pm; Tues to Thurs 12pm – 9pm; Fri 12pm – 11pm; Sat 10am – 11pm; Sun 12pm – 7pm.

Dawkins Ales was formed when Glen Dawkins, owner of Dawkins Taverns acquired Matthew’s Brewing Company in 2010 and streamlined the two together and made a huge splash in the Bristol Area. In 2015, Dawkins raised the money to move from their home in Bath to new premises in Easton, joining what is dubbed by some as the ‘Beermuda Triangle’ alongside Fierce & Noble, Wiper & True, Good Chemistry and Moor. Since 2015, Dawkins are also growing their own, locally produced hops as participants in the East Bristol Hops Project.  In their tap room, Dawkins has a great range of bottled, cask and keg beers ranging from IPAs and stouts to their own Somerset cider (this is the South East after all). Make sure to sample their Bristol Blonde which won Gold in 2014 at the region’s biggest beer contest.

Where : Easton Brewery, Unit 2, Industrial Units, Lawnwood Rd, BS5 0EF Opening Times : Fri & Sat 4pm – 8pm.

Inspired by the rich culture and creativity Bristol’s cultural quarter, Stokes Croft, Croft Ales was started by two guys from Italy who moved to Bristol and discovered a love of craft beer. Hidden away on a side street, this tiny brewery and taproom is the city’s smallest, having space for maybe a dozen or so punters around a couple of tables and barrels. The best way to describe it is small but perfectly formed. They usually have 5 beers on Tap, including their fantastic Westide APA and Dusk Til Dawn American IPA. Ask Pedro or one of his wonderful team, and you may even get to have a little peek in the brewery next door.

Where : 32 Upper York St, BS2 8QN Opening Times : Fri 4 – 10pm; Sat 2 – 10pm.

Left Handed Giant

One of my biggest regrets when visiting Bristol is that I wasn’t able to visit Left Handed Giant due to them only being open during the summer months. The brainchild of the people behind one of Bristol’s best pubs, Small Bar, Left Handed Giant have gone on to become one of the most respected names in the UK beer scene. At the moment, their taproom positioned right at the start of the Bristol-to-Bath cycle path is modest, but thanks to a hugely successful crowd-funding campaign, they are in the process of moving to a new site in Finzels Reach, which has been home to several famous Bristol breweries over the years, most recently Courage brewery. The ground floor will be returned to its former use as a fully operational and cutting-edge brewery, where Left Handed Giant will ferment its selection of modern, progressive beers on site. Alongside there will be a brewpub, where visitors can relax and enjoy the freshly brewed beers in a modern, urban-style bar.

Where : 8-9, Wadehurst Industrial Park, St Philips Rd, BS2 0JE Opening Times : Fri 5pm – 10pm, Sat 1pm – 8pm.

Cocksure is fairly new to the Bristol brewing scene, starting in January 2017. Recently Callum and Dan have relocated to an Industrial estate in Totterdown where they have repurposed materials from their old brewery, including cladding from their old tanks, to create a beautiful mezzanine bar overlooking the brewery itself. The tap room is a little out of the way – when I Ubered there at 8 pm on a Saturday night in the dark, the driver asked if I was sure I knew where I was going and even offered to wait while I wandered towards the industrial units – but it is a lovely, relaxed space. Their core range consists of five different beers: their Pale Ale, Session IPA, Amber Session, IPA and a delicious Nitro Cold Brew Stout.

Where : Unit B, Totterdown Bridge Industrial Estate, BS2 0XH Opening Times : Fri 5pm – 10pm; Sat 2 – 9pm.

Best of the Rest

As they’re only open for special events, I didn’t get to visit  New Bristol Brewery , but they have an on-site brewery school where you can learn about all things beer, or alternatively, you can find their beers at pubs and bars throughout the city.  Good Chemistry  is another that was closed while I was in the city, although they are open in the summer months (Fridays and Saturdays between April and October) and I managed to sample a couple of halves of theirs over an incredible  vegan sandwich at Kongs  of King Street.

Take a Beer Tour of Bristol with Bristol Hoppers

On my final day in the city, I thought I would be a little hard-pressed to find any breweries that I’m yet to sample so I met up with local beer expert and owner of Bristol Hoppers, Heather Goodford.

Bristol Hoppers  offer a range of curated group tours through Bristol’s beer scene such as the ‘Breweries, Brunel & Brigstow’, ‘Grains, Gradients & Graffiti’ and the ‘South of the River’ tours, each taking in a different area of Bristol while visiting a range of pubs and brewery taprooms while sampling beers with Heather as your guide. If group tours aren’t your thing, she also offers self-guided mystery tours for couples;  There’s an envelope waiting for you at your first stop to reveal the rest of your venues. This will also contain tokens to swap for a delicious, locally produced beer (six different Bristol brewed beers – a mixture of half a pint and third-pint measures – altogether) at each venue you visit.

Heather meets me in the courtyard of my hotel, the wonderful Brookes Guesthouse, and together we walk to the Harbourside Ferry Terminal while she gives me a backstory to the city’s brewing history. Our destination is south of the River Avon on a modified version of her ‘South of the River’ tour, somewhere I’m yet to visit on my beer odyssey. Together we take in a tasting tray at the Bristol Beer Factory, some of Heather’s favourite pubs along North Street – pubs I certainly wouldn’t have stumbled across on my own – while she tells me about the area’s incredible street art, and finish at a sun-drenched Wapping Wharf where we finish off with a very generous tasting at Wild Beer Co. As someone that isn’t necessarily a huge fan of sour beer, I’m a little wary at first, but with tasting notes and a little backstory to each beer coming from Heather and a very knowledgable barman, they manage to sway my opinion.

I leave Wild Beer Co. a sour convert, stumbling, slightly (very) tipsy back across Bristol city centre to catch my coach home. Despite my best efforts and 3 days of imbibing beer, I still didn’t manage to see everything that Bristol’s brewing scene had to offer. But I gave it my best shot.

I visited Bristol as a guest of Visit Bristol and was generously provided with a free private beer tour by Bristol Hoppers. However, all views are completely my own.

Dave McClane

David McClane is a photographer and travel writer based in Leeds, UK. Since first picking up a camera on a yearlong journey through Central and South America in 2014/2015, He has carefully documented his travels through almost 50 countries.

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Brewery & Taproom Beer Tasting Tour (Self-guided)

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Looking for the best beers in Bristol? This clever location-savvy audio tour of Bristol's breweries and taprooms takes you straight to the source. Get ready to immerse yourself into this city's brilliant craft beer scene.

Everyone in your group will need their own set of headphones and an Android / iPhone, so each of you can follow the tour. Your friendly audio guide Heather will give you the back-story behind four breweries en-route and some more a short walk away. Surprising you with interesting facts about the buildings and areas you pass by. All of the audio, including a little beer-based knowledge, will be shared as you walk - so you can relax and chat amongst yourselves while enjoying your beers. Cheers!

At the second stop, you will have a table booked for you. Here you'll each enjoy three different third pints of delicious beers made on the premises. A member of staff will talk you through them and answer any questions you have. You will also be given a few snacks (crisps, etc) to munch on as you walk between venues.

For the remainder of the audio tour route, you can choose to stop for refreshments as many times as you like. As well as the four breweries, you will get the chance to enjoy a pint in an award-winning pub's beer garden, owned by Bristol Beer Factory.

So that you can plan future beer adventures in Bristol, while you walk you'll be given the story behind several other breweries and how to reach them. Your audio tour guide Heather will give you tips on some late-night drinking venues close to the end of the tour.

Please note:

There is one more brewery that Heather mentions on the audio as you walk past that has decided not to reopen their taproom just yet. When this reopens there will be five directly along the route.

The walking tour starts at Bristol Temple Meads train station. Your beer tasting is booked for one hour after your start time, which allows for about twenty minutes of walking and and time to check out a lovely little brewpub along your way. The total length of your tour will take will depend on how much beer you'll drink, how many stops you choose to make and your drinking speed.

Most of the beers brewed in Bristol are vegan. The venues along the route are dog friendly.

Age restrictions: 18+

Available dates

What people are saying.

Really fun activity and a good easy route to follow

Great tour and a good introduction to Bristol Breweries

Really good tour. We were mirrored by a tour with a guide and thought that our experience was sup...

It was really straightforward and was a lovely tour of breweries from an area of Bristol that I d...

Really good tour. We were mirrored by a tour with a guide and thought that our experience was superior. Will do it again, there were plenty of beers we didn't get to try.

It was really straightforward and was a lovely tour of breweries from an area of Bristol that I don't visit that often. The guide was informative and friendly and the tour was a good length.

This was a really fun tour! I'm normally a bit sceptical of pre-recorded tours but it was full of really interesting info and took me to taprooms and parts of Bristol that I wouldn't have come across on my own. All of the staff knew Heather (the tour host) as well, which made it feel really friendly and genuine even though you're taking yourself round the route 😊

Great tour, some lovely beers and great to see such a booming craft beer scene

This was a brilliant experience! We were given this tour as a gift. Learnt some stuff about Bristol, the brewing process and drank loads of beer! What's not to like? The technology of the self-guided tour and audio app worked pretty well and only got confused once for about 200 yards. We went to Little Martha Brewery, Moor Brewery for a well-explained tasting session, the Barley Mow pub, Newton Park Brewery and Wiper and True Brewery. A couple more were doable but that was enough! Fantastic

Really enjoyed this self guided tour around Bristol's craft beer scene. The goody bag of snacks and even a birthday card was a nice personal touch.

Really easy to follow with great instructions & interesting facts. Very much enjoyed!

Brilliant beer tour, excellently planned and some lovely touches from Heather (including a birthday card for my partner’s birthday which made him feel so special - thank you!) Would recommend to anyone who loves beer to do this!

Had a great day out, the audio guide was excellent and discovered some great new places - thanks so much!

I booked the audio tour for my boyfriend’s birthday and we had a great time. The tour was really interesting and it took us to some real hidden gems in Bristol. The staff at Moor Brewery were super helpful and we got to try lots of unique and tasty beers! We will definitely be returning and have already been recommending the experience to friends and family.

An easy to walk tour that would be pretty difficult without this guide as it is all inconspicuous corners of industrial areas! The people at Moor were very attentive and talked us through the beers we were trying. The tour ended at a nice couple of taprooms which sold good food.

How to get there

• Refreshments available

COVID-19 guidelines

• All venues will be following relevant covid guidelines and you will need to check the latest advice/rules before heading out on your tour. Most of the venues have plenty of outdoor space.

On booking, you'll receive a unique code and instructions on how to download the app and tour. Once the tour is downloaded it will stay on your phone forever. The app will guide to the precise start point.

The beer tasting is booked for one hour after your start time. Please ensure you start your tour on time if you'd like time for a drink at the first stop you come to. Or, if you are headed straight for the tasting (second stop) you can start up to 40 mins late.

Changes happen, don't worry

You'll be hosted by.

Heather Goodford

Heather is the founder of Bristol Hoppers. She has lived in Bristol for more than 20 years and still loves to show this off. Her love for craft beer began after the first brewery taproom opened in Bristol. Over the weekend you'll probably find Heather in one of the city's taprooms or craft beer bars - unless she happens to be away camping instead! Heather enjoys encouraging others to drink locally and meeting like-minded people.

Any questions?

Ask your question directly to Bristol Hoppers.

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Drinks , United Kingdom

Bristol craft beer guide – how to drink craft beer in bristol uk.

I still can’t believe we are the type of travelers who now seek out craft beer experiences in every city we visit, but here we are. The Bristol craft beer scene is pretty amazing.

They call themselves “Britain’s First City of Beer,” for a variety of reasons. Most of this relates to the history of some of the Bristol breweries. But, there is certainly no shortage of bars in Bristol for craft beer. Welcome to beer in Bristol, UK . 

In this Craft Beer in Bristol Guide, we will share options for Bristol brewery tours and tastings as well as offer recommendations for pubs in Bristol City Centre. This includes Bristol pubs that offer more traditional and classic pub experiences as well as those that specialize in craft beer.

*This post contains compensated links. Find more info in my  DISCLAIMER . As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

For more Bristol Food And Drink Guides, check out:

Bristol Food Guides – Where To Eat In Bristol

Bristol Gin Guide – Where To Taste Gin In Bristol

Craft Beer Bristol Guide

While living in Spain, we started to learn a lot more about craft beer in Catalonia, the region where we lived. We did a lot of research on Catalan craft beers and created a Barcelona Craft Beer Guide . Now that we live in Ireland, there’s certainly no shortage of Irish craft beer , and we have a fabulous craft beer bar in our city of Limerick. Bristol is a whole different story.

As much as there are loads of craft beer producers in the UK, when we travel to London, I find it difficult to find proper craft beer bars. In London, I see pubs advertise “craft beers” but they end up being a collection of mass-produced, industrial beers that (perhaps) once started as artisan or craft or micro-brewed beer.

This is not the case in Bristol. There are proper craft beer producers and bars specializing in local craft beers. Whether you call them craft beers, artisan beers, micro-breweries, or independent brewers, there is no shortage of them in Bristol. Bristol is nirvana for craft beer lovers.

What Is Craft Beer?

Because what is craft beer? The topic is up for debate. In fact, we had this conversation a few times during our visit to Bristol. To me, it means a locally produced beer, rather small-batch, produced by a company that is not owned by Diageo or a similar conglomerate.

We saw craft beer at every turn in Bristol. Even where we didn’t see craft beer, we saw British produced cask ales or even locally produced British cider. 

When we traveled to Bristol, we didn’t intend to write a Bristol Craft Beer Guide. Our schedule included one visit to one microbrewery in Bristol. During that first visit, though, we fell in love. We went above and beyond, and drank a lot of craft beer, and did a lot of research, to provide craft beer lovers a guide to drinking craft beer in Bristol. 

Bristol Brewery Tours

There are a handful of Bristol craft beer breweries that offer tours, mostly on the weekends. In addition to the breweries that offer tours, there are a dozen more Bristol craft brewers that brew beer and distribute to some of the craft beer bars in Bristol city centre.

Here, we focus on a few of the breweries that offer brewery tours, allowing travelers to go behind the scenes and learn about the beers they brew.

Cask Ale In The UK

First a note about beer in the UK. The UK is probably most known for its cask ale , something I was unfamiliar with as an American before I started traveling to the UK. It’s taken me a lot to get used to and people who live outside of the United Kingdom have some pretty strong feelings.

Cask ale is an unfiltered ale, transported in a cask, which is normally smaller than a keg. Cask ale has lower carbonation, which requires it to be hand-pumped out of the cask. It’s normally served at “room temperature,” which leads many Americans to complain that it is served warm. It’s not, but it does mean that cask ale tends to have more flavor than mass-produced British and American beers. 

The brewers we met in Bristol produce both keg beer and cask beer. Most of the Bristol craft beer bars serve both as well. You can see traditional keg taps as well as the hand-pumped cask ale taps on the bars. Most of the Bristol craft beer menus will say whether they are keg or cask. If you like your beer cold then stick to the keg beers rather than the cask ales. 

Moor Beer Bristol

Sometimes we have unique experiences because we are travel bloggers. This normally occurs when we are introduced to a producer, someone to interview for background on our blog, and something special happens.

That is exactly what happened when we arrived at Moor Brewery Bristol for their weekend brewery tour. Our schedule included the regular weekend brewery tour, but instead, we met Justin, a fellow American transplant and the current man behind Moor Beer Bristol . 

We just hit it off with Justin. Not only did he tell us the story of Moor Beer, but also educated us on the Bristol craft beer and real ale scene. He spent time with us explaining the Bristol Craft Beer Map and where to drink during our stay.

He is also the reason why we wrote this post. Initially, we were scheduled to visit Moor Beer and that was about it. But his passion for beer set us out on a quest to drink as much Bristol craft beer as we could during our visit. 

Justin mentioned that he doesn’t like the phrase “craft beer,” perhaps because of his American roots. Instead, Justine operates a “micro-brewery” in Bristol. It’s one that is influenced both by his American background. He believes that real beer has flavor and he’s attempted to re-introduce unfiltered beer to the UK.

At any one time, they have about a dozen Moor Beer varieties on tap, plus more in their signature cans. Everything we tasted was high-quality. If you are in the US and have a kegerator , you should be able to find Moor Beer at shops that specialize in foreign craft beer.

Moor Brewery Tours & Tastings

The Moor Bristol brewery tour runs most Saturdays at 1:30 pm and should be reserved ahead of time online. The Moor Beer Tap Room is open from Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 10 pm. They also have a London taproom on the Bermondsey Beer Mile.

Moor Beer Bristol is located on Days Road, just a 10-minute walk from Bristol’s center. It’s located in more of an industrial area, but still worthwhile to head out there. They can help with a taxi back to town if need be. We walked there and back because we had lovely weather. 

Bristol Beer Factory

We heard a lot about the Bristol Beer Factory while visiting Bristol. This is the original micro-brewery in Bristol. As much as we didn’t visit the brewery, we tasted their Bristol craft beer. If you can’t make it out to the brewery for a tour, Bristol Beer Factory operates a handful of pubs in Bristol as well, including Bristol Tap Room and the Grain Barge, a floating craft beer barge located on the river. I tried their Milk Stout, which was creamy and smooth. 

The Bristol Beer Factory is located a little further outside of town at The Old Brewery on Durnford Street close to the Ashton Gate Stadium. According to their website, they operate brewery tours “every other week or so” at 7 pm, so check with them for the most up-to-date schedule.

King Street Bristol Pubs

There are a lot of good pubs in Bristol, lest I say perhaps too many. I think if we lived in Bristol we would have a lot of fun exploring them all to find our favorite (much to the chagrin of our waistlines).

King Street in Bristol city centre is like a pub street, just one that’s been around since the 17th Century. We only captured a glimpse of it. I can only imagine the area in the spring or summer, with good weather.

There are all sorts of different pubs on King Street Bristol, some of which are traditional British pubs, some of which are Bristol craft beer bars. Some of them are probably more hangouts for the young. Those, we didn’t visit.

We surveyed a mess of the places to drink on King Street in Bristol to gauge whether they offer a good craft beer selection and whether they fit our definition of cool places to drink craft beer. Yeah, I know, it’s subjective. Most of these pubs open at noon seven days a week. 

The Small Bar Bristol

We loved The Small Bar Bristol, hands down our favorite. I can’t quite say it’s one of the best pubs in Bristol, but when we mentioned it to some other craft beer aficionados in town, they seemed to love it too.

I anticipated a bar that was a lot smaller because of its name, but it is a good size. But the feel is exactly what you want a craft beer bar to be and the bartenders were very knowledgeable and helped us pick the perfect beer.

If we lived in Bristol, I could see us frequenting The Small Bar, and that is saying something. From the exposed brick walls and natural wood tables, there was just something about it. 

The Small Bar Bristol is located at 31 King Street. They offer about 30 taps of mostly local beers, including their own brew. Although they don’t serve food regularly, they do operate a pop-up a few days a week offering Asian wings from Wing’s Diner. Somewhat famously they don’t accept cash, it’s credit cards only. 

The Beer Emporium Bristol

The Beer Emporium Bristol is a craft beer shop on the ground level and an underground dungeon-style craft beer bar on the lower level. The entire bar is covered with exposed brick walls, which meant I got to see people hit their heads numerous times in one doorway as they made their way to the bar.

The Beer Emporium offered a pretty good selection of local Bristol craft beers, and the staff was friendly and knowledgeable. I found their selection a little less to my liking than other nearby craft beer bars, but that’s based on the fact that I don’t like IPAs or super-hoppy beers. Because of its underground location, I can imagine it is lovely in the summer. It was a little cold in the winter. 

The Bristol Beer Emporium King Street Bristol is located at 15 King Street. They have a TV in the back for big games and matches. They share their space with Pepenero, an Italian restaurant and pizzeria. 

The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer Bristol 

This is the Bristol pub with the coolest name, particularly for an American. Yes, we visited the Famous Royal Navy Volunteer bar solely based on its cool name.

We heard that this used to be one of the coolest bars in Bristol until the owner passed it on to his son, which has changed the atmosphere a bit. I was thrilled at their selection of craft beer in both keg and cask.

That said, we visited on a Sunday, early in the day, and most employees seemed very hungover. Now, I can’t blame them because I was probably the same when I bartended at their age in the ’90s. But, there were a bunch of people working and no one really seemed eager to serve or seemed to have knowledge of the beers on tap.

The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer Bristol is located at 17-18 King Street Bristol. I would recommend it solely because how often can you drink a beer at a British pub with a name this cool. Perhaps visit later in the day when the staff is more on-the-ball.

King Street Brewhouse Bristol

Although The Small Bar Bristol does, sort of, brew its own beer, most of the Bristol craft beer bars on King Street just serve beer, they don’t brew it. But, at the end of King Street, just along the river is the King Street Brew House.

It’s a large space, with a full kitchen, and yes, they brew their own beer. They carry their own beers as well as other British ales and the bartenders are willing to help drinkers choose the perfect pint.

King Street Brewhouse And Kitchen Bristol is located at 13 Welsh Back, at the end of King Street on the river.

Other Bristol Craft Beer Bars

Although there is a concentration of Bristol craft beer bars around King Street, there are a handful of other bars to mention for craft beer lovers.

There is a location of Brewdog Bristol just a few blocks away from the St. Nichola Market. I know that Brewdog deserves its accolades for resurrecting the British micro-brewing industry, but still have a hard time calling craft beer. I prefer looking for beers I can’t have in cities across the world. We didn’t visit their posh corner craft beer bar on Baldwin Street. But, I wanted to let people know that it is there.

Wild Beer Company Bristol

If you are looking for the best bars in Bristol for sour beers then Wild Beer Bristol is the place to go. We walked by Wild Beer a couple of times and never stopped in until we heard about their focus on sour beers, which I love.

Unfortunately, we hit them on the tail end of our Bristo Craft Beer Tour and we were running out of time. I say unfortunately because they had so many great sours and stouts on tap that I could have spent hours there.

It’s also the perfect place for a little beer tasting in Bristol because they offered us so many samples to try that I had a hard time choosing. If you like craft beer, this is a must-visit craft beer bar in Bristol. 

The Wild Beer Co Bristol is located at Whapping Wharf near the collection of shops and restaurants called Cargo. It’s a cool, mixed-use space that I adored while in Bristol. Wild Beer has a good amount of outdoor seating as well, near the water. Their bartenders are very knowledgeable and super friendly. 

Other Cool Bars In Bristol For Craft Beer

Here are a few other options, which still feel like they only scratch the surface. I would love to go back to Bristol and spend a month exploring all of the food and drink options in the city.

The Barley Mow on Baron Road is the Bristol Beer Factory’s flagship bar. Zero Degrees on Colston Street is a little more contemporary, loaded with glass and metal.

We also ate at The Gallimaufry and Flour & Ash around Gloucester Road, which each offer great selections of craft beers.

More Of Bristol’s Best Pubs

There are few other options to drink away the day in Bristol, no surprise there. Some of these lie off of King Street and might not be the best for craft beer, but are worth mentioning. As for King Street, we popped into King William Ale House in part because of its bright orange facade. It was a little quiet, but they had a good selection of cask ale.

Off of College Green and Park Row lies the oldest pub in Bristol, The Hatchet Inn. Now, we did not go in for a pint, in part because when we walked by it was about 10 am.

That said, it looked adorable, although has a reputation for rock music and a biker clientele. It dates to 1606, but recently Butcombe Brewing Co purchased The Hatchet Inn, making it part of a British pub chain. To check out Bristol’s oldest pub, visit The Hatchet Inn on Frogmore Street.

Our driver also recommended the Cornubia on Temple Street, which is known for being a traditional British pub with real ale in an adorable location surrounded by newer buildings. We tried to get over there, but just couldn’t make it happen. Next time. 

Campaign For Real Ale

Another way that locals and beer aficionados describe British pubs is to talk about the search for real ale. This generally refers to cask ale. Some of the best real ale pubs in Bristol include those “certified” by Bristol CAMRA, the Campaign For Real Ale.

This was something many of the brewers and pub owners we met continued to mention, although not something I was familiar with before traveling to Bristol. There is a list of CAMRA pubs in Bristol on their website. 

British Cider In Bristol

Okay, so not entirely craft beer-related, but it’s impossible to travel to Southwest England without talking about cider. There are a handful of cider pubs in Bristol, but to learn about cider (something we know very little about), we visited the Bristol Cider Shop at Cargo at Whapping Wharf. They’ve since given up their space at Cargo, but they still do online orders and tasting events. They only carry ciders produced within 50 miles of Bristol, making it uber-local.

British pubs traditionally only carried mass-produced ciders, like Thatchers. It’s getting more common, though, to find British artisan ciders around Bristol. Check out The Apple, which is a Bristol cider pub. Well, more accurately, it’s a cider barge, right on the river. There is also a Cider Festival in Bristol each winter, normally in January. 

FAQs – Craft Beer And Bristol Pub Guide

We heard repeatedly about the Bristol Craft Beer Festival, which is held in early June each year. It’s a Bristol beer festival with a focus on locally produced craft beers and featuring local restaurants and chefs. It takes place in the Harbourside and looks to be a lot of fun. Learn more here. Or, check out Bristol Beer Week in September, which focuses on independent brewers.

Yes, several. The Bristol Beer Emporium on King Street operates a shop on the ground level. We also visited one craft beer shop in Bristol in Cargo called the Beer Necessities, you can’t go wrong there just based on its name. It’s a small shop, but they also offer some seats outside to drink beer in nicer weather.

This is the reason why we spent so much time exploring craft beer in Bristol. While at Moor Brewing we picked up a Bristol craft beer map, which had 40 stops on it. The owner of Moor Brewing told us it is already out of date and that there are another dozen or so brewpubs and craft beer bars in Bristol that aren’t on the map. But, it’s a good start. Look for it at some of the Bristol breweries. You can also buy a copy here, but they only ship to the UK. 

You need to be at least 18 years old to buy or drink alcohol in the UK.

We were hosted by  Visit Bristol  during our stay in Bristol, but all views are our own. 

Amber Hoffman

Amber Hoffman, food and travel writer behind With Husband In Tow, is a recovering attorney and professional eater, with a passion for finding new food and drink destinations. She lives with her husband, Eric, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Together over the last 20 years, they have traveled to over 70 countries. Amber is the author of the Food Traveler’s Guide to Emilia Romagna. She regularly lectures on social media marketing to travel professionals throughout Europe.

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Brewery Tours, Beer Tastings & Customised Tours   If you are you celebrating a birthday or anniversary, arranging a work jolly or Christmas party or are in charge of a stag do or hen do then I can help make it an experience to remember! If you have already checked out my self-guided tour options but your group is larger than nine or you'd like any tour with adjustments - eg. adding a brewery tour or extra stops with beer tokens then get in touch!   Tours can be made dog friendly, 100% vegan and accessible for all - just tell me what you need and I'll select the most suitable venues. (So that you know, most of the Bristol breweries have vegan friendly beers) Brewery tours with a tasting of three thirds of beer brewed on site is £20  per person (maximum group size of 30). Can be booked on it's own or added to one of my self-guided tours. If booking a tour with beer tasting included, it's just an extra £10 a head to add! Click here  to e-mail me (Heather) with what you're looking for (including preferred dates, time of day, size of your group and what you are looking for or your budget) and I'll usually come back to you within 24 hours .  As most of these will be self-guided or a member of brewery staff looking after you, I can usually organise something on any date you choose, excluding early  May and August bank holidays.