Yay! We managed to get through one hell of a winter and things are starting to get exciting.
I've asked Bristol's independent breweries to share their beery news with us so you can get on with planning what delicious locally brewed beers to enjoy, and where to get them at source.
Have a read of this blog to see what everyone is up to!
Bear with me.....
Just before I share all their news, here's some wonderful news of my own about the tour I created during lockdown.....:
It's a matter of days until loads of the wonderful independent pubs along the route of my Old City Audio Tour are open!
Have you taken my (Bristol Hoppers) fun audio tour yet?
Whether you've been in Bristol for five minutes or five decades, my audio tour is bound to interest you with some fun facts about the city that you didn't know.
As you weave through the oldest parts of Bristol at your own pace, I'll tell you some interesting history snippets of the things that you pass, show you some brilliant street art and, most importantly, point out fabulous independent places to enjoy a delicious Bristol brewed craft beer.
Take the tour on a day and time that suits you, all you need is some charge in your phone and a set of headphones.
It uses a very clever app, using your location to trigger the audio that will tell you about your surroundings. This means that you can walk at any speed you like and stop for a drink or a bite to eat without missing out on anything.
For the price of a pint, it's the perfect way to get an hour's exercise alone while being entertained, or spend several hours taking it with a friend, stopping along the way.
Buy your audio tour here: https://www.bristolhoppers.co.uk/audio-tour
Now the news from the Bristol Breweries........
Arbor
"Our can bar will be open for takeaways over the Easter weekend!
Thursday April 1st 5-8pm
Good Friday 1-4pm
Saturday 3rd 1-4pm
And we’ve just agreed a really exciting collab with the team at Breaking Bread which will be launching in time for their reopening on April 15th. Watch out for further announcements...."
Bristol Beer Factory
"Arnolfini Harbourside Bar is reopening (fingers crossed!) on the 12th April. We will have fresh Bristol Beer Factory pouring, cocktails, coffees and burgers to keep you going in the heart of Bristol. Come rain or shine you’ll be able to enjoy the panoramic harbour views with our new stretch tent. We will operating with a QR app ordering system and table service in accordance with government guidelines 😃
Take away service also available!
Our Taproom will have limited outside table space from Tuesday 13th again using QR codes and full table service."
Dawkins
Tap Room news:-
"We are looking to re-open our Tap Room doors on Friday 16th April and will be open every Fri 4-8pm & Sat 2-8pm, from this point. We will be offering a small number of tables outside, that can be booked in advance. Each table booking are for 2hr blocks. We are also holding a couple of tables for anyone not wanting to book. To book a table, please email the brewery on beers@dawkinsales.com or call 0117 955 9503. Our Tap Room has 8 kegs lines & we will have 3 different fresh cask beers, rotating. Fresh beer, straight from our taps. Please see our Tap Room Facebook page for further information, click here.
New beer launching for April:-
4.2% Abv Butterscotch Red Ale A Glowing, smooth, malt-driven beer. Multiple malt blend, for a unique red tinted beer, with select hops to give a nutty, butterscotch, easy drinking beer.
Crowdfunder news:-
Dawkins Bristol Beers want to thank everyone that has bought a reward, during our crowdfunder that we ran in February - March. Without all of you and our other loyal and amazing customers we would not be here now, Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We managed to raise just over our £50,000 target and were overwhelmed by the response, especially in the first four days. Click here for a little clip of our founder, thanking you directly.
We are looking forward to the coming months and welcoming everyone back into the Tap Room, #BristolHoppers tours, as well as getting our beer into all of your favourite pubs and beer gardens and the possibility of events, like #EastBristolBreweryTrail, the future is surely looking a lot brighter. "
Good Chemistry
"Hello everyone! Long time no speak but we’re really excited to be writing a new update for Hoppers’ newsletter.
So much has happened since September, and yet of course so little. But we’re looking forward to packaging beer into keg and cask again and getting that out to pubs soon.
In the meantime we’ve a whopping NINE beers available in can at the moment, including our brand new Spring spiced Witbier AMPLIFY HOPE and IPA DANCE TODAY.
All our beers are available on our webshop (click here to access), along with t-shirts, sweatshirts and, launching the day restrictions are relaxed and you can finally meet five mates for beers in the park, our awesome new 100% recycled cool bags! So be a picnic hero and bring chilled beers to the party, barbie or picnic!
We’re also re-opening our can shops, both at GCHQ in St Philips and The Good Measure in Redland, where you’ll be able to stock up on all our cans, get our new brews first, and pick up your cool bag to take them away in. We can’t wait to see you again.
Keep an eye on our social media for opening hours and latest news.
Until pubs re-open on 12th April we’re also running an initiative called ‘Help Us Help Pubs’. Every time you buy a case of cans from our webshop we’ll give you a 10% discount and the opportunity to nominate a pub of your choice. And, every time you nominate a pub, we’ll bank them credit for our beer when they’re finally allowed to re-open. We want to let them know their customers (that’s you guys!) are ready and waiting to show them the love they deserve. We hope it’ll give pubs a bit of a boost knowing you’ve got their backs. For full details, check out our blogpost by clicking here
Hopefully in Hoppers’ May newsletter we’ll have the full details of our re-openings for drinking in, which we look forward to sharing with you.
And if you want to be in our gang for weekly updates, where we share exclusive stuff like the playlists for our beers and behind-the-scenes gossip, get on board here: https://mailchi.mp/e53524b1320c/subscribe
Thanks as ever for your continued support. Small businesses, especially those connected to the hospitality industry, are not out of the woods yet, so please keep shopping locally and supporting the independents. And we’ll see you for a pint or three soon!
Cheers,
Kelly & Bob, and all at Good Chemistry Brewing and The Good Measure"
Left Handed Giant
LHG Taproom opening from Friday 16th April!
"We have installed a brand new canopy outside and there will be 10 covered tables available for bookings of 2 - 6 people, plus plenty more tables outside for walk-ups too! We will have patio heaters to keep you comfortable but recommend dressing for the unpredictable weather.
Friday 5pm - 10pm
Saturday 2pm - 6pm & 6.30pm - 10.30pm
Sunday 2pm - 6pm
Click here to book your table for the brewery taproom (St Phillips)
Both Small Bar and the LHG Brewpub are opening on 12th April for outdoor seating and takeaway. No table bookings, just come along and grab a table."
Monday - Thursday 4 pm - Late
Friday - Sunday 12 pm - Late
Lost and Grounded
"H E L L O 2021 💫
Here we are, marching onward with positivity and adaptability as we see the road map open before us. Our focus is on pushing to shinier days while doing what we do best, brewing beautiful unique beer. Firstly, we want to let you know how grateful we are for your support through the last year - we literally could not have done it without you, so thank you from all of us here at the brewery.
We were fortunate enough to keep our entire team employed through the pandemic so far through a combination of hard work, flexibility and determination, with a dose of govt support of course.
Back in February we launched a new core range beer to our line-up which has been met with a wonderful warm welcome - a beautiful Unfiltered Helles - at 4.4% it’s very soft and light with floral and bready notes. We hope you can pick up a can and enjoy one in the sun with pals soon! Delicious!
Another exciting titbit is that 500ml bottles of both Helles and Keller Pils have started being rolled out to great beer shops so keep an eye out.
We have also just released our annual collaboration beer brewed with Burnt Mill - a double hit of West Coast joy with Big Thaw IPA and Great Thaw DIPA. £5 from each case of 24 x 440ml cans will go to Bristol charity Caring in Bristol.
Both these beers are absolutely cracking and it’s a fantastic feeling to make great beer with friends and help our local community at the same time.
Shop:
Our online shop is still open at lostandgroundedstore.co.uk
•Free Local Same day Delivery
•Nationwide Delivery
•Beautiful Beer
•NHS 20% discount
Taproom :
Our taproom is synonymous with fantastic events over the year and we hope this year won’t be any different. We will be guided by government advice and rulings and always ensure all safety guidelines are adhered to.
The taproom is open for Friday and Saturday bookings from 16th April! Click here to book a table. There’s nothing quite like a fresh beer from the source! Yum!
Lots of exciting plans afoot at HQ this year and we look forward to welcoming you along for the ride.
Thank you again for supporting Independent Breweries and businesses. We can’t wait to see y’all again! First beers on us! 🍺
Stay Safe, Be Kind
Team Lost And Grounded xx"
🦛♥️🌏
Moor
"On the news front, we have 2 Limited Edition beers coming out this month. The first is Spirit Lifter, a 4.6% Kellerbier (which is actually available now). The second is Lacerated Sky, a 6% Blood Orange IPA.
We’ve got a fun new series of beers we will be releasing early Q2, and hopefully pubs will be reopened by then as there is a cask theme to what we’re doing! More info on that nearer the time…
On the other end of the spectrum, our lagers are getting fantastic recognition and continuing to become ever more popular. They have always been naturally conditioned with live yeast and left unfined and unfiltered in the true German naturtrub keller way that won my heart when I moved to Germany in 1993. To add to their authenticity we have just installed new horizontal lagering tanks and are really excited to get those filled!
Also - we will be opening Fridays and Saturday from the 16th with Elmer DJing on Friday afternoons. Hours will be 12pm-8pm initially both days." Click here to book your table.
New Bristol Brewery
"New beers for spring! We have 3 exciting new recipes releasing this month....
Our brand new Double Dry Hop IPA 7% is out next week and tasting super juicy.
We have also been playing around with our Japan recipe and have a new version in can of our beautifully delicate Green Tea & Jasmine IPA called Japanology 4.8%.
Plus we’re start to feel the summer vibes and will be releasing a Tropical Fruit Salad IPA 5.3% to get us in the sunshine mood.
The taproom will reopen in May, but in the meantime the can bar is open for collection and you can still have beers delivered to your door.
Bristol based, husband & wife team brewing our favourite type of beers. Big thanks for all the amazing support and love."
Tapestry
"We can’t wait to welcome you back to our taproom from Monday 12th April!
With 7 draught lines, 8 cans and a range of guest beers, we’ve got bases covered for all tastes.
We will also be hosting our friends over at @aurora.kusina who will be cooking fresh Filipino street food right outside, on opening day - giving away FREE lumpia *Filipino spring rolls, until they're all out. Then they'll be here every Friday & Saturday!
Contact 07483106988 or taproom@tapestrybrewery.com to arrange a booking, please specify which date, how many people per group (up to 6), and what time. All (10) tables will be seated outside, under cover, rain or shine.
A holding deposit of £10 will be taken per person which will be redeemed on the day.
We advise to pre-book, but will try to accommodate walk-ins if there’s availability.
Opening Hours for first week:
Monday - Thursday 4-9
Friday/Saturday 12-9
Can't wait to see you all again!"
Wild Beer
Wild Beer at Wapping Wharf -
"We're getting things ready for a wild return on the 12th April!
Our patio will be open from noon and we'll be operating a walk up only policy. No bookings for now, just walk up! Maximum of 6 in a group.
All guests will now need to sign in using track and trace so please take a moment to grab the app or update it so you're ready to enjoy some pints when you arrive.
We'll be serving drinks and snacks only Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th as our kitchen makes a triumphant return on Wednesday 14th.
From 19th April we'll be open Thursday – Sunday for both drinks and food on the patio.
We can't wait to welcome you back, stay safe and we hope to see you soon!
Team WB x"
Other April Openings
I will keep this blog updated as and when more news comes i, so do be sure to check it again.
I understand that Fierce & Noble and the new kid on the block, Newtown Park are hoping to open their brewery tap room yards in April, but awaiting confirmation.
For a list of that have confirmed they are opening this month, see Visit Bristol's
In the meantime, don't forget to order your home deliveries from a Bristol brewery or from one of the many brilliant independent craft beer shops in Bristol.
Thanks for reading! Happy Easter!