Our journey began a short walk from Cabot Circus where we got off the bus. Tucked away on a quiet side street is a real hidden gem: The Volunteer Tavern.
This is a 17th century wood-panelled pub with a growing reputation for excellent real ales and superb food, driven on by careful, shrewd ownership. There is a large beer garden to the rear, through which we enter, with seats and table legs constructed from old casks. Inside, the pub is very cosy with a nice, friendly atmosphere and a small bar tucked into the corner to the left of the front entrance. All of the 6 handpulls are in use, offering a choice of Plain Ales Innocence, Wickwar Falling Star, Oakham Gangster, Heavy Industry Collaborator, Fallen Grapevine and Boss Bewitched. After a moment to acclimatise to the wonderful feel of the place, I opted towards a pint of Falling Star (4.2%) from Wiltshire based Wickwar brewery. This proved to be a good choice, with distinctive and complex flavours and aromas delivered through a combination of Cascade, Willamette and Mittlefruh hops. It brings a well balanced and refreshing finish through its strong golden colour. This pub was certainly a good place to start the day with its relaxed feel and excellent beers. We took a seat at a table a short distance from the bar, admiring the surroundings as we supped our brews. I am always very excited about visiting Bristol, largely to experience the wide range of drinking establishments, especially those that are new to me. Amy was very excited about what else the day had to offer and I could tell she was already enjoying her time in the West Country.
Our next destination was further back into the centre of the city, near some places that we had visited on my last trip down. Situated at the bottom of a very steep climb to the higher reaches of the city, is the Christmas Steps.
Perched on the corner of two intersecting streets, this traditional olde worlde pub is named after the street on which its entrance stands. There are conflicting theories as to the origin of the street's unusual name.
The street was originally called Queene Street in medieval times before becoming known as Knyfesmyth Street, after the tradesmen there. The Middle English pronunciation of Knyfesmyth, with the K sounded, may be the origin of the street's modern name. An alternative theory is based on the nativity scene found in a stained glass window of The Chapel of the Three Kings of Cologne, which stands at the top of the steps.
In the 17th century, the Christmas Steps is also believed to have been called Lonsford’s Stairs for a short period, in honour of a Cavalier officer who was killed at the top of the steps during the siege of Bristol in the English Civil War.
After the main set of steps the steps continue on the other side of Colston Street and then again across Perry Lane, leading to St Michael's Church these steps were originally unbroken by road and known as St. Michael's steps.
Whatever the reason behind the naming of the street, it has been eagerly adopted as the name of the pub. The interior is mostly traditional with exposed beams and lots of exposed brickwork breaking up individual areas. The pub also benefits from a split level layout with a small drinking area directly inside, the bar up a small flight of steps and a further, larger drinking area, with an extension to the bar, up another small staircase. This is another pub with a comfortable and homely feel to it, benefiting from its location and its décor, with lots of photos of local history as well as old brewery memorabilia. On the bar, 4 of the 5 available handpulls are in use, with an interesting mix of local beers available. During our visit, we have a choice of Arbor SX Bomb, Crack Hops, Arbor Chocolata and Yeovil Ruby. I was instantly drawn to the SX Bomb and decided that a pint of this was necessary. At 4.7%, this is a hoppy, golden ale brewed using a healthy quantity of Southern Cross hops. It was very tasty indeed and conversation turned to the plans for the rest of the weekend as we sat on a long table just inside the entrance. Matt had formulated an excellent itinerary for our first day and we were all eager to continue. After a quick toilet break (once we found them in the pub's labyrinthine interior) it was time to move on to our next stop.
Moving to the top of Christmas Steps and onwards up the ensuing hill, we headed towards a place that Matt had told me a lot about and which I was very keen to explore in more detail. At the top of the hill and slightly further along, is the Brewhouse.
I instantly realised that this is part of a growing chain, all under the Brewhouse name, with each venue acting as a microbrewery for its own location as well as offering excellent food and craft beers from further afield. The chain developed from a single premises in nearby Dorchester and there are now 11 across the country, including one in Portsmouth, hence my previous experience with the name. Formerly known as Crockers and Finnegan's Wake, and built on the site of the 18th century Whiteladies Tavern, the pub opened in its current incarnation on March 2nd this year after undergoing a major refurbishment. Inside, there is a large expanse of seating amidst an open plan layout with a strong, modern feel to the décor. Oddly, the pub has a patio area which is situated across the road that runs outside. There is also a piano in the corner of the room which has the lyrics to Peter Gabriel's classic 'Sledgehammer' written all across it. As with the other pubs in this chain, the beers are brewed and themed to local interests. To that end, the pub is offering 4 beers from the 6 available handpulls, namely Xmas Cheer, Hornigold, Yankee Cabot and Crockers with another handpull providing Harry's Medium Cider. Amy opted for a 6.9% saison which was certainly delicious but a bit too heavy for me at this time of day. Instead, Matt and I decided to get festive with a pint each of Xmas Cheer, a dark, slightly fruity, very tasty beer for the occasion. The pub offers beer in quantities of 1/2, 1/3 and 2/3 as well as a full pint, giving you the option of how much you consume. A pint will do for me I think! It's nice to see pubs like this, with their emphasis on locally brewed beer and local ingredients, still thriving. You can't get much more local than brewing on the premises!
Our next location was scheduled to be The Penny a couple of doors down. However, with this temporarily closed for refurbishment, we were forced to revise our idea. Turning back on ourselves, we headed back down the hill to a place we'd passed on our way to the Brewhouse. Situated just up the hill from the top of Christmas Steps, in the shadow of Zero Degrees (visited on a previous trip), is The Ship.
Having recently undergone a tasteful refurbishment, the Ship now boasts a contemporary, industrial-style interior, with some raised seating areas around one side of the room and a large central bar. There are also a number of TVs regularly showing local sport (rugby during our visit). The bar includes 6 handpulls, 5 of which are in use when we visit, offering Adnams Ghost Ship, Lees Manchester Pale Ale, Caledonian XPA, Ship IPA and Theakston's Old Peculier. The 3 of us all decided that we would try the pub's own Ship IPA and this proved to be a wise move. This is a very well balanced beer with a fine mix of fresh hops and a dry, malty finish. It didn't take us long until we'd finished our pints and we were now fairly sure that we had immersed Amy in some of the character of Bristol. Up to this point, all of these locations had been new to both of us but now we moved on to some places that we'd visited before so that Amy could get a feel of what else was on offer.
Next up, just around the corner, was one of, if not the, favourite of Matt and I's previous Bristolian excursions. I speak, of course, of The Gryphon.
Regular readers may remember this fantastic pub from my previous visit to this neck of the woods and I'm pleased to report that things are still going strong despite a fairly serious fire that has resulted in the nearby street being closed off, although thankfully leaving the pub unscathed. Amy was instantly impressed by the similarities between the Gryphon and pubs back home in Nottingham. On offer, amongst the 4 of the 6 handpulls that were being used, were Tyne Bank Northern Porter, Goddards Mocha Stout, Salopian Midnight Express and Elderflower Blonde. I decided on the Northern Porter (4.5%), which gives a rich and warming flavour with a subtle and delicate smoky character. I will never cease to be impressed by this pub. Not least because of its ever-changing choice of beers but also by it's awesome soundtrack and amazing atmosphere in such a small building. This will definitely be a pub that we will continue to come back to again and again and I'm sure that Amy will agree!
It was another revisit next, this time to the first Bristol pub Matt and Jess ever took me to. Situated on the harbour side, and renowned for its homemade pizza and ridiculous quantities of cider, I have fond memories of The Stable.
Our initial plan was to have food here before we ventured to the next pub. This was slightly more difficult than planned as the pub doesn't take bookings for small groups and we arrived to find that there was a 45 minute wait. Undeterred, we were prepared to get a drink and wait. I've mentioned before that this pub sells an unbelievable quantity of cider and it would have taken a separate blog entry to least every variety! I opted for a pint of a delicious cider known as Devil's Leaf which sounds faintly ominous but was actually very fruity and tasty. At this point, as we located the only available seating in the building, Amy had a brainwave and suggested that instead of eating here, we forego food for now and get takeaway back at Matt and Jess's flat, thereby confirming another reason why I''ll be marrying that woman! We agreed that this was a superb plan, just as we were told our table was ready. Never mind. Maybe we'll partake of The Stable's food again another time.
It was once again time to move on and, on the way to our next destination, we bumped into a furry friend, an adorable canine crossbreed called Chubs. After a few minutes making fuss of this very cute dog, we took a slow wander to our next stop, another prior favourite, colloquially known as the cat pub but technically known as the Bag O' Nails.
This pub is another that has featured in a prior blog and is renowned for 3 things: a large quantity of cats on the premises, the hilarious landlord's rules written on the pillar at the end of the bar and, most importantly for our purposes, excellent beer. The pub is heaving when we arrive and there are around 5 cats curled up in boxed on the front of the bar. Amongst the cuddly felines are 8 handpulls, 7 of which are in use, offering beers from near and far. We are provided with a choice of Brythonic Vanilla Stout, Bude Haven, Harbour EIP, Left Handed Duet, Persuasion Golden Ale, Arbor Grifter and Mumbles Wild Thing. Attracted largely by the name, I opted for a pint of Wild Thing (5.6%), a green hopped pale ale with a strong, hoppy aroma and a very fruity, smooth finish. We made an effort to make friends with the cats whilst we enjoyed our beers but we couldn't really get close enough as the pub was literally standing room only by this point. Instead, we spent time spelling out messages in magnetic letters on the aforementioned pillar, culminating in 'Amy and Aaron Forever You Bitches'! Hell yes! We were having an awesome time and we weren't even done yet. We still had a couple more places to show Amy.
The penultimate location took us back to the river and saw us boarding the fabled cider boat, The Apple.
This being a Saturday night, the boat was rammed and we had to fight our way to the bar. The Apple offers, amongst a large number of real ciders, a selection of cocktails made with cider. I wasn't sure how that was going to end so played it relatively safe with Rich's Medium, a medium, very drinkable cider with a pleasingly warm finish. We managed to get a seat on a table near the entrance gangway as we reflected upon where our day had brought us so far. We were all starting to feel a bit tired and worse for wear by now but we were determined to complete our route.
Last, but by no means least, we decided to visit the Bristol branch of Brewdog as Amy is a big fan of the Nottingham one and we wanted to show her the difference between the two.
I'm a big fan of Brewdog as much as I know it causes some debate amongst real ale drinkers. Despite the controversy associated with it, nothing ever stops me from going to Brewdog and ordering a pint of 5am Red Ale, so I wasn't about to break that tradition here. Amy went for Punk IPA and Matt went for a pint of cider (I think!) and we grabbed a table not far from the window. Today had been a good day and we had thoroughly exhausted ourselves throughout the course of visiting so many pubs. It was great being back in Bristol and this time was even better as I had been able to introduce my future wife to the delights of this particular part of the world. Amy had very much enjoyed her day and having her there had made the day even more amazing for me. With Matt as our guide, I reaffirmed my love for Bristol and Amy had discovered how exciting and amazing it is. All that was left to do was make our weary way home and prepare ourselves for what Sunday had to offer as we were planning on travelling further afield.
I have never been disappointed by Bristol. The range and quantity of pubs is matched only by the range and quality of beers available for those who seek it. The second day of our trip would confirm once again that the beer scene in the West Country is thriving, sometimes in some quite unexpected places. Watch this space!
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