After a 20 minute or so bus journey we disembarked on the edge of the Old Market to find our first destination a few yards away. Our evening began at the Old Market Assembly.
Also known as the Wardrobe Theatre and previously Flamingos Nightclub, and before that the Empire Theatre, the Old Market Assembly was opened in 2015 by the same team that run the Canteen and No.1 Harbourside elsewhere in the city. The first pub to sign up to Bristol's 'Zero Tolerance' campaign, it ensures a warm welcome to everyone (as all pubs should, let's be honest). The building itself began life as a bank and this is evident throughout much of the layout, which has retained the high ceiling, pillars, cornices and a mezzanine floor, all decorated in the Ionic style. The bar is to the right as you enter and the overall layout is fairly open plan with low tables and benches throughout. A small, raised stage area is opposite the bar with a pull down projector screen against a curtained backdrop. Through this space is a quiet room and a corridor that leads to a small theatre where the Wardrobe Theatre Company is based. Upstairs, the mezzanine floor acts as seating for the in-house sustainable restaurant, through which is access to both the toilets and the outdoor roof terrace, understandably popular in finer weather. An upstairs function room is also available for hire. The bar itself features 4 handpulls, offering an interesting choice of beers. On the occasion of our visit, the options were New Bristol The Joy of Sesh, Butcombe Gold, Bristol Beer Factory Wardrobe Pale Ale and Sharp's Atlantic. Matt and I opted for the Wardrobe whilst Amy ordered a cider. Whilst we waited for our beers, I displayed an uncharacteristic episode of sporting prowess when I caught an empty half pint glass that had rolled off the bar. Nobody was more impressed with my cricketing style reflexes than I was! Having procured our beverages, we made our way to a bench style table between the door and the stairs that lead to the mezzanine and discussed recent events, including the scale of the COVID-19 outbreak that was (and sadly still is) worsening by the day. Luckily the beer was a welcome distraction. Wardrobe (4.6%) is a rebadge of Bristol Beer Factory's Independence. The change of name has not diminished the flavour though. This is a US style pale ale with big citrus hop flavours and a subtle bitterness that rounds out the mouthfeel. It's a great thirst quenching beer and an excellent one to start the evening! It being early evening on a Friday, the Old Market Assembly was starting to pick up trade and pubs throughout the night would certainly be busier as the time drew on. Those were the days!
Moving on from the Old Market Assembly, our next stop was only a few doors away at the Old Market Tavern.
This is a very nice old pub hidden behind a well-maintained but none too flashy exterior. Inside there are oak beams, low ceilings and small intimate areas divided up by the interior walls. The bar occupies space along one wall and to the rear of the main room is a modern conservatory extension that leads to a walled garden decked out with blue and green fairy lights. The bar hosts 4 handpulls, 3 of which were in use at the time of our visit, providing a choice of beers from Twisted Oak Brewery in Wrington. Our choices were Barn, Gold (a collab with Crack) and Sheriff Fatman. The latter of the 3 options took mine and Matt's fancy and Amy found a cider and we headed out into the aforementioned conservatory which is decorated with canvas pictures of Marvel superheroes and features Lego that customers can play with. Seating is in the form of sofas and we sunk into these as we discussed festivals, music and Pete's job in a cheese factory. The beer was excellent here too! At 5%, Sheriff Fatman is an amber coloured ale with dominant hop flavours on the nose and citrus on the palate, all leading to a nicely bitter finish. The evening was shaping up to be an excellent one so far and it wasn't long until we were on the move again, waving our goodbyes to the very friendly barman as we did so.
Our next pub was almost exactly opposite so we crossed the busy main road and made our way to Long Bar.
It's probably no surprise to learn that this one long building that stretches back from the main road with the bar taking up most of the length on the right hand side. A number of wooden drinking booths sit opposite the bar and, to the rear, there is an airy barn-like space that features the pool table and toilets. Old carriage wheels have been repurposed into light fittings in the rear area. Cigarette cards and vintage advertisements decorate the walls. The pub is quite busy when we arrive and very reasonably priced! The clientele were mostly of the older generation and were in a relatively jovial mood although, based on some of the jukebox choices, somebody might be going through a breakup. The bar includes 2 handpulls, 1 of which was available and offering Butcombe Original. Amy went for Thatcher's Haze on this occasion and we sat in the empty rear space which is furnished with scrubbed wooden furniture. Matt's hair drew the attention of a lady in a mobility scooter as she made her way back from the toilets before rejoining her friends at the bar. The atmosphere here was certainly very friendly! The Butcombe Original (4%) was in great form with its sweet and malty taste and faint notes of fruit. And, as I mentioned before, the prices are very competitive!
Our next destination was something a bit different. Leaving Long Bar and turning left, we quickly arrived at The Exchange.
The Exchange is primarily a music venue with a main stage area on the ground floor, a smaller stage area downstairs and a record store and toilets on the first floor. The main bar is just as you enter, with the gig space in the room immediately behind. The bar is relatively small and well equipped and, although there no hand pumps, one keg pump dispenses Bath Gem. For a Friday night, the venue is virtually empty, something we found out was due to the scheduled gig from American prog metal band After the Burial had been cancelled as one of their members is Italian and so was in lockdown. There was a gig scheduled for the downstairs venue but something about the phrase 'goth synth-wave' didn't sound promising so we decided to just stick with the beer. I've had Gem (4.1%) on keg before and it was equally as good this time. The sweet malt and fruit flavours hide just a hint of caramel before giving way to a short, bitter finish. We used our time here to once again talk about music, especially given that Matt's band recently played a gig here on their way to making it through to the semi-finals of Metal 2 the Masses. They're called Typan and you should listen to them because they're awesome. We also used our time to direct a rather drunk man to the downstairs venue but he still went the wrong way, disappeared upstairs for a worryingly long time then came back down, ordered a beer and sat by himself. He was still there when we left.
Our next location was literally next door. Our attention now turned to the Stag & Hounds.
The building that is now the Stag & Hounds was originally built in 1483, most likely as a private house although the current building is largely 18th century, around the time that it is believed to have become a pub. The building itself was partly rebuilt in the 1960s and refurbished in 1987. It reopened under new management in June 2019 and is next door to the building that houses the Bristol Evening Post. Houses used to surround the building until the building of the dual carriageway underpass isolated it. English Heritage have designated the Stag & Hounds as a Grade II listed building and several old features remain. There is a well in the former rear court which has a 19th century iron hand pump with flywheel and pump rods, an early example of an installation for raising water. The old pump is unique in Bristol, has a wheel that is 6 feet in diameter and all of its parts still move. There is also a minute window that looks out over the courtyard, which opens onto a small room between floors that is only accessible through a trapdoor in what is now a bathroom. The room is believed to be a survival of a priest hole. This is certainly an atmospheric and delightful pub with raised areas of seating opposite a long bar and scrubbed wooden furniture and traditional beams throughout. The bar features 3 handpulls. The choices on the day of our visit were Butcombe Adam Henson's Rare Breed, a small batch brew called Passing Time from Bristol Beer Factory and also Bristol Beer Factory Gambler. I went for the Gambler (4.2%), a US style golden ale single hopped with Amarillo. It has the malt base of a traditional golden ale with the citrusy top notes you'd expect from a strong US hop. This is an excellent beer. We enjoyed our beers sat at a table on the raised section and sent a photo of us to George who, for some reason, thought I was still in Nottingham. This is a cracking pub, made even more enjoyable by the company and the beer.
We had a little bit more of a walk on our hands to get to our next location, which involved heading towards the river and walking through Castle Park. There, resplendent on the opposite bank and accessed by a specially constructed bridge, is the Left Handed Giant Brewpub.
Opened in June 2019 in what is known as the Compressor Building, this is a 3 storey brewpub built on part of the site that was previously occupied by Courage Brewery. The large space at the front has been intentionally left open to make the ground floor airy and to allow a view across the river. There is seating and long tables throughout the ground floor and first floor with the second floor being open all day at weekends and weekday evenings. This floor contains 3 dart boards, 2 pool tables and a separate bar. There is an in-house pizza company that cook pizzas in a wood-fired oven behind the bar. The bar itself is large and spacious and the on-site brewery vessels can be seen behind the bar through a glass partition. There is a LOT of beer here, dispensed in both cask, keg, key keg, bottle and even tank conditioned. The list of available beers on the night is exhaustive so here goes! Available at the time were: Oude Gueze Tilquin, Garage Soup, Verdant Pigs All Day, Boon 2 Year No.14 Lambiek Foeder, Guezerie Tilquin Rulquin, Odyssey There is No Other, and then all from Left Handed Giant: Heavy Mountains, Sky Above, Single Hop Mosaic, Single Hop Simcoe, Dream State, Temple in the Clouds, Helles Lager, California Lager, German Pils, Bristol Vue III, The Ways, Deeper Water, Beckoning Silence, Wool, Sugar & Smoke, Still Darkness and a wheat beer that I unfortunately missed the name of. So, as I said, pretty exhaustive. It will come as no surprise to learn that it took us a while to choose a beer but I eventually swayed towards Heavy Mountains (4.6%). This turned out to be a collaboration with Cloudwater which somehow made it even better. This is a pale ale with big fruity flavours and a belter of a hop kick. Served in 2/3, there definitely wasn't enough of it! This is a cracking place! The layout and the design are incredible, the beers are ace and the pizzas looked amazing! This is definitely a place I would recommend to anyone who likes beer and I'd be very surprised if we didn't go back one day!
We had something a bit more traditional lined up for our next trip. Heading back over the bridge and through Castle Park, we made our way into the Old City and All Saints Lane where we would find The Crown Inn.
Owned by Mitchells & Butlers, this is a simply furnished one-bar pub that can be accessed through 2 entrances from St. Nicholas Market. It was formerly known as the Freetrader & Firkin before adopting its current name. Frequented by rock music fans and those who want to watch live sport (when there is some to watch), the pub has a homely and welcoming feel. Quite spacious inside, there are several distinct areas including an area for pool, a downstairs snug that sometimes hosts live music and benches in the alleyway at the front. The bar is towards the back and features 6 handpulls with a variety of beers from near and not-so-near. On the evening of our visit, the options were Butcombe Adam Henson's Rare Breed, Bath March Hare, Sharp's Atlantic, St. Austell Tribute, Purity Pure UBU and Hog's Back TEA. I'm a sucker for a good pint of TEA so that was my mind made up! We drank our drinks at a high, round table near a TV that was showing WWE. Because, let's be honest, what else is on? The TEA was in excellent condition. At 4.2%, it is a best bitter with toffee and malt aromas, a well rounded flavour and a fruity finish. It went down very well indeed!
We had decided on one final pub before we headed home. Our initial plan was to go to Brewdog but that quickly changed when we decided that we would instead go to a pub that both Matt and I have visited before but that Amy had never seen. A must-visit on any pub trip of Bristol, we headed to the Seven Stars.
This Good Beer Guide listed pub was built in the 17th century and is now a Grade II listed building. The Seven Stars is most well-known historically for its association with the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson who visited the pub in 1787 and used it as a base for his research into slavery. Nowadays it is known for is superb beer range and rock oriented jukebox. The pub is relatively small inside, with the central curved bar taking up most of the space. Tables and chairs are located around the room with a pool table to one side and lots of artefacts as decoration. There is an outside seating adjacent to the neighbouring Fleece music venue in the form of picnic bench style tables. The bar features 8 handpulls, 7 of which were in use for our visit. The choices were certainly interesting and included Good Chemistry Becoming North, St. Austell Big Job, Quantock Wills Neck, Prescott Super 6, Quantoc Plastered Pheasant, Coachers Imperial Stout and Dawkins Foresters Black. Matt and I both went for the Big Job. As it's name implies, this weighs in at a hefty 7.2%. It's a big hitting double IPA, hopped with Citra and Centennial for a dry, smooth and lemony beer. It absolutely does what it says on the pumpclip!
Our evening out in Bristol had been an interesting and enjoyable one, even with the looming menace of coronavirus on the near horizon. Some great pubs were visited and some fantastic beer was drunk. We left the Seven Stars and headed home where we would eat takeaway food and I would get very confused by cheesy chips. The following day would see us head for a day out in the neighbouring city of Bath, a place I'd been wanting to revisit for a long time and which Amy had never been to. Bristol, as ever, had been wonderful and I can't wait to go back again once all this has blown over. So ended night one of this year's west country jaunt. Onwards to Bath!
No comments:
Post a Comment