Bristol Beer Factory

Beer & Food Event

2012-02-16T10:22:00.005Z

Our next Beer & Food matching evening is at the Star & Dove in Totterdown who are putting on an evening of PIES. Not just your traditional pastry topped Beef & Ale Pie but a 6 course Pie extravaganza cleverly turning the humble pie into a gastronomic delight.

We are looking forward to adding our own twist to the evening with some really exciting beer pairings to get your mouths watering and to really show off the flavours in the pies and the beers.

At only £22.50, it seems like an absolute bargain to me!

Contact the Star & Dove for more information 01179 332 892.

Collaboration Brew Day

2012-02-08T11:31:00.014Z

The Bristol Collaboration for 2012, as expected, began over a beer, in Beerd. 6 (Arbor Ales, Bath Ales, BBF, Great Western Brewing, RCH & Zero Degrees) breweries joining forces to produce something special for the Bristol Beer Festival and to promote Beer in Bristol. A style of beer, brew date & location were decided upon...

So yesterday we all met at 8 o'clock at RCH Brewery ready to get down and dirty with a Porter recipe that combined the very traditional with a few modern twists...Just over 1100kg of malt went in, including Carafa and Smoked Malt.
The wort tasted beautiful, with a lovely hint of smokiness.
We added a lot of hops, and then added some more...
and then started on the big clean up.
Thanks to Paul and Graham at RCH for looking after us all.

The Bristol Collaboration 2012

2012-02-06T12:00:00.003Z

In the spirit of collaboration we are meeting up with 5 other local breweries tomorrow to brew a very special beer to celebrate all that is good about beer in Bristol. For the first time since 1889 when Bristol United Breweries was formed, the major breweries in Bristol are once again uniting to brew beer for Bristolians. Arbor Ales, Bath Ales, Bristol Beer Factory, Great Western Brewing, RCH and Zero Degrees are combining their skills, knowledge and passion for great beer to produce a brew that gives a modern twist to a style of beer that has been famously brewed and exported from Bristol for centuries.

The Collaboration 2012 is to be released in mid-March in time for the Bristol Beer Festival at a time when beer has its highest profile in the city. The Bristol Beer Festival is bigger than ever this year, with an extra session to accommodate all the people who want to drink great beers. The group of local breweries would like to take the opportunity to unite and promote the thriving beer scene in the city. The best way to do that is to combine talents to produce a stunning beer that can be enjoyed at the festival and around the city afterwards.

The Bristol Craft Breweries have joined forces to brew a Porter, a traditional dark beer made famous during the 18^th century; there are records of the Porter Brewery in Bristol dating back to 1730. Arbor Ales Jon Comer said “we decided to brew a traditional, historical style that was important in the history of brewing in Bristol”. Roger Jones from Bath Ales commented that “the brewing industry is truly unique. I can’t imagine any other industry where 6 competitor businesses from the same city would get together over a beer and decide to collaborate their efforts.”

BBF Managing Director Simon Bartlett said “The CAMRA Bristol Beer Festival is the most important event in Bristol for breweries and we wanted to unite to brew a beer that celebrated the fabulous talents of local brewers.”

The six breweries will be launching “Collaboration 2012” at the Bristol Beer Festival on Thursday 15th March. The beer will be sold in pubs owned by the all of the breweries involved as well as other freehouses in the city. The Collaboration 2012 will be available in bottles, casks and kegs, to be enjoyed from all forms of dispense.

A new beer - The Bitter Californian

2012-01-27T13:37:00.003Z

We are brewing a new beer today called The Bitter Californian, a hybrid between a traditional English Best Bitter and the wonderfully aromatic Californian Pale Ales. Our brewers, Chris (the bitter one?) and Brett (the Californian one) have combined their love of English malts and American hops to create a delicious new beer.Chris has devised the malt recipe from some of the finest English malts that have provided the base to the classic best bitter for years. Brett has used his love for new and interesting hop varieties to pick 3 hops that will give delicious flavours and aromas.

The hops are Newport (Kaffir lime leaves & citrus rind aromas), Chinnook (lime zest and lemon balm) and Nugget (sherbet lemons), these will both bitter the beer and provide flavour and aroma. We will also be dry-hopping this beer to give extra hop character.

Brett says "It will definitely taste better than the Lemsip I've been drinking."
Simon claims "it's our first Collaboration of the year." I'm not sure it counts when its between our brewers!
Chris says "Ow" because his backs hurting.

The Bitter Californian will be a limited one-off release (unless its amazing, and you all demand more, then it will be added to the ever-growing list of beers...) so get it when you can!

Today in the Brewery

2012-01-25T12:41:00.002Z

Today in the brewery...

We have been brewing Southville Hop,
Racking Independence,
Labelling Exhibition,
Planning the 12 Stouts for next Christmas,
Thinking about this years Bristol Craft Brewer's Collaboration,
& seeing if the new batch of Ultimate Stout is ready...

12 more Stouts

2012-01-25T11:45:00.002Z

We have decided that the 12 Stouts project was so much fun that we would like to do it again next year...

The shortlist of recipes looks a bit like a long list so we will have to start some trials right away to narrow it down. There are some exciting concepts and flavours we're going to experiment with, and its really got the tastebuds going in the office this morning.

There are 4 staying on the list and 8 new ones. With inspiration taken from all over the world, from history and the present day, from confection to curry, there promises to be a stout for everyone...

Beer & Food Matching at Montpelier Basement

2012-01-20T09:27:00.006Z

I am heading to the brilliant Montpelier Ba sement for Dan & Elly's supper club on Saturday and have been thinking about some beer matches for the menu. Follow @MontpelierBsmt

It's a tricky menu for beer matches, but let me know what you think of my pairings and any other ideas for beers.

With the honey & mustard popcorn I am going with Bristol Hefe, the light, spritzy beer is a good start to a meal and will be refreshing against the popcorn.

I think Exhibition will pair well with the soup, the dark, rich beer will come through against the sweet onions and the dark fruit flavours will hopefully compliment the red wine flavours.

We made a beer with Windmill Hill City Farm, where we aged some beer in a red wine cask with Redcurrants and Worcester berries, I think the fruity, tart aspect to the beer will work well with the pork dish, cutting through the rich meat.

I think the dessert really needs a sweet Vintage Ale, such as Fullers with its marmalade flavours or a Barley Wine. I will have to raid my beer cupboard at home for a suitable Barley Wine I think.

A Glenlivet Cask Aged Stout will finish the dinner for me and wash down the rarebit.

Can't wait!

Online Sales

2012-01-18T11:01:00.002Z

After struggling a little with our online sales over Christmas we are reviewing how we do things in the future as the volumes overwhelmed us a bit and the couriers broke everything.

We have taken the shop down whilst we sort out the best way to make beers available online but that is both profitable (broken cases aren't profitable), we can offer the kind of service levels we want to and doesn't drive two people to breakdowns. We are working through various options of third parties, different packaging and new couriers etc, and will endeavour to get the shop going again asap.

Meanwhile we are still selling beer direct from the brewery and they are online at Beers of Europe and Best of British Beer.

Next Public Brewery Tour

2012-01-16T12:23:00.002Z

Our first Public Brewery Tour of 2012 is on Wednesday 8th February at 7pm. (Next one on March 13th)

Come & join us for an evening of beer tasting (& drinking), learn a bit about the brewing process, and get a branded glass and bottle opener to take away. The tour lasts about 2 hours and only costs £10.

To book your place on the tour email andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk or call 0117 9026317.

Bristol Independents

2012-01-16T10:50:00.002Z

The Bristol Independents website has been set up to highlight great Independent businesses in the city.

We have been nominated as one of Bristol's favourite food businesses, if you would like to vote for us, you can vote here

This week at the BBF

2012-01-09T16:12:00.003Z

Brewing a bunch of hop forward beers - Southville Hop, Acer and Independence along with the less hop driven Seven.

Southville hop – Showcases the danker side of hops.
Acer – Lets you know of the complexity of hops.
Independence – Is always letting the citrus bang hit you
across the face.

Bottling - Ultimate Stout which is forecasted to be ready
early Feb. BBF Fact: Because the Ultimate Stout is such a strong all malt beer
we have to use twice as much malt.

Smelling and tasting some new hops to the BBF.
Hop varieties - Nugget, Apollo, Newport and Chinook

The brewers are now challenging each other to see who can
clean out and reassemble our mash tun the fastest. Currently head brewer Chris
Kay has set the time to beat at 29 min 11 sec for an Acer mash.

There is a lot of talk about doing another Bristol Brewers
Collaboration. Last year we brewed a Belgian inspired IPA at 6.8%. The grist
had pale crystal malts loads of low colour Maris Otter and hand toasted malted
oats. The hop bill was everything from Amarillo to Northern Brewer to Motueka…What
are we going to do this year?

2011 Highlights

2011-12-29T15:26:00.004Z

We've been thinking about our highlights of the last year...

Our Top 10

1, Winning the BBC Food & Farming Award for Drinks Producer of the Year

2, Southville Hop winning at the SIBA Southwest competition

3, The 12 Stouts of Christmas, choosing them, brewing them & Stout Day

4, Vintage our 1000th Brew

5, A very small amount of a triple hopped Independence - just incredible

6, The first time we brewed Independence

7, The Beer & Food Tour, we can't wait to do more Beer Dinners next year

8, The standard of beers at the 2011 Homebrew Comp and how successful Indian Ink was

9, Great Taste Awards

10, Grillstock, wow, we sold some beer that weekend!

We can't wait to make lots more highlights in 2012...

January Pint Pot

2011-12-29T14:27:00.002Z

Public Brewery Tour

2011-12-29T10:08:00.002Z

Our first Public Brewery Tour of 2012 is on Monday 9th January at 7pm.

Come & join us for an evening of beer tasting, learn a bit about the brewing process, and get a branded glass and bottle opener to take away. The tour lasts about 2 hours and only costs £10.

To book your place on the tour email andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk or call 0117 9026317.

The next tour is on Wednesday 8th February.

2012 Homebrew Competition

2011-12-29T09:47:00.005Z

Ever wanted to have your home brew in your local pub?
Ever wanted to brew professionally?
Here’s your chance!

Enter your very best in the 2012 Homebrew Competition. Will your beer follow in the footsteps of Indian Ink that was enjoyed throughout the country.

The Winner receives...
Your beer brewed commercially & distributed throughout the region.
A day brewing with the professionals.
9 Gallons of the finished product.
A launch event for the beer at one of our pubs.

Rules and Regulations

2 bottles of your beer must be submitted to the Bristol Beer Factory by March 16^th 2012 with a completed entry form.

This year there are no restrictions on type or strength of beer, however it must be possible to brew on a commercial level.

Extract or all grain mashes are permitted.

Competition entrants must reside within 50 miles of the brewery.

There is no limit on the number of entries someone can make.

Judges will give feedback on all brews entered.

5 Beers will be selected for the Final on April 3rd to which all entrants will be invited.

For any queries please call The Brewery on 0117 902 6317 or email andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk

Beers of the Year

2011-12-08T14:20:00.006Z

As lots of newspapers and bloggers do their favourite beers of the year, here are ours...

Chris

BBF Beer - Acer
UK Beer - Moor Revival
Foreign Beer - 3 Fonteinen Doesjel
Keg Beer - Victory Hop Devil
Bottled Beer - Racer 5

Steve

BBF Beer - Southville Hop
UK Beer - Thornbridge Jaipur (cask)
Foreign Beer - Odell Myrcelle
Cask - Arbor Snufty Jack
Keg - Sierra Nevada Juniper Stout
Bottle - Sierra Nevada Southern Harvest

Brett

BBF Beer - Saison
UK Beer - Orkney Dark Island Reserve
Foreign beer - Green Flash Pallet Wrecker
Cask - Acer
Keg - Pliny The Elder
Bottle - Southville Hop

Andrew

BBF Beer - Independence
UK Beer - Kernel Super Alpha Pale Ale
Foreign Beer - Odell Red Ale
Cask - Fyne Ales Jarl
Keg - Southern Tier Mocha
Bottle - BBF Laphroaig Cask-aged Stout

Simon (only drinks our beers)

BBF Beer - Ultimate Stout
Cask Beer - Independence
Bottle - Southville Hop

Please let us know your favourite beers of the year...

Public Brewery Tour

2011-12-06T12:34:00.003Z

Tuesday 13th December is the date for our next Tour for a Tenner.

Starting at 7pm and lasting about 2 hours, come and taste lots of beers, enjoy a brewery tour and receive a glass & keyring to take home.

Email Andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk or call on 0117 9026317 to book your place.

The most generous brewery tour in the world...

You can now purchase a tour as a gift from here or if you want to come yourself please book via email or phone and pay on the night.

Some reviews...

2011-11-29T10:38:00.004Z

There are a few reviews of our beers on various websites over the last few days

Simon at the CAMRGB reviewed our beers here

Alcohol & Aphorisms reviewed Vintage here

Ultimate Stout reviewed on the Guest Beer Blog

BBC Food & Farming Awards Winners!

2011-11-24T12:21:00.003Z

Bristol brewery wins prestigious National Award

An independent Bristol brewery has won one of the UK’s top food and drink awards, recognising not just its beers but its role in regenerating South Bristol.

The Bristol Beer Factory in Southville has won the ‘Best Drinks Producer’ in the BBC Food and Farming Awards, the ‘Oscars’ of the industry.

The award was presented at a ceremony last night and the brewery will be included in a special awards programme to be aired on BBC Radio Four at 12 noon on Friday (25^th November).

The shortlisted entrants were decided on votes from the public and the winners by an expert panel of judges chaired by chef and restauranteur Richard Corrigan.

The judges liked the fact that the Bristol Beer Factory is at the heart of the community in Southville and Ashton and central to the regeneration of the area. They also loved the Brewery’s ‘Twelve Stouts of Christmas’ idea of a dozen beers specially-created to celebrate the festive season, including one made with fresh raspberries, which are being launched this Saturday (26^th November).

George Ferguson, founder of the Bristol Beer Factory says: “We see this as an accolade for Bristol and the craft beer industry as a whole and feel very lucky to be representing independent brewers up and down the country who put so much care and attention into producing high quality craft beers.”

“We strongly believe that independent local businesses, whatever they are, are capable of producing higher quality products and services than national mass-producers and they make a vital contribution to the local economy supporting local suppliers and investing proceeds into the area.”

Chair of judges Richard Corrigan said about the winners: “They are working hard to save some of our greatest craft skills and artisinal traditions and reflect where Britiain is today and give us optimism for our future.”

Bristol Beer Factory was founded six years ago after a chance conversation in the Tobacco Factory, when George Ferguson decided to buy the building which now houses the brewery, which was then under threat. Originally known as the Ashton Gate Brewery, which boasted 120 pubs in the area, it was closed after Georges Brewery took it over in 1933 and the building stood empty since then. Initially unsure about what to do with it, George came up with the idea of returning it to brewing over a drink in the bar of the Tobacco Factory over the road.

The BBF started out as a traditional brewer but in the past couple of years has moved to the forefront of the craft brewing industry.

George continues: “As an architect interested in place-making, I believe that beer-making, along with great good, can play an important role in regenerating an area. Pubs have always been the heart of any community and we feel there should be local beers to go in them. But it’s not just about the ales we create, it’s also about being part of the local community and local economy. Like other independ

ent brewers, we’re not aiming to be the biggest, but strive to be the best we can.”

The Bristol Beer Factory is having an Open Day at the brewery this Saturday to launch their ‘Twelve Stouts of Christmas’, with beers to sample, specially made ‘beery’ food, brewery tours and goodies to buy for Christmas.

Friday in the brewery...

2011-11-11T14:54:00.005Z

we are

Brewing Sunrise
Bottling Exhibition
Listening to JackFM
Drinking a can of Double IPA, want more of these...
Setting up for some tasting at the Tobacco Factory for their 10th Birthday celebrations tonight!
Preparing for our Beer Dinner at the Apple Tree tonight
Looking forward to hosting a tour for Otley tomorrow
Delivering to London tomorrow
& wondering why the cask store is quite so empty!

Coming up...

2011-11-09T10:26:00.003Z

Beer Dinner at the Apple Tree Inn (Nr Glastonbury) on Friday

Tour for a Tenner at the brewery on Tuesday (book on 0117 902 6317 or andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk)

Favourite Beers (in Cheltenham) Beer tasting on Thursday 17th

Stout Day on November 26th - pick up your 12 Stouts, have a tour of the brewery, sample some beers, be happy...

Barley Mow Manager Vacancy

2011-11-09T09:18:00.004Z

The Bristol Beer Factory, Bristol's independent brewery is looking for a full time manager for The Barley Mow.

The Mow is a lovely back street community pub in The Dings (7 minutes walk from Temple Meads Station), situated in contrasting new and old residential areas, whilst being a stones throw away from the businesses of Temple Quay.

A manager is required who is extremely sociable, friendly, fun and welcoming. The Mow benefits from business lunches and an after work crowd so a professional service is essential, as is fluent English. An enthusiasm for great beers and some cellar knowledge would also be preferred although training can be given.

The atmosphere of the pub is warm and cosy with an open fire and covered courtyard. Parties are regularly hosted for locals and businesses alike.

If you are interested please email your CV to hello@barleymowbristol.com. For more info about the pub please go to:

www.barleymowbristol.com <http://www.barleymowbristol.com/>

Beer Dinner at the Apple Tree Inn

2011-11-09T08:32:00.005Z

Beer Dinner at the Apple Tree Inn on Friday 11th. £40 including all food & beer on the menu below. Due to a cancellation there is now a table available, contact the Apple Tree on 01749 890060 to book your table.

Menu

Tempura Oysters & Beer Rarebit - Black Velvet

Confit Duck & Plum Terrine with red wine syrup & brown toast - Exhibition

Duo of hot & cold Chew Valley Smoked Salmon - Acer

Blade of Beef braised in Bristol Stout with confit shallots, chantenay carrots & horseradish mashed potato - Bristol Vintage 2011

Trio of locally made artisan Cheeses - Gold, Hefe, Milk Stout

Dark Chocolate cylinder, milk chocolate mousse & black cherry sorbet - Raspberry Stout

Coffee / Lahloo Tea & Petit four

A Beery treat!

Tuesday in the Brewery

2011-11-01T14:09:00.003Z

we are

Brewing Acer
Labelling Southville Hop bottles
Cleaning our newly arrived brand spanking new casks
Taking lots & lots of 12 Stouts orders, over half have been ordered
Listening to nothing... its eerily quiet today
Heading to London for Melissa Cole's book launch
& hoping the BBC Food & Farming Award judges liked us yesterday!

The Friday Question

2011-10-28T14:08:00.002+01:00

The Friday Question...

What happens to the malt once we've finished with it?

Well it makes a delicious sweet treat for Mike's cows.

The 12 Stouts of Christmas on Sale Now

2011-10-27T15:00:00.010+01:00

Our year long project to produce 12 Stout's for Christmas is now complete. The first time & place to get the 12 Stouts is at our Open Day on November 26th (10am - 4pm), however you can pre-order yours at our online shop today.

You can pre-order your case of 12 Stout's now. The case costs £48 which includes delivery OR alternatively includes entry to our Special Stout Open Day on Saturday November 26th - where you can pick up your case, have a free brewery tour & taste some samples. You can meet the team, talk all things beer with us, there will be beery food, beers for sale & other brewery goodies.

*Please indicate in the "message" box when you place your order whether you want the beer delivered or if you would like to pick it up on our Open Day. Deliveries will be sent out on the week commencing November 29th.*

THERE ARE ONLY 150 CASES AVAILABLE ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS.

THE 12 STOUTS OF CHRISTMAS ARE....

BRISTOL STOUT - DRY IRISH STYLE STOUT
Velvety smooth & packed full of flavour for a 4% stout. Black with a ruby red tint, well balanced and warming this rich & malty dry ‘Irish-style’ stout has a smooth full flavour with a long bitter finish.
In the 18th century the Irish (tired of importing porters & stouts from Bristol & London) started making their own Stouts. A few hundred years later the Bristol Beer Factory (tired of importing stout
from Ireland) created a tasty blend of 7 malts to rival the most flavoursome beers of this style.

MILK STOUT - EVER SO SMOOTH OLD-FASHIONED STOUT
A delicious, multi-award winning stout, that has a creamy chocolate sweetness & roasted coffee bitterness with a hint of dark fruits. A fantastic partner to blue cheese. 4.5%.

CHOCOLATE STOUT - SMOOTH DARK CHOCOLATE FLAVOURS
Gloriously chocolatey stout from a blend of 5 different malts, raw cacao nibs & an addition of lactose sugar giving a smooth chocolatey texture. 5%

ULTIMATE STOUT - STRONG, YET TART & DRINKABLE
This is our Ultimate Stout, strong, black, unctuous & delicious. Hints of coffee, chocolate & dark fruits, made using a Belgian yeast & roasted malts. Thick, engine-oil texture but tart drinkable flavour.
The Ultimate after-dinner treat, pair with blue cheese or chocolate desserts. Drink from a brandy snifter & savour the aromas & flavours. 7.7%

IMPERIAL STOUT - STRONG & FULL-FLAVOURED STOUT
Imperial Stouts were originally brewed in the early 19th century for export from Britain to the imperial court of Russia’s Catherine the Great. The high alcoholic content prevented the beer from freezing in transport in the Baltic Sea.
Our Imperial Stout has a rich, malty sweetness, notes of dried fruits & a robust full body. This brew will improve and develop complexity over time and has an intense flavour which is complex and distinctive. 8.5%

VANILLA MILK STOUT - VANILLA INFUSED MILK STOUT
The multi-awared winning Milk Stout has been gently infused with vanilla pods to create an ultra smooth stout with flavours reminiscent of a creme brulee. Best described as a dessert in a glass, gloriously rich and satisfying. 4.5%

HAZLENUT LATTE STOUT - COFFEE HOUSE FAVOURITE IN A BEER!
Roasted Hazlenuts & Java Coffee have been added to our creamy Milk Stout to produce a comforting coffee rich beer with a delicious hazlenut sweetness.
The favourite beer at our 2010 Factoberfest, this is the first time we have bottled it. A rare treat of a beer, enjoy, once it’s gone, it’s gone. 4.5%

CHILLI CHOC STOUT - CHILLI INFUSED CHOCOLATE STOUT
Local chilli’s from the Upton Cheney Chilli Farm have infused our rich chocolate stout with a subtle amount of chilli aroma & a pleasent warming aftertaste. The fruitburst habanero chilli gives a big hot kick, so we have been careful to use it respectfully.
The chilli adds something different to the stout working well with the bitter chocolate flavour without overpowering the other flavours in the beer. 5%

CHOC ORANGE STOUT - ORANGE INFUSED CHOCOLATE STOUT
Orange zest & juice have been added to our Chocolate Stout just prior to bottling to give a fresh orange aroma & flavour to the beer. The classic chocolate orange combination work incredibly well together in this rich, smooth stout.
The orange character adds a refreshing aspect to the beer. 5%

RASPBERRY STOUT - 25KG OF RASPBERRIES - AMAZING
This is our Raspberry Stout, strong and black, yet tart and fruity, a delicious treat of a beer. Surprisingly drinkable, there are flavours of raspberry, chocolate & dark fruits. Brewed using a Belgian yeast & roasted malts & 25kg of Raspberries!
A great after-dinner treat. Drink from a brandy snifter & savour the aromas & flavours. 7.7%

LAPHROAIG CASK STOUT - IMPERIAL STOUT AGED IN LAPHROAIG WHISKY CASKS
This Imperial Stout has spent the last 6 months ageing in oak taking on the famous characteristics of Laphroaig’s 10 year old whisky of peat, smoke & the sea.
The Stouts rich, smooth, roasty flavours combine with the whisky character to produce a complex beer, layered with big flavours.
Enjoy as an after-dinner treat or as an accompaniment to full-flavoured cheeses. 9.5%

GLENLIVET CASK STOUT - IMPERIAL STOUT AGED IN GLENLIVET WHISKY CASKS
This Imperial Stout has spent the last 6 months ageing in oak taking on the famous characteristics of Glenlivet whisky. The Stout's rich, smooth, roasty flavours combine with the whisky character to produce a complex beer, layered with big flavours.
Enjoy as an after-dinner treat or as an accompaniment to full-flavoured cheeses. 10.7%

In January 2011 after the dust had settled on Christmas we decided on a year long brewing challenge to produce 12 bottled Stouts for Christmas 2011. After a great deal of arguing, bickering & hair pulling we decided on our 12 favourites with a number of wierd and wonderful ideas not making the final 12 (next year??).

A year of trials, experiments and patience has nearly come to an end. Tasting, blending and arguing over different brews has lead to a point where we have a truly unique case of 12 different bottle-conditioned stouts.

Head Brewer Chris Kay said “I have enjoyed the challenges this project has thrown up and I’m particularly happy with how the Raspberry Stout has turned out, the 25kg of raspberries that were used in making this beer have given it an incredible aroma. I’ll definitely be having a bottle on Christmas Day.”
Managing Director Simon Bartlett added “We think the ‘12 Stouts’ case will make a fantastic Christmas present, what more could a beer lover want this year?”

There are only 150 cases of the 12 Stouts of Christmas available, they will be available from the brewery or online only.

Caption Competition

2011-10-26T08:44:00.003+01:00

Our favourite caption wins a case of beer...

Brewery Tour for a Tenner

2011-10-24T10:50:00.003+01:00

Our next public brewery tour is on Tuesday 15th November. It starts at 7pm & lasts about 2 hours, the tour includes plenty of beers, a glass, bottle opener & bottle of beer to take home. There will be some new or unusual beers for you to try as well as learning a bit about the brewing process and the exciting new releases on the way.

All for only £10...

Please call us on 0117 902 6317 or email andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk to book on to the tour.

Friday Sing Song

2011-10-21T08:49:00.001+01:00

"Let us sing our own treasures, Old England's good cheer, to the profits and pleasures of stout British beer.
Your wine tippling, dram sipping fellows retreat, but your beer drinking Britons can never be beat.
The French with their vineyards and meager pale ale, they drink from the squeezing of half ripe fruit.
But we, who have hop-yards to mellow our ale, are rosy and plump and have freedom to boot."
-- English drinking song, circa 1757

Bristletoe

2011-10-20T11:07:00.004+01:00

As the days get colder and the nights draw in our thoughts turn to darker beers and we remember the mad rush to get all the Bristletoe we could bottled for last Christmas. This year we are a bit better prepared and already have a large amount bottled (& quite a bit sold!).

Bristletoe will go on sale on November 1st from the brewery and online shop, when it will also be available to retailers.

Bristletoe is a dark spiced beer with ginger, coriander and orange peel, with a long full aftertaste of coffee and chocolate. It is deliciously full-flavoured yet only 4.3%, so also very drinkable for a Christmas beer.

Bristletoe Christmas Gift Packs will go on sale for the festive period with mini casks of it available too.

More 12 Stouts News

2011-10-20T10:36:00.004+01:00

The 12 Stouts of Christmas will go on pre-sale in the next couple of weeks.

There are only 150 cases available.

The Great Stout Open Day is on Saturday 26th November.

12 Stouts in a box, because we could, we did.

Independent Beers for Independent Drinkers.

Wednesday in the Brewery...

2011-10-19T09:32:00.002+01:00

and we are...

Brewing Acer
Bottling more Bristletoe
Delivering in Bristol & Somerset
Sending a pallet of bottles to Norfolk
Taking photo's
Listening to Prodigy
& talking about how good last nights Beer Dinner was at Flinty Red

BBC Food & Farming Awards Finalist!

2011-10-17T08:37:00.005+01:00

BBC Food & Farming Awards 2011 Finalists announced

We are delighted to announce that we have made the Final 3 in the Best Drinks Producer category of Radio 4's prestigious Food & Farming Awards. Final judging happens very soon and we can't wait to see how we have got on against Bruichladdich Distillery & Chapel Down Vineyard. Managing Director Simon Bartlett said "Wow, we are blown away to have made the finals at this years Food & Farming Awards. It is fantastic that people have nominated us for such an award, and great justification in what we are trying to achieve at the Beer Factory."

These are just a few of the talented finalists in this year's BBC Food & Farming Awards. A cook who travels to remote villages with a wood burning pizza oven in a truck, a man who has helped changed the way Britain thinks about bread, a cook who serves food to young offenders in a Scottish institution and a supermarket that grows some of its fruit and veg on its high street roof.

The twenty seven finalists also include a gin distiller on the Hebridean island of Islay, a Kentish sparkling wine producer, one of Britain’s oldest food markets and a marketing executive who switched careers six years ago to become a low carbon farmer. Each year The BBC Food & Farming Awards celebrate the people and organisations behind the best of British food.

The awards – nominated by BBC audiences – set out to find the best if British including Best Food Market, Best Drinks Producer, Best Food Producer, Best Local Food Retailer, Best Retail Initiative, Best Public Caterer, Best Takeaway and the BBC Farmer of The Year. Winners will be announced at the Food and Farming Awards’ ceremony held on November 23rd at the NEC, Birmingham. They will include the 2011 BBC Food Champion, awarded in previous years to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver and baker Richard Bertinet.

Chef and restaurateur Richard Corrigan chairs this year’s panel of judges which includes farmer and Countryfile presenter Adam Henson, school dinners champion Jeanette Orrey, chef Jeremy Lee and food writer Charles Campion. Chair of judges Richard Corrigan said: "The finalists on this list are cooks, farmers and food producers who all, in their own way, reflect where Britain is today, and what it can be in the future. “We have young entrepreneurs using food to create exciting new businesses, farmers with radical ideas of how our food can be produced in a more sustainable way, we have school cooks who believe the meals they serve each day are helping to change the lives of young people and drinks producers working hard to save some of our greatest craft skills and artisinal traditions.

 "I grew up in a farming family and always understood the power of being connected with the land, with livestock and with people who were proud to play a role in feeding their community. Few of us are lucky to have that connection today and for that reason these awards are invaluable for one simple reason; they help reconnect people with the story of the best of British food, where it comes from, how‘s it‘s made and who makes it.

We boast some of the world’s best farmers, food producers and food entrepreneurs and so I hope when people hear more about the stories on this shortlist they’ll und erstand why it gives me some optimism for our future”.  

The awards will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday 23rd November at the BBC Good Food Show, NEC, Birmingham, and will be hosted by Sheila Dillon, presenter of The Food Programme. She will be joined by some of the biggest names in the food world including Rick Stein, James Martin and Angela Hartnett.  

The finalists for this year's awards are as follows:  

BEST FOOD MARKET - Bolton Market, Ashburner Street, Bolton - East Oxford Farmers’ & Community Market, Cowley, Oxford - Maltby Street, near Tower Bridge, London  

BEST DRINKS PRODUCER - The Bristol Beer Factory, Bristol - Bruichladdich Distillery, Isle of Islay, Scotland - The Chapel Down Winery, Tenterden, Kent  

BEST FOOD PRODUCER - Golspie Mill, Sutherland, Scotland. - Loch Arthur Creamery, Camphill Community, Dumfries, Scotland - Alder Tree Fruit Ices, Alder Carr farm, Needham, Suffolk.  

BEST TAKEAWAY - Jack and Linda Mills, The Brighton Smokehouse, under-the-arches, Brighton - The Sea Tree, “alternative fish bar”, Cambridge - Rico’s Pizza Shack, mobile wood burning oven, Oxfordshire  

BEST LOCAL FOOD RETAILER - The Brockweir and Hewelsfield Village Shop, Chepstow - Hawkshead Relish Company, Hawkshead, Cumbria - Pink Pig Farmshop, Holme, Scunthorpe, Lancashire  

BEST PUBLIC CATERER - Carol McMath, Kibble Education Centre, Paisley - Libby Lewis, Farley Hill School, Eat Smart Café, Berkshire - Wayne Wright, Harper Adams College, Shropshire.  

BEST RETAIL INITIATIVE - The True Food Community Co-operative Limited, Berkshire - The Ice Organisation, Tunbridge Wells, Kent - Thorntons Budgens Stores, Crouch End, north London  

BBC FARMER OF THE YEAR - Andrew Hughes - Trinley Estate, Andover, Hampshire - Paul Sousek - Cottage Farm, Jacobstow, Cornwall - Adrian Dolby - Barrington Estate, Burford, Oxfordshire  

DEREK COOPER AWARD - Andrew Whitley, baker and “real bread” campaigner - FareShare, food charity, fighting hunger & tackling food waste - The Food for Life Partnership, Bristol  

BBC FOOD CHAMPION 2011 (to announced at the awards’ ceremony).

Independent Blog

2011-10-14T09:27:00.000+01:00

Read about us on the Independent blog...

http://ind.pn/pEWASJ

What does Vintage taste like?

2011-10-14T08:43:00.002+01:00

A very dark beer with a slight red hue to it, there is a sweet aroma of raspberries. It is a rich, full-bodied beer, with berry fruits to the fore and with chocolate and toasted notes. The finish lingers with a nice hint of oak and moreish hop bitterness.

Bristol Vintage is delicious fresh, with the hop characters really prevalent, however it will age really well, developing flavour and complexity as the hop flavours diminish and the strong malt backbone of the beer takes over. Try it fresh, but also put a bottle away for months or years into the future.

Vintage & Pick & Mix

2011-10-12T10:47:00.003+01:00

Bristol Vintage 2011 has now been bottled and is available from the online shop. Read all about this very special 1000th beer here. We are thrilled with how it's tasting, and hope you will be too. We've packed it full of 5 different malts to give a big sweet, fruity backbone & then thrown masses of our favourite hop varieties at it to balance out the sweetness & give a lovely fresh hop character to it, just to make it extra special & add a layer of complexity we aged it on fresh oak... we hope your as excited about our first Bristol Vintage as we are.

You can now Pick & Mix your bottles on our online shop, buy beer here. Pick what you want to drink in your case. We have listened to your feedback and you can now pick & mix your favourite beers to drink at home.

Beeramisu

2011-10-10T14:30:00.003+01:00

At the BBF we love to cook with beer.

This is one of our favourite dessert recipes, replacing the coffee in a tiramisu with our new Imperial Stout to make Beeramisu.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

* 250g mascarpone
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 180ml Imperial Stout
* 150ml single cream
* 4 tbsp icing sugar
* 16 sponge fingers
* Frozen bar of 70% of chocolate bar
* Cocoa powder, to dust

Method: How to make easy Beeramisu

1. Whisk the mascarpone with the vanilla and 75ml of Stout, until everything is thoroughly mixed together. Whisk the cream with the icing sugar until smooth, then fold in the mascarpone mix

2. Pour the remaining beer into a bowl (sweeten with more icing sugar if you like). Take one sponge finger at a time and dip it in to the beer. Set it to one side and continue with the remaining biscuits

3. Line 4 serving glasses with 4 sponge fingers, breaking them in half if you need to. Spoon the mascarpone mix in until you reach the top of the glass. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

4. Remove the Beeramisu from the fridge. Take the frozen chocolate bar and grate a little chocolate over the top of each Beeramisu. Finally, dust with sifted cocoa powder to serve.

Monday at the brewery...

2011-10-10T10:05:00.003+01:00

we are...

Brewing Sunrise
Bottling Hefe
Racking No.7
Sending a pallet of bottles to London (order through Pigs Ears Beers)
Cleaning CT's
Plotting & Planning...
Looking forward to Beer Dinner's
& having Bristol Vintage bottles for sale next week

Flinty Red Beer Dinner

2011-10-10T09:16:00.007+01:00

We are very excited to be returning to Flinty Red to do another of our famous beer dinners. Matt has pushed the envelope even further this time, a menu with bells & whistles we think.

Join us on Tuesday 18th October for this delicious menu each course paired to a beer of our choosing...

Beer Tapas of Tortilla, Chorizo & Cecina de Leon paired with Independence

Smoked & beer pickled Pork Belly with our new Laphroaig Cask Stout

Tadka Dahl with malt & hops accompanied by Southville Hop

Scallops & Rarebit partnered with Milk Stout

Steak Tartare paired with Gold

Bratwurst & Sauerkraut cooked in beer & paired with Bristol Vintage 2011

Cheeses - 3 cheeses each paired with a beer that shows off its character

Sticky Toffee Pudding with wort cream & Exhibition

A little Surprise to finish with!

All of this for only £40, book now on 0117 973 1620.

Bristol Vintage 2011

2011-10-06T11:32:00.011+01:00

BRISTOL VINTAGE 2011, is a beer we have created to celebrate the 1000th brew in our brewery. You can buy it here. It only seemed right to celebrate this milestone with an extra special beer. MD, Simon Bartlett, along with brewers Chris Kay and Brett Ellis have carefully selected 5 malts and 4 of our favourite hop varieties to make a full flavoured strong dark ale. After fermentation the beer was aged on some fresh English Oak to add another layer of complexity to it.

BRISTOL VINTAGE will be available in both casks and as a bottle-conditioned beer. Casks are available now... bottles to follow in a couple of weeks.

An extra special brew day was required to produce the amount of beer we wanted to get, Simon starting the brew day off at 1am, and Chris finishing the day at gone 9pm. 3 mashes were required to produce the 6000 pints we wanted. Hops were selected from England, Germany, New Zealand and the US that all bring something different to the beer, and lead to a distinctive hop presence that compliments the malts and balances the beer.

Tasting notes;
A very dark beer with a slight red hue to it, there is a sweet aroma of raspberries. It is a rich, full-bodied beer, with berry fruits to the fore and with chocolate and toasted notes. The finish lingers with a nice hint of oak and moreish hop bitterness.

Bristol Vintage is delicious fresh, with the hop characters really prevalent, however it will age really well, developing flavour and complexity as the hop flavours diminish and the strong malt backbone of the beer takes over. Try it fresh, but also put a bottle away for months or years into the future.

A unique, one and done beer, but hopefully the first of an annual release of a Bristol Vintage.

Beer Dinner at Hotel Du Vin

2011-10-04T16:03:00.003+01:00

Our next Beer Dinner at Hotel Du Vin is coming soon. This is the menu, I hope it gets the mouth watering.

Bristol Beer Factory Dinner
Friday October 14th 2011

Canapes
BLACK VELVET
--
Escabeche of Mackerel
ACER
~
Roast Monkfish, Curried Mussels
SOUTHVILLE HOP
~
Braised Pork Cheeks, Butternut Squash Puree
EXHIBITION
~
Apple and Blackberry Crumble
RASPBERRY STOUT
~
Selection of Cheese
GOLD, HEFE, MILK STOUT
~
Chocolate Truffles
IMPERIAL STOUT

£45 per head

Tuesday in the Brewery

2011-10-04T12:54:00.003+01:00

We are

Brewing Acer
Bottling Bristol Vintage 2011
Transferring Bristletoe (ready for bottling)
Racking No.7
Cleaning FV3
Listening to far too much rock!
Finalising Stout labels
Thinking about food...

Beer, Bread & Cheese

2011-10-04T11:16:00.003+01:00

Many thanks to everyone who came to the Beer, Bread & Cheese Tasting last night, I hope you all had a great time, we certainly did.

A big thank you to Mark of Mark's Bread & Todd & Ned from Trethowan's Dairy for their vast knowledge and expertise it's a joy to listen to them evangelise about their products.

My favourite pairing of the evening was Ragstone Goats Cheese with Mark's Rye bread & our Hefe, all of the flavours worked incredibly harmoniously together and it was great to hear that Ned thought it was just about the best cheese & drink pairing he's ever had.

Independence was really good with GWR (Gorwydd Washed Rind) and baguette, the big hit of hop bitterness worked really well with the cheese.

We paired Gold with Gorwydd Caerphilly & 7 seed Sourdough, the citrus aspects work fantastically well & biscuit malt character of the beer was really brought out by the savoury, mushroomy rind of the cheese.

Finally our old favourite paorong, Milk Stout & Stichelton, a creamy blue that compliments the creamy stout perfectly, the intensity of the flavours of each is pitched perfectly with the other.

Our new beers were really well received, the Bristol Vintage, Raspberry Stout & Glenlivet cask Stout seem to have found lots of fans already. They will be ready for release as soon as labels arrive...

Cheers

October Newsletter

2011-10-03T13:11:00.002+01:00

Beer & Food Matching at the Butcher & Grill

2011-09-29T15:45:00.005+01:00

The Butcher & Grill beer dinner last night was everything we love about these events - fantastic cooking, well-paired beers and an enthusiastic, appreciative group of people to enjoy it all. It's always a joy to introduce people to new beers, or styles of beer they might not otherwise drink.

We began the night in our favourite way, with a glass of Black Velvet on arrival, made with our new Imperial Stout.

The first course was my favourite of the evening - a Venison Scotch Egg with a bramble jelly and land cress. The breadcrumb coating of the scotch egg included some crystal malt to give a delicious sweet crunch. We paired the scotch egg with 2 different beers - Exhibition (probably the favourite), the berry fruit flavours from the rich, dark, old English ale worked perfectly as a compliment to the rich venison. We also paired our new Raspberry Stout, the raspberry aspect to the beer working almost like a chutney to the scotch egg.

The main course was Lamb shoulder slow roasted with sea vegetables, hay and hops inside a salt crust. The lamb was delicious and melted in the mouth. We paired Southville Hop with it (mostly because we wanted this group of BBF virgins to try it!), the beer acted as a palate refresher, and cut through the fattiness of the lamb, although the flavours weren't poerfect together.

Lincolnshire Poacher cheese with a Milk Stout fruit cake followed. It was a little bit of guess work to try to match to this dish - to the cheese or the fruit cake? I went with No.7, I thought the toffee malt sweetness might work with the fruit cake and the hop bitterness pairing with the cheese - I was wrong, the fruit cake over-powered the beer. The cheese and the beer worked very well together though, but the fruit cake needed a stronger flavoured beer to cope with it's sweetness. Matching the intensity of food and drink is vital when picking pairings to work together.

The final course was a divine chocolate truffle made with Imperial Stout and coated in cobnuts. We tried both the Milk Stout & Imperial Stout with it, the Imperial winning the day with the stronger alcohol and bigger flavour matching the intense rich truffle better than the milder Milk Stout.

It was a fantastic evening, we had a great time with the guys from The Butcher & Grill, its definitely worth a visit if you haven't been, the food is gorgeous.

Beer, Bread & Cheese Tour

2011-09-27T16:59:00.003+01:00

On Monday 3rd October the BBF join forces with Mark's Bread & Trethowan's Cheese for an evening of beer, bread & cheese pairing, as well as a tour of the brewery, a tour of the bakery and a talk from the cheese maker. This is a fantastic opportunity to spend the evening with 3 real hands-on artisan food & drink producers and to taste their wares.

The BBF are even doing the first tasting of their brand new beer "Bristol Vintage 2011" a beer to celebrate 1000 brews and the first Vintage ale they have produced.

The producers will be carefully pairing beer, bread & cheese combination's to show how flavours can be enhanced by pairing them together. We will show you & educate you in how each of the products are made, even showing a bit of the alchemy off!

Tickets still available for £20, including all your beer throughout the evening as well as cheese and bread pairings. A very special evening, not to be missed.

Butcher & Grill Dinner

2011-09-27T16:52:00.004+01:00

On Wednesday 28th September we are popping up to London for a fantastic night of Beer & Food Matching at The Butcher & Grill in Wimbledon. Carl has come up with a mouth-watering menu and we will be bringing up an array of some of our finest & newest beers. The menu includes a Lamb cooked in hay & hops & a delicious Milk Stout cake.

We look forward to seeing you there.

A few tickets are still available for the evening, costing only £35 with 4 courses and numerous beers it promises to be a night to remember.

Call the Butcher & Grill for your tickets on 020 8944 8269

Factoberfest Cider & Perry

2011-09-15T14:24:00.002+01:00

For those who like it fruity...

Orchard Pig - 4.2% Nr Glastonbury Medium cider

Bristol Cider Works - 6% Bristol's very own Dry cider

Janet's Jungle Juice - 6% West Croft, Nr Brent Knoll - traditional farm cider

Kingstone Black - 6% Hecks, Street - single variety medium cider

McCrindle's Perry 6% Medium

Factoberfest Beer List

2011-09-15T12:49:00.001+01:00

BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - ACER 3.8% A huge hop kick to it, ripe tangerines, resinous hops and a blast of citrus play around on a solid bready malt backbone... it surely can’t only be 3.8% with that much flavour!
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - OAKED NO.7 4.2% This is No.7 as you’ve never had it before. Aged in oak casks to give a distinctive vanilla character to the beer making it even smoother and adding an intriguing level of complexity to it.
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - INDEPENDENCE 4.6% A New World Pale Ale that we have continuously hopped for an hour with very aromatic hops from the US & New Zealand. Big fruity flavours and a moreish resinous bitterness.
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - SOUTHVILLE HOP 6.5% A fruit salad on the palate as beautiful tropical fruit flavours wash over you from the stunning American hops. Pineapple, mango & passion fruit on the nose & palate & a long resinous finish.
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - BRISTOL HEFE 4.8% A German style wheat beer, zippy & zesty with lovely banana & clove aromas, banana & bubble gum on the palate & a refreshing grapefruit bitterness.
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - AMBER 5 4.3% Amber in colour, a blend of 6 malts give a tasty backbone to this sessionable ale, a good dose of noble European hops gives a moreish bitterness leaving you wanting more.
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - EXHIBITION 5.2% An old fashioned strong English ale, dark, rich, & fruity. Delicious estery flavours from the yeast & a sweetness from a good helping of crystal malt make this a delicious Autumnal beer.
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - SAISON 4.6% Traditionally brewed for Belgian farm workers for long hot summer days, this beer has distinctive notes of spice & berry fruits & is very dry & thirst quenching from it’s unusual yeast strain.
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - SUNRISE GALAXY 4.4% A special edition dry-hopped version of Sunrise. Punchy Galaxy hops from Tasmania add big fruity notes to the Sunrise
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - MILK STOUT 4.5% Finest Creamy Stout. Sweet, black and extremely full-bodied. Unfermentable Lactose sugar (added during the boil) sweetens the Chocolate and Black Malt derived roast / burnt flavours.
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - VANILLA STOUT 4.5% The multi-award winning Milk Stout has been infused with Madagascar Vanilla Pods to give a delicious sweet smoothness reminiscent of a creme brulee.
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - ULTIMATE STOUT 7.7% Pours like engine oil with a dark chocolate coloured head, aromas of roasted coffee & liquorice, tastes of coffee, chocolate & liquorice with slight tart notes from the Belgian yeast we use.
BRISTOL BEER FACTORY - CHOCOLATE STOUT 5.0% So very smooth, so very chocolatey, coats your mouth with rich bitter cocoa and slides down like a velvety glove. A luxurious treat of a beer.
ARBOR ALES (BRISTOL) - SINGLE HOP ”STELLA” 4.0% As the name suggests, we’ve used just one variety of hop in this pale golden ale. Brewed with just low colour Maris Otter malt. Stella comes from Australia & has citrus & berry notes.
ARBOR ALES (BRISTOL) - INFERIORITY COMPLEX 3.4% Just because a beer is low in strength, it needn’t be low on flavour. To get the most out of this dark session beer several different hops from Europe, New Zealand and the US have combined.
ARBOR ALES (BRISTOL) - BLACK EYED PA 6.5% The name makes very little sense, indeed the style itself is a bit wrong if you put any thought into it. The beer does, however, work very well indeed. Before boiling we add a load of hops. During the boil we add a load more hops. After the boil we add yet more hops. You get the idea - lots of hops!
PLAIN ALES - INNTRIGUE 4.2% Amber bitter with a fair amount of bitterness. Dryish, hoppy finish.
MOOR BREWING (SOMERSET) - CONFIDENCE (unfined) 4.6% Exclusive malt is used as the base to produce this premium bitter and it is boosted with Crystal and Wheat malts. Spicy American hops and yeast further enhance the rich malt profile. UNFINED.
MOOR BREWING (SOMERSET) - SOMERLAND GOLD (unfined) 5% If you like your beers golden, hoppy and refreshing then this is for you, but be careful – it goes down quickly for 5%. UNFINED - suitable for vegans, this beer is naturally hazy.
FYNE ALES (SCOTLAND) - JARL 3.8% A full-on citrus experience from the aromatic Citra hops. Light and golden, the 2011 Champion Beer of Scotland. Driven down from Scotland by the MD just for us!
FYNE ALES (SCOTLAND) - CHERRY STOUT 6.1% Fyne Ales Sublime Stout flavoured with cherries to give a very drinkable sweet & tart finish. Another great beer from one of our favourite breweries.
WESSEX BREWERY (WILTSHIRE) - OLD ALE 4.6% A rich, dark, aged ale.
WESSEX BREWERY (WILTSHIRE) - LONGLEAT PRIDE 4% Tasty, golden hoppy ale with refreshing grapefruit flavours.
DEVILFISH (WILTSHIRE) - BOMBSHELL 4.5% A superbly refreshing blonde beer that we’ve tweaked and refined to perfection, to create a heavenly-hopped ale, light in character yet strong in taste, and offering a devilish kick in the tail.
DEVILFISH (WILTSHIRE) - DEVIL BEST 4.2% A very traditional beer made with the finest hops and barley, already a firm favourite among our customers and a winning brew at local pubs. Devil Best appeals to traditional beer drinkers
OTLEY BREWING CO (SOUTH WALES) - 07 WEISSEN 5% A light golden naturally cloudy wheat beer, top fermented with Belgian Style Yeast. Crisp, clean but distinctive flavours with citrus hop aromas and a balanced bitterness.
OTLEY BREWING CO (SOUTH WALES) - OXYMORON 5.5% A very smooth, mourish Black IPA. Packed full of German carafa chocolate malt and American hops.
OTLEY BREWING CO (SOUTH WALES) - THAI BO 4.6% A clear wheat beer flavoured with Sorachi Ace hops, Lime peel, Lime leaf, Lemongrass and Galangal
MILESTONE (NOTTINGHAM) - RICH RUBY 4.5% Lightly Hopped with a Malty berry finish.
MILESTONE (NOTTINGHAM) - LOXLEY 4.2% Full and rounded with a crispy lemony tang finishing with a slight honey sweetness.

See you there on Saturday & Sunday!

Wednesday in the Brewery...

2011-09-14T09:49:00.002+01:00

Today we are...

Brewing No.7
Hand bottling 3000 bottles of Milk Stout
Getting some chillies for yet another of the 12 stouts
Listening to trumpets
Looking forward to our Beer Dinner with Masterchef Champion Tim Anderson
& watching our 1000th Brew, Bristol Vintage ferment away like crazy

Brew 1000, the Bristol Vintage 2011

2011-09-12T12:01:00.004+01:00

A very special beer is being brewed this week at the Bristol Beer Factory to celebrate the 1000^th Brew. Bristol Vintage 2011 is the breweries first attempt at a “Vintage Ale”, a strong, rich style of beer that can be aged to develop flavours and complexity over many months or years. The beer will be a strong one around 7% and will require 3 brews in one day to produce the amount of beer needed. MD Simon Bartlett will kick things off by mashing in at 2am, before 2 further brews, will be taken over by brewers Chris Kay and Brett Ellis, continuing through the day, with the brewing concluding at 10pm making it an epic 20 hour day.

Bristol Vintage 2011 will be a complex beer; a red ale with a big malty backbone, using 4 varieties of English malt, from Warminster Maltings, 4 of our favourite hop varieties from England, Germany, America & New Zealand, the beer will be aged on fresh English oak staves. It will be a beer that will be fantastic to drink fresh when the hop character will come shining through or to be aged for months or even years to allow the malt flavours to develop and mature.

Simon Bartlett commented “I brewed the first beer about 7 years ago, it has been a labour of love over the 999 beers and I can’t wait to see how our first vintage ale tastes.” The BBF is a local success story, having turned a derelict former brewing building back into a brewery employing 8 people and producing 21000 pints of beer a week.

The BBF have brewed some exciting and different craft beers over the last 12 months, including the current Champion Bottled Beer in the south-west Southville Hop and there is a big project to produce 12 Stouts for Christmas. As well as firm favourite Milk Stout, there will be a Chocolate Stout and Imperial Stout, whilst some of the stouts are being aged in Whisky casks, and another has been infused with 25kg of raspberries.

This weekend we will be...

2011-09-09T12:26:00.004+01:00

Watching lots of Rugby
Cheering on England (& Wales apparently - Simon)
Opening the Shop 10 - 1
Looking forward to Factoberfest next weekend
Checking on the beers (Milk Stout, Independence, Sunrise x2, No.7 & Chocolate Stout)
Thinking happy thoughts about the Chocolate Stout that tastes amazing as it ferments
Running the Bristol Half Marathon (just Brett)
Reading about us on the Guardian website
Buying the Pieminister cookbook (& getting a free pie!)
& hoping you all have a fun beery weekend

Beers for Factoberfest

2011-09-09T09:31:00.003+01:00

A little bit of a tease for next weekends Factoberfest...

I think we will have 13 BBF beers including Vanilla Milk Stout, Oak-aged No7, Saison, a dry-hopped version of Sunrise, Ultimate Stout, Southville Hop, Amber5 & our new Chocolate Stout.

I hope this gets the mouth watering, if not there will also be beers from

Arbor, Fyne Ales, Otley, Milestone, Keystone, Devilfish, Wessex & some unfined specials from Moor.

There is more info on Factoberfest here & here

Beer & Food Matching at The Apple Tree

2011-09-06T09:25:00.006+01:00

We begin our Beer & Food Matching Tour next week at The Apple Tree Inn at West Pennard near Glastonbury. Lee and Ally Evans re-opened the Apple Tree Inn, between the villages of West Pennard and Pilton in April this year and have transformed it into a thriving business producing food of the highest quality whilst keeping a relaxed pub feel to the charming old coaching inn. Renowned chef Lee has sourced his food locally and uses his vast Michelin star experience to produce inspired and exciting dishes.

For far too long beer has been the poor relative on the British dinner table but the recent craft beer explosion is beginning to change this, beer has never been as widely available, varied and creative as it is now. On Thursday 15th September the BBF team are taking their beer and food gospel on the road to the Apple Tree to match beers to each of Lee’s dishes. The BBF brewers will be working closely with Lee, who is creating a 6 course tasting menu, to find the perfect beer to go with each course. Andrew Cooper from the BBF said “We have a range of about 12 beers to choose our pairings from with a huge range of styles from very hoppy pale ales to stouts, wheat beers and old English ales. We will also bring some of our newest beers down for everyone to try for the first time.”

The evening will be a celebration of beer, using beer in the cooking of some of the dishes, and even using the raw ingredients at different stages throughout the meal. Lee said “I am excited by the challenge of incorporating some of the raw ingredients into the meal, the array of flavours in the beers should make for some really unique and flavourful dishes.”

The whole evening including 6 course taster menu and partnering beers will only cost £40. For further information or to book your place, call the Apple Tree Inn on 01749 890060. www.appletreeglastonbury.co.uk http://www.appletreeglastonbury.co.uk

It will be the first chance to taste our new Raspberry Stout aged for 3 months on 25kg of Raspberries...

This week in the brewery...

2011-09-02T08:27:00.002+01:00

we have been...

Brewing Independence, No7 (twice), Sunrise (twice), Acer & Bristol Stout
Bottling Southville Hop
Finalising details for Brew1000
Sorting out where to put the bar this year at Factoberfest
Looking forward to judging the National Homebrew Competition this weekend
Opening the Shop on Saturday 10 - 1
Going to be at Hotel Du Vin on Saturday & Sunday, so come & taste our wares
Starring in Beer Factory - The Movie!
& shaking our heads in disbelief at how much bottled beer we are selling - please bear with us why we try to catch up...

Beer Factory on Film

2011-08-31T15:14:00.002+01:00

Please let us know what you think of our new movie!

Filmed & Directed by the brilliant Dan Habershon-Butcher.

And if anyone needs some wooden actors or rabbits in headlights, please contact us directly at the brewery, all acting work gratefully accepted...

This week in the brewery...

2011-08-24T09:18:00.002+01:00

we are...

Brewing No7 (three times), Sunrise (twice), Acer & Chocolate Stout
Having oak casks refurbished
Tasting Worcesterberries
Tasting Coffee
Installing new computers
Enjoying a fantastic public tour
Being surprised by our new beer
& Loving the film that Dan the Cameraman has produced

Windmill Hill City Farm Beer

2011-08-24T08:39:00.004+01:00

We are going to pick up some Redcurrants & Worcester Berries from the Windmill Hill City Farm today, they will be going into some freshly refurbished oak casks with No.7.

In a couple of months time lets hope for a beautifully complex beer with vanilla oak and tart fruits combining with the toffee malt flavours in the beer...

This week in the brewery...

2011-08-19T08:55:00.004+01:00

we have...

Brewed Independence, No.7 (twice), Sunrise (twice), Acer & Southville Hop
Bottled Bristol Stout & Gold
Sold lots of t-shirts (& beers!)
Welcomed Sam Burrows to the team
Tried to find a name for a beer
Changed our minds about a million times
Looking forward to selling loads of Independence at "See No Evil" on Saturday
Shop open Saturday 10 - 1 with Head Brewer Chris at the helm
Still have a few places left for Monday nights tour
Starting to get some menu's through for the Beer & Food Tour
Planning the beers for Factoberfest on 17th & 18th September
& working on the Oscar's acceptance speech after some stunning acting in our new film master piece - filmed & edited by the super patient & creative Dan Habershon-Butcher

4 Silver's

2011-08-17T10:55:00.002+01:00

The Taste of the West Awards are out this morning and we're very pleased to have picked up 4 Silver Awards for Hefe, Gold, Milk Stout & Southville Hop.

The BBF Beer & Food Tour

2011-08-17T10:15:00.004+01:00

For far too long beer has been the poor relative on the British dinner table but the recent craft beer explosion is beginning to change this, beer has never been as widely available, varied and creative as it is now. The BBF team are taking their beer and food gospel on the road with events in some of the countries great eateries. We have a range of about 14 beers (buy beers here) to choose our pairings from with a huge range of styles from very hoppy pale ales to stouts, wheat beers and old English ales. We will also bring some of our newest beers down for everyone to try for the first time.

The 2011 Beer & Food Tour is coming together - throughout September & October we will be taking all sorts of beer & food matching events from Bristol to Cheltenham, Somerset & London. Details of each of the individual events will follow soon and will include Beer & Food matching meals, beer & cheese, beer & chocolate, beer & foraged food... and we will be taking events to the Hotel Du Vin, Flinty Red, The Apple Tree Inn and many others, as well as working with the likes of Trethowan's Dairy, Mark's Bread and this years Masterchef winner Tim Anderson. We will be promoting the huge spectrum of flavours in different beer styles that can compliment and even accentuate those in different foods.

The evenings will be a chance to celebrate beer, using beer in the cooking of some of the dishes, and even using the raw ingredients at different stages throughout the meal. Lee Evans from the Apple Tree near Glastonbury said “I am excited by the challenge of incorporating some of the raw ingredients into the meal, the array of flavours in the beers should make for some really unique and flavourful dishes.” Some of the events will focus on a particular type of food, such as cheese or chocolate, whilst others will focus on the skills of the chefs.

Friday 9th September - The Pump House, Bristol - Foraged Food & Beer matching
Thursday 15th September - The Apple Tree Inn, West Pennard, Nr Glastonbury, Somerset - 6 course tasting menu, featuring local produce lovingly turned into Michelin standard dishes £40
Wednesday 28th September - Butcher & Grill, Wimbledon - details to follow
Monday 3rd October - The Brewery - Beer, Bread & Cheese with Mark's Bread & Trethowan's Dairy
Friday 14th October - Hotel Du Vin, Bristol - A 5 course meal, using local produce paired with local beer
Tuesday 18th October - Flinty Red, Bristol - Matt is putting together a stunning menu, he's even coming to brew a beer with us especially for the dinner
Monday 24th October - Fleet River Bakery, London - with 2011 Masterchef Winner Tim Anderson - details to follow
Other dates coming soon...

For far too long beer has been seen as a simple drink not worthy of food and tasting events, but we want to redress the balance and take our range of beers around the country to show how well beer can work with food, and how complex and exciting different beer styles are. It promises to be an amazing tour, there are so many great chefs and food producers we will be working with, we can’t wait to change people’s perceptions about beer.

FACTOBERFEST

2011-08-15T10:03:00.004+01:00

The Bristol Beer Factory and Tobacco Factory are hosting their annual Factoberfest on the weekend of the 17^th & 18^th September. This is the biggest Beer Festival yet with 30 beers and local ciders, it is over the whole weekend rather than just one day, and includes a market on both Saturday and Sunday, a Beer Flight with the BBF Brewers and live music playing throughout the weekend.

The Factoberfest is a family friendly event and entry is free, there is a kid’s area, a full weekend of live music, and two markets. On Saturday the Tobacco Factory car park is hosting a Craft Market between 12 and 4pm and on Sunday a Food Market takes over the same space between 10 and 2.30pm.

There are over 30 beers, from local breweries in Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire & Gloucestershire as well as some from our favourite craft breweries from further afield. This promises to be a fabulous festival with the Bristol Beer Factory providing 12 beers including some new and exciting specials.

Bristol Beer Factory’s Simon Bartlett commented “We have gone all out this year to create the biggest Factoberfest yet, the event has been growing over the last couple of years, and this year promises to be the best yet."

Factoberfest is on the 17^th & 18^th September from midday, entry is free.

Saturday Shop

2011-08-05T14:01:00.003+01:00

The Shop is open as usual this week from 10am to 1pm next to Mark's bread on North St.

Tomorrow we have bottles of our new Project Progress "Acer" and a new (& the brewer reckons our best) batch of Southville Hop. There are also mini-casks of Acer, Sunrise & No.7.

Our new T-shirts are available to buy for only £12.50, there aren't many so come & get them!

Saturday Beer Tasting

2011-08-05T12:40:00.002+01:00

On Saturday 6th August we will be doing a tasting at the fabulous Arch House Deli in Clifton village from 11am - 2.30pm. Lots of different beers to try and lots of goodies in the shop to buy!

Come along and try some of our beers before or after a spot of lunch in Clifton, a lovely way to spend a Saturday.

The BBF Beer & Food Tour

2011-08-05T09:42:00.001+01:00

Awaiting a few more dates and details will follow very soon...

First event is at the Pump House on September 9th

Friday in the brewery...

2011-08-05T09:20:00.002+01:00

and we are...

Brewing Bristol Stout
Planning more brews for the 12 Stouts for Christmas
Getting the recipe ready for our 1000th Brew
Looking forward to bottling some Independence
Buying some vanilla pods
Selling t-shirts in the shop tomorrow
Decanting lots of bright beer
& feeling very rock'n'roll

Brewery Tour for a tenner

2011-08-05T07:49:00.002+01:00

Our next Tour for a tenner is on Monday 22nd August at 7pm. The tour lasts for 2 hours includes plenty of beers, a pint glass, bottle opener & a bottle to take home. If you would like to know what others think of the tour read this

Call or email us now to book your place on the next tour
0117 902 6317
sales@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk

Monday at the brewery...

2011-08-01T17:23:00.003+01:00

and we are

Brewing Sunrise (twice)
Drinking Independence
Listening to Credence Clearwater Revival (apparently)
Welcoming our newest recruit; Sam Burrows, master of the sale
Admiring ourselves in our new t-shirts
& looking forward to drinking a lot of very strong US beers at the BSF bar at GBBF tomorrow

August Pint Pot

2011-08-01T17:18:00.000+01:00

Thursday in the brewery...

2011-07-28T16:17:00.002+01:00

and we are...

Brewing Hefe
Racking Independence
Delivering all over the place
Dealing in insulation
Preparing to export some beer to Yorkshire
Listening to nothing... who's DJ today?
Putting up a crazy amount of beer to do bright for the Harbour Festival
Don't forget - Shop open Saturday 10 - 1
Looking forward to getting our new t-shirts
& wondering how much money we could raise for charity if we cut Brett's hair off????

T-Shirts

2011-07-28T16:11:00.002+01:00

Our lovely MillerDesign designed range of t-shirts are available next week for only £12.50 from the brewery. Snap them up quickly as there aren't many.

Should make us easy to spot at GBBF on Tuesday!

This weekend we will be...

2011-07-22T13:14:00.003+01:00

Opening the shop as usual 10 - 1pm (next to Mark's Bread on North St)
Looking forward to lots of bottling next week
Anticipating Dan's next filming plans
Drinking a pint of Southville Hop at the Tobacco Factory
Watching some Cricket
Reminding you that there are still a few places left on Monday night's tour
& Drinking some Saison's

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday in the Brewery...

2011-07-20T10:54:00.002+01:00

and we are

Brewing Sunrise... twice
Labelling the Milk Stout we bottled yesterday
Listening to the Ramones (I expect)
Tasting our new Saison
Delivering in & out of Bristol
Hoping to get the last few dates fixed for the Beer & Food Tour
& trying to fill the last bit of room on the van to London tomorrow

Tour for a Tenner

2011-07-18T14:39:00.003+01:00

The next Tour for a Tenner is on Monday night at 7pm - it costs £10, lasts 2 hours, includes plenty of beer, a bottle opener & a bottle to take away.

We are always told its great value, you'll learn a lot, try lots of different things and hopefully drink great "Craft Beers" forever more.

Come along and learn about our secrets, and try our brand new beer, Saison!

Book your place now on 0117 902 6317 or sales@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk

This weekend we have been...

2011-07-18T13:20:00.002+01:00

Having a record day in the Shop on Saturday
Visiting our friends at Marble Brewery in Manchester
Getting excited about Saison coming out at the end of the week
Designing t-shirts
& Drinking lots of great beers, Cheers!

All Things Italian

2011-07-17T14:24:00.004+01:00

We have paired our beers to the All Things Italian menu for next Saturday

http://yfrog.com/kjpelbcj

Let us know what you think and come and pick up your beers this week.

Independent Beers for Independent Drinkers

2011-07-17T13:41:00.006+01:00

Our range of exciting, interesting, flavourful and complex beers seem to confuse some people. I am often told about some of our beers "I wouldn't want more than a pint of it", like that's a negative aspect and all beers must be session beers. Unlike the majority of brewers in this country not all of our beers are brewed to be sessionable, we don't base our beers on how many pints will be drunk in a pub, we want to brew beers that promote conversation and have layers of complexity, not all breweries need to be the same. We brew beers that we want to drink, and hopefully you do too!

As our beers aren't brewed for the accountant we can maximise the ingredients and experiment with styles. Our range of cask specials available next week are an eclectic bunch including a Milk Stout, a Saison, Southville Hop (US style IPA) & our Ultimate Stout (strong stout with a Belgian yeast) and next week we are brewing Independence, a continuously hopped APA. None of these are heavily sessionable, but they are all big-flavoured delicious beers.

Milk Stout is mid strength at 4.5% has a creamy chocolate sweetness, roasted coffee bitterness and a hint of dark fruit.
Saison is a rustic Belgian farmhouse style, which use a yeast that gives spicy berry fruit notes to the beer, we have tried to exentuate these notes with the hops we have used and a hint of black pepper.
Southville Hop is at 6.5% a strong and hugely aromatic US-style IPA, 4 varieties of American hops give beautiful tropical fruit aromas and flavours with a big piney resinous moreish bitterness.
Independence is a 4.6% pale ale that we have continuously hopped to give a huge hop character without too much bitterness. Brewed as a one-off special, but has been so well received that we have kept on brewing it.
Ultimate Stout is a strong (7.7%) stout that we brew with a Belgian yeast that gives a very drinkable tartness to this thick black beer, a beautiful end of night beer, with layers of complexity to it.

I hope you will seek them out, as they are a bit different!

Great Taste Awards Gold

2011-07-15T14:56:00.002+01:00

Hooray!

Hefe & Southville Hop have both received a Gold Star from the Great Taste Awards today.

Thursday in the brewery...

2011-07-14T13:27:00.003+01:00

we are...

Brewing No.7 for bottling
Keeping a close eye on our new Saison as it finishes fermenting
Racking (yet more) Sunrise
Buying some beers
Getting the creative juices flowing with some exciting new ideas
Thinking about t-shirt designs
& taking lots of orders for bright beer for collection from the shop this Saturday

Hefe Wins Beer of the Festival

2011-07-13T07:53:00.002+01:00

A great way to start the day!

We have just heard that Hefe has won Beer of the Festival at The 6th Cheltenham Beer Festival, and that Acer made the Final 3 and was Highly Commended. Good news indeed, always great to hear that your beers are being appreciated.

The Cheltenham Beer Festival raised over £12k for the Samaritans this year and was a complete sell out.

Milk Stout

2011-07-12T14:43:00.002+01:00

"The Stout that changes minds" is now available as a bottle-conditioned beer.

Sweet, creamy chocolatey, roasted coffee bitterness and a hint of dark fruits combine to make this everybody's favourite stout.

I'm sure your all asking why we are now doing it as a bottle-conditioned beer?
Firstly, its because we have improved our bottling abilities at the brewery and so feel we can take on another beer to bottle ourselves (it was previously bottled for us).
Secondly it allows us to brew Milk Stout in the cask more often as well, and as we never seem to be able to keep everyone happy on that score this should help make it available more often.

We are thrilled with the first few bottles we have tasted and think it is a change for the better, so please let us know what you think.

The Saturday Shop

2011-07-12T09:52:00.003+01:00

The Saturday morning shop has been improving every week and we have been having lots of great feedback about it. For those of you unaware, you can also buy direct from the brewery on Durnford St (shared courtyard with Clayton Cars BS3 2AW) Monday - Friday 9 - 6ish, we also brew late a couple of days a week, so call us if you can't make those times.

The Saturday shop is on North St next to Mark's Bread, open every Saturday morning from 10 - 1 for bottles, mini-casks & other goodies. If you want draught beer - 18 or 36 pint boxes please call us in advance (by Thursday evening if possible) and we will have it ready for your collection on Saturday morning.

If you love our beers please nominate us...

2011-07-12T09:27:00.002+01:00

The prestigious Radio 4 Food & Farming Awards for 2011 are here, if you love our beers and would like to nominate us, please do it here...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/ffa/2011/nominate/drinks-producer/

Tuesday in the Brewery

2011-07-12T09:10:00.003+01:00

we are...

Brewing Southville Hop
Racking Sunrise
Delivering in Bristol
Sending out new Bottle-conditioned Milk Stout for the first time
Arranging the next London delivery
Admiring Hayseed Dixie drinking our beer!
& Trying to work out how to export...

Friday in the brewery...

2011-07-08T14:37:00.002+01:00

we have been...

Brewing a Saison (with black pepper & rosemary)
Thinking about an IPA for IPA Day
Racking lots of bright beer for party's this weekend
Getting ready to open the shop tomorrow (10 - 1)
Listening to Dire Straits
Looking forward to Bristol's Big Pirate Party on Sunday www.facebook.com/bigpirateparty

July Pint Pot

2011-07-06T07:51:00.001+01:00

This weekend look out for us...

2011-06-29T10:56:00.002+01:00

At Grillstock - we are sharing the bars with Orchard Pig - there will be 6 cask beers, all of our bottles and mini-casks too - come down and celebrate BBQ's, music & beer, and the weather looks great too...

At the Shop - come and pick up your weekend beer on North St, next to Mark's Bread - please order your draught beer in advance, but all of our bottles and mini-casks (at the best prices) are available as well as gift packs, glasses & bottle openers

& today we are...

Brewing Sunrise
Racking Sunrise & Acer
Putting insulation on the roof
& cleaning, cleaning, cleaning

Thursday in the brewery...

2011-06-23T09:22:00.002+01:00

and we are

Brewing Gold twice today
Racking Bristol Stout & Acer
Listening to Rush!
Cleaning FV's
Filling boxes of bright beer - order your weekend beer today
Preparing to open the Shop again on Saturday (10 - 1)
Sorting out a London delivery run
& looking forward to brewing Ultimate Stout tomorrow

Mini Casks for Glastonbury

2011-06-23T09:16:00.002+01:00

Pick up your mini casks for the Glastonbury festival at the Apple Tree Inn, just down the road from the main entrance.

Or if your already in and can't believe the prices for a beer, nip down the road to the Apple Tree and pick up 9 pints for only £20 and have a warming curry or one of their burgers whilst your there.

Tour for a Tenner

2011-06-23T09:04:00.002+01:00

Our next 'Tour for a tenner' is on Monday 25th July.

It starts at 7pm and lasts about 2 hours, includes all of your beers, a glass, bottle opener & a bottle to take home.

Book now to reserve your place by calling 0117 9026317 or sales@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk

- if you've never been to a beer event before or think you don't like beer(!) read this http://tinyurl.com/5rb5vo5

This weekend we have...

2011-06-20T08:25:00.003+01:00

Congratulated Brett on the birth of his baby son
Opened our new shop (every Saturday 10 - 1)
Been busy at the Festival of Nature Bar with the Orchard Pig's
Had a Beer & Cheese Tasting at the brewery
Looking forward to our Brewery Tour on Tuesday (fully booked)
Preparing for our visit to the Pop-Up Hotel for tonight's charity bash
Been drinking Independence
& looking forward to getting our brewery back from the builders!

Thursday in the brewery

2011-06-16T15:04:00.003+01:00

we have been

Brewing Sunrise
Packing Father's Day boxes
Labelling Bristol Stout bottles
Cleaning FV's
Listening to Brett
Racking lots of bright beer for the weekend
Preparing for the Festival of Nature
Looking forward to going to Charles Faram's tomorrow for some quality hop time

New Bottle Prices in the Brewery Shop

2011-06-16T12:14:00.002+01:00

To celebrate the opening of our new shop this Saturday (10 am - 1pm) we have done some brand new bottle prices if you buy direct from us at the brewery or from the Saturday shop.

We look forward to seeing you, next to Mark's Bread on North St, BS3 1JP

Yesterday at the brewery

2011-06-16T09:05:00.002+01:00

We were

Brewing Independence
Bottling Bristol Stout
Racking Sunrise
Visiting Devon
Walking through fields of barley

SHOP OPENING ON SATURDAY

2011-06-16T08:53:00.002+01:00

That’s right, the Bristol Beer Factory Shop is finally opening on Saturday 18th June, and then every Saturday morning between 10am and 1pm. Come and get your beer for the weekend directly from us. Bottles and draught beer are available from our new shop, next to Mark’s Bread on North Street, BS3.

Saturday mornings on North Street are usually quite civilised affairs as people wander, enjoy a bit of breakfast or join the queue outside Mark’s Bread for the weekend sourdough….but not anymore, we are changing all of that.

Come and pay us a visit and try out flavour packed range of hand crafted artisan beers, from the traditional to the downright outrageous. There are 9 bottle varieties currently available with others on the way and cask specials galore coming up this summer. Hoppy pale ales, stouts, black IPA, barrel ageing…..it’s all going on!

Please order your draught beer in advance, it will take us a while to get our stock levels right for the shop. Order bright beer by Friday lunchtime at the latest on 0117 902 6317. We have 9 pint mini casks as well as 18 & 36 pint polypins. If you’re not sure what you need, please give us a call as we will only have limited amounts of bright beer available each Saturday from 10-1.

Monday in the brewery...

2011-06-13T19:49:00.002+01:00

we have been...

Brewing Acer
Labelling Milk Stout
Delivering to London
Playing with Powerpoint
Listening to S Club 7
Building a Cold Room
& someone's cleaned the stairs!

& there are still 10 places left for the tour next week

Friday in the brewery...

2011-06-10T14:27:00.002+01:00

we have been...

Building a Cold Room
Unloading a lorry load of insulation
Racking Sunrise & Independence
Listening to "God knows what, but i wish they'd turn it down..."
Clearing the brewers desks
Talking about Beer & Food Matching events
& planning the weekends drinking!

Father's Day

2011-06-09T15:27:00.002+01:00

It's Father's Day next Sunday (19th) and what better present can there be than some BBF beers. To make it even easier to get hold of some beers we will be opening our new Saturday morning shop from 10 - 1 on the 18th June. All of our bottles and draught beer will be available from the shop. Please order draught beers (9, 18 or 36 pints) in advance to avoid long waits or disappointment.

Please get your online orders to us by Wednesday to make sure you get your beer in time for Father's Day. We have a special Father's day Mixed case for the bargain price of £23...

Enjoy!

Thursday in the brewery...

2011-06-09T11:44:00.002+01:00

we have mostly been...

Brewing - No.7 (again)
Bottling - Bristol Hefe
Racking - Sunrise & Milk Stout
Listening to The Decemberists (they are good & Canadian apparently!)
Tasting - Black IPA's (later)

Today in the Brewery

2011-06-08T16:06:00.002+01:00

we have been

Brewing - No7
Racking - Independence
Bottling - Milk Stout
Delivering to (amongst many others) The Grand Pier (W-S-M)
Phoning London
Listening to The Specials
& considering how we can play brewery cricket

Bristol Beer Factory

Beer & Food Event

Collaboration Brew Day

The Bristol Collaboration 2012

A new beer - The Bitter Californian

Today in the Brewery

12 more Stouts

Beer & Food Matching at Montpelier Basement

Online Sales

Next Public Brewery Tour

Bristol Independents

This week at the BBF

2011 Highlights

January Pint Pot

Public Brewery Tour

2012 Homebrew Competition

Beers of the Year

Public Brewery Tour

Some reviews...

BBC Food & Farming Awards Winners!

Friday in the brewery...

Coming up...

Barley Mow Manager Vacancy

Beer Dinner at the Apple Tree Inn

Tuesday in the Brewery

The Friday Question

What happens to the malt once we've finished with it?Well it makes a delicious sweet treat for Mike's cows.

The 12 Stouts of Christmas on Sale Now

Caption Competition

Brewery Tour for a Tenner

Friday Sing Song

Bristletoe

More 12 Stouts News

Wednesday in the Brewery...

BBC Food & Farming Awards Finalist!

Independent Blog

What does Vintage taste like?

Vintage & Pick & Mix

Beeramisu

Monday at the brewery...

Flinty Red Beer Dinner

Bristol Vintage 2011

Beer Dinner at Hotel Du Vin

Tuesday in the Brewery

Beer, Bread & Cheese

October Newsletter

Beer & Food Matching at the Butcher & Grill

Beer, Bread & Cheese Tour

Butcher & Grill Dinner

Factoberfest Cider & Perry

Factoberfest Beer List

Wednesday in the Brewery...

Brew 1000, the Bristol Vintage 2011

This weekend we will be...

Beers for Factoberfest

Beer & Food Matching at The Apple Tree

This week in the brewery...

Beer Factory on Film

This week in the brewery...

Windmill Hill City Farm Beer

This week in the brewery...

4 Silver's

The BBF Beer & Food Tour

FACTOBERFEST

Saturday Shop

Saturday Beer Tasting

The BBF Beer & Food Tour

Friday in the brewery...

Brewery Tour for a tenner

Monday at the brewery...

August Pint Pot

Thursday in the brewery...

T-Shirts

This weekend we will be...

Wednesday in the Brewery...

Tour for a Tenner

This weekend we have been...

All Things Italian

Independent Beers for Independent Drinkers

Great Taste Awards Gold

What happens to the malt once we've finished with it?

Well it makes a delicious sweet treat for Mike's cows.