A Proper Pub Crawl

Drinking through Bristol, a decade of Transmitter, and a brewery comeback story

Magic hour at Lost and Grounded Brewers in Bristol last Friday

I had a whirlwind Memorial Day Weekend trip to the U.K. (the first of two trips there in the span of a month), and I can’t stress enough just how much I absolutely love the city of Bristol’s beer scene. It is, in my opinion, the best city for beer in the whole of the country, with practically every brewery punching above its weight, a number of stellar pubs celebrating local beer, and a youthful spirit that keeps the vibe light. If you get a chance, it’s well worth a visit.

As far as breweries go, I already featured Lost & Grounded Brewers in the newsletter a couple weeks back, and it’s still churning out some absolutely lovely lagers. Left Handed Giant has a great brewpub right in the center of town that’s well worth your time as well. Moor Beer is another standout that consistently impresses me. And Wiper & True’s airy, colorful Old Market taproom always has a great vibe.

Of course, a pub crawl or two is always in order in Bristol, and on each return visit here, I uncover another gem (usually thanks to Boak & Bailey’s Bristol pub guide) to add to my list on subsequent trips. Small Bar usually anchors my crawls, a cozy spot that always has a stellar selection. The Llandoger Trow, a pub that dates back to the 15th century, is a stone’s throw away and features some wonderful ales and lagers, even as it feels like a big tourist draw. The Kings Head, run by local Good Chemistry Brewing, is a more recent addition to my rotation, and it’s a good stop on the way to The Barley Mow, another gem that I’ve visited on every trip to Bristol. On this trip, I took in two new-to-me spots: The Swan with Two Necks, a small, friendly spot tucked away on a side street where I made new friends with some beer nerds, and the Hillgrove Porter Stores, a pub with lots of nooks and crannies that I regret having not checked out sooner. A bit off the beaten path, I found myself at Bruhaha one night, a lovely little micropub where they soon will make their own beer, and Alpha Bottle Shop, where talk of the best hazy and sour makers in England dominated conversation.

A Sampler Tray of NYC Beer News

Would you hate me if I ordered a flight right now? No? Okay, then. Let’s run through a flight of beer goings-on in New York City.

A Decade of Transmitter

Time for the city’s first big beer celebration of the summer! Brooklyn’s Transmitter Brewing is celebrating a decade in business with their 10 Year Anniversary Party tomorrow. From its humble beginnings under the Pulaski Bridge to its present-day success in the Navy Yard, they’ll be pulling out all the stops, with special bottle pours (think BIG bottles), new releases, a special tap list, and food from Dog Day Afternoon. The fun gets underway Friday at 4pm in Building 77 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and runs through the evening.

Pizza Party returns on Staten Island this July

The most Staten Island beer event possible returns for its fourth year on July 20th. Kills Boro Brewing’s Pizza Party — a beer festival featuring some of the region’s top brewers and the island’s top pizzas — will be held again this year at the Smug Harbor Cultural Center, the beneficiary of the fundraising event. The outdoor event is a four-hour, picnic-style celebration of beer and pizza in a lovely park setting. General Admission tickets are available now for $70.

Celebrate Pride with NYC-brewed beer

Mark Pride Month with a beery celebration put on by the NYC Brewers Guild on the roof at Greenpoint Beer and Ale Co. on Sunday, June 23rd from noon to 4pm. The pay-as-you-go mini-fest will feature beers from a lineup of great New York City brewers like Fifth Hammer, Finback, Dyke Beer, and Torch & Crown — all beers brewed especially for Pride. Tickets start at $15 for entry, and you’ll have your choice of full and half pours up on the roof for purchase. A portion of proceeds from the event will go to the Ali Forney Center.

Greats of Craft opens new location in Long Island City

I mentioned this a few weeks ago just ahead of its soft opening, but Greats of Craft’s second location in Long Island City is open for business. The offshoot of the Manhattan beer bar is a huge, sprawling space that features a multi-level indoor space, a rooftop bar, and 30 taps of beer with a local focus, plus a kitchen churning out beer pairing-friendly bites. There’s also coolers lining an all-day coffee shop space, well-stocked with cans and bottles for takeaway, a surprisingly rare find in this booming neighborhood. The space is located 10–15 43rd Ave., at 11th Street just a block south of the Queensboro Bridge, and is open seven days a week from 7:30am on weekdays and 8am on weekends.

Some Barcade and Arcade news

It’s not technically beer news, but in Barcade’s 20th year, they’ve really moved on up in the world — now curating an arcade at Rockefeller Center’s ice rink for the summer. Squeeze in some vintage arcade games at their “R-Cade” if you somehow find yourself in Midtown. The pop-up is open through October 1st.

By the way, save the date for Barcade’s big 20th (!!!) anniversary bash at their original Brooklyn location this fall, on Friday, October 18th.

Brewery Tracker

Total brewery count: 3,432
Total breweries visited in 2024: 148
Total breweries visited in the United Kingdom: 197

Brewery Visit of the Week

Brewery #3432, Skinners Brewery, Truro, England (Visited 26-May-2024)

Who doesn’t like a good comeback story? Opened in 1997, Skinners is a brewery that rooted itself as a proudly Cornish brewery. One thing I found in my travels around Cornwall, and around England in general, is that folks from this area identify themselves as Cornish first and foremost. So when a small, locally beloved brewery here making largely traditional styles enters into administration and closes, as Skinners did in 2022, folks in Cornwall were torn up about it. Enter Goodh Brewing Co., a more modern-focused brewing outfit in the county, who saw the passion from fans of Skinners after news of the closure and eventually purchased the brewery early last year, bringing it back to life.

On my visit last weekend, it wasn’t just living again, it was thriving. On the a Bank Holiday Weekend, they hosted a Sunday Session on the brewery’s patio, and it was absolutely packed with people drinking their beers from colorful red cups decorated with the Skinners logo. I really loved the Lushingtons, a nicely-hopped IPA that tows the line between traditional American and English styles. A pint on cask was delightful on this kind of gray, kind of mild, kind of wet afternoon. Goodh’s beers are on tap here, too, and their Little Fish NEIPA was very well-balanced and far more subtle in terms of hop character than those green, clobber-you-over-the-head-with-hops versions you might find elsewhere. Even though I never got to visit in its former incarnation, I’m happy that Skinners is back, and it appears a lot of other folks are, too.

The Doom and Gloom Tracker

At least 3 breweries I’ve visited closed or announced their closure this week:

• Brewery #220, Lagunitas Brewing Company - Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (Visited 30-Aug-2014)

• Brewery #1458, Deep Ellum Brewing Company, Dallas, Texas (Visited 10-Feb-2019)

• Brewery #2231, Company Brewing, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Visited 30-May-2021)

The Weekly Reader

• Some tough love for small brewers from Scott Metzger of Craft ‘Ohana [Dave Infante, VinePair]

• …and some words of encouragement from author Pete Brown [PeteBrown.net]

• A backgrounder on my favorite pub snack in the UK [Rachel Hendry, Pellicle]

• …and a backgrounder on my favorite beer style in Australia [Grace Lee-Weitz, Hop Culture]

One Last Thing

I’m pretty torn up about the news from the West Coast this week, where Seattle stalwart Brouwer’s Cafe is closing at the end of June after a 19-year run. I don’t think there’s a beer bar outside of New York City that I’ve visited more than Brouwer’s, and it was a formative part of my beer discovery phase. I had a lot of firsts there as far as beers go, from soaking up the West Coast hop bombs of the IBU arms race of the early 2010s to splitting hard-to-find bottles of Belgian imports with friends. Brouwer’s was a temple to beer appreciation, with a dizzying menu, a cavernous space, and a location that made their bar my starting base for many brewery crawls through Fremont and Ballard. I’m going to miss Brouwer’s beer selection, passionate staff, and the frites dearly. Especially the frites.

Cheers,
Chris