When I arrived in Bristol in May 2019, I did not expect to find a city full of friendly and nice people ready to enjoy their life in front of a good pint of beer after a day at work.
I had lived for 8 long years in London and the last 3 years in the countryside near Swindon without having great fun.
Once I started to work with professional tour guides of Bristol, they started to advise me about pubs where I could go and enjoy a good pint of ale because the city has a long tradition with beer.
They told me that is coming from the middle age because the drinking water at that time was dirty and full of bacterias, so the locals prefer drinking beer or gin.
Think that when I arrived in Bristol I did not know the difference between an ale and a lager.
In the capital, often I went to enjoy a few hours with the colleagues in a standard Wetherspoon where I always finished to drink a Stella or a Peroni.
The difference between an ale and a lager is very easy.
Ales and lagers are each made using different strains of yeast. Simply put, lagers are brewed using bottom-fermenting strains of yeast held at colder temperatures (around 40–52°F), while ales are brewed with a top-fermenting yeast that operates at warmer temperatures (around 55–77°F, usually)
The tradition about the production of ale is so strong in Bristol that you can follow a tour around the harbour and its breweries. I advise having a look at the tourist information once you arrive there.
During my visits to the Bristolian pubs, I discovered new flavours that never expected to find in a beer and the cost is cheaper than in the capital.
The Old Duke is one of the best ever been.
The first time I arrived at that pub was during a walking tour with one of my tour guide colleagues and a couple of Italian tourists who needed my help as a translator.
We arrived in the pub a Sunday afternoon and we could drink our pint listening to good pieces of jazz music because there is every Summer a famous jazz festival there.
Another one is The Bell in Stoke Croft, part of Bristol known for its graffiti and alternative artists.
Personally I think Stoke Croft is one of the best places in Bristol to visit the artistic side of the Bristoliums.
Another interesting pub is The Christmas step just at the bottom of the famous Christmas steps no far from the Harbour and the old town.
Another place where you can try different selections of ales and ciders is the Coronation next to Clifton Bridge.
During the year, I discovered also a Beer factory opened in 2014 where you can relax in its bar drinking different tastes of ale.
But the place where I prefer to meet my friends is called Zerodegrees.
This microbrewery and restaurant took Bristolians by surprise when it opened in 2004. The huge, modern building was made for the very purpose of brewing beers to sell directly to the public while they munch on pizzas in the vast dining room.
Back then we were surprised by the mango beer and black lager being served, and these same beers are still intriguing people today.
These are the pubs that personally I visited but they are all around the city with their own breweries and traditions where you can spend a nice evening out with friends drinking a good ale and eating a traditional fish and chips.
If you love beer, Bristol is really one of the best places in Europe to visit.
Thanks for reading
lauraartist68 