The pub in Bristol that doesn’t sell lager where you have to put your phone on silent

There are plenty of pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes on Bristol’s Gloucester Road, which is why many venture to this neck of the woods for nights out with friends and family, pub crawls, dinner, watching sporting events and to sample what the city has to offer in terms of food and drink.

The bustling high street is also home to Bristol’s first micropub, according to the team – The Drapers Arms. Opened at 447 Gloucester Road in late 2015, it’s an independent one-room brewpub that seats around 40 customers.

It describes itself as selling real ale “direct from the cask, sourced from independent producers, mostly small brewers based in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire”. Over 95% of its beers, in fact, are sourced from microbreweries within a 30-mile radius of the pub’s location.

Drapers Arms co-founder Garvan Hickey says you won’t find lager, Guinness, “beers with the word ‘smooth’ in their name” or any “cask stuff”, including cider, spirits or things like Jager. bombs here. He adds: “However, with no jukebox, fruit machines, WiFi or TV, I hope you’ll feel like you’re sitting in a good, old-fashioned traditional pub, with conversation with other punters as the only form of entertainment. , you’ll really enjoy it.”

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In this micropub, you’ll be able to get your hands on some regular bar snacks, but they don’t serve hot food here, and they always try to have at least one locally sourced vegan and gluten-free beer every day. And despite the lack of WiFi and contrary to popular belief, cell phones are not prohibited in this facility. Garvan says, “What you can do, though, is put that ringtone on silent — or better yet, turn it off entirely.

“If you really want to tweet, text, check-in, etc., we won’t stop you – but if you start answering or making phone calls, then expect to be asked to contribute to charity, clearly enough. If you’re sitting in The Drapers Arms wearing headphones, we’re going to assume you’re very lonely, a bit sad and might really want someone to come and talk to you.

With ‘beers and good conversation’ as its main focus, The Drapers Arms has between four and 7 beers on tap at any one time, with the aim of having at least one new beer every day. So far, Garvan (Garv) and his team have managed to serve over 1,000 different beers from over 150 different breweries and are hoping to bring back their beer festival which, before the Covid-19 pandemic, took place every six months. .

The original name of the micropub was “Blah, blah! which stood for “Bristol’s Little Ale House, Bishopston, Looking At Horfield”. However, due to its history as a Drapers store for more than 80 years, The Drapers Arms was the name chosen in the end.

Along with Garv, The Drapers Arms was originally set up by Vince Crocker – a “born and bred Bishopston local” who is also the owner and head brewer. Ashley Down Brewery. He recently left the business to restart production at the brewery after a fire.

Meanwhile, Garv, who moved to Bristol more than 30 years ago, has a background in sales and marketing and has lived and worked throughout the UK and Ireland. He says: “There are lots of really good and interesting places to visit and socialize on Gloucester Road and indeed all over Bristol.

“The Drapers Arms is not for everyone, of course. However, I just wanted to open a place near me where I would like to drink. That’s how I did it.

“I hope we provide a relaxed and sociable atmosphere. We believe that any pub, club or bar is only as good as the atmosphere created by its customers. We’ll be offering really good beer, clean glasses and tables and chairs – that’s about it.

“We can only rely on you, the good punters of Bishopston and Horfield, who enjoy a decent pint in good company, to make The Drapers Arms the kind of place other people will want to go – so far, both of good

“If a winning and successful pub formula was something that could be instantly created from scratch then, rest assured, the big pubcos, breweries and venture capitalists in this industry would have patented it, packaged it up and thrown it anywhere and everywhere – and I think we, they really try.”

The Drapers Arms is located at 447 Gloucester Road, Bishopston, BS7 8TZ and is open 5pm Monday to Thursday, 4pm Friday and 2pm Saturday and Sunday. It closes every night at 9.30pm and is also open from midday on most Bristol Rovers match days.