Beerd, Bristol

A new (end of 2011) venture from Bath Ales, attempting to implant a dash of the ‘craft’ beer scene into Bristol. Situated in a converted cafe, the large glazed exterior is a good place to sit and people watch. The interior has been done out in a fairly garish manner which probably cost an arm and a leg. The bar is made of wood panels including chunks of old doors whilst the bright plastic furniture is straight out of an infant school; very Nathan Barley. The cask beer pumps have handlebar covers and cricket bat grips attached. Perhaps a better fist has been made of the wallpaper on one side (depicting many overseas brewery motifs) and the fixture behind the bar from which the key keg beers are dispensed which looks a giant beer barrel although I am told that it is actually meant to resemble New York-style water towers. Despite being in the depths of winter the heating was seemingly at a minimum and our coats were kept on during our entire stay. Beer-wise, there’s plenty of imported and UK-based keg beer along with a range of 30-odd bottles. Cask ale was available - six in total - with Dark Star and Bath Ales Festivity on my visit, crazily priced around the £4 mark; both of these beers could be found for 50p less elsewhere in the city (indeed, Festivity was over the road in the Highbury Vaults) so this is basically a rip-off, especially given the condition of them was determinedly middling. Perhaps some value can be found in the imported stuff but I do wonder how much of this is about making pots of money from the well-moneyed locals and hoorays at the Uni. Too expensive, too pretentious. I’ll leave it to those who like to be *seen* drinking.