Wiper and True Barrel Store, St. Werburghs, Bristol

Official site of Wiper and True Barrel Store - wiperandtrue.com

Official site of Wiper and True Barrel Store - wiperandtrue.com

I was quite excited to check out this well-respected Bristol brewery at their source, having enjoyed a few of the beers over the years. At the time of visiting, this was the breweries main site although the barmaid informed me that they were due to move to a much bigger premises in a different part of the city by the end of 2021. That’s probably for the best, as I was pretty underwhelmed by this place, which has limited opening hours and didn’t have any indoor seating on this visit, which thankfully happened to be on an unseasonably hot September afternoon. The brewery occupies what looks like an old factory unit or workshop, and seemed to be jam-packed with brewing equipment, hence no room inside for seating – even the servery had been moved into the doorway, so that it was impossible to step inside. A move to a bigger site very much makes sense if they always have to operate in such cramped conditions. There’s a large tarmac area outside the front of the building, presumably a former car park, and plenty of canteen style benches were set up out here, many under a large shelter to one side. With no proper servery or beer boards, it fell to a very friendly and enthusiastic barmaid to talk me through the beer range with the help of a small printed menu. There were around a dozen beers to pick from including a stout and a few sours. I ended up with something called Kiwi Lilt, which sounds like a totally tropical can of pop but was actually a very tasty, if perhaps slightly over-carbonated, 5.3% pale ale. This was a visit of highs and lows – the great beer and super helpful service contrasted with the roadside drinking and lack of indoor seating meant that I came away with mixed feelings. And of course, all of this is likely to be academic, as they should be housed in a brand-new complex by now. I’m still glad I visited and will try to make it out to their new place at some point.