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Beer of the Week (w/e 14th April 2024) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
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The Barley Mow, Bristol
Bristol
BS2 0LF
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Barley Mow
Formerly owned by Wadworth’s and then bought by the Bristol Beer Factory in 2008, this is a popular and much improved pub in an area of Bristol where decent, traditional boozers seem to be in short supply. Well worth the short stroll from Temple Meads station if you've got some time to kill whilst waiting for a train.
It’s a single room bar with rough, reclaimed boards on the floor and cream painted walls with pale blue wood panelling down below. There is a brick fireplace at one end which I have seen in use in the colder months and a courtyard garden. A pile of board games were stacked up in one corner and there was also a small bookcase. A number of brewery related photographs were on one of the walls.
Food wise the menu offered a concise selection of pub grub dishes, with options such as steak, burger, fish & chips, etc., with most of the main courses being somewhere around a tenner. A chicken & chorizo jambalaya was a decent and tasty dish which went down very well, as did the subsequent key lime pie. There were also a number of jars of nuts on the bar if you’re no after a full meal.
There was a good range of beers on tap which on this visit consisted of Electric Brewing Spilt Milk, Vibrant Forest Chinook, Arbor’s The Devil Made Me Brew It, Moor S’Hop and a trio from Bristol Beer Factory – Bristol Expat, Nova and Seven. There were also a few more keg options with the current choices listed on a blackboard, and a very extensive bottled selection with printed menus on the tables. Ciders meanwhile were Orchard Pig Reveller and Pilton Somerset Keeved Cider, the latter being dispensed from a box perched on the end of the bar.
On 27th July 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1945 recommendations about 1858 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Barley Mow
Enjoyed our visit to this 2016 Good Beer Guide pub with a great selection of real ales available. We had a Bristol Beer Factory beer plus Boss Brawn.
On 24th April 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about Barley Mow
Bare boarded, one room back street local that is in the charge of Bristol Beer Factory. Stripped wood tables, mixture of seating and rather cosmopolitan, 20's music playing and there are board games available.
8 hand pulls plus lots of craft beers. Beer was a bit warm for my taste
On 1st April 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Barley Mow
A fine example of how to make a “should visit” pub from a back street local a bit off the beaten track. A one bar pub that has been made over to be modern in style , but not to the extent of being bland and characterless, with a friendly vibe and an impressive Real Ale offering.
XT6, Otley Amarilo, Bristol Beer 7, Moor Revival and Wild Beer Fresh made it into my note book from the eight pumps available, so I will bow to the previous PuG reviewers who recorded them all, and the couple I tried were in good condition.
It’s a bit tricky first time of asking to find it in the back streets north of the river to Temple Meads Station, but worth the effort and fully recommended as a first point of call for any Bristol crawl when alighting from the train.
On 1st December 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2109 recommendations about 1991 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Barley Mow
Like Rex, this was also my first visit to a Bristol pub and it seemed an appropriate starting point given that it is now the flagship pub for the city's Bristol Beer Factory Brewery. The pub looks like a traditional back street boozer on approach, but a recent refurbishment has created a smart, modern alehouse that straddles the line between classic pub and craft beer bar, creating something where customers favouring either style of pub will feel comfortable. The layout is fairly straightforward, with an angular servery on the rear wall roughly opposite the entrance and two decent seating areas either side. The room is bare boarded and has a smart dual colour scheme. Seating is a mix of standard chairs and fixed benches and the décor includes lots of small framed pictures, deer antlers and a few displays of small trinkets in little shelving units. A large stack of board games was piled up next to the entrance and there are a number of blackboards dotted around the place listing various food and drink options. The servery boasted a large Bristol Beer Factory mirror on the bar back ("A taste of independence"), from which a long row of beer taps emerge.
The cask options on this visit were Moor Revival. Wild Beer Fresh, Sunny Republic Shark Head, Bristol Beer Factory Seven, Wiper and True Milk Shake, XT 6 and Otley Amarillo. This was complimented by a large range of small batch keg beers, a strong bottled beer range and several real ciders. I thought I should try the sole Bristol Beer Factory cask offering, and was pleased to find it in good shape. The bar staff were friendly and knowledgeable about their products, with one barman talking us through the cider production process
I really liked this place and felt that quite a bit of thought had gone into the way the pub presented itself. It certainly impressed me more than the more overt craft beer bars on King Street for example. The pub is arguably a bit out of the way if you're based in the city centre, but you'll be well rewarded for making the walk out here.
On 29th November 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Barley Mow
Hard-to-find (well it was for me) backstreet pub in the rapidly redeveloping area behind the station. Traditional , well-painted building and inside is a single, fairly small staple-shaped room with a wood floor and a modern/minimalist (though not too garish) feel. Items of note included a large Bristol Beer Factory mirrored bar back and some butterflys in wall-mounted in glass cases. There’s a small but well-done paved area to the right rear. Selection of daily papers available as well as board games. Food available and a brisk trade was being done. Eight pumps with seven ales and one proper cider (as described elsewhere, Bristol Beer Factory are the mainstays but there are plenty of interesting guest ales), with a keg wall dispense behind the bar plus a large selection of bottled beers. Apparently there were more ciders elsewhere but I didn’t spot them. Tried a couple, a really good Moor Revival and an under-par BB Seven which was a shame. Worth seeking out if you are getting the train and you fancy a change from the Sven Stars-Cornubia-Kings Head triumvirate.
On 22nd November 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Barley Mow
This was my first ever visit to a Bristol pub, and I reckon it was a great one to start with. It's definitely worth the effort of worming your way through the backstreets behind Temple Meads Station, but luckily I was with someone who knew where he was going. As BF says, it's a small, and a bit minimalist pub, but there were a few odds and ends about the place, like butterflies on display in glass cases, a bagatelle board, and some prints on the walls.
Eight handpumps on the go is a good thing to welcome one into a pub, and all were dispensing less usually seen ales. The Sunny Republic Shark Head was in excellent shape, and at £3.40 a pint as I recall. I'm not likely to get to this neck of the woods any time soon, but if I lived anywhere near I would certainly want to visit again.
On 17th November 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Barley Mow
Not the sort of place that you are likely to find by chance, but this pub is certainly worth seeking out. Sympathetically refurbished by the Bristol Beer Factory, it looks quite modern whilst retaining a traditional feel. Good atmosphere too. Eight real ales on handpump, with a range of styles including the unfined Moor Revival (£3.40). Also offers a good selection of craft keg beers, with the 12% Siren Tickle Monster Triple IPA causing much discussion (although nobody was seen trying it at £4.00 for a 1/3rd...).
On 16th November 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Barley Mow
A decent traditional pub in a quiet residential part of Bristol, attracting both drinkers and lunch time visitors. This a respectable pub and their range of beers catered for a broad range of tastes. We went for the Moor Revival, the Otley Amarillo was unfortunately flat and after a few swirls around my glass, this didn't help. The barmaid did exchange it for the Sunny Republic Shark Head.
On 16th November 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Barley Mow
Not much to add after BF's review below ,but will reiterate this is an unspoilt traditional pub with the bonus of a very good beer range. Certainly a pub worth returning to.
On 15th November 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]