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Small Bar, Bristol
Bristol
BS1 4DZ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Small Bar
Bigger than it looks because it has been created from two very different looking buildings, so you may need to look at the rather curious explanation for the name on its website. Limited ale house-style furniture and decor in the bar area, with more space in the larger side room (with its idle brew plant) and upstairs. Extensive selection of craft keg offerings from rows of plain taps almost hidden behind the counter, plus a number of cask handpumps with spindly and unlabelled metal handles that are not immediately obvious to the first-time visitor. It took a while to work out what's what from the chalk boards, but my choice of Burning Sky Plateau (£2.40, schooner) thankfully turned out to be tasty for a light beer. Not one for the traditionalist, but quite interesting in its own way.
On 16th November 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Small Bar
By all accounts,this pub has had many guises over the years but has now settled down to as a craft beer house.There are two original buildings with the bar situated to the left,while to the right is a larger drinking area,brew kit for The Big Brewery Company which doesn't seem to have launched yet while the two staircases both lead to the upstairs Library,a quiet seating area with a few sofas and wooden chairs and a small collection of books.Blackthorn's review is very thorough on the details.
As is the vogue these days in the craft beer world,all the taps and pulls are unclipped so consult the board above the bar for whats on.Each beer denotes if it is keg or cask but is priced by different measures which could be by the schooner,the half or the third which obscures the more normal judgement when beers are priced by the pint.My schooner of Buxton Rednik Stout was an interesting brew and £2.50 the schooner,and one of five cask ales on offer.The keg selection was from 14 ,and I would imagine that with BrewDog not far away and the RN Volunteer opposite this pub will be very popular with the younger professional craft keg drinker.However that wouldn't stop me from revisiting,the cask selection and commitment to beer in general should mean you are always likely to find something worth drinking even though you might regret it being your round if you visit during a crawl.
On 16th November 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2737 recommendations about 2737 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about Small Bar
First impressions? Well apart from the fact that it isn't really all that small at all, this is another of a trio of modern craft style bars along King Street with boards listing a range of predominantly new age keg beers well as a decent few cask ales. Lots of rather roughly exposed brick and stonework with the remnants of plaster lingering behind, part boarded and part flagged flooring, a few curious tables formed of beer barrels with round table tops grafted on top. There are two rooms downstairs, labelled "Small Bar" and "Big Bar", stairs lead up to "The Library", a sedate looking room with leather armchairs and a wall length bookcase.
Downstairs a wall between rooms has a drawn pictorial canter through the brewing process and in the rear is a set of brewing vessels which are apparently waiting on a start up but have been utilised so far by a couple of guest brewers.
The bar itself is constructed of reclaimed planks which also cover areas of the walls, a snack menu and directions to the toilets was scrawled on the wall in felt pen.
All the beers are listed on a board above the bar and unlike over the road, you are advised if it is keg or cask. No pints though, schooners, halves and thirds only making the pricing seem tricky to compare. The list on at the time can be seen in my photo attached of 15/11/2014.
Again, not really my type of pub but it seems to be the way many pubs are evolving and I'll wager we'll see many more like this pop up in our urban areas over the next few years. Decent beer though and good friendly service.
On 16th November 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Sublime
Since my previous review this has changed hands yet again and is now known as Small Bar and is one of a burgeoning number of craft beer venues in the vicinity. Hopefully this will prove to be more successful and long lasting than it’s many predecessors. The venue’s strapline appears to be “Small Bar, Big Beer” and this was prominently featured on the staff’s tee shirts and etched on to the windows at the front.
The basic layout is largely unchanged but has been smartened up considerably. The smaller bar to the left houses the bar counter and has a rough wooden floor with dark wood panelling on the lower part of the walls and cream plasterwork above. There was a small fire-place to one side with a brick chimney above it, although it’s a shame that this was not lit on a cold December evening. The tables were all old beer barrels which seemed appropriate and the light fixtures were unusual consisting of old pallets suspended from the ceiling and then a selection of pendent lights dangling from them. Church candles on all the tables added a cosy atmosphere.
The larger room to the right has dark wood panelling covering the entire right hand wall except for a small section of exposed brickwork at the front. The flooring is again wood strip with some flagstones at the front. At the back was what appeared to be another bar counter, but with no pumps or anything else on it. Behind this were three stainless steel vats. Whether this is a micro-brewery of some sort or just storage, I’m not sure. Stairs lead up to something described as the library, but we did not investigate this. Food is not currently offered, but it would appear that there are plans to offer a couple of sharing platters and a selection of Tom’s Pies in the near future.
Beers selection was extensive as would be expected, although as seems typical with craft beer it was almost entirely keg. The current beer choice was chalked up on boards above the bar, and these were divided in to four sections – Pale/IPA, Red/Stouts/Belgian, Sours and Crazy Shit. The latter category contained three beers all between 8% and 10% ABV. On this occasion the beers were (deep breath): Kernel Table Beer, Williams Draught, Moor S’Hop, BBF Independence, Tiny Rebel Full Nelson, Black Rocker, Arbor Amber, Rocket Science (their own), Williams Black Bull, Kernel Biere De Table, Buxton Dark Knight, Siren Broken Dream, Redchurch Export Stout, Levian Frankenbeer Ryesour, Mikkeller Spontanframboos, Dark Art Raspberry Sour, Westbook Citrus Ninja Exchange, Moor Fusion and Tempest Old Parochial. At least, that was the initial selection. By the time we left, a couple of these had been replaced with BBF Southville Hop and Cromarty Happy Chappy. In the unlikely event that none of them appeal, menus on the table listed a further 65 available by the bottle. After that lot, the cider selection was perhaps a little disappointing with just a still and sparkling option from Burrow Hill, somewhat unusually served in two thirds of a pint glasses.
On 20th December 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1951 recommendations about 1864 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Sublime
For many years this was known as The Bunch of Grapes. Since then it has had various incarnations including Dr. Thirsty’s Surgery and Indigo before ending up as Sublime. It seems to be closed as often as it’s open, and even in it’s current guise I have been past on several evenings and it’s all been shuttered up. Eventually though I found it open on a Saturday afternoon, and ventured in.
The left hand bar, which is also where the bar counter is, is a smallish, square dual aspect room, with some large, arched windows to the left. Both bars have rough wooden flooring and an old fireplace, with the larger bar on the right having a few flagstones at the front. This bar stretches back further, and here the seating is mostly low leather sofas. The paintwork is a cream with chocolate brown detailing to match the sofas, and there are a couple of wooden pillars for support. There is a further room upstairs, although this appears to be “work in progress” at the moment.
The solitary beer on offer was Doom Bar, although unfortunately even this had run out on a recent visit. Ciders were Thatcher’s Gold and Stowford Press.
On 31st July 2011
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1951 recommendations about 1864 pubs]