Bristol's original beer tour, running since 2016. A private harbour cruise, an award-winning brewhouse, and a cellar bar flight with cheese and charcuterie — four hours, all in.
Most beer tours in a city like this are a walk between three bars. Ours starts on the water, because Bristol's story — the trade, the docks, the breweries that grew up alongside them — starts on the water too.
You'll spend the first half hour on a ferry we've booked out for the afternoon, tasting Bristol Beer Factory beers while your guide sets up the history and the styles. Then it's into the brewhouse at Moor, one of the most awarded independent breweries in the country, to see how it's actually done. Then a walk through the old city to King Street, where the day finishes underground with a proper flight and a board of cheese and charcuterie.
Every beer is included. Every mouthful of food is included. Your guide is with you the whole way. All you need to bring is ID and a coat.
Three stops, roughly a mile of walking between them, and a beer at every single one.
11:45am · Hotwell Road
Meet your guide outside The Grain Barge, then walk down to the ferry. We've got it to ourselves. Thirty minutes across the Floating Harbour with two Bristol Beer Factory beers, an introduction to the styles you'll meet later, and the old Bristol Brewery site off the starboard side. The boat leaves at midday sharp.
Around 1pm · St Philips
A short walk to Moor, where you'll get in among the brewing kit with someone from the team. Moor don't fine or filter their beer, which is a decision with consequences you can taste — and it's a good deal more interesting explained standing next to the tanks. Then into the taproom for a proper selection brewed on site.
Around 2:45pm · King Street
Twenty minutes on foot through Castle Park, pausing at the site of the old city brewery, and onto King Street. Down into the vaults for the last flight of the day plus cheese and charcuterie boards to share. We wrap up around 4pm — though the bar is right there, and most groups stay on.
Venues can change. Breweries are working businesses and occasionally close to visitors at short notice. If a stop can't happen we substitute somewhere comparable and tell you in advance — the shape of the day stays the same.
Why thirds? Third-of-a-pint measures let you taste eight or nine genuinely different beers across the afternoon instead of three pints of much the same. It works out at roughly three pints in total, spread over four hours, alongside food.
Meet 11:45am. The boat leaves at midday and can't wait, so please build in a buffer. We finish around 4pm.
Outside Outside The Grain Barge, Hotwell Road, Bristol BS8 4RU. Open in Google Maps. About 20 minutes' walk from Bristol Temple Meads.
The Beer Emporium, 13–15 King Street, Bristol BS1 4EF. Map link. You're left in the middle of the old city, surrounded by places to carry on.
Public tours take up to 30 guests. Larger parties, or anyone wanting the tour to themselves, should look at private tours.
Comfortable shoes — there's about a mile of walking. A coat: the tour runs in rain, hail and snow, and a good part of it is outdoors and on the water.
Over-18s only, and please bring ID. Venues can and do ask.
There's roughly a mile of walking, boarding a ferry, and steps down into the cellar at the final stop. That rules the tour out for some people and it's much better to know beforehand.
Same goes for dietary requirements: the sharing platters are cheese and charcuterie, so vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free guests need us to arrange something in advance. Coeliac guests should also know that most of what we pour contains gluten — we can usually sort alternatives with notice.
Live availability from DesignMyNight, our ticket partner. Choose a Saturday and you'll be booked in straight away.
per person — all beer tastings and sharing platters included
Holding a gift voucher? Redeem it here instead of booking above.
Ticket terms and conditions · Our tour terms & refund policy
Public tours run at least monthly, with more in summer. If nothing fits, a private tour can usually run on your date instead.
Above 30 guests you'll need a private tour. Same three stops, your group only, and we can flex the timings. Enquire here.
An open-value gift voucher lets them pick their own date. Delivered by email, never expires.
Usually two or three beers at each of the three stops — around eight or nine tasters in total, poured as thirds. That's roughly three pints across four hours, with food along the way. Enough to have a proper time, not enough to write off your evening.
About a mile in total. The longest single leg is the 20-minute walk from Moor Brewery through Castle Park to King Street. The rest is short hops. Wear something you can walk in.
The boat departs at midday and won't wait — it's a working ferry on a schedule. If you miss it we'll do our best to get you onto the tour at the brewery, but we can't refund a missed departure. Please aim to arrive by 11:45am.
Refunds are available up to 30 days before the tour. Inside 30 days we've already paid for the boat, the venues and your guide, so we can't refund — for any reason. You can always transfer your ticket to someone else; just tell us the name. See our full terms.
Yes. Rain, hail and snow — the tour goes ahead. We only cancel if conditions would make the tour unsafe. Dress for it, and if you're travelling in from elsewhere, plan on it running.
There's limited pay-and-display along Hotwell Road and nearby, but you'll be drinking, so public transport or a taxi is the sensible option. Bristol Temple Meads is about 20 minutes on foot from the meeting point, or a short bus or cab ride.
Absolutely, and most groups do. You finish on King Street, which is about the best possible place in Bristol to be abandoned at 4pm on a Saturday. The Beer Emporium do excellent pizza and our guests get a discount.
Tour itineraries, venues, beers and pricing can change — breweries occasionally close their doors to visitors at short notice, and we'll always substitute a comparable stop if that happens. Everything on this page was correct at the time of publishing.
Pick your date, and we'll have the boat, the brewery and the beer waiting.