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The brewery rooted in community, independence and Bristol
Independence, Southville Hop, Black Gates, Milk Stout, Laser Juice and Clear Head: beer lovers from Bristol will need no more hints to recognise these names.
Cans of these and several other Bristol Beer Factory (BBF) beers are neatly stacked on the shelves of their North Street taproom, a site they will soon be leaving to move to their new home in the Old Brewery development down the road.
But BBF’s contribution to Bristol goes well beyond just beers. The brand has had a consistent record of supporting communities in the city for over two decades. An ethos that managing director Sam Burrows says they hold dear.
Through BBF’s Brewed To Give initiative, 2 per cent of all brewery sales go towards supporting charities in Bristol – photo: Bristol Beer Factory
“We’ve always been rooted in our community,” Burrows said when speaking to Bristol24/7. “We’ve always done loads for our community.”
From collaborating with mental health charity Talk Club to brew the alcohol free beer Clear Head to the Brewed To Give initiative, through which 2 per cent of every brewery sale goes to charities in Bristol: BBF has in numerous ways, always put the city first.
An important factor to ensure they remain an institution embedded in the community, Burrows said, was their commitment to remaining “truly independent”.
The lineups across Bristol Beer Factory’s pubs are constantly changing to ensure customers have something new to try regularly – photo: Martin Booth
He said: “We’ve always avoided selling beer to national groups. You won’t ever see our beer in Wetherspoons or big national discount chains. We’ve done very little with the supermarket market.
“We’ve been an entree brewer. Entree brewers support pubs; pubs need support.
“That was our original ethos and still remains to this day.”
It is probably this ingrained desire to remain independent that led to BBF’s nomination as a finalist for the Bristol Legends award in the Independent Retailer category.
Burrows said: “The people, the consumers who are walking in and out of our pubs, and our customers’ pubs, know that when they buy beer from us that they’re giving back to the city.
“I suppose that’s the uniqueness of what Brewed to Give is and proves that giving is good for business as well as for the community.”
In 2025, Bristol Beer Factory brewed 72 different beers
Between May 2023 to December 2025, BBF has raised £653k for charities across the city through Brewed To Give, an initiative that Burrows says proves that “giving” is good for the business and the community.
Burrows disagrees that selling to chain groups like Wetherspoons would be profitable for a business like theirs.
“It’s what we would call low margin, high volume,” he explained. “Yes you can make money. But when you set your stall out as an independent business supporting independent bars, restaurants, clubs and events, and if you then go and sell your beer to Spoons, you have the knock-off effect on your corn.”
He continued: “The people are the core of the business. We’ve had customers for 20 years who are still with us today. That would just destroy that in my eyes.
“The pillars of our business are our people, our beers, our community and our service. If you do all those things right, your business is going to be successful and able to withstand storms from an economic point of view.”
As part of their International Women’s Day celebrations for 2026, BBF has brewed the Cowgirl Supernova and split £2,000 between four women and trans charities in the city.
Charities in Bristol, community events manager Kari Halford said, are the “fabric of the city” that ensure it is knitted together.
Without a reliable income to continue their services, charities are often pushed to ask for help and come up with inventive ways to raise the required funds.
“You’ll turn to the corporate sector or try and create that money yourself through events,” said Halford from her prior experience of working at St Werburgh’s City Farm. “A lot of the time, you as a business or a charity leader are asking people, always asking for people to do something.”
“And quite often, you are treated with no or the door is shut. The process is so laborious that it takes you longer to complete the process than it does to deliver the work in the first place.”
But with BBF, Halford explains it’s always the spirit to give and do more to help.
She said: “It’s always a yes and what else can I give you? or yes and how can I make that even easier for you?
‘Or yes why don’t we book in the next time I’m going to give it to you.
“It was always this real sense of understanding, appreciation and real ease.”
Beyond their own taproom, BBF are custodians of the Barley Mow in St Philip’s, the Arnolfini Cafe and Bar, Junction in Wapping Wharf and more recently the Pump House in Hotwells.
In 2025 BBF brewed 72 beers, which Halford considers to be an exceptional feat for a business of their size.
She said: “The idea is that you can go into a pub and you always see the regulars, the ‘icons’ we would call them. You know you’ve got Infinity, Black Gates, Clear Head, but then you can also go to the cask lineup, and it’s completely different.
“That idea of going to your pub, going to your regular and always being tantalised or excited about what’s on offer.”
Bristol Legends is a unique celebration of our city on March 6 at Ashton Gate. BBF are kindly donating £1 from every pint of BBF beer sold throughout the Bristol Legends awards ceremony and after-party towards our fundraising efforts to support independent journalism.
The awards ceremony at Ashton Gate will be followed by a legendary party in the concourse, with performances from acclaimed Bristol artists like Emily Breeze, Laid Blak, Invisible Circus and a special secret guest. Tickets for the after-party can be purchased here: www.bristol247.com/events/bristol-legends-party/
Main photo: Bristol Beer Factory
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