Pubs and Bars / Pub of the Week
Pub of the Week: The Drapers Arms
Dressed in a full Celtic FC tracksuit, a man ordering at the bar of the Drapers Arms fiddles with his phone before looking furtive. “Are mobile phones banned in here?” he asks co-owner Garvan Hickey, on bar duties on Thursday night.
“Well, they don’t work,” Garvan replies.
I didn’t get my phone out to check whether this statement was true or not. While I usually write my thoughts about a new opening down on my phone, while here it was good old-fashioned notepad and pen.
is needed now More than ever
Good and old-fashioned. That’s certainly what the Drapers Arms on Gloucester Road in Horfield near the Memorial Stadium is all about. It may be new and novel, but being Bristol’s first micropub means according to the Micropub Association is “a small freehouse which listens to its customers, mainly serves cask ales, promotes conversation, shuns all forms of electronic entertainment and dabbles in traditional pub snacks”.
All the beer and cider here are served straight from the cask and sourced from small independent producers throughout Bristol and the surrounding area.
The other co-owner of the Drapers Arms is Vince Crocker from Ashley Down Brewery, which began in his garage before moving to larger premises in St Werburgh’s shared by Wiper & True.
Out of the five real ales available on a recent evening, three are from the Ashley Down Brewery. There was Best, Pale Ale and Extra Stout, with Sideways and Plum Porter chalked out; below which Independence from Bristol Beer Factory and Cumberland Bison from Towles’ made up the rest of the beer choices.
There are two ciders, Family Reserve and Rosie’s Pig from Westons in Herefordshire; red, white and rose wine available by the glass or bottle; and Prosecco by the bottle. And that – apart from a few packets of crisps and pork scratchings – is that.
All pints cost £3.50, a four-pint jug £12 and halves £1.80, with 30p off pints available for members of Camra.
It’s called the Drapers Arms because this former shop used to be a drapers. Garvan told me that it also used to be a knocking shop and the frosting on all of the windows and door still gives it an illicit feel.
The frosting will remain on the main window but you’ll soon be able to see inside through the front door from the street rather than peering through the gaps made by the lettering and decorative sheaves of barley.
There is seating for some 30 people inside. Underneath high shelves full of beer bottles there are framed pictures and photographs on the wall of everything from a painting of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and a black and white photo of when this used to be Budget printers.
The Pub Stops of Bristol tube-style map can also be found next to the blackboard with the beers. Next to it is a much smaller frame with just one line, Micropub Stops of Bristol, and just one stop, the Drapers Arms.
Garvan opens the front door, partly to let some air in and partly to let passers-by know that this place exists.
It won’t remain a secret for much longer, even if you can’t text your mates to tell them that you’ve discovered one of Bristol’s most intriguing drinking dens.
The Drapers Arms, 447 Gloucester Road, Horfield, Bristol, BS7 8TZ