Last week we went to Bristol. We only had a quick few days to see friends, get nostalgic (Steph went to uni there), take a boat trip around the floating harbour, and see a bit of Bristol's beer scene. A lot has changed since we were last there, many years ago. Whilst there was a strong cider and cask game then, Bristol has really embraced craft beer with the opening of specialist venues like Small Bar and breweries such as Left Handed Giant and Wiper & True. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we could only visit the one brewery, Lost and Grounded. We've known Alex and Annie back from the when they used to work across the road at Camden Town. Then in 2015 they packed up their cats and made the move down to Bristol to start their own adventure.
So on a Tuesday afternoon, we pulled up to the brewery. Once our gracious hosts had opened us a beer each (Summer Sessions Collabs 1 and 2, a light lager and IPL respectively), we took a tour around the place.
The first thing that we noted about it was the expanse of the building. Even the sizeable kit is dwarfed by the cathedral-like height. But it's already expanding. There's been a huge demand for Keller Pils this summer, which is unsurprising given how much of it we've been drinking! Lost and Grounded have already brought in some extra FVs to keep up the pace. And there's definitely space for more!
After the tour, we sat down with the range of L&G bottles. One of our favourite things about drinking at a brewery tap is seeing how all their beers fit together. Not just the excellent artwork that links these bottles, but tasting five different beers from the same brewery makes you appreciate the character the brewery brings to all their beers. One of Lost and Grounded’s unique features is their Lactic Acid tank, common in Germany but the only one in the UK. This soured wort is used to perfectly set the pH level of each brew.
The core range is varied. There are two lagers - Running with Sceptres IPL, and of course Keller Pils; Hop-Hand Fallacy a citrusy farmhouse ale and fruity Saison d'Avon; No Rest For Dancers, a hoppy Red Ale; and their classic Belgian-style tripel, Apophenia. Not a Pale Ale or IPA in sight! What was really fun to see was that they had a few barrels at the back of the brewery which had some their tripel aging with fruit. Fingers crossed these get released in big bottles sometime soon!
Now, we had hoped this post would coincide with us getting Keller Pils in cans, but due to the aforementioned Keller Pils run, you're just going to have to make do with a plug for Lost and Grounded Summer Sessions No.2 (An IPL with German hops brewed with Northern Monk & Wylam) and Keller Pils in bottles! Also keep an eye out in the next few weeks for cans of Hop-Hand Fallacy and a new Summer Sessions collab.
The Lost and Grounded tap room is open every Friday 1-7pm and they are holding a dark/winter beer festival on Saturday 3rd November 18 which would definitely be worth going down for!
Thanks again to Annie, Alex and the whole L&G team for putting up with us for a few hours.
