New Bristol Brewery x Neon Raptor Maple Bacon Pancake Stout

Bristol’s beer scene has a habit of balancing modern craft trends with actual pub drinkability better than most UK cities, and New Bristol Brewery sit right in the middle of that sweet spot. Big flavours, colourful labels and beers that still feel designed for proper pints rather than tiny tasting pours.

Founded in St Pauls and now brewing from Wilson Street in Bristol, the brewery built its reputation around hop-forward pales, pastry stouts and fruit-heavy sours without losing balance entirely underneath. The range moves around constantly, but there’s usually a strong thread of approachable modern brewing running through everything.

The stouts are often where people fall in first. Rich, dessert-like and unapologetically indulgent, usually carrying coffee, chocolate, peanut butter or biscuit notes without tipping fully into liquid cake batter territory. The pales and IPAs lean softer and juicier, packed with tropical fruit and citrus character but generally restrained enough to avoid complete palate exhaustion after one can.

What works particularly well is the atmosphere around the brewery. Taproom culture, collaborations and a genuinely social approach to beer rather than hyper-serious “craft” posturing. The brewery feels rooted in Bristol’s independent scene instead of simply borrowing the aesthetic.

There’s also something quite refreshing about breweries willing to make fun beer properly. Not every release needs to reinvent fermentation. Sometimes a very good peanut butter stout and loud can art is perfectly enough.