Let's declare the interest straight away: Moor Beer Company is our brewery. The Bristol Craft Beer Experience has included a behind-the-scenes brewhouse tour at Moor in St Philips since we started running in 2016, which means we've walked more guests past those fermenters than any other tour in the city. We're biased. We're also, for the same reason, unusually well placed to tell you what's actually worth knowing.
From Somerset farmhouse to St Philips
Moor's story is odder than most. The name comes from a small farmhouse brewery on the Somerset Levels, which was revived in the mid-2000s by Justin Hawke — a Californian with strong opinions about British beer and no patience for the idea that tradition and modern hops couldn't share a glass. In 2014 the operation moved to Bristol, into an industrial building in St Philips a short walk from Temple Meads, right in the middle of what became the city's east-side brewing quarter.
The awards shelf has been filling ever since. Moor are one of the most decorated independent breweries in the country, with national honours across a range that runs from hop-forward pales to Old Freddy Walker, a strong dark ale with a serious trophy record. If you want the wider picture of how they sit among the city's other breweries, our guide to the Bristol breweries you can actually visit covers the whole field.
Unfined, unfiltered — and why that's the whole point
If you know one thing about Moor, it's probably this: they refuse to fine their beer. Finings are clarifying agents — traditionally isinglass, derived from fish swim bladders — that drop yeast out of suspension so the beer pours bright. Moor's position is that fining strips flavour and texture along with the haze, so they simply don't do it. Every beer leaves the brewery unfined and unfiltered, naturally hazy, and — a practical bonus — generally suitable for vegans.
That sounds unremarkable now, when half the pale ales in Britain are deliberately cloudy. It was not unremarkable when Moor started arguing for it. They were among the loudest early champions of unfined beer in this country, and they fought the battle back when a hazy pint was widely treated as a returned pint. Standing beside the tanks while someone explains that decision — and then tasting the result seconds later — makes the case better than any label ever has.
What to drink
The core range leans hoppy and clean: proper drinking beers rather than one-sip novelties. Hoppiness, their much-loved IPA, is the one most people know. At the other end of the spectrum sits Old Freddy Walker, dark, rich and strong, the beer to order when the weather turns. Between the two you'll find pales, lagers and specials that rotate through the taproom lines, often fresher there than anywhere else in Britain — because they were brewed on the other side of the wall.
The taproom is open to the public on set days, but Moor is a working production brewery and hours move with the brewing schedule. Check their website or social media on the day you plan to visit — don't rely on anything printed elsewhere, including here.
Seeing behind the scenes
Here's the honest difference between a taproom visit and what we do. In the taproom you drink excellent beer next to a wall; on a brewery tour you go through the wall. Our guests walk the production floor with tastings as they go — mash tun, fermenters, the lot — with someone explaining what each piece of kit actually does and why unfined beer needs handling differently. It's the part of the day people talk about afterwards.
The Moor visit sits in the middle of the Bristol Craft Beer Experience: we meet at 11:45am outside The Grain Barge on Hotwell Rd, take a private harbour boat across the docks with tastings on board, tour Moor behind the scenes, and finish with a beer flight, cheese and charcuterie at The Beer Emporium on King Street around 4pm. Four hours, £69 a head, everything included, on selected Saturdays at least monthly. Over-18s, up to 30 guests, and it runs in all weather — brewing doesn't stop for rain and neither do we.
If you're organising something bigger — a work do, a stag, a birthday — we run the same day as a private group tour, and the whole experience also exists as a gift voucher for the beer lover who's impossible to buy for.
Making a wider day of it
Moor sits in the thick of east Bristol's brewery cluster, so a taproom visit slots naturally into the East Bristol brewery trail — several other taprooms are within a walkable mile. Go on a Saturday, order in thirds, and check every venue's hours that morning. The trail post covers the full route.
Stand on the tank side of the bar
The Bristol Craft Beer Experience includes a behind-the-scenes brewhouse tour and tastings at Moor, a private harbour boat beforehand, and a King Street beer flight with cheese and charcuterie to finish. Four hours, £69 a head, everything included — running since 2016.
Common questions
Can you tour Moor Beer?
Yes — our tour includes a genuine behind-the-scenes brewhouse visit at Moor with tastings, as part of the four-hour Bristol Craft Beer Experience. The production floor isn't open to casual visitors, which is rather the point of coming with us.
What does "unfined" actually mean?
No clarifying agents are added to drop the yeast and haze out. The beer pours naturally hazy, keeps more flavour and texture, and — since traditional finings are made from fish — is generally suitable for vegans.
Where is the brewery?
St Philips, a short walk from Bristol Temple Meads. The taproom opens on set days — check Moor's website or social media for current hours before travelling.
Can I visit the taproom without booking a tour?
Yes, on its public opening days — you just won't see past the bar. For the production floor, tastings and the full story, that's what the guided tour is for.
Taproom hours at working breweries change frequently and at short notice. Please check with Moor directly before travelling. Tour details above are ours and correct at the time of writing.
