Arbor Ales

The brewery began in a shed at the back of the Old Tavern pub in Stapleton, where the founder's brother was the landlord, starting with a 2.5-barrel kit. Arbor Ales has since moved through several premises, including a walk-in fridge in a former factory, then to a site opposite a bus station in Lawrence Hill, and finally to a disused bus depot. The current setup runs a 20-barrel brew length, with six 20-barrel and two 40-barrel fermenters. The team numbers 10 employees, including brewer Dan Bell, and the brewery remains a family affair with the founder's wife involved in sales.

The range covers pale ales, IPAs, sours, lagers and stouts, with a core selection alongside brewers given one day a week to experiment and produce rotating specials. The alcohol-free pale ale is brewed to 0.5% ABV and is gluten-free: Arbor Ales uses an enzyme to reduce and remove gluten from its gluten-free beers. Beers are available in pint cans and on tap, and the brewery runs a taproom open on Fridays and Saturdays.

Arbor Ales exports around 15% of its output to Italy, France, Sweden, Poland and Singapore, and sells direct from its website. The brewery is a founding member of the East Bristol Brewery Trail and collaborates with other brewers to raise funds for homelessness charities. Environmental measures include solar panels installed in 2020, a CO2 recovery unit (one of only three in the country), waste sent to local farms and anaerobic digestion to generate biogas, and a preference for local produce where possible.