Address: Electric Bear Brewing Taproom, Unit 12, The Maltings, Brassmill Lane, Bath BA1 3JL
Website: electricbearbrewing.com
The Bell Inn
If arty Walcot Street is proudly rebellious in a city that can feel a little strait-laced with its Georgian grandeur, then the 300-year-old The Bell Inn might be its flag bearer. In 2013, Glastonbury’s Michael Eavis was among the 500-plus-strong customer buyout, which promised to keep this a place that showcased live music, celebrated real ale and cider, artisan produce and analogue sounds and championed Bath’s artistic community. Inside it is happily bohemian, with fairy lights, hops hanging over the bar and live music ringing out.
Address: The Bell Inn, 103 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BW
Website: thebellinnbath.co.uk
The Grapes
The Grapes
Once a townhouse for the affluent taking the waters in the city, by the late 18th century this pub had its name ‘The Grapes’, and over 200 years later it’s still a place to let off steam. Drinkers spill out onto Westgate Street armed with pints of cider from nearby Iford Manor, or gin from the Bath Distillery, all to the sound of jazz and traditional folk sessions as well as DJ sets. Upstairs in the Jacobean living room (which features an early 17th-century ornate lime plaster ceiling), the pace is altogether calmer, with a roster of events from life drawing classes to its ‘People, Planet, Pint’ meet-ups where locals gather to put sustainability in the spotlight.
Address: The Grapes, 14 Westgate Street, Bath BA1 1EQ
Website: thegrapesbath.co.uk
The Raven
Tucked on the cobbled Queen Street in the centre of town, here is a Bath boozer to settle into until last orders. On Bath rugby match days West Country patriotism is alive, but on any weekend it’s as noisy as a good pub should be (it has form as a watering hole: during the Second World War it was a favourite with pilots stationed at a nearby airfield and in the 1980s it was said to be a go-to for the city’s goths and bikers.) You can bag a hearty pie to fill up on (try the ‘deer stalker’ with venison, bacon, lentils and red wine), but it’s the ale that you’re here for. Pull up a stool for its exclusive brews, the Raven Ale and Raven’s Gold, as well as a pick of craft beers including its own hazy IPA brewed by Arbor in Bristol.