A new taproom and brewery has opened in South Bristol in an exciting new venture that helps make brewing more accessible to all. Tapestry in Totterdown is staffed by adults with learning disabilities through the citywide charity, Props, which provides employment through social enterprise projects.
The charity first began as a day centre for adults with learning disabilities around 20 years ago but has evolved into sourcing meaningful work opportunities over the years. Props run several of its own social enterprises including horticulture, a cafe, a printmaker and a new shop on Fishponds Road to offer a pathway to employment.
Tapestry first opened its doors to the public last weekend after months of preparation to brew, design and launch three of its own beers made on site. The charity purchased the site in early 2021 after the brewery went into liquidation.
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“We were extremely pleased,” Colin Fletcher, CEO of Props told BristolLive on the opening. “We weren’t quite sure how many people to anticipate, but on Friday evening, Saturday evening and Sunday lunchtime, the place was buzzing and we were full for the majority of the time.”
The taproom currently brews three of its own beers which were all sold at the launch. These were served alongside a number of local beers, wines and spirits that all have a minimal environmental impact. Even the red wine, which cannot be sourced in the UK, sails over from Portugal by boat.
Mr Fletcher explained brewing is quite process-driven and therefore highly suited to some people who have a cognitive impairment. “Brewing is quite a good way of allowing people to be involved in whatever ability they would like to do.
“There is also back-of-house type work, customer service, bar work, glass cleaning, invoicing and ordering - a bunch of different roles that people can get involved in.”
The charity currently serves 58 trainees across Bristol. While not every person is currently employed through one of their enterprises it hopes the majority of the trainees will have work over the next few years.
Mr Fletcher added: “We are providing quite meaningful opportunities for people who wouldn’t ordinarily have them. There’s only about six per cent of the learning disabled population that actually have paid employed work, it’s a very small amount of people.”
The charity hopes to be a platform to support people entering employment in the Bristol area more in the future. However, there have been hurdles with this due to the current economic climate and the high numbers of people looking for work.
“Our fundamental view is that everyone has a contribution to make somewhere along the line,” continued Mr Fletcher. “We’ve had some success in trying to find employers in the community to employ people with learning disabilities, but it has been quite a challenge.”
Props’ biggest annual fundraiser is a bicycle ride from Bristol to Bordeaux in early July and this year was the first time it was able to take place since 2019, raising £85,000. “Much of the funds that were raised from that are going towards the brewery and the shop on Fishponds Road as well as other events throughout the year,” said Mr Fletcher.
The trainees and other staff members are working on packaging up some of their own beer into sharing bottles at 750ml that they will be able to sell in our shop, at the brewery and hopefully at other Bristol venues. They hope to also sell kegs and casks of their beers to the wider community, and some pubs have already expressed interest, Mr Fletcher said.
You can learn more about Props’ work and its other social enterprises here.
Tapestry is located at Unit B, Totterdown Industrial Estate, BS2 0XH and is open Fridays (4pm-10pm), Saturdays (12pm-10pm) and Sundays (12pm-5pm)
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