Bristol Brewing Company Review

First off this brewery is In a school. Enough said.

No, really though great beers and affordable prices. The food is mediocre but it's nice that they actually serve it after you have had a few ales. The keg prices are very fair for craft beer. This place has been a frequent for us while we have lived in Colorado Springs. I have many fond memories playing shuffle board with friends and family here. The Winter Warlock is amazing.
If you get the chance check this place out and get a growler filled while you are here!

The beer was ok it is Bristol beer so that is fine. The "nachos" were disgusting. the nachos had no cheese on them seemed like maybe mayonnaise or something I don't know what it was but it was gross. Nachos come with cheese! The music was loud and not very good.I mean seriously he wants to listen to a garage band play covers.also if you're going to go to the trouble of renovating an old school you should fix the floor so they don't squeak there's nothing charming about that. And the napkin is like a shop rag.Pretentious and trying way too hard and failing on every level. Oh and it's in the ghetto.

Great beer, food overpriced.$$$ nice open floor plan

Great Reuben sandwich and plenty of choices for local crafts. The place is so nice, and the rearrangement of the Ivy High to a fabulous ambience and cool local. Servers were attentive as well.

Local Colorado Springs place for years. Been coming here since it was a tiny tasting room next to Blue Star on Tejon and they served you pretzels out of dog bowls. I miss the old place but it was hard to get a spot and needed to be expanded. New digs are nice and way bigger although i miss sitting next to fermentation tanks. Hipsters have taken the place over which is to be expected (it is beer in Colorado and in prime hipster location). Bristol has a shuffleboard table in this location which is my favorite bar game of all so grab the table quick if its available. I know some people who work for them too and they really like working for the company and always pick up my tab which is far too nice but still much appreciated. In short come grab a beer here and enjoy yourself. As Colorado as it gets.

Bristol Brewery Pub has a nice selection of craft beers that will certainly cater to anyones taste. The current location is inside the old Ivywild schoolhouse and adds a really cool ambiance. The pub food was ok, I was expecting a little more flavor out of the dinner. The burger I ordered was the Axe and the Oak and was on the dry side. The fries were excellent, hot and crispy! Our server was attentive and very friendly.

Great service and cool old skool(i think). Tasted a couple of beers and none of them really did much for me. Unfortunately I ordered some nachos . White cheese sauce with a pineapple salsa was not very appealing. Maybe I should have stuck with a burger. I would go back but be more discerning.

Came on a Sunday...I won a gift card on the radio.. great beer and atmosphere but no football...no TV on a Sunday??

Excellent beer and food come with genuinely friendly and fast service in a unique location.

Solid food and beer. Nothing too outstanding but a great place to hang out and grab some food.

Great craft beer selection, live music and the wait staff is awesome !

Bristol is the best brewery in the Springs...hands down. They are always doing some fun event or having a brilliant fundraiser. I love Bristol. Cooper is great!!

Awesome space! Staff helpful and knowledgeable! Food and beer perfection.

Terrible service. The hostess took forever to meet us at the wait stand, then when we finally sat down, our waitress wasn t very friendly. We ordered beers and appetizers. We got and finished our appetizers. We watched our waitress visit a table 3x in a 15 minute period without checking on it once. Then when she finally came over she seemed a little surprised that we didn t get our beers. Finally after we asked for the check, we sat for another 15 minutes before she came back to grab it then had to use our table to put the beers for the other table on because she couldn t serve them with them still in her hand. REALLY?

Great atmosphere, food, and beer. Located in a remodelled school house, it's a very cool place to eat and drink.

The last few times I went there the service stunk. They're way understaffed. Most of the employees work hard but often there is not enough bartenders there. I see lots of staff walking the hallway or sitting at the bar but I cant get anyone to pour me a damn beer!. The beer is great!

Wow. I was blown away by this place. My wife and I decided to stop by this eclectic placed called the Ivywild School and we were both thirsty and hungry. We decided to grab a flight of beers and some food. Yum! The beer was cold and tasty and the food was exceptional.

If you're in the area and need a place to unwind, stop here and you won't regret it. Our service was also very good.

Cool place in an old elementary school. Great food. Fletcher is very knowledgeable.

Dont order food and beverage here. No safe food n beverage handling procedures for Covid 19. Dont take the risk!

Really good but not great. Big selection of beers brewed by Bristol. Ordering the flight is a good idea. I had the Oak and Axe burger which was very good but my fries were cold. I wouldn't order the the fried pickles again. All and all not bad but for a good sit down meal I would try one of the other restaurants at Ivy Wild.

Good beer, food is pricey also has a distillery attached to it

Awesome vibe & location. Having food and drinks on the upstairs outdoor patio is great. Love the laughing lab beer! This is a great place to gather.

Really nice old school building. Beer was outstanding. Burger was great, everything fresh. Bartender and staff were super friendly and made sure I was taken care of! Will definitely be back in my next trip to Colorado Springs.

We found Bristol Brewing Company because they were mentioned in the Fodor's Travel book that we checked out from our local library. Bristol Burger was delicious. Arrive was great. My husband loves microbrewery beers and me not at all. Bristol Brewery had there own root beer which is my favorite. Everyone was happy.

I've given bristol several tries and this was my last attempt at putting up with the rude service and posh attitudes of staff. Every time I've gone to the Principal's Office, I get ignored waiting at the bar and rushed/dismissed when I order. I've had several instances when the hipster, apathetic bartenders continue to chat with their mates seated at the bar about obscure music preferences instead of serving customers. I will say most of the female staff are cordial and friendly. Over-priced, substandard food and coffee is manageable if it's accompanied by friendly service. I'll keep with the mainstream dives over this pretentious 'local community'.

Great service, tasty beer, and absolutely delicious Reuben sandwich!

Great beer and good food in an interesting place. What more could you ask for

I have been here multuple times and most of the time I always get disappointed. I wish they had their stouts year round and that they do not run out out of stuff. Service is mediocre and the food is okay. If you want food, go with the pretzels and a side of cheese soup. The beer is good bit limited in terms of style and the atmospher is great.

We drive here to get beer for our home system, Red Rocket IPA is my favorite. Never had a problem until recently, the last few times we've reserved kegs, when we got there, it wasn't ready. I don't understand because we reserve almost a week in advance. At least this time one was ready and they had some World Peace Death Ray available instead to use for the second one. It wouldn't be a big deal if we lived in Springs, but we don't. But no other brewery has the taste of Bristol, so we will always get beer here.

Good food, fun place. Good beer too. Patio seating is pretty decent. Come to their taproom for the flagships; stay for the experimental taps.

By far my one of my favorite breweries simply because they are based in COS. The old school its located in is badass and they also have a menu now so you can grab a bite if you so choose and wash it down with a great craft beer.

One of the better venues for a brewery, a 100+ high school that still maintains the original hallway and gym. The beer btw is also consistently very palatable. Great dog friendly patio as well.

Great setting at the renovated Ivywild School. Excellent selection of beers and great appetizer-type food. Personal fave is Red Rocket red ale.

Located inside an old school house Bristol Brewing has a good selection of craft beer and a nice variety of food.

Awesome place! One of the most unique places I have ever been. Food was awesome and so fresh. Loved that everything was hand made like fresh dressings, and sauces. Will be returning for sure!

Great Scottish Ale. Lots of flavor & no hop aftertaste

Excellent brews, top notch food and service. they have a very limited menu, but what they have, they do well. We had the chicken Caesar salad and beef tacos and were impressed by both. I would strongly recommend the Laughing Lab Scottish Ale and the Bristol's Christmas Ale, and would definitely eat here again.

Food and beer are ok. However our server wouldn t sell alcoholic beverages to my mom who is 52 even after my dad who is 55 showed his ID. I understand she is doing her job but she asked her manger if it was ok to sell to her and she wouldn t. It s unfortunate the manager didn t take the time to come to our table and talk to us about it.

Last week my wife and I and our 9-year old son were on vacation in Colorado Springs. On our last day a local suggested that we check out the Bristol Brewery for great beer and lunch. The remodeled school building is beautiful and the physical conversion to a brewery and neighborhood center was obviously a labor of love.

Unfortunately, from the moment we walked up the steps of the old school building we did not feel welcome. Upon entering the front doors you must choose to turn right or turn left. The only way we knew to turn right for beer was the loud bar noise. To the left down the hall was a separate restaurant. Confused, I stopped at a brewery t-shirt booth and asked an employee how we could order food and have a beer. She glared at me, looked annoyed, and dismissively explained that you order and pay for the food first and the restaurant delivers it to the bar side.

Getting through the crowd in the bar was difficult. However, we thankfully found an outside deck with open tables. Unfortunately, the tables were in the bright midday sun with no umbrellas or other shade. The food arrived: (a) lukewarm watery beer cheese soup which my hungry son refused to eat; (b) a tiny "large" meat and cheese tray with several slices of pepperoni and 1/4" cubes of cheese; and (c) my $8.00 Italian salad that was slightly larger than my wife's $2.99 side salad. Since we had to prepay for the food and no one from the restaurant side ever came back to check on it, the restaurant service was virtually nonexistent. The beer waitress took my credit card to run a tab, delivered the beer and never came back. Another waitress dropped off the check with no credit card. I had to chase after them and request that they find and return my credit card.

At this point you must be thinking: "Yes, but what about the beer?". The beer was very good. I imagine this brewery became famous as a result of brewing consistently great beer served in a small, friendly, cobbled-together neighborhood brewpub. The new, improved, polished Bristol Brewery complex needs to figure out a way to make a stranger feel welcome to sit down with a fresh beer. Forget about the present separate restaurant arrangement. Just give me a bowl of pretzels.

It may be that the owners of the Bristol Brewing Company are happy just being popular with locals and do not care that outsiders do not feel welcome to their "private club." I hope that is not the case.

Jipped on takeout order. Sat out on the deck and ordered a Yellow Kite, Newfangled Axe and the Oak Burger - $15, and sweet potato waffle fries. Decided I wanted my food to go so I informed the waiter. He brought me two boxes and I left. When I got home, the box with sweet potato fries was practically empty. I was only given a small hand full of fries and the burger was tiny. Sad to see they don't care about you when you order to go. I will not be back for a long time.

Great place to stop and have a beer (or 2). Unique location and great beers!

Slow start. Out of pork after ordering. Really really good beer. So all is right.

Great time on the patio as the Brewery opens back up!

Not family friendly. The girl at the register turned us away because we had our 8 year old daughter with us. Never had that happen at a brewery before. 21 + only.

The amber was pretty decent, the belgian pale was not great at all. The food, meh, and expensive. Wouldn't bother going back.

Definitely a cool setting though!

Food was very mediocre. Beer was pretty good. Service was sub par. Doubt we will be back, but a super cool atmosphere in an old school.

All flagship beers wonderful - seasonals even better. Community oriented. Patio dog friendly - how coyld it not be? Their mascot is a laughing Lab :-)

I've lived in COS for over a year now and just got around to trying this place. OMG, it's amazing! Awesomely unique atmosphere, friendly staff, fantastic food, and of course great beer!
I got a turkey and avocado sandwich and JT was fantastic! There's just a hint of honey on it that makes the sandwich. The sweet potatoes waffle fries are definitely worth the extra fifty cents as a side.
Five stars because I will be going back.

Amazing! Great service, great drinks, and really good food.

On my visit in Colorado I was told that I absolutely must visit Bristol Brewing Company. I wasn't sure what to expect but nonetheless I was blown away. The tender was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, and the ambience is just too cool. Set in an old elementary school, walking through the halls brings one back to the good old days. The beer was fantastic; I ordered a flight and would recommend the same to any newcomers. The food was good as well. All in all, an awesome experience. While it was a bit of a trek down from Denver, if you have the time, I would recommend it. Besides, the drive is quite pretty and you can always visit Garden of the Gods (maybe 15 minutes away) while you sober up!

Good food. Above average beer. Not the place for fans of high ABV.

Really good pulled pork, great vibe with live music and fantastic beer. Highly recommend as a cool, local COS place to go.

Really neat brewery in an old school. Very different and super fun. Food was really good and our beers were awesome. Highly recommended

I think their beer and food is great. However, the service is consistently terrible. They are slow and unattentive. Last time I went in our waitress pocketed $10 and gave us back $5 on a tab that was worth no more than $7 when we gave her a $20. Just pathetic, it's very disappointing. While the atmosphere is great, the poor service makes me not want to return. There are many other breweries in the springs with great beers that treat their customers a lot better.

I had a great visit. The brewery is in a very neat building. They have a huge variety of delicious beers and a great food menu. Fun environment with quick service.

Very cool repurposed vintage school for multiple businesses. Excellent beer and awesome people!

Beer is fine, nothing very interesting and the service was poor. I had to go to the bar to pay my bill because all of the wait staff kept walking past us even though we had empty beer glasses.

This converted old school house is a brewery, bar and restaurant with small craft shops to boot. Nothing but a good time every time I've been there. It's a great place to hang out with friends or make new ones.

Love the beer, food is blah. wouldn't suggest coming for food. Got blue cheese and bacon burger and it had two pieces of bacon and I couldn't even find the blue cheese. No lettuce, no tomato, no nothing and it was $15. Tasted like it was a leftover burger from last night. Also got mac and cheese and I think kraft mac and cheese out of the box was better. Don't get me wrong the beer is great but not food