A ‘new kind of venue’ is emerging amid widespread pub closures
16:52, 22 Oct 2025Updated 16:52, 22 Oct 2025
Unwin’s Brewery will be located in a railway arch near Bristol Temple Meads train station(Image: Tom Unwin)
A new brewery is set to open in the railway arches near Temple Meads. Tom Unwin from Totterdown is the man behind the new venue, who will be the director and head brewer of Unwin’s Brewery when it opens.
He told BristolLive that his ambitions are ‘pretty simple’, saying: “I’d like to create a place that feels welcoming and relaxed, beers that resonate with people and to do this sustainably and inclusively. If I achieve that I’ll be happy!”
The new brewery will be located at a railway arch on Bristol’s Oxford Street, where the likes of Little Martha, the Pasty Emporium, Forest Bakery and other businesses currently sit. Tom explained: “Unwin’s is an ode to my love of hospitality and good beer.
“It’s the culmination of 17 years spent brewing at six breweries in Bristol, Stockholm and London. I want to combine all I’ve learnt along that journey with a passion for finding new ways of doing things. I also want to create a space that’s open, accessible and welcoming to anyone looking for a relaxing time – with a beer or without.”
The venue, which sits in a railway arch on the approach into Temple Meads, is currently being fitted with decor that takes some inspiration from traditional UK breweries and pubs, and also from bars and cafes in Belgium and southern Europe. An opening date has not yet been confirmed.
Drinks will be accompanied by the occasional atmospheric rumbling of trains overhead reminding you of where you are. Meanwhile, Tom says the beers will reflect the range of breweries he’s worked at – from traditional British cask ales to modern American styles and continental style lagers – so there should be something for beer lovers of all kinds. There will also be a curated range of other soft and alcoholic drinks for non-beer drinkers to enjoy.
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As a first-time business owner, Tom acknowledged some of the hurdles he’s had to overcome in the run up to launching. He said: “From finding a site in the first place to navigating legal requirements – I’ve made a lot of beer in my time but have always been quite sheltered from these realities.
“On the other hand I’ve been overwhelmed with the support I’ve received from old colleagues and mentors, my friends in the Bristol beer scene and the wider community. It really feels like people are rooting for this to be a success and that means everything to me.”
And despite being new to running a business, Tom does have a vast understanding of the issues facing the hospitality issue today, and the importance of venues like his new brewery and others like it. When asked how locals and the wider public can keep such places alive and support them best, he said: “First of all I love pubs and would never want to replace a ‘pub’ with a ‘taproom’, but the reality is that pubs are disappearing – converted into houses and flats or demolished. New pubs aren’t being built and existing houses are not being turned into pubs.
Unwin’s Brewery will be located in a railway arch near Bristol Temple Meads train station(Image: Tom Unwin)
“I do think that this has created a space for a new kind of venue in non-traditional surroundings. Breweries, pubs, taprooms, micro pubs and bottle shops now share the role of providing the social spaces that beer is best enjoyed in.
“If we want to continue to have a thriving beer culture these venues need our custom, but I do think we will see further evolution of the industry and the way beer is enjoyed. It’s up to us in the industry to keep up, react to change and make sure we can offer what is wanted.”