Features / Beer
Two years of Bristol’s ‘barrier-breaking’ disability led craft brewery
A Bristol brewery which helps trains adults with learning disabilities has celebrated two years of operation.
Tapestry By Props is part of the Props charity which aims to “empower adults who have learning disabilities to achieve purposeful and rewarding work opportunities”
The brewery and taproom in the Totterdown Bridge Industrial Estate in St Philip’s Marsh trains adults with learning disabilities in all manner of tasks, finding the job that suits them best.
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Tapestry may look unassuming from the outside, but its purpose and true heart lies underneath its hardened exterior.
Cal, manager and co-founder of the brewery, said: “Some of our trainees wouldn’t ever want to be customer facing, but they would be very happy to be involved in the production of the beers.
“There is a job and a space for everyone. We provide the role to the people that need it. We open up roles that are beneficial for the trainees, we don’t assign roles based on what the business needs.”
Many of the trainees help with the general upkeep of the brewery and taproom, some help with the brewing process, which has led Tapestry to now have three home brewed beers on tap.
People can enjoy their beer in the tap room – photo: Max Story
Two of the beers currently available, All In, and Tiger Soul, were not only brewed in part by disabled adults in the 1,300 litre tanks opposite the bar, but named and branded by them as well.
Decorations and paintings done by the trainees at Props still hang from the ceiling from the launch of Tiger Soul.
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Tom, also manager and co-founder, added: “From my own experience working in an SEN secondary school, I realised that there was so little opportunity for children with disabilities as they left education, wanting to find work in their adult life.
“Then working in bars and getting an interest in beer, and having a chance encounter with a member of the former Props team who said that they were looking at the idea of a brewery to provide employment and training.
“The brewery that was on this site had closed down, and we managed to get in and take it from the liquidators, and we got to rebuild it as our own charity brewery.
“It’s a great way of breaking down barriers, as most people don’t associate adults with disabilities with having a drink or working in a bar, it’s a juxtaposition in a lot of peoples eye’s. It’s a good way of breaking down barriers.”
Tapestry closes over winter, from late October to March, to give some TLC to both the brewery itself, and the trainees.
The taproom is open from March to the end of October -photo: Max Story
The trainees are a central and integral part of the operation here, with their professional and social development being a key tenet of their entire philosophy.
Tom explained: “One of the trainees, after their first ever pay check came through, not only could you see how proud of himself he was, but he was now able to buy things using his own agency.
“It has also allowed him to grow in larger aspects as a whole, if you work for that money you know how much it is really worth. It’s all about providing opportunity and promoting independence.”
Main photo: Max Story
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