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ONE PUB ONLY?
Brunswick
CRAWLING FROM RAILWAY STATION TO THE GROUND?
Brunswick, Alexandra, Flowerpot, Smithfield and then follow the river to the ground
SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT?
The Flowerpot
|  |  Alexandra Hotel
203 Siddals Rd, DE1 2QE W www.castlerockbrewery.co.uk
G Mark Robbins
F Simple traditional food from 11 T 01332 293993
CP BM D
O 11 to 11, 12 to 3, 7 to 10.30 Sun
This railway picture (well, DMU) decorated ale house is a two - bar traditional style pub. Mark gives a friendly Derby welcome to lovers of railways and real ale. My visit was all the more pleasant because of the regularity that real ale fans arrived from the station carrying their CAMRA guides, living the real ale tickers’ dream. Filled by the humour on the walls and from the greeting, I would leave my real ale ticking mentality on the train, and just enjoy the ale. You will not find a better choice of micro - brews and the pub is well used to people travelling between it and its near neighbour. This pub is always busy on matchdays and has a loyal fan base of Rams from well beyond Derby. It also has an impressive list of imported beers.
UPDATE: There are 8/9 ales at the weekend, my visit was midweek.
BWV 14.12.04: Belvoir Star Bitter, Burton Bridge Hearty Ale, Castle Rock Nottingham Gold, Crouch Vale High Tide, Hogs Back Hair of the Hog, Jennings Dark Mild, Newby Wyke High Tide, Phoenix Flash Flood
BWV 19.10.05; Belvoir Star, Brewster’s Hophead, Moorhouses Black Cat, York Terrier | |  Brunswick Inn
1 Railway Terrace, DE1 2RU T 01332 290677 W www.brunswickinn.co.uk
G Graham Yates
F Good home-made pub grub all day from 12
MP TV P D
O 11 to 11
Yes, an Everards-owned pub, yet with its own brewery. It is delicious (change to any superlative here). Six in-house brews and up to 10 others mean that you will find something to suit all tastes here. The Brunswick ales always include a mild and a wide range of strengths. The distinctive triangular building adds to the beauty of this pub. There is no music and food is only available upstairs on matchdays as it is always busy, “This is Derby's best pub (If not the World’s)” (Anon) and also one of my most-recommended pubs over the last year. Obviously, Graham is doing something special here. The groups who meet here are pretty diverse as well, including political parties, footie fans and a beer-drinking knitting club. The variety of rooms becomes particularly useful on these occasions. The number of awards is massive, including regional pub of the year.
BWV 14.12.04: Brunswick Rambo, Black Trout, Railway Porter, Triple Hop, Mild, Holden's Golden, Everards Sleigh Bell, Timothy Taylor Landlord, 3 Rivers Old Disreputable, Weston's Old Rosie Cider
BWV 19.10.05: Badger Tanglefoot, Beartown Wheat Beer, Brunswick Bitter, Father Mike’s Dark Rich Ruby Mild, Railway Porter, Triple Gold, Triple Hop, Everards Beacon, Equinox, Halifax Rhode Island Red, Marston’s Pedigree, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Weston’s Old Rosie Cider | |  Flowerpot
25 King St, DE1 3DZ T 01332 204955 W www.rawpromo.co.uk
G Sylvia Manners
F Quality home-made English food with daily specials 12 to 2.30 Mon - Wed, 12 to 6.30 Thu - Sat, 12 to 5.30 Sun MP TV D
O 11 to 11, Mon - Thu, 11 to 12 Fri - Sat, 11 to 11 Sun
Sometimes it takes a while to realise one is falling in love. A year on from my first visit and the Flowerpot has had this effect on me. It is the pub itself that has turned my head from the Alex and Brunswick for a while. A stroll along the Derwent and then in to the town found me spending a couple of hours swooning over the design, the ales and the simplicity of this great town ale-house.
Paul, a regular, described it as “the best pub, with the best beer, top quality with a quality repartee”. It is a place for conversation, for quiet contemplation, and has a buzz of contentment during the day.. The Flowerpot is the pub where students take their parents for lunch, “they can get mother’s home cooked food” here. It has quality music, yet is not a student pub. I wondered with a nostalgic glow about the forthcoming appearances of Dr. Feelgood and The Climax Blues Band, as well as the regular tribute band sessions. These gigs are held in the carefully designed cellar, which has a separate entrance that allows the other main bar to continue serving regulars ale-heads in relatively peaceful harmony. The pub offers 15 different ales at any one time and also has rotating cider and Perry.
BWV 25.10.05: Acorn Summer Pale, Archers Harvest Ale, Bradfield Jack O’Lantern, Greene King Abbot, Hartington Bitter, IPA, Hook Norton Best Bitter, Kelham Island Pale Rider, Marston's Pedigree, Newby Wyke Scooby Doo, Salamander Bette Noir, Whim Arbour Light, Strawberry Fields Cider | |  Smithfield
Meadow Road, DE1 2BH T 01332 370429 W www.thesmithfield.moonfriut.co.uk
G Roger and Penny Myring
F Rolls at bars on matchdays.
CP JB
O 11 to 11
As promised to my recommenders, the Smithfield is a must-visit entry to the guide. On the River Derwent, the Smithfield has a great location for walking out to the ground, and also for having a bit of exclusivity from the town pubbers and clubbers. Roger and Penny run a great pub which is very much a locals’ and regulars’ hostelry that welcomes visitors searching out their particular niche in the real ale scene. They specialise in the style of ales popularised by Oakham ales, i.e. paler ales that suit their particular tastes.
Roger, who is a season ticket holder, says it is 18 minutes from pub to seat. On matchdays it will be very busy and very friendly, the best days being when the garden can be used. The pub itself, however, is brilliant at any time. The three separate bars include a games room that doubles as a place for families to seat children. I enjoyed the main bar with caricatures of the team members (pub team, not Rams). The quadrant shape of the building just adds to its quirkiness. It was advertising a Blues, Booze, and Barbecue event, and the regulars assured me that at these type of events you see Penny at her bubbly best.. A top pub indeed, thanks for the recommendation chaps. The banner proclaims the Smithfield as local CAMRA pub of the year 2003.
BWV 19.10.05: Bass Draught, Burton Bridge Top Dog Stout, Hartington IPA, Hook Norton Old Hooky, Hop Back Crop Circle, Oakham Bishops Farewell, JHB, White Dwarf | |  Station Inn
12 Midland Rd, DE1 2SN T 01332 608014
G Dave Lalor
MP TV JB D
O 12 to 2.30, 5 to 12
I sometimes want quality more than quantity, so this fits the bill perfectly. Dave serves fantastic ale including Bass from the jug. The locals have a sporting prowess, the pub being a magnet for local sporting personalities and teams in town. It is also well worth checking out the function room at the rear with its massive mirror. This is the place to start the Derby crawl. As I found out, it is a pub with all the trimmings with a style that so often is lost as city centres get gentrified. The pub has a pool table but it is usually too crowded on matchdays for it to be used. Dave has made a great effort to introduce real ale to the pub and deserves the support that is found in the local area. It will always be part of my mini-crawl. The locals are very friendly and likely to be genuine residents with all the qualities you want to find when visiting a town for the first time.
UPDATE: Guest ales increase at weekends. Best - kept cellar award
BWV 14.12.04: Bass Draught, Black Sheep Bitter, Caledonian Deuchars IPA
BWV 14.12.05: Bass Draught, Caledonian Deuchars IPA
Stedders Guides 2006 – 07 | | | DERBY CAMRA | | 
PRIDE PARK | | 
LOCAL BREWERY
Falstaff Brewery
c/o The Falstaff Freehouse
74 Silverhill Rd
Normanton
Derby
DE23 6UJ
01332 342902
www.falstaffbrewery.co.uk | | WETHERSPOONS
The Thomas Leaper 27 Iron Gate Derby DE1 3GL Opening Times: Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-2am
The Standing Order 28-32 Iron Gate Derby DE1 3GL Opening Times: Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-2am
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