19/08/18 - Good Beer Guide Ticking in Derby

Derby isn't going to win any "best looking town" awards.  Walking across the City, is a trail of underpasses, flyovers and the hope that somewhere, there is a pedestrian bridge to get across the waterways. 

Picking routes on Google Maps is easy.  Not quite so easy when you arrive

So why am I here?  Well, I've never been before and always open to urban exploration.  It also has quite a reputation as a beer town.   Planning for one afternoon/night meant streamlining. 

Three CAMRA books helped....

• 13 entries in the 2018 Good Beer Guide.   
• An entry in CAMRA 101 Great Beer Days Out.  
• An entry in CAMRA 50 great Pub Crawls.   

Not all the recommendations were for the same places.  And To top it all - one of the first pubs I pass on foot, the Smithfield, has a sign saying its CAMRA 2018 Pub of the Year.  The Smithfield is not even mentioned in any of the publications.

Avoiding the out of town ones and the Wetherspoons is an easy choice for whittling down the numbers.  I am left with a plan to complete 8 pubs over 7 hours and find somewhere for tea.

The Alexandra Hotel, 203 Siddals Road, Burton Bridge Bitter

Pub 1.

Here we have it, the trainspotters theme pub of the year.   Paraphernalia goes as far as having a Class 37 train in the pub car park.  It was blocked in by a Mondeo.  How do I know it was a Class 37?  Well, there's a geocache attached to it that provided all the info.

I'm not sure what gained my attention first - the huge digital clock (railway of course) or the music, which was that mental 10 minute prog rock yodelling song that Radcliffe and Maconie like to play on a Friday afternoon.

A long bar, guarded by men who must have come on motorbikes and a DIY enthusiast who couldn't resist a chance to fix the fan, offers 8 real ales.  Another chance to try Burton Bridge Bitter could not be ignored.  Served in a pint glass from Scottish Real Ale Festival.   I didn't ask how it had got here.

Note the timepiece - Digital, yet minutes are recorded with satisfying "Clunk"

Brunswick Inn, 1 Railway Terrace, Timothy Taylor Landlord

I don't say this lightly, but I can stop looking for the best pub in the land.   Here, in a structure that resembles New Yorks Flat Iron Building, I have found my Orwellian "Moon Under the Water".

Flat Iron (or Bittles Bar in Belfast)

So, what's to like?  The production line layout - with a brewery at one end and the simply gorgeous Family Parlour at the other.  Somewhere in the middle is the bar serving an uncountable number of their own brews, a large representation of Everards and a smattering of other classics.

Where the Magic Begins

And Where it Ends

I had this beautiful room, chesterfields included, all to myself and was able to shut the door, and read the Sunday Times with just the gentle hum of traffic as background noise.

A destination pub, if ever I met one.

Silk Mill Cider and Alehouse, 19 Full Street, Bass Premium

An adventure across the City Centre, getting a couple of geocaches.

Teatime Themetime

This is a Gastropub - so naturally, I stopped for my tea.   It was decent but if I had to describe it on Twitter it would be #WeWantPlates.

Despite its refined comfort, one of the other punters was a middle aged man with a black eye.   Fair play to him for coming out.

Tea enjoyed to the peel of the Cathedral bells.

It was Sunday

 The Flowerpot, 23 King Street, Blue Monkey BG Tips

No Stetson Required

The music lured me in.  Imagine the genius of Seasick Steve and Nine Inch Nail's Trent Reznor rocking up to a Derbyshire beer garden and entertaining middle aged boozers with a medley of Fulsom Prison Blues, I can't get no Satisification and the Cowboy song that goes "Yippeee Eye Aye".

This melodic masterclass took my mind of the poorest pint of the day - a flat lifeless affront.  Suspicions are always aroused when the staff don't use the labelled pump in front of you and disappear around the back to pour your pint.

Almost on Stage

The Golden Eagle, 55 Agard Street, Titan Pale

In choosing which which locations to include, I liked the look of the Golden Eagle from Google Street View. 

Nice Paint Job

The brewery tap for Titan, the Pale was distinctive and looked lovely. 

This was a very serviceable back street pub that got everything right for a Sunday Evening - right down to having a local radio playing 60's music loudly.   Not one patron could resist singing along to "Shaking all Over".

Five Lamps, Duffield Road, Timothy Taylor Landlord

In an area where everything is called Five Lamps

Another solid local boozer on a main road.   Another one offering a choice of 8 ales and I play safe with the Landlord.  Quiet on a Sunday evening.

The Furnace Inn, Duke Street, Shiny Brewing Four Wood

You cannot accuse CAMRA of not being all inclusive.  We are right in the realms of high rise estate pub here and I am only glad I am flying solo.   Mrs M's mutterings about where are you dragging me know were keenly heard in my internal monlogue.

No Longer in Kansas, Toto

Like all good estate pubs, they could tell that I am not a local - asking me instantly if I had a Camra card to take advantage of their discount.

Another Brewery (Shiny) Taphouse - the beer was superb.  I also like the way they offered coach trips to the football for £4.50 return.... including a pint.   You cannot argue with that for public service.

The Exeter Arms, Exeter Place, Ay Up Me Duck

Exeter Arms

The final part of the section header is not me trying to do a regional accent put the pint consumed at another taphouse - the dancing duck.  I did feel silly ordering it though.

9pm on a Sunday is the twighlight zone of any blog.   This beautifully decorated pub deserved more punters than a lonely pub ticker and a lady with the biggest pork pie that I have seen this side of Sainsbury's deli counter.

The Peacock, Nottingham Road, Breakfast at Tiffanys

No-one can accuse me of not getting my money's worth from a £21 travelodge.   This was passed on the walk way back to the Cricket Ground.   If you're local, you'll recognise the road as having chains dangling from overhead supports to stop vehicles greater in height than 2.5m slamming into the underpass.

No photos from here.   They didn't come out too well.  After the Derby County football paraphernalia, the thing that I will remember is the music.    

Who has ever entered a pub to be serenaded by The Normal's Warm Leatherette?  This seqwayed into Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll (Ian Dury, not an activity).   I left, after a strangely named pint, to the Skids Into the Valley.

It's always time to go when they are playing Into the Valley.   The big boys start moshing.

With 8/13 GBG Ticked - and surely the Smithfield being added to the list - it looks like I am coming back to Derby.   

The Brunswick alone is enough to tempt me.