Category Archives: Notts pubs

Posted on by

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem – Review

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, or just The Trip To Jerusalem, or more realistically ‘The Trip’ so where do I start? well it’s old, infact world record old though this is contested, thankfully I went there to drink last week not a few hundred years ago.

Jeru

I won’t mix my words here, at one point The Trip was embarrasingly bad, though this was several years ago when Greene King first took over, I’ll hold my tongue on my beef with Greene King somewhat but needless to say a popular tourist attraction was serving up the blandest Greene King beer they could ship in from their HQ in Bury St Edmunds.

pine

In real life pinecone people will not serve you, sorry.

As you can see from the bar picture, this is now thankfully not the case as they have a couple of Nottingham beers on (EPA and Legend, both tried, both very pleasant as expected) not only that they have a second bar round the corner as well.

bar2

On this bar was Nottinghams Rock Mild, and the best beer they had on; Seance by the Full Mash Brewery which was one of the best pints I have had so far this year.

mix board

Calm down, you don't do that many beers.

So would I recommend it? yes, it’s a great pub with a decent smoking area and cave walls (not all real) it often has ghost hunts and suchlike and is steeped in history, it used to make tourists think Nottingham can’t brew, now it doesn’t, that’ll do from the boys from Bury St Edmunds.

Posted on by

Riverside Farm and the Nutbrook Brewery

Food isn’t really our focus here, but it’s mixed with ale, so get over it.

Riverside Farm is located at the old Harry Ramsden site next to the Riverside Retail park. It’s a little out of the way but offers something different for those willing to make the short journey, or perhaps have been out shopping and need something to shut the kids up, or can’t be bothered to cook a meal.

Riverside Farm

The food is pretty much standard fare, portions are average and having been three times now nothing much on the menu sticks out as being exceptional. The puddings are certainly worth avoiding however, they’re expensive and small, to somehow ‘fool’ the customer a mountain of whipped cream is put on top of pretty much everything, lame.

Thankfully the Nutbrook Brewerys beer single handedly rescues little issues such as above, they have 2 dedicated Nutbrook pumps rotating and they’re always quality ales. The last visit offered Bitlyke (4.2%) and Responsibly (4.4%) the former being the difference between a good and an average meal, a real top pint.

Is the Riverside Farm worth a visit? why not really, Nutbrook beer isn’t exactly everywhere in Nottingham, so just for that reason it’s a decent enough shout, just watch out for that whipped cream…

http://www.riversidefarmpub.co.uk/

Posted on by

King William IV

Ice Hockey fans, lots of them.

That was my initial impression on walking into the King William IV, otherwise known as the ‘King Billy’ My first thoughts from the outside revolved around why I wasn’t wearing a stab vest, it’s based towards the outskirts of the city centre near the Ice Arena (hence the hockey fans) it looks a bit rough round the area in general, and the windows have bars on them, but looks can often be decieving.

Poncy glasses and the unnecessary in general are not present.

Any doubts you may have had are quashed upon entry, 8 hand pumps are practiclaly on the other side of the door, the bar staff are very pleasant and the beer priced fairly. Of the beers I’ve had there in 2 visits, Newby Wyke – Kingston Topaz stood out as exceptional. At night lit by bulbs with a soft pink/red glow you would be forgiven for thinking you where in Amsterdam, but they don’t serve Amstel thankfully.

Being badgered to go made me finally give in and make the journey to this pub, and I’m glad I did as it’s a fantastic place to have a drink prior to Panthers/Forest or watch the mighty Notts County VS Manchester City; you could also use it as a good starting point for a pub crawl snaking your way back into town.

Unexpectedly they have a TV in the drinking area at the rear that has sky sports, a nice bonus! A pub then that’s  a little off the beaten track, but well worth the journey.

Posted on by

Roundhouse Nottingham : Review

In-case you’re wondering, the roundhouse got its name because of its large triangular nature.

This magnificent hexagonal beast is located at the top of St James’ street and is actually part of Nottingham’s old general hospital, hence the trapezium shaped nature, synonymous with UK hospitals at the time.

This is a great pub actually, and due to its location one of the best ways to kick off a pub crawl, it’s easy to float down into the heart of the city centre as it’s pretty much all down hill, much like your night likely will be.

Round House Bar

Quality beers, and make sure to try the Tyrells crisps!

The bar is well stocked with a good selection of Ales which change frequently, The Roundhouse have a deal in place with the Full Mash brewery, they brew an exclusive Ale Roundhouse Gold (4%) and sell it at £2 a pint, it’s worth visiting the pub for this beer alone.

Because of its previous usage and the fact that they sell food (which is a popular choice) the roundhouse has a lot more comfortable seating than an average pub as well as benches in a courtyard at the rear for the summer, or winter if you’re a smoker.

The Roundhouse is a characteristic pub with a warm friendly atmosphere and offer a lot more to drink that just ale,  it’s well worth a visit, so if you haven’t do so.

You can check out menus and more from the official website by clicking here.

Posted on by

Review: The Dewdrop Inn (Ilkeston)

The Dewdrop is a pretty special pub to me being one of the pubs I’ve frequented for about 15 years and has aside from one “dark time” been a consistently excellent real ale pub (as shown by the frequent CAMRA awards)

Located on the outskirts of Ilkeston next to the train tracks it was first known as The Middleton but later changed the The Dewdrop Inn.

Over the years a number of landlords have passed through its doors to being us to the present landlord and the Erewash Chairman of Camra John Cooke (A retired police officer with a sharp wit and a good eye for ale) and his delightfully hippy looking wife Yvonne (Who has an equally sharp wit so mind your manners!)

The Dewdrop is remarkably spacious in the same way Dr Whos tardis is. The rooms do not appear especially large however the sum of the parts forms a spacious and always well stocked pub. The interior is relatively untouched and has a distinct 1940’s feel to it and has been excellently maintained.

There are 3 rooms (4 if you count the hallway which has a few chairs)

The first room contains a pool table (and for once there is enough room to take shots….can’t stand places where you have the cue near vertical to take a shot) an excellent jukebox with some of the finest trash you will ever hear (Sigue Sigue Sputnik anyone?), an LCD TV if the cricket is on and plenty of seats. The decoration is the usual beer mat come ancient beer bottle fare however the range of the decoration shows the length of time this pub has been around.

Although you can’t see the pool table in the above photo you can see the jukebox….everyone’s seen a pool table…how long has it been since you saw a 7 inch jukebox like that? Exactly..

The smaller room has a real fireplace which is occasionally lit making for a small quiet room (with tons of kids toys which never get apprehended by adults….honestly) This room can comfortably sit 15 or so people (might get a bit noisy though…)

The larger room is where the fun at the Dewdrop is found (Dr Lovesale has seen some sights…) a much larger room with a glorious fireplace which is frequently lit especially in winter (And where many a crisp packet is tossed) The decor is again the usual fare but makes for comfortable pub.

The hallway is a great place to sit for a quick pint if your passing through and if your into fruit machines there is a 10p a go machine which is good for a laugh.

Now…the beer….that’s why your reading I’m sure….

Frankly the beer at the Dewdrop is usually excellent. John keeps beer in excellent condition and sources beer from a wide area meaning (bar the usuals such as Bishops Farewell) there is usually a great selection to keep you going.

There are usually no less than 5 real ales on at one time (including the regulars) Bishops Farewell is one of my favorites and thankfully a regular here, a beautiful malty pale slightly cloudy beer with floral notes.
The other beers are usually a nice selection of dark, pale and everything inbetween.

There is a great lager (and i mean an ACTUAL lager not Stella/Carling/Fosters/<insert generic lager>) called De Konig (if memory serves) which actually tastes nice and European, well worth a try.

There’s a wide selection of bottled beers on offer if you fancy take out or just something different (Usually Oakham or Funfair) and if you fancy taking out one of the real ales on offer you can buy one of those great milk carton jobbies to take out with you.

CAMRA members can show their cards for a discount (I’m sure you were expecting nothing less from the pub owned by the CAMRA chairman of Erewash)

Food…..not often I get to write about food, since most pubs serve such generic fare it’s not worth mentioning. But the Dewdrop serve up some classics which while simple….are just great. They serve up a nice selection of cobs…huge ones…with slabs of cheese….ham..salad or whatever you fancy. My father in law can attest to the ham cobs being great…and he is quite sparing with his praise on that particular topic. Occasionally soup and rolls is served up which makes for a great winter warmer alongside a formidable barsnack selection.

Now i love my bar snacks and the Dewdrop I’m pleased to say does not disappoint. Nuts, crisps, bombay mix etc….all there…waiting to invade your veins with that glorious fatty goodness.

Book lovers may be interested to know that the Dewdrop is part of some scheme which allows you to “borrow” books on the basis you register with a website and record where you took it from and left it.

In short The Dewdrop is a gem of a pub which are these days in short supply with great ale, good food and more importantly an excellent landlord who knows his beer and is enthusiastic about it (which these days goes a long way) Although i do frequent Wetherspoons you can’t help but feel the whole experience is somewhat sterilised by the lack of real “publican” with personality.

The Dewdrop is located slightly hidden away on Ilkeston Junction. Since im so pathetic with directions see the google map below for details:

Click for Google Map Location

The address is

24 Station St,
Ilkeston,
Derbyshire
DE7 5TE
0115 932 9684

Posted on by

Nottinghams most expensive pint of Real Ale?

The Lincolnshire Poacher whilst being a fine pub and a worthy winner of Nottingham CAMRA pub of the year in the past has been criticised for its high pricing, and this appears to be coming to a new peak.

Jaipur

Jaipur lit up by a torch, because we where drunk and had a torch.

Of course it would have to be Thornbridge again, and it’s by co-incedence not by some kind of commercial tie-in that we’re once more mentioning them, this time it’s Thornbridge – Jaipur, the signature 5.9% strong ale, a fine beer, my issue though lies with the pricing at a whopping £3.40 a pint, robbery? you betcha.

Do you know of anywhere else in Nottingham charging more for a pint of real ale? let us know!

Posted on by

Review: Crown Inn (Awsworth)

The Crown
Location on Google Maps

Like a phoenix rising from the flames a pub in Awsworth (Wedged between Kimberley, Eastwood and Ilkeston) has recently changed hands and in the case of the ale sold within, for the better.

Previously only cask ales such as John Smiths, Chestnut Mild, Carling, Fosters etc were sold. Hey it is what it is. I drank there for close to 10 years so I can’t talk I guess..

It always was a good laugh and partly that’s what makes a good pub so despite the appalling selection it luckily had other redeeming values.

Now the Crown has been transformed both in terms of the selection but also the interior.

The new ownership who also own the New Inn in Newthorpe have acquired the Crown and are already using their better sourcing abilities to get some decent ale on the pumps in the Crown.

When I went in to take a look at the new selection I pleased to see 2 ales on (Sharps ‘Doombar’ and Ringwoods ‘FortyNiner’)

Ales

I sampled a half of both and am pleased to say the owner keeps beer in excellent condition. Sadly some pubs get great ale but don’t keep them well and they just got off quickly or taste bad.

Not the case here, the landlord is evidently a decent cellar-man and engaged me in conversation about how the glass washing machine was leaving a slight (harmless) film which was ruining the head retention, which by all accounts is great to hear (the fact he cares, not the lack of heads!)

The upholstery has been redone with the addition of a new carpet.

Bar

Bar2

All in all this pub has been given a new lease of life beer wise.

I’m sure all are sad to see Roger (The previous landlord) go who rather than concentrated on beer offered a more “sports orientated” approach to the pub which was great in its own way.

For Real Ale enthusiasts this is worth a visit, judging by the clipboard asking to “Tick the ales you would like to see” the landlord has access to a fair selection including:

Tim Taylor Landlord
Adnams (Both bitter and broadside)
Old Speckled King (Erm Hen)
and more..

The pub has easy access to 2 bus stops (either side up the street) and can be reached by the T1 (Phoenix Flyer) or the 27 (From Kimberley or Ilkeston)

Google Map Location