Spending 2 nights in Derby City Centre 15-16 May and have researched all the nearby pubs but looking for opinions on the best ones worth a visit...staying at Hampton by Hilton near bus station thanks in advance...
Exeter Arms - about five mins walking upriver from your hotel - for Dancing Duck cask and Thornbridge/Magic Rock keg. And superb food. Five minutes further upriver takes you to the Furnace Inn; great casks that the landlord sources himself along with the beers he brews in the back yard (Shiny Brewery). Back towards the rail station, Brunswick (on-site brewery), Alex Hotel (next door to the Brunnie, Castle Rock beer + good guests + bottled beer. No bottled beer menu, just ask what they have). Plenty more but that's the best of the best. Let me know if you want to meet for a beer. Zimbo will vouch for the fact that I don't bite ;-)
Just realised I've planned a wander around Derby pubs on Saturday May 18th... If anyone else is interested, meet up at the Alex Hotel at 11am. Bimble upriver, sit outside a few pubs if it's sunny, end at the Furnace Inn for their own beers brewed on-site (Shiny Brewery) and hopefully the debut of their new import keg lines.
A ReuctantScoop guided tour is real treat. I can't recommend it enough. And if I was within 50 miles of Derby I would be there on the 18th.
thanks very much for the tips...it is looking like our only opportunity for a pub crawl will be Tuesday afternoon and evening but it looks like there are many opportunities!
If I can get out on Tuesday I'll buy you a beer. Update on the Alex - they now have a bottled beer menu that has some of the choicer UK brewers on it (Beavertown, Summer Wine, Partizan etc) as well as a bunch of standard Euro fayre (Schneider, Jever, Rochefort etc).
