Organ Grinder, Loughborough

The second Blue Monkey pub after the Organ Grinder in Nottingham. I won't dwell on the interior, as Mr Fastard has accurately described it below, other than to say that it is reminiscent of the Nottingham Organ Grinder and shares some of the same touches such as a real fire and small library. I think that this one is more comfortable if anything but that may just be because it wasn't quite as busy on the Thursday evening when we visited. That isn't to say that there wasn't a steady flow of trade with clientele being very mixed and all seemed very happy to be there. Blue Monkey seem to specialise in young, attractive bar staff which when combined with smiling friendliness and good knowledge of the beer they're serving is fairly compelling and no doubt adds to the warm atmosphere. The star here though really is the beer with the following available on our visit: Blue Monkey Ape Ale, Rhesus to be Cheerful, BG Sips, Guerrilla and Whiskey Guerrilla, Infinity and BG Sips as well as Batemans Yella Bella. According to the website there is always a Batemans beer on but given the quality of the Blue Monkey ales available I wonder if it ever gets a look in. We tried most of the range and it was all exceptional. Having made a fairly early start at around 5, we didn't manage to leave and I'm sure that any future visit to Loughborough will have the same result.

Formerly The Old Pack Horse,this is now an outstanding ale house,and the second Blue Monkey tied house.The interior at the front is open plan with a section to the left with a real fire,a small library and a banquette around the front window.Tea lights on every table gave a softer feel to the interior and there were several couples besides beer aficianados on my Friday evening visit.On the otherside of the entrance there was some more fitted bench seating with round tables and stools and a large area for vertical drinking up to the rear bar area.Down the corridor there is a snug with two seating booths made from rough wood ,while upstairs there is a sign to the function room which is called The Blue Room,with quite a bit of seating and it's own bar with two handpumps. The star of the show were the eight handpumps showcasing the output from this amazing brewery.BG Sips,Infinity,Sanctuary,Tie a Yellow Gibbon,99 Red Baboons,Marmoset,Guerrilla and Whisky aged Guerrilla were on offer,and all sampled were on absolute top form.There are also 8 keg taps with some ciders and unusual Continental lagers besides Amstel. Because this pub is so lively,it has attracted a wider audience than CAMRA diehards and quite a lot of Amstel is shifted.Some young ladies also took the opportunity to check out this new incarnation,intrigued by the Blue Monkey theme.The bar staff are young,jolly and very efficient which is another plus point. The overall package is wonderful,it is a shame there are so many other good real ale pubs in town because I would find it very hard to shift out of here once the Blue Monkey ales start to flow down.A real must visit when in Loughborough.