Duke William, Lincoln

Looks from the street like this hotel, pub and restaurant was created from two adjoining buildings, and the two main seating / dining areas are separated by more than just the bar counter. Didn't have the time to look around, but it all appears superficially traditional (even if it isn't really). Landlord, Helihopter from Docks Beers, FAB's Spirit of Jane (£2.60, half) and the Northern Rising unity stout collaboration from Timothy Taylor and Northern Monk available from the four handpumps.

With Roman DNA, this pub dates from the mid-17th century, the Duke of Cumberland from 1777, Dukes Head from around 1802 then Duke William from about 1820, the duke in question unlikely to inspire affection from the Scottish visitor. Boasting rooms that have ‘…been thoroughly cleaned and sanitised for your protection’ and with a food hygiene rating of 5, this is a rather gastrofied affair in the city’s tourist area, photos – especially those of food – can be seen on their website. I had a half of the Northern Monk/Timothy Taylor Northern Rising which was very nice. This is a decent addition to any crawl but isn’t really a must-visit; the crying baby was a very unwelcome distraction.

I was initially not going to bother visiting this hotel / bar / restaurant situated at the top end of the Bailgate but was also drawn here by reports from other crawl members of the Timothy Taylor and Northern Monk collaboration Stout, and I am very glad I did as I thought it was a much better example of a food and Ale pub than the Wig and mitre further south on Steep hill. An attractive white frontage hints at a building of some age, but internally it has a very modern décor with plenty of Farrow and Ball applied in the dining sections. But there are enough period features, such as exposed brickwork and beams to give the place some character, especially in the bar area where the U-shaped bar is composed of exposed stonework footings with reclaimed beams on top, liberally festooned with beer pump clips. Although one connected space the bar area gives the feel of two separate rooms either side of the central U shaped bar, each with a bank of four ale hand pumps, but as Mr Fastard says, in the absence of a chalk board that I could see you have to inspect both sets to see what is on which, for our visit, was four ales and two ciders across the eight pumps. Timothy Taylor Landlord was on both sets, as this is a Timothy Taylor Champion Club establishment as proudly proclaimed by a large plaque on the back wall of the right-hand bar section, as was Ferry Ales Brewery Spirit of Jane Pale Bitter. Then alongside two ciders from Seacider on the left hand set there was Docks Beers Helihopter Pale Ale and the aforementioned Northern Rising Unity Stout on the right-hand pumps. Then beyond the bar is a spacious dining area which then leads to a small, enclosed courtyard space and an outside garden area. I was glad I popped into this one as along with Mr Fastard below, it was a lot better than I was expecting.

Modern fit out but the interior does wind around the two sided bar and is on different levels ,so there are quiet spots besides the front area below a sports flatscreen. This was a crawl visit to sample the Timothy Taylor x Northern Monk Northern Rising Unity Stout (NBSS 4) .You really must visit both sides of the bar to discover the ale range,but given the rapidity of this visit I failed to note what else was on. Worth popping in if on a real ale crawl,better than I was expecting.

Another old place in the touristy bit with a heavy food offering but at least this one rambles off into various different rooms and areas so it is not difficult to find a quiet corner. There seemed to be a good selection of changing ales, judging from the collection of pump clips on the wall - I had a Docks Helihopter limited edition charity brew which was in good form. Generally better than most of the pubs nearby.

Official site of Duke William - www.dukewilliamlincoln.com

Official site of Duke William - www.dukewilliamlincoln.com