The Cottage, Norwich

White painted detached pub with leaded windows, looking old fashioned and welcoming, it has however been stripped out inside although a fair bit of old floor, wainscoting and even plaster still remains. The counter is right on entering, supporting six pulls, three with ales, two with cider, the back wall holds 10 keg taps, mostly national brands but a Vocation had slipped in. Thornbridge had also made it to the casks as well with Astryd alongside Okells Bitter (!) and Little Brewing Taj. The blackboard, there’s always one, is usefully placed to the left of the counter. Mostly chunky uncomfortable furniture in lighter wood, a few farmhouse tables and all hard seating apart from a sofa in a corner. Very little decor but an old map and an older indenture document caught my eye.

Previously a Mauldon's house, this pub now showcases beers from the Grain Brewery of Harleston. The place has seemingly been recently refurbished, presenting a very neat and smart, almost gastro-style, interior. Bare floorboards run through the whole pub and there is a lot of pine furniture including pews and what appear to be school chairs. The paint scheme is fairly warm but there is very little of note on the walls, which I found a bit of a shame as the place didn't seem to have much character as a result. One presumably original feature is the pane of glass in a disused door which has 'Cottage Bar' etched into it. The servery is to the right of the entrance, with a short, simple counter and a bare brick bar back. Another bare brick wall screens the rear half of the room from the front bar area, and back here you will find some comfier, lounge-style seating options including some particularly plush looking sofas. From here there is access to a nice, self-contained patio garden with decent furniture and a fair bit of sun on this particular visit. An indie soundtrack played throughout my stay and I was greeted by a nosy pub cat who strutted around as if he was the landlord. Three Grain beers - Calypso, 3.6.1 and Redwood - were available on handpull alongside Revolutions 45 Porter and Animal Brewing (XT) Dachshund. A very friendly barman served me a pint of the 3.6.1 which, despite the rather unpromising name, turned out to be not just the pint of the day, but arguably the best kept pint of beer I've had all year. Kudos to their cellarman. I most definitely enjoyed my visit here, but that was perhaps due more to the fact that the beer was so good, as opposed to the pub making a good impression on me. The place feels like it perhaps needs more time to bed in and generate a bit of character. having said that, there was no-one else in when I visited, which probably didn't help either. One to mark up for a revisit.

There was a good range of ales on at this 2013 Good Beer Guide pub when we called in and I enjoyed the Mauldons Blackberry Porter. Community feel to the pub with quiz ad music nights, and they have a beer festival here. Outside seating area in a garden too.

The Cottage is a decent looking white painted pub that is just north of the city centre. Once inside there was a single room with the bar facing,the room was carpeted with normal tables and chairs,there was a bar billiards table to the rear right and a TV to the left showing tennis from Wimbledon. There was also a small paved outside area to the rear with a few picnic benches. There were ten pumps on the bar but four were out of use,i had a drink of Crouch Vale Golden Duck which was'nt on top form the other beers were Mauldons Black Adder / Silver Adder,Buffys Norweigon Blue,Crouch Vale Brewers Gold and White Horse HI HO Silver. I was the only customer in here at about 12.50 which is a shame with such a good choice of beers on. Pub visited 30/6/2012